Agenda and minutes

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Demirci and for absence from Councillors Baker, Beynon, Edge, Mughal and Reid.

See Minute 93.

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.

Members were asked by the Mayor to declare any personal interest in respect of items on the agenda.  In accordance with Part 2 of the Members Code of Conduct set out in the Council’s Constitution, any Member disclosing a personal interest which was also prejudicial would be asked to withdraw from the Chamber during consideration of the item and neither were they to seek to improperly influence a decision on the said item.

Councillor Khan declared a personal interest in Item 12 – Financial Planning as he was a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

Councillor Adje declared a personal interest in Item 12 – Financial Planning as he was an employee of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority for which a portion of the precept was paid to, and also as a member of the LGPS.

Councillor Butcher declared a personal interest in Item 12 – Financial planning, as he was an appointed Member of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority for which a portion of the precept was paid to.

Councillor Aitken declared a personal interest in Item 12 – Financial Planning as he was a tenant of Homes for Haringey.

Councillor Lister declared a personal interest in Item 12 – Financial Planning as he was employed as a full time official of Unison, and a member of the LGPS.

Members to whom this applies must make a declaration if they are present at any part of the meeting and must not vote on any matter relating to the budget.  It is not sufficient for such members to refrain from voting or to absent themselves from the chamber for particular parts of the meeting. Failure to make a relevant declaration constitutes a criminal offence.

Members were reminded of the need to consider whether they needed to make a declaration in accordance with Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in relation to unpaid community charge or council tax liability, which was two months or more outstanding. 

No such declarations were made.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 19 January 2009 be signed as a true record subject to the inclusion of Councillor Goldberg in those attending.

1.      It was with great sadness that the Mayor reported the death of former Mayor Maureen Dewar who passed away today. The Mayor advised that Maureen had been a Councillor from 1971 until 1986 and then again from 1987 until 2002. She was elected as the Deputy Mayor in 1998 and the Mayor in 1999.  The Mayor expressed on behalf of the Council his sincere condolences to Maureen’s family. 

Councillors Meehan, Aitken, and Thompson spoke in memory of former Mayor Maureen Dewar.

The meeting stood and observed one minute’s silence in memory of Maureen Dewar.

2.       The Mayor reported that he had joined colleagues, MP’s, leaders and community representatives to commemorate the Holocaust on Sunday 25th January at Bruce Castle Museum.  The Mayor reported that the theme was ‘Stand Up to Hatred’ with many moving addresses, especially from Nia Reynolds and Morris Beckman. The highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of the new bench in the Holocaust Memorial Garden.  The Mayor expressed his thanks to all who joined in this solemn and important occasion and to Rabbi David Mason from Muswell Hill Synagogue and the mayor’s chaplain - Fr Simon Clarke the Parish Priest for Noel Park, for their prayers.

3.      The Mayor reported that he had attended the GLA Holocaust Memorial Commemoration at City Hall on 27 January with the Mayor of London, members of the GLA and fellow Mayors.

4.      The Mayor thanked the staff and children of North Harringay, Lancasterian and Risley primary schools for organizing the special assemblies to mark the Holocaust Memorial.

5.      The Mayor advised that he had attended the launch of Haringey’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History exhibition at Bruce Castle Museum On Wednesday 4 February 2009.  The exhibition had a number of historical articles, one or two of which the Mayor had donated from his time as Mayor in 1996.

6.      On behalf of the Council the Mayor gave his congratulations to the Council’s tactical Enforcement Team for their partnership work on Problem Social Clubs in the Borough.  The Mayor reported that at the LGC Awards on 5 February, Haringey was the runner up and highly commended for their innovative work and stakeholder engagement. 

7.      The Mayor concluded that he had opened that morning the new state of the art mortuary in Haringey with Cllr Nilgun Canver.  This facility was the second underground mortuary in Europe, and the Mayor paid tribute to the expertise and innovative thinking of the council and our contractors. 

The Mayor agreed to the admission of this item as urgent business. The report could not be circulated earlier as information was awaited from recent party Group meetings. It was urgent in order to permit changes to be made to Council body appointments.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Jones replace Councillor Egan on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

There were no matters to report.

There were no matters to report.

The Chief Executive reported that one deputation request which had been rejected on the basis that the issues raised had either been dealt with or were the subject of separate processes. There were no petitions.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Claire Kober, gave the following “State of the Borough” address:

Mr Mayor it gives me immense pride to stand here this evening and to make this state of the borough address.

I have discussed the contents with my cabinet colleagues, directors and partners. I am also pleased to have met with the new chairs of the Youth Council – Funmi and Areeb – to discuss their views on the borough.

It is clear that across Haringey, the council and partners provide many vital services which our residents value highly, some of which I will highlight this evening along with the challenges which we currently face.

Mr Mayor, although I have been Leader only a short time I am acutely aware that the difficulties we face as a borough are more profound than ever in the history of Haringey.

With the country having recently moved into recession many residents feel less confident about their own financial situation. Growing fears about the credit crunch, the extent of the economic downturn, and job uncertainty are all pressing issues which are preoccupying many of those in the borough.

As a local council we need to meet this challenge head on.

I say that it is through providing clear political leadership which understands and is prepared for the challenges ahead.

At the end of the summer in partnership with Citizens Advice, HAVCO, Age Concern and the Pension Service we launched the ‘Claim it’ campaign.

We advised in excess of 600 people at over a dozen events. Over 40 per cent of those who attended found that they were entitled to additional benefits or tax credits and supported in making a claim.

We continue to deliver strong economic regeneration programmes tackling worklessness. Through the Haringey Guarantee, our Apprenticeships Programme and Families into Work, over 200 people, many facing significant barriers into employment, have been helped into work since September 2006.

I am pleased that last month, along with other boroughs in the capital, we signed up to London Council’s pledge to expand the number of apprenticeships on offer in our city.

This is action delivering for people when they need it most. We recently launched our ten point economic plan to support local people and businesses in the current climate.

But there is clearly more to be done and we will shortly be coming forward with a range of proposals to intensify the Council’s efforts to stimulate the local economy, support businesses and support residents who find themselves out of work.

Later this month I will meet local traders in our key shopping areas to discuss with them what more the council can do to support them through these difficult and unprecedented times.

We need to also anticipate other possible effects of the recession such as an increase in acquisitive crime and think seriously how we ward off such threats.

It is important also Mr Mayor that the Council ensures that money spent is spent wisely.

Working together, over  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

a)     Cabinet – Report 10 – 2008/9

Councillor Kober introduced the Cabinet Report 10- 2008/09 – Financial Planning 2009/10 to 2011/12 and moved the following two alterations to the report:

1. We wish to continue investing in the Child Poverty Strategy and are proposing to spend another £100k in 2009/10 in addition to the £100k we have already committed this year.  This will include:

• funding a benefits campaign manager, based with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, to identify the best methods of increasing benefit take in the borough and targeting those families most in need;
• providing additional support to the Reaping the Benefits campaign, in the form of running evening advice sessions, in eight different venues in some of our most deprived areas
• organising further ‘Claim It’ events through out the year and additional on-going publicity to raise the profile of this;
• production leaflets and publicity materials for residents on how to claim benefits including in work credit, out of work benefits and free school meals. These will be distributed to target families at schools, children’s centres, GP and health centres and libraries.

2. The quality of the street environment remains a vital issue for residents in the borough, who tell us that crime and clean streets should be priorities for improvement.

We are proposing an investment of £160k per year in the Environmental Crime Service which will improve outcomes for residents, by directing resources towards the areas of greatest need, and enabling a proactive approach to tackling environmental problems.

By reshaping the service we will increase its effectiveness and visibility. Every ward will have a named warden, giving us the flexibility to respond to priorities in a local area. The warden will work with local residents and councillors, and with partner agencies, to coordinate service interventions and to address key issues using a problem-solving approach which will deliver sustained improvements.

Councillor Gorrie MOVED 2 amendments to the report as follows:

Amendment 1

Proposal to Devolve Planning Decisions and Advice paid for by reducing the number of issues of Haringey People

We propose dividing the Borough into four “Planning Areas”.

Planning Committee

The existing Planning Committee System has one committee covering the whole Borough and considering approximately 100 major applications a year. The Committee and support costs approximately £18k pa. The new proposal is to establish a Planning Committee for each of the four “Planning Areas” while maintaining a Borough wide committee for key strategic applications with Borough wide impact. Initial costings indicate a revised annual cost of £102k.

Planning Advice

The four “Planning Areas” and their Planning Committees will be supported by weekly planning advice surgeries in each area. These will likely operate from 3-7pm in convenient and central local community facilities such as libraries and other Council facilities. Annual Planning department costs are forecast to increase by £27k with a possible requirement for £8k in one off capital equipment costs. The proposed surgeries would cover all planning applications, including major applications, and provide a 1 to 1 advice service for residents on applications and enforcement.

Revenue Cost increase:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.