Agenda item

Motion A (2009/10)

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

This Council notes

·        the unanimous support from the whole Council for Motion N (2008/09) passed on 19^th January 2009 on the Sustainable Communities Act

·        the specific immediate actions committed to by the Council in that motion

·        the deadline for submissions to use the Sustainable Communities Act is 31^st July 2009

·        That, in the current round, the LGA will be considering proposals from over 117 councils in England, including over one third of London boroughs, but not from Haringey.  

·        that no further deadline has yet been set by the government for further proposals to be put forward by local authorities

This Council regrets

• that none of the actions committed to in Motion N (2008/09) have been undertaken and that, as such, the administration has failed to follow the clear instructions and wishes of this Council.
• the failure of the administration to take the opportunity of challenging the excessive and ineffective centralisation of government by bringing more responsibility and control back to local residents and communities.

This Council resolves

• to undertake the actions agreed in the January 2009 motion before the end of the year
• to lobby central government and the LGA for an extension to the submission deadline or the establishment of a rolling programme of submissions and to publish full ‘spending reports’ which have yet to be published.

Motion A (2009/10)

Itwas movedby Councillor Oakes andseconded byCouncillor Scott that:

 This Council notes

·        the unanimous support from the whole Council for Motion N (2008/09) passed on 19^th January 2009 on the Sustainable Communities Act

·        the specific immediate actions committed to by the Council in that motion

·        the deadline for submissions to use the Sustainable Communities Act is 31^st July 2009

·        That, in the current round, the LGA will be considering proposals from over 117 councils in England, including over one third of London boroughs, but not from Haringey.  

·        that no further deadline has yet been set by the government for further proposals to be put forward by local authorities

This Council regrets

• that none of the actions committed to in Motion N (2008/09) have been undertaken and that, as such, the administration has failed to follow the clear instructions and wishes of this Council.
• the failure of the administration to take the opportunity of challenging the excessive and ineffective centralisation of government by bringing more responsibility and control back to local residents and communities.

This Council resolves

• to undertake the actions agreed in the January 2009 motion before the end of the year
• to lobby central government and the LGA for an extension to the submission deadline or the establishment of a rolling programme of submissions and to publish full ‘spending reports’ which have yet to be published.

An amendment to the motion was moved by Councillor Amin and seconded by Councillor Cooke that:

‘Delete  ‘all after the second bullet point ’  and insert “the text in italics”

This Council notes:

·        the unanimous support from the whole Council for Motion N (2008/09) passed on 19^th January 2009 on the Sustainable Communities Act

·        the specific immediate actions committed to by the Council in that motion

·        that Haringey is not alone in believing that there has been a lack of detailed guidance on bidding criteria from the LGA and the promised supporting information from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

·        that clear, concise and transparent guidance are essential in undertaking the high quality and informed public consultation necessary to produce meaningful submissions from local authorities to LGA and then on to Government 

This Council further notes:

·        the Council’s strong track record of on-going engagement and responsiveness to the needs of local residents.

• that the measure of a successful submission - by the definition of the spirit of the Act and as stated by the campaigning organisation ‘local works’ – is a submission which is based on quality consultation with local people
• Its own policy around the length of time which is needed for basic public consultation by the Council and that the deadline for submissions, given that guidelines for the process were so delayed, made meeting this impossible

·        that the Council, in preparing and developing its approach for the initial round of the Sustainable Communities Act, is in an excellent position in terms of any second round of submissions, including the planning of a Sustainable Communities Act community engagement programme;

• that Haringey has been monitoring proposals from other local authorities and awaiting details of a second tranche from central government
• that it appears as though only a handful of local authorities are going to make submissions to the ‘selector body’ the LGA in the first round

This Council resolves

• to take the time necessary to get Haringey’s submissions right,
• to continue planning and publicising the process
• that a unilateral submission from the Council, without public consultation would be wrong and against the spirit of the Act
• that it would be irresponsible and a potential waste of public money to engage in the first round
• to lobby central government for the establishment of a rolling programme of submissions and to publish an implementation timetable.

On being put to the vote there were 27 in favour of the amendment and 21 against. The amendment was declared CARRIED.

The substantive motion as amended was then put to the vote with 27 in favourand 21 against and therefore declared CARRIED.