Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bull, Butcher, Mallett,  and Reith, and for lateness from Councillors Adje and Diakides.

NIL ITEMS

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.

The Chief Executive advised of the following advance notice of declarations of interests:

Councillor Adje had declared a personal interest in item 11, as he was an employee of the London Fire Brigade, part of the GLA for which a portion of the precept was paid to.

Councillor Winskill had declared a personal interest in Item 11 as a Haringey Leaseholder.

Councillors Jenks and Rice had declared personal interests in Item 11 as a Members of the Local Government Pension scheme.

Councillors Adamou, Egan, Khan, Meehan, Peacock and Rice had declared  personal interests in Item 11 as they were Freedom Pass Holders. 

Councillor Egan had declared a personal interest in Item 11 as a Union Member of the NUT.

Members then made the following declarations at the  meeting:

Councillors Basu, Brabazon , Brown,, Engert, Griffith, Jenks,  Reid, Schmitz, Scott,  Solomon, Vanier and Waters declared an interest in Item 12 as they were Freedom Pass Holders

Councillors Amin, Basu, Browne, Demirci, Engert, Goldberg, Khan, Newton, Reid, Scott, Strickland, Whyte, and Winskill declared  personal interests  in Item 11 as Members of the Local Government Pension scheme.

Councillors Adje, Amin, Basu, Canver, Christophides, Davies, Demirci, Ejiofor, Gibson, Goldberg, Griffith, McNamara, Reid, Stewart, Strickland, Vanier, and Watson declared a personal interest in Item 11 as Members of a Trade Union.

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.

The Chief Executive reminded Members 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.

NOTED

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 21 November 2011 be signed as a true record.

1.      The Royal Visit

The Mayor reported that she had been very pleased towelcome their royal highnesses the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall  to Tottenham for their second visit since the riots last summer.  Prince Charles and Camilla had visited the new Post Office and met with residents and traders who were affected by the riots. They had been genuinely interested to hear about all of the progress that had been made in Tottenham over the past six months and their ongoing support for the recovery work was very much appreciated.

2.      The Death of ex Councillor Herbie Brown

The Mayor, with sadness reported the death of a former Labour Councillor Herbie Brown, who died peacefully on Tuesday 29 November 2011. The Mayor commented that  Herbie,  as a former Labour Councillor for Bruce Grove Ward from 1998 to 2006, was always very active in local politics, and was Mayor of Haringey between 2000 and 2001.

      On behalf of the Council the Mayor passed on the Council’s condolences  to the family of Herbie Brown.

      The meeting observed a one minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

      Councillor Meehan and Peacock spoke in memory of Herbie Brown.

      NOTED

The Chief Executive advised that he wasfirstly reporting the appointment of Bernie Ryan as the Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer with effect from 2 December 2011.

The Chief Executive advised that he wassecondly recommending to Full Council  the appointment of  Kevin Bartle to the role of Interim Section 151 Officer/Chief Financial officer for the period of 10^th March 2012 to 16^th September 2012 while Julie Parker is away from the work place.

The Chief Whip moved and it was:

RESOLVED

1. That the appointment of Bernie Ryan as the Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer with effect from 2 December 2011, be noted; and
2. that the appointment of  Kevin Bartle to the role of Interim Section 151 Officer/Chief Financial officer for the period of 10^th March 2012 to 16^th September 2012 while Julie Parker is away from the work place be confirmed.

There were no matters to consider.

Nil

a)     Corporate  Committee Report No 3 2011/12

A. Corporate Committee – Report Nos. 03/2011 -12

Councillor Meehanmoved the recommendations contained in Corporate Committee – Report Nos. 03/2011 -12.

RESOLVED

That the Corporate Committee – Report Nos. 03 /2011 -12 be received and adopted, and that the recommendation concerning the Treasury Management Statement for 2012/13 be approved.(Cabinet concur with this recommendation) The version at appendix 6 of the Medium Term Financial Planning report incorporates  the updated version.

Councillor Goldberg moved the budget report  – Medium Term Financial Planning 2011/12 to 2013/14, and moved the recommendations contained therein, noting the earlier debate on the ‘state of the borough’. Councillor Kober seconded.

Councillor Strang MOVED 5 budget amendments as follows, each individually seconded by Councillors Wilson, Engert, Winskill, Scott, and Reece:

BUDGET AMENDMENT 1

Putting our young people first

Given the events of 2011 it is clear that youth services in Haringey must be a high priority. Labour’s disproportionate 75% cut last year and subsequent vote against a budget amendment to reinvest £900,000 in our young people sent the wrong message to future generations that the Council was not on their side. The Council can no longer afford to ignore the need to help our young people, many of whom face problems including unemployment, gang violence and low school achievement.

Liberal Democrats want the Council to refocus on the borough’s young people with a £1million fund aimed to raise educational attainment, combat youth unemployment and reduce anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Our Youth Fund will increase every year to £2million in 2014/15.

The voluntary sector and charities would be asked to bid to run services aimed at providing youth services, support grass-roots projects and initiatives, help find young people work, and take action to reduce gang membership and violence.  

                                                                                                                                                                        Youth Fund cost                  £1,000,000

Despite the pressure on front-line services Labour continues to spend £1.395million on producing glossy brochures, and propaganda publications such as ‘Haringey People’, which was investigated by the External Auditor in 2011. Liberal Democrats believe that the Council should not spend more than £1million on communications.

Instead of retaining budgets for jobs that are not filled the Council should use this money to take action to combat youth unemployment. We propose deleting 10 currently vacant non front-line posts.

Haringey Council currently fails to adhere to its own car allowance policy, with many non-essential staff getting car allowances they should not be entitled to. Strict application of the rules would save £200,000. We also propose reducing senior management allowances by £50,000.

Capping communications                                    £395,000

Reduction in vacant posts

£355,000

Strict implementation of current car allowance policy and cut senior management costs   

£250,000

BUDGET AMENDMENT 2

Local residents in charge – Local Neighbourhood Fund

Labour has proposed a one-off £1.2million centrally-controlled ‘slush’ fund with no detail on how it will be spent or what its aims are. Liberal Democrats believe that, at every opportunity, local residents should be put at the centre of change and have a greater say in how their money is spent. 

We therefore propose that each local ward would be allocated £50,000 revenue funding, to be administered through the Area Committees, to spend on their priorities whether it is more overtime for local Safer Neighbourhood Teams to tackle crime hotspots, extra maintenance in a local park, or to help the area meet their Area Plan goals.

                                                                                                                                    Local Neighbourhood Fund cost                            £950,000

Recognising the work of low-paid council staff, who often work on the front-line delivering vital  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.