Agenda

To move that the Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting held on 24 July 2024, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Any correspondence, communication or other business brought forward by the direction of the Chair of the Council.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and provided the text to Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services – email: barry.khan@northyorks.gov.uk or in writing to Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services, County Hall, Northallerton DL7 8AD by midday on Friday, 8 November 2024.  Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chairman who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

1.         Councillor Safety

The intimidation and abuse of Councillors and Officers, in person or otherwise, undermines democracy; preventing elected members from representing the communities they serve, deterring individuals from standing for election, and undermining public life in democratic processes and deterring potential Officers from considering public sector as a career option.

This council notes that increasing levels of toxicity in public and political discourse is having a detrimental impact on local democracy and that prevention, support and responses to abuse and intimidation of local politicians and Officers must improve to ensure councillors and Officers feel safe and able to continue representing their residents and performing their duties.

This council therefore commits to challenge the normalisation of abuse against councillors and officers and uphold exemplary standards of public and political debate in all it does. The council agrees to sign up to the LGA’s Debate Not Hate campaign. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in local communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the response to and support those in public life facing abuse and intimidation.

This Council therefore endorses the recommendations from the Jo Cox Civility Commission and specifically resolves that:

(A)       there should be appropriate risk planning for abuse at Council Meetings and other events, ensuring high risk events are properly resourced

(B)       this Council signs up to the LGA’s Debate Not Hate Campaign. 

(C)       There should be appropriate security and wellbeing resources available to Councillors and Officers

1.         Background

The Jo Cox Civility Commission was launched in February 2023. The Commission    takes as its starting point a belief that abuse and intimidation is having a detrimental impact on democracy in the UK, but that addressing the issue is complex and requires action across multiple different sectors.

The Commission published a report titled, “No place in politics: tackling abuse and intimidation.” The report can be found at the following link

https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/wpcontent/uploads/2024/01/Jo-Cox-Civility-Commission-report.pdf.

A series of recommendations are made in the report which are directed towards different audiences including the Government, the Police, the Electoral Commission and Political Parties. However, three of the recommendations are specifically directed to local government as follows:- 

•           Local authorities should improve risk planning for abuse at council meetings and other events, ensuring high risk events are properly resourced with trained security. 

•           Councils should pass motions affirming principles to address abuse and model good behaviour, from the Local Government Association’s Debate Not Hate toolkit or the National Association of Local Councils’ (NALC) Civility and Respect Project.

•           Local authorities should ensure security and wellbeing resources are available to councillors. These should be clearly signposted, and there should be a dedicated point of contact for the escalation of any issues. The Committee is asked to consider what further actions it may wish to recommend in response to the above.

The following actions have been taken by the Council in line with those recommendations:

(a)        Risk Planning

The Council takes a proportionate response in regards to its meetings. Security provision  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.