Agenda item

MOTIONS ON NOTICE

Meeting of Council, Thursday, 23rd February, 2023 6.30 pm (Item CO60)

In accordance with the Constitution, motions on notice must be signed by at least two Members and be about matters for which the Council has a responsibility or which affect the Melton Borough.

Anti-bullying Motion

The following motion was received from Councillor Higgins (Seconded by Councillor Faulkner).

Bullying and victimisation comes in various forms but can be described as

· offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting;

· an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone.

The bullying might:

· be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident;

· happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or calls;

· happen at work or in other work-related situations;

· not always be obvious or noticed by others.

Examples of bullying could include:

· someone has spread a malicious rumour about you;

· someone keeps putting you down in meetings;

· someone in a senior position keeps giving you a heavier workload than everyone else;

· someone has put humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media.

I would therefore request that Members join me in supporting the following motion:

Melton Borough Council understands the impacts of bullying and encourages all those young and old alike to take action against acts of bullying; and underlines the horrid effects bullying has on individuals' self-confidence and the ongoing impacts it can have on people.

The Council extends its support to victims of bullying and affirms its belief that the behaviours described above are not acceptable in a civilised society, schools, businesses and organisations, or wider community of the Borough of Melton.

Proposal for Diversification of the Parkside Offices Motion

The following motion was received from Councillor Faulkner (Seconded by Councillor Lumley).

I request that Members support the following motion:

1) To note the Cabinet decision made on 8 February 2023 in relation to the Proposal for Diversification of the Parkside Offices and request that the economic impact assessment referenced as part of that decision (Resolution 3.2) includes the following information (subject to availability):

· the current hotel room availability and usage to include the Harboro Hotel, Sysonby Knoll Hotel, Quorn Lodge Hotel and Premier Inn and details regarding the impact of an extra 65 room hotel on these businesses.

· the date that Scalford Hall will be available again for public use and what impact the additional room availability would have on any proposed new hotel’s viability at Parkside.

2) The above information to be reported to Cabinet in June 2023 as part of the aforementioned economic impact assessment.

Minutes:

Prior to hearing the motions on notice, Council paid tribute to Parish Councillor Andy Holland, who had recently died.

Anti-Bullying Motion

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Higgins and seconded by Councillor Faulkner.

Bullying and victimisation comes in various forms but can be described as

offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting;
an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone.

The bullying might:

be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident;
happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or calls;
happen at work or in other work-related situations;
not always be obvious or noticed by others.

Examples of bullying could include:

someone has spread a malicious rumour about you;
someone keeps putting you down in meetings;
someone in a senior position keeps giving you a heavier workload than everyone else;
someone has put humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media.

Cllr Higgins requested that Members join him in supporting the following motion:

During the debate the following comments were made:

The Deputy Leader welcomed the motion and will review how it fits with the bullying policy and the Members Code of Conduct.
It was noted that bullying also includes the following:

- deliberately attempting to damage a person’s reputation or career,

- uncovering irrelevant information from a person’s past with the intent to sully their reputation or career.

- Contacting a person’s workplace with the intent of damaging a person’s reputation or career.

- Falsifying information in relation to a person’s private live with the intent to tarnish their reputation.

It was commented that bullying and harassment are defined as certain behaviours and actions which cause someone to feel either intimidated or offended and this covers a wide range of behaviours such as spreading rumours, isolating individuals and making derogatory remarks.
A Member commented that bullying should not be tolerated and noted that common forms of bullying is based on gender, race and religion. In any situation where bullying has taken place the bully should be made to apologise unconditionally.
The comment was made that it is very important that bullying is stamped out. Complaints should be seen and sorted immediately.
It was recognised how important combating bullying is.

RESOLVED

Council

Understands the impacts of bullying and encourages all those young and old alike to take action against acts of bullying; and underlines the horrid effects bullying has on individuals' self-confidence and the ongoing impacts it can have on people.

The Council extended its support to victims of bullying and affirms its belief that the behaviours described above are not acceptable in a civilised society, schools, businesses and organisations, or wider community of the Borough of Melton.

(20 For, 0 Against, 2 Abstentions)

Proposal for Diversification of the Parkside Offices Motion

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Faulkner and seconded by Councillor Lumley.

Councillor Faulkner requested that Members join him in supporting the following motion:

· the date that Scalford Hall will be available again for public use and what impact the additional room availability would have on any proposed new hotel’s viability at Parkside.

2) The above information to be reported to Cabinet in June 2023 as part of the aforementioned economic impact assessment.

During the debate the following comments were made:

Deputy Leader assured Members that the information requested would be included within the information which Cabinet will receive in June.
It was recognised that the Council needs to make use of it’s assets whether that means the development of a hotel at Parkside or at another Council owned site. Whatever the decision, there needs to be a forum to debate this issue comprehensively.
It was noted that the Council now has a record of its assets and accessing whether it is getting value for money.
The concern is, is that the Council would be the party to convert Parkside, therefore making the project high risk.
A Member commented that the Council shouldn’t be making major decisions before an election. The decision should be carried forward for the next Council to make.
The comment was made that if a hotel chain wants to come to Melton Mowbray and convert Parkside, then they should take the risk.
It was agreed that an economic impact assessment is important when deciding what to do.
A Member wasn’t sure what date Scalford Hall will be made available for public use.

RESOLVED

Council

1) Noted the Cabinet decision made on 8 February 2023 in relation to the Proposal for Diversification of the Parkside Offices and request that the economic impact assessment referenced as part of that decision (Resolution 3.2) includes the following information (subject to availability):

· the date that Scalford Hall will be available again for public use and what impact the additional room availability would have on any proposed new hotel’s viability at Parkside.

2) The above information to be reported to Cabinet in June 2023 as part of the aforementioned economic impact assessment.

(Unanimous)