Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Alexander and Bloch, and for lateness from Councillor McNamara.

See item 12.

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 Asst. Chief Executive advised of the following advance notice of declarations of interests:

Councillor, Khan declared a personal interest in Item 9a –Report of Committees – Corporate Committee report no 4 – 2011-12 and Item 13 –Motion E as a Member of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Councillor Butcher declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Item 12 - Oral question 5 as he was an employee of the Fairtrade Foundation.

NOTED

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 28 February 2012 be signed as a true record, subject to the deletion of Councillor Stanton in the attendance record on the first page of the minutes.

1.     International Women’s Day

The Mayor expressed her pleasure at seeing the efforts of local women honoured at the Haringey Unsung Women Awards, which were held at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London as part of International Women’s Day.  The council, the college and Haringey Women’s Forum worked together to stage the International Women’s Day celebrations on March 10th – with activities including workshops, arts and crafts, dance, Tai Chi and beauty treatments. The awards – which were presented to women who had made a great contribution to the local community – rounded off a wonderful day of festivities.

2.     Mayor’s Opus

The Mayor was pleased to announce that she had launched an auction for a limited edition Tottenham Hotspur Opus, which she hoped would raise money for her charity. The Opus was kindly donated to me by the club and was a celebration of 125 years of Spurs history in Tottenham.  This would make a great gift for any Spurs devotee.

The Mayor hoped that fellow councillors would also consider making a bid – every penny raised would go towards helping some of the many thousand unpaid carers in Haringey.

The Mayor advised that more information about the Opus and how to bid could be found on the council website.

3.     London Transport Awards

The Mayor informed the meeting that she was pleased to announce that the Council won the ‘Most Improved Transport Borough of the Year’ award at the London Transport Awards last week.  This Award recognised the big difference that Haringey’s investment in key schemes had made in the last two years in the borough. It recognised the contribution that our sustainable transport service made to reducing carbon emissions by promoting smarter and greener travel, the introduction of car clubs and electric vehicle charging points.  It was deserved recognition of the hard work and dedication of Council staff in delivering our transport aspirations for Haringey.

The Mayor passed on the Council’s thanks to everyone working hard on the projects which had contributed to this success.

The Mayor presented Joan Hancox - Head Of Neighbourhood Services with a certificate and plaque in honour of the award.

The meeting gave a resounding round of applause.

 Any other business

a)      The Mayor informed the meeting that as of 14 March 2012 Her Majesty The Queen had appointed Ms Urmila Banerjee CBE to be High Sheriff of the County of Greater London. 

b)      Presentation to the Mayor’s Charity – Cllr Peacock presented a cheque donation to the Mayor’s Carers Charity on behalf of the Tottenham & Wood Green Pensioners Group.

There were no matters to report.

There were no matters to report.

There were no appointments to outside bodies.

a)     Corporate  Committee Report No 4 2011/12  TO FOLLOW

a.      Corporate  Committee Report No 4 2011/12

Councillor Meehan – Chair of the Corporate Committee briefly introduced the report and recommended the adoption of the recommendations contained therein.

On a MOTION by the Mayor it was:

RESOLVED

1. The approval of the Pay Policy Statement   included at Appendix A of the attached covering report on the Pay Policy Statement 2012- Localism Act 2011.

2. That an informal cross party working group be established to facilitate consideration of pay and appraisal arrangements for chief officers before the next Annual Pay Policy Statement is due.

There were no deputations or petitions.

The Chief Executive outlined the procedure for the third occasion where the Council had a Haringey Debate.

The Mayor gave an introduction of the debate on Carers in Haringey, which had been chosen as her Charity in 2011/12, highlighting the tremendous and often un-noticed work of carers, their difficulties in attempting to lead a normal life in tandem to caring for their loved one – albeit immediate or extended family member/relative, and also the work of the Council in tandem with support agencies in assisting carers.

The Mayor introduced 2 individual carers - Angeli Cordice & Colin Foster, and Nick Bishop – Mental Health Carers Support Association, and Faiza Rizvi BME Carers Support Service. 

Ms Cordice, and Mr Foster addressed the meeting and advised of their individual experiences as Carers. Following their personal addresses and questions from Members and responses, the Mayor thanked both for their addresses and they received a round of applause.

Ms Rizvi advised the meeting of the two carers organisations operating in the Borough.

Following the address and questions from Members and responses, the Mayor thanked Ms Rizvi for her address and she received a round of applause.

The Mayor then thanked all of the speakers and advised that they were welcome to go to the Public Gallery above the Chamber and listen to the debate.

Following this the Mayor announced that there would be 45 minutes for debating, with a maximum of 3 minutes speaking time for each speaker.

A 45 minute debate then took place.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Mayor invited Councillor Dogus to respond.

The Mayor thanked members for their participation.

ORAL QUESTION 1 – TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR HEALTH AND ADULT SERVICES FROM COUNCILLOR  DIAKIDES:

How is the continuing confusion over the Health and Social Care bill impacting on the Council’s ability to plan how to target resources in Haringey?

ORAL QUESTION 2 - TO THE DEPUTY LEADER AND CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN FROM COUNCILLOR WILSON:

Will the cabinet member comment on the BBC research that shows that 4 of the 6 Greater London primary schools that have been identified as underperforming by Ofsted and the Government are located in Haringey?

ORAL QUESTION 3 – TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION FROM COUNCILLOR STENNETT:

How will the council’s new worklessness programme make a difference to the lives of young people living in the borough?  

ORAL QUESTION 4 - TO THE DEPUTY LEADER AND CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN FROM COUNCILLOR REECE:

What percentage of 16-19 year olds in the borough is the Council currently unaware whether they are in Education, Employment or Training? 

ORAL QUESTION 5 – TO THE DEPUTY LEADER AND CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN FROM COUNCILLOR GIBSON:

Can the Cabinet member for Children tell us about the involvement of local schoolchildren in Fairtrade fortnight?

ORAL QUESTION 6 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION FROM COUNCILLOR ALLISON:

Will the Council support Highgate residents who want to create a cross-borough neighbourhood forum for their area under the provisions of the Localism Act 2011?

ORAL QUESTION 7 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE AND CARBON REDUCTION FROM COUNCILLOR WATERS:

Can you give us more details about who will be eligible for bids to the council’s new One Borough, One Future Fund?

ORAL QUESTION 8 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION FROM COUNCILLOR ALEXANDER:    

How many properties in Harringay ward is the Council currently aware are breaching planning consent (e.g. used as multiple occupancy with single dwelling use) and how many complaints have been received in the past year from residents over such breaches?

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 20 for written answer.

Oral Questions 6-8 were not reached in the allotted time and written answers would be supplied to these questions.

NOTED

Motion D (2011/12)

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

Localism

This Council notes

·        The legacy of successive governments concentrating power in Whitehall and failing to devolve responsibility to local government, making it harder for residents to influence decisions that affect their lives,

·        The concentration of power within Haringey in the strong leader and cabinet model, diminishing the role of backbench councillors and committees and reducing the effective scrutiny of decision-making,

·        That this concentration of power has made it harder for residents to influence the decisions that affect their lives, and has made important services less responsive to the needs of local communities

This Council recognises

·        That the Localism Act 2011 seeks to reverse and rebalance these trends to give real power back to local Councils, communities and residents.

This Council calls on the Council’s leadership

·        To Engage positively with all aspects of Localism Act 2011 and specifically:

1.      Support residents to establish neighbourhood forums to tackle cross border issues and help neglected parts of the borough.

2.      Consider reversion to the committee system to bolster local democracy, the role of the backbench councillor and the scrutiny of cabinet decision-making.

3.      Help communities protect their locally important buildings and open spaces by establishing and maintaining ward registers of community assets.

4.      Use new planning enforcement powers.

5.      Make use of more flexible housing policies and the reform of the Housing Revenue Account to improve, expand and free up socially rented homes.

6.      Provide residents with information on how to use the new powers given to them under the Localism Act 2011.

Motion E (2011/12)

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

The impact of Government Policy on Women

This Council believes:

-         The Coalition Government’s changes to taxation, benefits and pensions are unfairly targeting women   

-         The changes to working tax credits in April 2012 will make life harder for many low paid women in part time work in Haringey

-         The Government’s equalities Minister has failed to recognise the impact of their damaging deficit reduction strategy on the economic security of many women 

This council notes:

-         The recent IPPR analysis that showed how 33,000 more women were out of work between October and December 2011 compared to 16,000 more men.

-         More than one million women are now unemployed, the highest number in 23 years.

-         Around 8,500 women in Haringey will be adversely affected by the accelerated state pension age

-         In Haringey, around 1880 families are likely to lose all of their working tax credits this April.

-         Around 1900 families in Haringey will be losing help with childcare costs

This Council resolves:

- To write to the chancellor asking he looks into the disproportionate affect the Government’s tax and benefits changes are having on women     

Motion D (2011/12)

It was moved by Councillor Wilson  and seconded by Councillor Whyte that:

This Council Notes

·        The legacy of successive governments concentrating power in Whitehall and failing to devolve responsibility to local government, making it harder for residents to influence decisions that affect their lives,

·        The concentration of power within Haringey in the strong leader and cabinet model, diminishing the role of backbench councillors and committees and reducing the effective scrutiny of decision-making,

·        That this concentration of power has made it harder for residents to influence the decisions that affect their lives, and has made important services less responsive to the needs of local communities

This Council recognises

·        That the Localism Act 2011 seeks to reverse and rebalance these trends to give real power back to local Councils, communities and residents.

This Council calls on the Council’s leadership

·        To Engage positively with all aspects of Localism Act 2011 and specifically:

1.      Support residents to establish neighbourhood forums to tackle cross border issues and help neglected parts of the borough.

2.      Consider reversion to the committee system to bolster local democracy, the role of the backbench councillor and the scrutiny of cabinet decision-making.

3.      Help communities protect their locally important buildings and open spaces by establishing and maintaining ward registers of community assets.

4.      Use new planning enforcement powers.

5.      Make use of more flexible housing policies and the reform of the Housing Revenue Account to improve, expand and free up socially rented homes.

6.      Provide residents with information on how to use the new powers given to them under the Localism Act 2011.

An amendment to the motion was moved by Councillor Strickland and seconded by Councillor Bull that:

Delete all after “this council notes” – and insert below –

This Council notes

·        The confusion and uncertainty the Coalition Government have created through the localism act particularly around changes in areas like the planning system and the changing responsibilities of local government.       

·        The ongoing work of the council’s cross party Governance Review Delivery Group in looking into issues around the leadership structures of the council, the role of backbench councillors and committees and the effective scrutiny of decision making. 

·        The ongoing work of the council’s cross party Governance Review Delivery Group in ensuring the area forums and committees give residents influence over the decisions that affect their lives and make services responsive to local communities at a time of limited resources

This Council recognises

·        We are still waiting for more detailed provisions from the Government around the precise implications of the localism act on the council and local services.   

This Council calls on the Council’s leadership

1. To continue to look closely at all aspects of Localism Act 2011 and how it impacts on Haringey and its residents. In particular:

2.      To look at the recently published Neighbourhood Planning Regulations and the impact these have on how applications for neighbourhood forums are assessed and the duties of the local authority; 

3. To look at the findings of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.