In accordance with Standing Orders, the following motions have been received for consideration:
(1) Care Experience as a Protected Characteristic
To be moved by Councillor Coleen De Freitas
This Council welcomes the changes already made to Government guidance, in that it removes the local connection requirement for care leavers when applying for and being allocated local social housing. The Council will ensure that guidance and support will be given to care leavers in accordance with its legal and statutory responsibilities.
This Council notes that:
a) care experienced people face significant barriers that impact on them throughout their lives. Care leavers make up 25% of Britain’s young homeless population, and adults who have spent time in care are far more likely than their peers to die prematurely.
b) despite the resilience of many care experienced people, society too often does not take their needs into account and care experienced people often face direct and indirect discrimination in many areas of life, including housing, health, education, relationships, employment and criminal justice.
c) the Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies, such as councils, to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation of people with protected characteristics.
d) current Care Leaver provision ends at age 25, whereas recognition of care experience as a protected characteristic would mean that care experience would be taken into account for a lifetime – in the same way as the discrimination and hardships resulting from care experience last a lifetime.
This Council therefore resolves that:
1. it recognises that care experienced people are a group who are likely to face discrimination and will treat care experience as if it were a protected characteristic, and expects councillors and Council staff to challenge negative attitudes and prejudices towards care experienced people.
2. Equality Impact Assessments relating to any future decisions, services and policies made and adopted by this Council will now also include impact of changes on people with care experience, alongside those who formally have a protected characteristic.
3. requests that the Chief Executive undertakes an assessment of current policies and service areas provided by Stevenage Borough Council to determine impact, including any financial impact, of this policy change.
4. in its delivery of the Public Sector Equality Duty, this Council will include care experience in the publication and review of Equality Objectives and the annual publication of information relating to people who have a protected characteristic in services and employment.
5. this Council formally calls upon all other bodies, including other local authorities in Hertfordshire, to treat care experience as a protected characteristic until such time as this recognition may be introduced by legislation.
6. this Council will proactively seek and listen to the voices of care experienced people when developing new policies.
(2) May’s local elections in Stevenage must go ahead
To be moved by Councillor Andy McGuinness
This Council understands the importance of having a replenished electoral mandate from the people of Stevenage which can only come through the ballot box. This Council also affirms the sanctity of elections which should only be cancelled in the most extreme of circumstances. Therefore, this Council believes that the scheduled local elections for Thursday 7th May 2026 in Stevenage should continue as planned and there is no current compelling reason, linked to local government reorganisation, to cancel them.
(3) Motion: Practical Environmentalism – Delivering Cleaner Streets and Better Value for Residents
To be moved by Councillor Mason Humberstone
This Council notes that:
1. Stevenage Borough Council declared a “Climate Emergency”, committing officer time and financial resources to strategies and targets largely outside the Council’s direct control.
2. Residents consistently identify cleaner streets, safer parks, reduced fly-tipping and better maintenance of public spaces as higher priorities than aspirational, costly and unrealistic climate declarations.
3. This Council faces ongoing financial pressures, including debt, which require a sharper focus on value for money and frontline delivery.
This Council
believes that:
1. Environmental policy should focus on practical, visible improvements to the local environment rather than symbolic declarations.
2. Council resources should be directed toward outcomes residents can see and feel in their daily lives.
3.
A cleaner, safer and well-maintained town is the most effective
form of local environmentalism.
This Council resolves to:
1.
Rescind the Council’s Climate Emergency declaration and
discontinue non-statutory programmes, strategies and reporting
arising from it.
2. Redirect all associated funding and officer time toward:
· Reducing Council debt;
· Strengthening frontline services;
·
Improving core environmental enforcement and maintenance.
3. Adopt a “Practical Environmentalism” approach, prioritising:
· Stronger enforcement against fly-tipping, including increased use of Fixed Penalty Notices and prosecutions;
· Enhanced street cleaning, litter removal and waste enforcement;
· Improved maintenance of parks, play areas and community spaces;
·
Faster response times to environmental complaints.
4. Report annually to Full Council on:
· Environmental enforcement outcomes;
· Cleanliness and maintenance standards across the town;
· Savings achieved and how they have been reinvested in frontlineservices.