Councillors at Cambridgeshire County Council backed a series of motions at Full Council yesterday (Tuesday, 16 December) which called for action on key issues.
Councillor Bryony Goodliffe brought a motion that called for increased support for care leavers in Cambridgeshire.
Cllr Goodliffe noted that while previous council decisions have led to care experience being treated as a protected characteristic by the council, care leavers in our county are often still stigmatised and treated with prejudice.
The motion called on the Committee of Children and Young People to consider establishing a ‘Councillor Care Experienced Champion’. This councillor role would serve as a single point of contact for care-experienced residents and promote best practice in safeguarding their rights. The motion also asked the council to work closely with care-experienced people to ensure that their lived experiences are always at the forefront when policy is considered that is intended to support them.
Finally, the motion included actions to improve access to employment and services for those with care experience and resolved to ensure that all councillors complete training to better understand the ongoing role of the council as corporate parent to support care leavers beyond the age of 18.
Another supported motion brought by Councillor Rory Clark, called for greater access to music and the arts for Cambridgeshire’s children. Key to this was a commitment to making access more equitable across Cambridgeshire.
Cllr Clark’s motion noted that every child, regardless of their background or where they live, should have the opportunity to engage with music and the arts. The agreed actions included asking Cambridgeshire Culture to create a new culture and arts strategy with a focus on improving access for children as well as adults and asking the Council’s Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport to make the case for greater funding for arts and culture for children in Cambridgeshire.
Councillor Elliot Tong proposed a motion, with an amendment from Councillor Alex Bulat, calling for action to address fast-food advertising on bus shelters and related infrastructure. The motion noted that the impact of a previous motion on this subject had been limited by the fact that the responsibility for managing these assets is split between several different authorities, based on out-of-date agreements.
The supported motion asked for council officers to work with district councils, parish councils, and the Mayoral Combined Authority, to conduct a review of the overall management of bus infrastructure. Part of the review would be to clarify where responsibility lies for commissioning advertising on bus infrastructure.
A supported motion which referred to the safety improvements that are currently underway on the Guided Busway from St Ives to Trumpington, was proposed by Councillor Ros Hathorn. Noting the busway’s important contribution to improving access to both public transport and active travel, the motion acknowledged the need to learn lessons from the current busway which can be considered at the design stage of any future busways.
The motion called for a report to be brought to the Highways and Transport Committee proposing a policy which will enable designs for new busways to be more easily updated, to take into account any new safety requirements, as early as possible in the design / construction process.
Finally, a motion proposed by Councillor Geoff Seeff, that advocated for the United Kingdom to rejoin the European Single Market at the earliest practical opportunity also received council support.
The Full Council meeting was live streamed on our YouTube channel, where you can now watch it back, and the papers discussed are available to read on our website.
The Full Council meeting was live streamed on our YouTube channel, where you can now watch it back, and the papers discussed are available to read on our website.
