Agenda item

To debate the attached petition that has been received.

Council NOTED the petition.

Jeni Sawford presented a petition that had been received, consisting of 108 signatures, in relation to Syrian refugees.  It petitioned the Council to:

(a)          state its willingness to accommodate a proportionate number of refugees;

(b)          approach relevant Government Departments and other local authorities to develop a coordinated scheme for accommodating refugees;

(c)          urge the government to participate in EU-wide approaches to helping refugees.

Ms Sawford said that with millions of Syrian refugees being displaced over the last few years, the situation had reached crisis point and action needed to be taken now.  Not only did she think people in this country had a duty to help but, as the petition showed, local people also wanted to help.  She highlighted that groups were coming together all over the country and mobilising into action in any way they felt they could be useful.  Ms Sawford reported that Cambridge City Council had announced that it was willing to help and today the European Union announced that it would give at least one billion Euros in measures to help.  She closed by saying that those signing this petition would like South Cambridgeshire District Council to look into accepting a proportionate number of refugees. 

In debating the petition, Members express their sympathy for those people caught up in the Syrian conflict and the following comments or views were noted:

·         South Cambridgeshire District Council should welcome the opportunity to help in whatever way it could.  It was well known that other parts of the region and country had more spare housing capacity than South Cambridgeshire, but that did not mean that the Council should fail to demonstrate a willingness to help;

·         the idea of using some local facilities for a transit or reception function had been mooted and the Government’s scheme was specifically targeted at people in severe need of medical care.  Cambridgeshire had some of the best specialist medical providers in some fields, so medical institutions in the area could be in a position to help a small number of those most in need without impacting the general population;

·         the only way to properly establish these people’s needs would be to genuinely work with other bodies, in particular Cambridgeshire County Council and the East of England Strategic Migration Partnership;

·         the Government had provided significant additional funding to those refugee camps in countries neighbouring Syria which meant that people did not need to endure dangerous journeys to countries further afield for aid and support;

·         the Council should have the appetite to cooperate with the Government and help where it could to support people in need when they did arrive;

·         the issue was too big and complex to reach a specific decision at this meeting.  A cross-party working group should therefore be established with frequent update reports to Cabinet.

At this stage of proceedings Councillor Ray Manning, Leader of the Council, read out an email he had sent in response to a letter from the East of England Strategic Migration Partnership.  His email said that South Cambridgeshire District Council was not in a position to make such an important and far reaching commitment regarding the  provision of accommodation for Syrian refugees without further information and long term funding guarantees.  Councillor Manning highlighted that the Government had only committed to meet any costs associated with the resettling of refugees for the first year, with local authorities and other service providers then expected to meet the cost for subsequent years.  Details around the actual costs relating to those subsequent years had yet to be confirmed, therefore Councillor Manning felt it would be premature for this Council to agreed towards anything before further information was known.  He was also against the proposal to establish a Member working group given that the Portfolio Holder for Housing would consider this issue at his meetings whenever necessary, which any Member would be able to attend and participate in.

Further discussion ensued and the following additional comments or views were noted:

·         a resident from Haslingfield had recently set up a petition where people could signify an offer of accommodation to Syrian refugees.  This had achieved over 4,000 positive responses to date, meaning that 4,000 local families had essentially offered their homes to the Government by way of help and support;

·         the main question that needed to be addressed at this meeting was whether South Cambridgeshire District Council would be prepared to state a willingness to help;

·         this was a multiagency issue and there was a lot of misunderstanding amongst the general public, with lots of scaremongering that needed to be managed;

·         there needed to be complete and controlled support for refugees, which was why they could not simply be placed in people’s homes.

Councillor Mark Howell, Portfolio Holder for Housing, highlighted that a request for help from South Cambridgeshire District Council essentially meant support with housing and accommodation, since other services that would be required by way of offering support fell under the responsibility of the County Council or health providers.  He emphasised the difficult position the Council would be put in should it have to consider supporting Syrian refugees by way of housing or accommodation alongside those vulnerable people already living in the district.  Councillor Howell said that this was the reality of the situation in a local context and confirmed that the Council currently had 19 people designated as class A homeless and 26 families classified as priority homeless on its housing lists, with 15 families awaiting temporary accommodation.  He reiterated the Leader’s point regarding his Portfolio Holder Meetings and said that if necessary he would hold special meetings to solely consider the Syrian refugee issue as and when necessary.

Councillor Bridget Smith, Leader of the Opposition, proposed the establishment of a cross-party Member working group to consider the issue of Syrian refugees and provide update reports to Cabinet.  This was seconded by Councillor John Williams.  Voting on the proposal, with 11 votes in favour, 33 votes against and 1 abstention, the proposal was lost.

Enough Members as prescribed in the Council’s Standing Orders requested a recorded vote for this proposal.  Votes were therefore cast as follows:

In favour

Councillors Henry Batchelor, Anna Bradnam, Jose Hales, Tumi Hawkins, Sebastian Kindersley, Janet Lockwood, Des O’Brien, Bridget Smith, Hazel Smith, Aidan Van de Weyer and John Williams.

Against

Councillors David Bard, Val Barrett, Francis Burkitt, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Graham Cone, Simon Crocker, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Neil Davies, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Lynda Harford, Roger HIckford, Mark Howell, Peter Johnson, Ray Manning, Mick Martin, David McCraith, Cicely Murfitt, Charles Nightingale, Tony Orgee, Tim Scott, Ben Shelton, Edd Stonham, Peter Topping, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, David Whiteman-Downes and Nick Wright.

Abstention

Councillor Nigel Cathcart.

Councillor Mark Howell proposed that the petition be noted.  Councillor Ray Manning seconded the proposal.  Voting on the proposal, with 35 votes in favour and 10 votes against, Council NOTED the petition.