Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dodds, Knight, Oakes, Patel, and Reid.

See items 6, 8, and 11.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member's judgment of the public interest and if this interest affects their financial position or the financial position of a person or body as described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct and/orif it relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

Councillor Dobbie declared a personal interest in Item 13 – Motion G as he was an employee of the North Middlesex Hospital.

Councillor Jones declared a personal interest in Item 13 – Motion F as she was on the Executive of the Campaign for Electoral Reform.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 14 July 2008 be signed as a true record.

1. The Mayor announced the death of former Councillor Max Morris who passed away in August. He represented White Hart Lane Ward from 1984 -1986. The Mayor, on behalf of the Council expressed the Council’s condolences to his family.  Councillor Meehan spoke in memory of former Cllr Morris.  The Council meeting then observed a minute’s silence.

2. The Mayor welcomed Councillor Nigel Scott, who was elected on 9 October as Councillor for Alexandra Ward.  The Mayor also passed on the Council’s thanks to the outgoing Ward Councillor Wayne Hoban for his services to the residents of Alexandra Ward and the Liberal Democrat group.

3. The Mayor informed the meeting that he had been pleased to receive a plaque on behalf of the Council at the official handover of the Paralympics Games ceremony on 17 September.  The plaque read “From Beijing to London the 2012 host City”.  The sentiments expressed on the plaque for Courage, Determination, Inspiration and Equality are those we are proud to support.

4. The Mayor offered, on behalf of the Council, congratulations to the Council’s Bereavement Team, for a spectacular success at the National Customer Service Awards 2008. The team took the top award for “Front-line Customer Service Team of the Year” against stiff competition from big names including Vodafone, Scottish Widows and Cable & Wireless. The Mayor quoted the chair of judges Don Hales comments:  "The team from Haringey Bereavement Services quite simply overwhelmed the judges with their determination to provide the best service for their customers at difficult times.  This is a fantastic achievement by staff working in a sensitive and sometimes difficult area. The Mayor presented Diane Johnston – Head of the Bereavement Team with the award, to the applause of the meeting.

5. The Mayor also gave congratulations to the Haringey team who saw Tottenham Cemetery named the “Most Improved Cemetery” in the country at the National Cemetery Awards 2008.  Judges had praised work including cleaning the lake and reinstating the waterfall, restoring the chapel and improving roads and paths, all of which took place as the Cemetery was celebrating its 150^th anniversary. The Mayor presented Niall Thompson – Manager of the cemetery with the plaque on behalf of the service, to the applause of the meeting.

6. The Mayor gave his thanks to the members and staff of the Irish Centre for raising £600.00 for his charity at its Annual Dinner and Dance the previous week.  The Mayor commented that he was laying down a challenge to all other Community Centres in the Borough to match this outstanding and generous achievement.

7. The Mayor reminded members that tickets were available for his forthcoming Quiz Night on Friday 24^th October.  The evening would start at 7.00pm and the £10 ticket included a Ploughman’s supper.

The Mayor agreed to admit the report as urgent business. The report could not be circulated earlier as information was awaited from the Party Groups. The report needed to be admitted in order that the vacancies on committees could be filled for the remainder of municipal year 2008/09.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the changes to Political Group composition be noted following the resignation of Wayne Hoban and the election of Councillor Nigel Scott on 9 October 2008 in Alexander Ward.
 

2.       That the Liberal Democrat membership of the following Committees be agreed as follows:

Council and Employee JCC
Councillor Bloch to replace Councillor Baker

 
Disciplinary Pool

delete ex- Councillor Hoban

Muswell Hill Area Assembly

Councillor Scott appointed as Member

There were no matters to report.

The Mayor agreed to admit the report as urgent business. The report could not be circulated earlier as information was awaited from the Party Groups. The report needed to be admitted in order that the vacancies on outside bodies could be filled for the remainder of municipal year 2008/09.

RESOLVED:

That the appointments to outside bodies as set out in the attached schedule be approved.

The Chief Whip reported that following a recent press release there was no proposal to proceed with the Woodside House project  but if the deputation wanted to be heard she was happy for the Council to receive them.
 

The Council received a deputation from Mr Raj Doshi on behalf of users of Woodside House.

Members asked questions of the deputation and received responses thereto.

The Cabinet Member for Resources responded to the deputation.

The Mayor thanked the deputation for attending.

The Chief Whip moved and it was agreed by the meeting that a personal statement be received from the Leader of the Council in relation to recent financial events reported in the press.

The Leader of the Council – Councillor Meehan read a statement in respect of the Council’s deposits in Icelandic banks.  He referred to the communication sent to all Councillors, and also communicated to all staff the previous Thursday – 9 October 2008 and he felt that it was now appropriate now to provide Council with the latest information available and what the Council is doing. (Copies of the statement were circulated to the meeting following it being read, and a copy was available on the Council’s web site).

In giving a detailed analysis of the situation the Leader stressed that the concerns expressed by local people about the situation, and the amount of money which was involved was fully recognised.  The Leader gave his assurance to everyone that the day to day running of Haringey’s essential front line services was not affected.  The Council was doing all that it possibly could together with other local authorities who had found themselves in a similar position, the Local Government Association and Central Government, to recover all of the money frozen by the Icelandic government and authorities. The Leader also reiterated that this situation was an unprecedented situation for the global economy, affecting institutions and business across the world.

The Leader of the Opposition responded to a number of the points contained within the statement and asked that assurances be given to a full independent  investigation  as to how this situation had arisen, with representatives of the opposition group sitting on such an enquiry, and that the findings of such be reported back to the Full Council for debate.  Other Members contributed to the comments expressed with regard to concerns of the workforce as to the possible non-payment of salaries, and the overall effect on the Council’s Pension fund.

The Leader responded to a number of points by referring to the contents of his statement, which clearly stated that the were no issue as regards to the non payment of workforce salaries, noting that the current pension fund investments were effected overall by the current global financial crisis but not by the particular investments in Icelandic Banks.

The Mayor thanked the Leader for his statement and the contribution of Members.

The opposition gave notice of their wish to debate Alexandra Palace.

Councillor Gorrie spoke on behalf of the Opposition Group. Councillor Cooke responded on behalf of the Majority Group.

The Mayor then allowed a statement from the Cabinet Member for Resources – Councillor Adje in respect  of Alexandra Palace.

The Mayor thanked Councillors for their contributions.

Oral Question  1 - To the Leader of the Council from Councillor Gorrie:

Would the Leader of the Council confirm his total confidence in the ability and performance of his Cabinet member for Resources?

Oral Question 2 – To the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People from Councillor Dogus:

What is the Cabinet Member’s assessment of this year’s GCSE results in Haringey and; is she confident that we are on target to meet the Government’s London Challenge and the National Challenge?

Oral Question 3 - To the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People from Councillor Engert:

Following the harrowing press reports regarding the Child A case please could the Cabinet member confirm whether the request made by Liberal Democrats for a special Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting to discuss the case with officers and external agencies has been agreed and whether any provisional date has been set?

Oral Question 4 - To the Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Safer Communities from Councillor Griffith:

Can the Cabinet Member confirm that an additional £700,000 has been made available to Haringey, over the next two years, in order for the council to deliver the Government’s Youth Crime Action Plan and, if so, can she let us know how the money will be spent and what impact she hopes it will have?

Oral Question 5 –To the Leader of the Council from Councillor Wilson:

Could the Leader of the Council confirm whether he has been providing support and advice to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in respect to the handling of the Child A case based on his experience and lessons learnt while he was Leader during the Victoria Climbie case?

Oral Question 6 - To the Cabinet Member for Resources from Councillor Egan:

Will the Cabinet Member make a statement about the council’s plans for the restoration of Hornsey Town Hall?

Oral Question 7 - To the Cabinet member for Environment and Conservation from Councillor Butcher:

DEFRA advises local authorities that “source separation of materials is the first step to maximising the value of recycling” and notes that “the earlier in the collection chain a recyclate is separated the lower the likely cost and environmental impact of the collection scheme”

Please explain why the Council has decided to convert all 75 separate recycling banks in Haringey into commingled banks?

Oral Question 8 – To the Cabinet Member for Housing Services from Councillor Bull:

Can the Cabinet Member provide us with an update on the on the works being carried out as part of the Decent Homes programme?

The Mayor agreed to the admission of this report as urgent business. Under Standing Orders, notice of questions was not requested until eight clear days before the meeting, following which matters raised had to be researched and replies prepared, in order to be given at the meeting.

There were 8 oral questions and 24 for written answer.

Oral Question 8 was not reached in the allotted time and a written answer would be supplied to this questions.

a)     Cabinet – Reports 4, 5 & 6 – 2008/09

b)     Audit Committee – Annual report for 2007/08 Municipal Year

CABINET REPORTS 4, 5 & 6  2008/09

The Leader gave a brief resume of the reports of Cabinet which were before the meeting for consideration. Members questioned details of the reports and the Leader responded accordingly.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet reports nos. 4, 5 & 6 be received and adopted.

AUDIT COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2007/08 MUNICIPAL YEAR

The Chair of the Audit Committee – Councillor Rahman Khan gave a brief resume of the Audit Committee Annual report for 2007/08 which were before the meeting for consideration.

RESOLVED:

 That the Audit Committee Annual Report For 2007/08 Municipal Year

be received and adopted:

Motion E (2008/09)

Councillor Butcher has given notice that he will move in the following terms:

“This Council;  

Is strongly opposed to the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport on the grounds that it will result in hugely increased CO2 emissions and noise pollution for the residents of Haringey and will make it virtually impossible for the UK to hit its targets for reducing carbon emissions, which we must do if we are to hold global warming to below 2ºC. 

Does not believe that maintaining a healthy economy in Haringey and London's position as a major financial centre is dependent on a third runway. 

And resolves to, 

To join the 2M (Two Million Voices) campaign against the Heathrow expansion as many other local authorities, such as neighbouring Camden and Islington, have already done”.   

Motion F (2008/09)

Councillor Alexander has given notice that she will move in the following terms:

“This Council notes:

·        that 16 and 17 year olds can leave school, get married, have a full-time job, must pay taxes on their income, and can join the armed forces, but are not allowed to vote in public elections;

·        that 16 and 17 year olds have been calling for the right to vote for many years through the Votes at 16 coalition;

·        that disconnection between young people and the political establishment is growing.

·        the continuing good work by Haringey’s Youth  Council and its members

This Council believes:

·        that young people are interested in politics and have valid views on issues that affect them;

·        that 16 and 17 year olds are old enough to have the right to vote in public elections;

·        that refusing to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote is likely to further depress turnout and encourage young people to give up on formal political structures.

This Council resolves:

·        to support the moves to lower the voting age for all public elections to 16;

·        to call on the Government to establish the Youth Citizenship Commission with a clear remit to develop the necessary framework for reducing the voting age to 16.

·        that the leader of the Council write to Bridget Prentice MP, minister in charge of reform in electoral administration, to show the Council’s commitment to pushing for votes for 16 and 17 year old and requesting that the government seriously considers decreasing the voting age”. 

Motion G (2008/09)

Councillor Kober has given notice that she will move in the following terms:

Mobility Benefits for Blind Residents

This Council notes:

1.      That blind people experience significant barriers to independent mobility

2.      That blind people are often isolated and find it difficult to access basic services without mobility assistance

3.      That blind residents face additional costs as a result of their impairment, such as using taxis or private hire vehicles

This Council further notes:

1.      That blind people are not entitled to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance

2.      Loss of usable sight clearly causes significant independent mobility problems and incurs significant additional and unmet  ...  view the full agenda text for item 46.

Councillor Butcher referred to the issue of the amendment submitted by the Majority Group to Motion E earlier that day and failure of officers to notify the opposition of the amendment by the given constitutional deadline. 

The Chief Executive apologised to Council Butcher for the failure of the administrative process and advised that current practices would be examined to ensure that this did not occur in the future.

Motion E (2008/09)

Itwas movedby Councillor Butcher andseconded byCouncillor Newton that:

 “This Council;  

Is strongly opposed to the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport on the grounds that it will result in hugely increased CO2 emissions and noise pollution for the residents of Haringey and will make it virtually impossible for the UK to hit its targets for reducing carbon emissions, which we must do if we are to hold global warming to below 2ºC. 

Does not believe that maintaining a healthy economy in Haringey and London's position as a major financial centre is dependent on a third runway. 

And resolves to, 

To join the 2M (Two Million Voices) campaign against the Heathrow expansion as many other local authorities, such as neighbouring Camden and Islington, have already done”.   

An amendment to the Motion was moved by Councillor Reith, and seconded by Councillor Jones as follows:

Insert after the second paragraph:

“Recognises the hard work carried out by the ex-Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and our local GLA representative, Joanne McCartney, in publicising the dangers of climate change; believes that the expansion runs contrary to the growing evidence we now have on the impact of aviation on climate change and has serious doubts about the current Mayor of London, Boris Johnson’s plans for an airport in the Thames estuary”.

On being put to the vote there were 29 in favour of the amendment, none against and 22 abstentions, the amendment was declared CARRIED.

The substantive motion as amended was then put to the vote and declared CARRIED unanimously.

Motions F & G (2008/09) were withdrawn