Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bloch, Brabazon, Bull, Erskine, and Stewart, and for lateness from Councillor Cooke, and Reid.

The Mayor sought the meeting’s agreement to the variation of agenda business as follows :

to consider Item 10  – The Children and Young Peoples Plan in conjunction with Item 9 C - Reports of Committees – report of the Cabinet – 12/11/13.

The Mayor hoped that Members would appreciate that her attempts to vary the agenda were in order to ensure that maximum time was given to items.

The variation was agreed nemine contradicente.

NOTED

The Chief Executive advised that there were two late items of business, which could not be available earlier, and which would need to be dealt with at the meeting.

Item 9 –  To receive reports from the following Bodies

Report No 2 2013/14 of the Cabinet  12 November  2013

The Chief Executive advised that the report was late for consideration and could not be forwarded to Full Council until Cabinet had met on 12 November 2013  and agreed recommendations for full Council  in respect of the Armed Forces Covenant, The Children’s and Young Peoples Plan, and the Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.

Item 14  –  Questions and Written Answers

The Chief Executive advised that notice of questions was not requested until 8 clear days before the meeting, following which the matters raised had to be researched and replies prepared to be given at the meeting.

The Mayor MOVED and it was agreed nemine contradicente that both Items 9c and 14 be admitted.

NOTED

The Chief Executive advised that he had received two advance notices of declarations of interest.

Councillor Canver gave advance notice of a personal interest as a member of the car club (zipcar) in the borough.

Councillor Adje gave advance notice of a personal interest in Item 11 as an LFB employee on the CT scheme as a precept organisation.

NOTED

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 15 July 2013 be signed as a true record.

i.              The Mayor announced that she was very pleased to welcome and congratulate Anoria Simmons of Devonshire Hill Primary School on winning the Pearson Teaching award 2013 “Teacher of the Year in a Primary School Award”.  The Mayor also welcomed Julie D’Abreu, Head Teacher of Devonshire Hill Primary School  who nominated Anoria for the award.

The Mayor advised that Anoria has dedicated her career, her enthusiasm and her boundless energy to improving the life chances of the pupils who attend Devonshire Hill School.  Her focus was teaching maths, but she sets challenging targets across the whole curriculum and then supported the children to achieve and exceed their own personal best.

Councillor Waters – Cabinet Member for Children also spoke of the achievements of Anoria Simmons in her excellent work.

The Mayor presented the Award to Anoria Simmons and the Council gave a round of applause.

ii.            Armed Forces Community Covenant Event

The Mayor reported that on 7  November 2013 she had been pleased to sign the Act of Covenant of the national Armed Forces Community Covenant, and advised that the community covenant was a voluntary statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local Armed Forces Community. The covenant was designed as a statement of intent, and it was not a legal contract. The Mayor advised that the covenant aimed to:

·          encourage local communities to support the armed forces in their areas and to nurture public understanding and awareness among the public of issues affecting the armed forces community

·          recognise and remember the sacrifices made by the          armed forces community

·          encourage activities which help to integrate the armed forces into local life

·          encourage the armed forces community to help and   support the wider community, whether through participation in events and joint projects, or other forms of engagement.

iii.           Remembrance

The Mayor advised that on 8 November 2013 she had  attended  together with her consort, the Remembrance Day service at City Hall.

The Mayor also advised that on 9 November 2013 she attended with her consort, and family, The Chief Executive of Haringey, DL Rosemary Warne, Lynne Featherstone MP, Joanne McCartney and fellow councillors the Jewish Civic Service at Muswell Hill Synagogue.

The Mayor reported that on 10 November 2013 , she had been  pleased to attend the Remembrance Day Service in Tottenham, along with many fellow Councillors, the Borough Commander of the Police - Victor Olisa, and members of other Faiths,  who took part in the service. The Mayor informed the meeting thatCllr Amin took the service in Wood Green and Cllr Griffith in Hornsey.

The Mayor reported that on 11 November 2013, she had held a Remembrance Service in Tottenham Cemetery, where 300 hundred children were present, plus many pensioners, together with the DL Rosemary Warne.

iv.           The Mayor advised that she was saddened to report the deaths of Blair Greaves, Ralph Straker and Len Snow ,

The Death of Blaire Greaves

The Mayor informed the meeting of  the death of Ex  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

(i)            Attachment A – Record of decisions taken under urgency procedures or delegated authority

(ii)          Attachment B – Amendments to the Constitution and the Officer Scheme of Delegation

The Chief Executive advised that in respect of his reports before the meeting for consideration, the report marked A reported to Full Council decisions  taken under urgency procedures and delegated authority and was for noting, and the report marked B reports to Full Council amendments to the Constitution and the Officer Scheme of delegation and seeks approval of these amendments.

The Chief Whip moved and it was:

RESOLVED

That the circulated report marked A reporting to Full Council decisions  taken under urgency procedures and delegated authority be noted , and the circulated report marked B reporting to Full Council amendments to the Constitution and the Officer Scheme of delegation be agreed.

There were no matters to report.

There were no appointments to outside bodies.

a)    Corporate Committee Report No 2 - 13/14

b)    Overview and Scrutiny Report No 1 - 13/14 

c)    Cabinet Report No 2 - 13/14 (TO FOLLOW)

At this point in the proceedings the Mayor advised of her earlier advice of a variation in the order of proceedings to consider Item 9c – Reports of Committees in conjunction with Item 10 – The Children and Young People’s Plan. 

a.    Corporate Committee Report No 2 2013/14

Councillor Meehan – Chair of the Corporate Committee briefly introduced the report of the Corporate Committee of 19 September 2013 in respect of the Treasury Management 2013/14 Mid Year Activity & Performance Update and  MOVED the adoption of the recommendations contained therein.

RESOLVED

That the Treasury Management activity undertaken during the first part of 2013/14 and the performance achieved be noted.

b.    Overview and Scrutiny Committee Report No 1 2013/14

Councillor Winskill  – Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee moved the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 4 November 2013 recommending  the appointment or entering into a Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee that included the London Borough of Haringey and the other boroughs for the purpose of responding to the consultation by NHS England on proposals to reconfigure cancer and cardial services across North Central and North East London.

RESOLVED

i.             That Full Council appoint or enter into a Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee that includes the London Borough of Haringey and the other boroughs for the purpose of responding to the consultation by NHS England on proposals to reconfigure cancer and cardial services across North Central and North East London; and .

ii.            That the Terms of Reference and Functions of Overview & Scrutiny Committee in the Constitution be amended (as detailed in appendix 1 of the report), to include the power to enter into or appoint such Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committees that include the London Borough of Haringey and other boroughs for the purpose of responding to consultation by NHS bodies on proposals for substantial variations or developments in the provision of health services, and that this shall apply to future proposals that require the appointment of such Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committees.

c.       Cabinet – Report No 2 - 2013-14 – reference – (i) Armed Forces Covenant (ii) Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013;RIPA 200 and Benefit Fraud – Delegation of Functions (iii) The Children and Young people’s Plan

Councillor Kober,MOVED the part of the Cabinet report in respect of Armed Forces Covenant and Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.

The MOTION was carried nemine contradicente.

The Mayor advised that  10 in conjunction would now be taken with the part of the Cabinet report relating to the Children and Young Peoples Plan, and asked that Councillor Waters speak on this part of the report and agenda item 10.

Councillor Waters briefly introduced and spoke in respect of Item 10 – The Children and Young people’s Plan, and MOVED the recommendations as contained therein.

Councillor Reece asked and Councillor Waters responded to questions pertaining to the plan.

The MOTION was carried nemine contradicente.

RESOLVED

i.              That the Armed Forces Community Covenant, as considered and agreed by Cabinet on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

SEE ITEM 9 ABOVE

The Chief Whip MOVED the recommendations in the report.

Councillor Strang spoke on the item and Councillor Goldberg responded.

On a vote there being 30 for and 19 against it was:

RESOLVED 

i.       That having taken into account the Equalities Impact Assessment as detailed in Appendix B of the report, that the Council Tax Reduction Scheme agreed  for 2013/14, be not revised for 2014/15;

ii.      That the Scheme as set out in Appendix C of the report be continued to be implemented for 2014/15 and that the principles of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, as summarised in Section 6 of the report continue in respect of all working claimants, meaning an overall reduction of Council Tax support of 19.8%, which would remain at the same level of support as 2013/14; and

iii.     That authority be given to the Assistant Chief Executive, and Head of Revenue, Benefits & Customer Services to take all appropriate steps to implement and administer the Scheme.

Following a brief introduction of the circulated report and a power point presentation by Councillor Goldberg – Cabinet Member for Finance, Employment and Carbon Reduction, and comments from Members, it was

RESOLVED

i.              that the transparent progress being made by the Council and other organisations, in order to support work towards a 40% carbon reduction target by 2020 and associated local and economic benefits of this activity be noted; and

ii.            that the issues and comments raised by the Third Annual Carbon report be noted and the Council’s full support be given to implementing the recommendations of the Carbon Commission and that all Members provide their full support to leading action in their community.

There were two deputations to address the meeting.

The first deputation was received from Mr Mario Petrou regarding St Ann’s future.

Members asked questions of the deputation and received responses thereto.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded to the deputation.

The second deputation was received from Ms Theodosia Stylianou  from the Greek Cypriot Women’s Organisation regarding the  current issue concerning the occupancy of the Haringey Grove Community Centre based at Denmark Road, N8 ONL.

 Members asked questions of the deputation and received responses thereto.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Employment and Carbon Reduction responded to the deputation.

The Mayor thanked the two deputees for their attendance.

NOTED

PUBLIC QUESTION 1 TO THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL FROM DR JEREMY KLEIN:

 SEE ATTACHED MARKED ‘a’

ORAL QUESTION 1 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN FROM COUNCILLOR NEWTON:

Following the awful cases of Child T and Child B, it has been reported in the Independent on Sunday that there is another serious case review being conducted by the Local Safeguarding Children Board, how many serious case reviews are currently being conducted in Haringey and when will they be published?

ORAL QUESTION 2 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR Finance Employment and Carbon Reduction FROM COUNCILLOR egan:

Can the Cabinet Member provide more information on the recent announcement that the Council is proposing a council tax freeze for the fifth consecutive year in 2014?

ORAL QUESTION 3 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR REGENERATION AND HOUSING FROM COUNCILLOR WILSON:

How many kitchens could have been replaced by Homes for Haringey with the £3.7m wasted on dodgy bonuses for Homes for Haringey staff?

ORAL QUESTION 4 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER for health and adult services FROM COUNCILLOR  Adje:

Can the Cabinet Member update members on what is being done to tackle drug and alcohol abuse in the borough?

ORAL QUESTION 5 - TO THE LEADER FROM COUNCILLOR REECE:

Why are you keeping Haringey's residents and taxpayers in the dark about how much of their hard-earned money has been spent compensating Sharon Shoesmith due to the incompetence of Haringey Council and Ed Balls?

ORAL QUESTION 6 - TO THE leader of the council FROM COUNCILLORChristophides:

Can the Leader of the Council provide an update on what progress has been made with the McAslan and Partners design studio in N17?

ORAL QUESTION 7 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT FROM COUNCILLOR SOLOMON:

How much did the proposal to build a waste plant on Pinkham Way cost to develop and how much is Haringey likely to save over the next five years as a result of the shelving of these plans?

ORAL QUESTION 8 - TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR housing and regeneration FROM COUNCLLOR BULL:

With the cost of living crisis forcing even more people to take out payday loans to make ends meet and  more than 1.5 million households already spending over 30 per cent of their income on unsecured credit repayments, can the Cabinet Member tell us what the Council is doing to support available alternatives?

There were two deputations to address the meeting.

The first deputation was received from Mr Mario Petrou regarding St Ann’s future.

Members asked questions of the deputation and received responses thereto.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded to the deputation.

The second deputation was received from Ms Theodosia Stylianou  from the Greek Cypriot Women’s Organisation regarding the  current issue concerning the occupancy of the Haringey Grove Community Centre based at Denmark Road, N8 ONL.

 Members asked questions of the deputation and received responses thereto.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Employment and Carbon Reduction responded to the deputation.

The Mayor thanked the two deputees for their attendance.

NOTED

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

The Opposition spokesperson – Cllr Jenks introduced the debate topic.

The Mayor welcomed Chris Mason- Chair of Crouch End and Hornsey Conservation Area Advisory Committee,  and Rachella Sinclair - Secretary of the Noel Park Conservation Area Advisory Committee to the Council meeting .

Chris Mason,  and Rachella Sinclair each then addressed the meeting for a period of 5 minutes.

Following their personal addresses, the Mayor thanked Chris Mason,  and Rachella Sinclair for their addresses and they received a round of applause.

The Mayor then advised (at 21.33hrs) that give the lateness of the evening the debate time would be for approx 30/40  minutes and not the usual 45 minutes allowed for debates, with a maximum of 3 minutes speaking time for each speaker.

A debate then took place, with contributions from Cllr McNamara,  Cllr Solomon, and Cllr Demirci.  Following concerns expressed by Cllr Kober, with regard to the debate finishing after 22.00hrs, and advice given by the Monitoring Officer in respect of the Mayor’s prerogative in ruling on an extension of the debate beyond 22.00hrs the Mayor advised that in accordance with Part Four Section A –Council procedure rules – point 8.1 (i) she would extend the debate for a further 10 minutes after 22.00hrs. The Mayor also advised that she would allow the two remaining speakers to speak for 2 minutes only, followed by a 2 minute response by the Cabinet member for  Planning and Enforcement – Councillor Ejiofor,  with a summing up for 2 minutes by Cllr Jenks.

Councillor Schmitz spoke for 2 minutes, and Cllr Meehan declined to speak.  Councillor Ejiofor then briefly commented on the detail/issues for a 2 minute period.

The Mayor asked that Councillor Jenks give his closing comments.  Councillor Jenks advised that he would forego his right to speak in favour of Councillor Wilson.

The Mayor advised that there had been no notice of this intention on Councillor Jenks behalf therefore Councillor Wilson would not be allowed to speak.

The Mayor then closed the debate and thanked members for their contributions.

MOTION B 2013-14

Councillor Mallett has given notice that she will MOVE the following MOTION:

This Council believes:

• The decline of high streets across London and throughout the UK has been accelerated as result of the Government’s deregulation of use class planning rules which prevent local councils from controlling the damaging spread of betting shops, payday lenders and fried food outlets.

• It is wrong that local authorities and communities feel increasingly powerless to shape their town centres or do anything to halt the tide of businesses such as payday loan firms which alter the character of a high street and can put off people visiting or investing, and damages other businesses already there.

This Council notes:

• A Comres poll carried out for the Local Government Association last year found that two out of three members of the public (68 per cent) were against lax planning rules which allow high street banks to be turned into betting shops without permission because they both fall under the same planning category of financial services.

• A report by London Councils has said that town centres and high streets are at risk of not meeting the needs of local residents because planning regulations restrict the power of councils to encourage balanced local economies, including a lack of control on the spread of shops such as pawnbrokers, payday lenders and bookmakers.

• The London Councils report also calls for the Government to reconsider its decision not to grant exemption to the London boroughs that asked to be removed from the recent permitted development rights which allow offices to be converted to homes without planning permission.

• The MP for Tottenham David Lammy, laid down an amendment to the Localism Bill to change the use class of betting shops, but this amendment was defeated by the Lib Dem / Tory Government. The Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone, voted against the amendment

• The Labour Party has proposed to create an additional umbrella planning class which would allow local councils to decide if they want to place some premises, such as payday lenders, in a separate category. Local authorities could then refuse planning permission on the grounds that, for example, opening a payday loan shop would constitute a change of use. It would also allow councils to control the spread of other types of outlet where there is local concern. This proposal matches the recommendations put forward by London Councils.

This Council resolves:

• To write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, to outline the Council’s concerns about the impact the Government’s planning reforms are having in Haringey and ask that he urgently considers the proposals to introduce a sui generis (umbrella) planning use class.   

• To write to Haringey’s two local MPs asking them to publically raise the Council’s concerns in Parliament and demand the Government rethink its localism agenda and give more control to local authorities and communities.

MOTION C 2013-14

Councillor Wilson has given notice that he will MOVE the following MOTION:  ...  view the full agenda text for item 79.

Due to the late hour Motions B &C were not considered.