Agenda item

9.1   LABOUR’S FAILURE IN TACKLING POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

 

Report see pages 85 – 86 of the main agenda

 

Councillor Nick Stanton, seconded by Councillor Lewis Robinson, moved the motion.

 

Following a point of personal explanation from Councillor Gordon Nardell, Councillor Peter John, seconded by Councillor Fiona Colley, moved Amendment E.

 

Following debate (Councillors Mary Foulkes, Paul Noblet, Paul Bates, Lisa Rajan, Jenny Jones, Kim Humphreys, Caroline Pidgeon, Andrew Pakes, Anood Al-Samerai, Dominic Thorncroft, Columba Blango and Gordon Nardell), at 10.10pm the bell was rung and the Mayor announced that the guillotine had fallen.  Amendment E was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly noted:

 

1.  The promise made by former PM, Tony Blair in 1995 that “If the Labour government has not raised the living standards of the poorest by the end of its time in office, it will have failed.”

 

2.  The National Equality Panel, set up by Harriet Harman MP, whose report from January 2010 stated:

 

1)  “Inequalityin any dimension is wider in London than in any other region, and inequality in earnings and income has increased faster in London over the last decade than anywhere else”

 

2)  “People’s occupational and economic destinations in early adulthood depend to an important degree on their origins.  Moreover rates of intergenerational mobility in terms of income are low in international terms and in terms of occupation are below the international average for men and the bottom of the range for women.”

 

3)  “The top tenth of households having wealth above £853,000 and the bottom tenth having less than £8,800”.

 

3.  The Marmot Review ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ (February 2010) that showed in England, people living in the poorest neighbourhoods, will, on average, die seven years earlier than people living in the richest neighbourhoods and the average difference in disability free life expectancy is 17 years.  So, people in poorer areas not only die sooner, but they will also spend more of their shorter lives with a disability.

 

4.  Statistics from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation ‘poverty site’ show in 2007-08, 13½ million people in the UK were living in poverty (defined as incomes below 60% of median income after deducting housing costs), representing 22% of the population and an increase of 1½ million compared with three years previously.  In addition more households were on incomes below 40% of median income than had ever been recorded in history with the proportion of people living in relative poverty in the UK almost twice that of the Netherlands, and one-and-half times that of France.

 

5.  That after 13 years of Labour government more than 20,000 children (42% of all 0-15 years olds) in Southwark are still living in poverty – enough to fill 66 primary schools.

 

That council assembly believes:

 

6.  It is clear by their own objectives on fighting poverty and raising living standards for the poorest that Labour in government has failed.

 

7.  That this is due in no small part to Gordon Brown’s economic policies which have:

 

1)  over-centralised public sector budgets and social policy making.

 

2)  created a command and control ethos in Whitehall which impedes local authorities in both taking action or devising appropriate local strategies to tackle poverty and inequality.

 

3)  introduced an overly complicated tax and benefit system that has increased welfare dependency, made benefit take up more difficult – for example more than half of all low-income households are now paying full council tax, much higher than a decade ago – and directly hit those on very low incomes with the withdrawal of the 10p tax rate.

 

4)  wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on failed ‘public/private partnership’ schemes, such as Metronet estimated to have lost the taxpayer more than £400 million – more than enough to pay for the Cross River Tram.

 

8.  That a change of government and direction is now long overdue.

 

9.  A radically new and different approach from government to allow local authorities to more effectively tackle poverty and inequality and maximise employment, training and skills opportunities across the public, private and voluntary sectors should be introduced.

 

10.  Continued improved opportunities for local young people to get a good education with investment in new schools and classrooms will build on the record GCSE results and primary school achievement.

 

11.  The council must continue to use major regeneration schemes – particularly the Elephant and Castle – to provide opportunities to transform employment and training prospects for local people.

 

9.2  TACKLING THE FEAR OF VIOLENT CRIME WITH CCTV

 

See pages 86 – 87 of the main agenda

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillor Chris Page (with the meeting’s consent in the absence of Councillor John Friary) and Councillor Peter John, formally moved and seconded the motion. 

 

Councillors Caroline Pidgeon and Jonathan Mitchell, formally moved and seconded Amendment F.

 

Amendment F was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly notes the CCTV strategy agreed by the executive earlier in the year.

 

2.   That council assembly notes that the strategy takes account of the Home Office’s national CCTV strategy best practice recommendations and will mean better coordinated, more modern and flexible cameras that meet the latest standards and regulatory requirements.

 

3.   That council assembly believes that the fight against crime is being hampered by excessive legislation and bureaucratic red tape emanating from the Labour government that has spread confusion among police officers, judges and other professionals and gets in the way of detection and prosecution of crimes for which effective CCTV is a vital part.

 

4.   That council assembly further notes that the Labour government has created 4,289 new criminal offences, between 1997 and 2009 - approximately one for every day Labour have been in office including such ludicrous offences as:

1)  Disturbing a pack of eggs when directed not to by an authorised officer. (SI 2007/2245, Eggs and Chicks (England Eggs for Hatching and Chicks) 13.1c&8a. and SI 2008/1718).

2)  Causing a nuclear explosion. (Nuclear Explosions (Prohibition and Inspections) Act 1998).

3)  Sells or offers for sale a bird of game killed on a Sunday or Christmas Day. (SI 2007/2007 Regulatory Reform (Game) Order 2007, amendment to Game Act 1831 s. 3A).

4)  To wilfully pretend to be a barrister.

5)  Obstruct workers carrying out repairs to the Docklands Light Railway.

6)  Land a catch of unsorted fish at a harbour without permission.

5.   That council assembly calls for a halt to this compulsive obsession with unnecessary legislation which is simply about ministers posturing on penalties and wishing to be seen to be tough on violent crime.

6.   That council assembly calls for a change of direction in crime and disorder policy making the focus on catching criminals, increasing the number of police and other enforcement officers on the street, a reduction in red tape and more efficient use of technology such as CCTV, as outlined in the CCTV strategy agreed by the executive in February.

 

7.   That finally, council assembly notes that between 1997 and 2009 the Labour government built 19,983 prison cells and just 2,710 council homes.  Notes these cells are full of petty offenders with around 60,000 prisoners jailed for less than 12 months and often violent criminals go free.  Notes short term prison sentences do not work with more than 60% of those jailed for less than 12 months reoffending and that the National Audit Office estimates the cost of this to be in the order of £10 billion.

 

9.3  HUMAN RIGHTS, RACE AND EQUALITY

 

See page 87 of the main agenda

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Tayo Situ and Althea Smith, formally moved and seconded the motion. 

 

Councillors Adele Morris and Mackie Sheik, formally moved and seconded Amendment G.

 

Amendment G was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly notes the withdrawal of council funding from the Southwark Human Rights, Race and Equality Board (SHRREB).

 

2.  That council assembly notes the concerns about the effectiveness of SHRREB but believes that the lack of an alternative body is deeply concerning.

 

3.  That council assembly welcomes the recent launch of the council’s expression of interest document for local organisations to provide this service, and notes its aim of having a service funding agreement in place by July 2010.