Decisions

Award of Tenants & Residents Social Improvements Grant (TRSIG) 2019/20

 

That the Tenants & Residents Social Improvements Grant (TRSIG) programme recommendations for 2019-20 for a total sum of £162,044.03 to the 26 organisations detailed in Appendix 1 be approved.

 

Updated description

 

To approve the retention, under a permanent traffic order, of width restriction at Harper Road and Bath Terrace operating as two 2 metre lanes reinforced with a central traffic island and bollards.

 

 

a)  That the implementation of permanent width restrictions accessible to emergency services at Harper Road and Bath Terrace with camera enforcement, with estimated cost of £24,000 comprising of £19,200 for implementation works and £4,800 staff costs be approved.

 

b)  That it be noted that statutory objections to the traffic order will be formally considered and determined before a decision is made to amend, if needed, the new width restrictions.

The recommendations contained within the report were put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly approved an amendment to section 5 of the Member Allowances Scheme for 2019-2020 with effect from 18 May 2019 (see paragraphs 11 to 14 of the report), having regard to the update reports on community councils and overview and scrutiny committees being considered at this meeting.

 

2.  That council assembly noted that a notice of motion signed by 16 councillors has been received, as per council assembly procedure rules 1.11.2.

The recommendations contained within the report were put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That the constitutional changes to the scrutiny article and procedure rules as set out in appendices as agreed at Constitutional Steering Panel 1 May 2019 be agreed.

 

2.  That the proposals at paragraph 7 of the report for the practical operation of scrutiny be noted.

Councillor Rebecca Lury introduced the report.

 

Following debate (Councillor Anood Al-Samerai), the recommendations contained with the report were put to the vote and declared Carried.  

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That Council Assembly agreed the proposal to replace Community Councils (CCs) with a more flexible and devolved Empowering Communities Programme, that promotes:

 

·  Resident-led initiatives

·  Strengthens the local leadership role of ward councillors

·  Cabinet accountability

·  Community Champion councillors

·  Transparency of funding.

 

2.  That council assembly noted that there would still be opportunities to discuss Cleaner Greener Safer capital programmes (CGS), Devolved Highways, and Neighbourhoods Fund applications at ward meetings. Ward councillors will take the final decisions for their respective areas. This proposal retains the popular opportunity for residents to present funding proposals for their local area.

 

3.  That council assembly approved the creation of five Community Champions.

 

4.  That council assembly noted that the proposed changes will require changes to Article 8 and Part 3H of the Constitution and any other consequential constitutional changes.

 

5.  That council assembly noted that once the new structure is agreed, it would then be implemented for a year, during which time the effectiveness would be reviewed to ensure that any new model is as effective as possible in engaging the public.  There will be an update on how the process is working presented to the Constitutional Steering Panel followed by a full annual review which will include feedback from residents.  The purpose of these reviews is to ensure the changes are effective, inclusive and value for money.  There will be evaluation of individual meetings as they take place.

 

That council assembly noted that the following recommendations will be considered by the Leader as an IDM:

 

6.  To approve the creation of a Democracy Fund to allow communities to hold their own events/meetings to tackle local priorities.

 

7.  To approve the introduction of a new Ward Fund for ward councillors to organise at least six ward based meetings a year.

 

8.  To introduce the option for an Annual Residents' Conference.

 

9.  The leader will be asked to delegate executive functions for Neighbourhoods Fund, CGS and Devolved Highways to ward councillors.

The outgoing Mayor, Councillor Catherine Rose, welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

 

The outgoing Mayor announced that the leaders of each political group wished to make a statement.

 

Thereafter, Councillors Peter John and Anood Al-Samerai paid tribute to the outgoing Mayor.

 

The outgoing Mayor asked for nominations for Mayor for the ensuing municipal year 2019-20.

 

Councillor Peter John, seconded by Councillor Stephanie Cryan, moved that Councillor Sandra Rhule be elected Mayor of the London Borough of Southwark for the municipal year 2019-20.

 

The nomination was put to the vote and it was:

 

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Sandra Rhule be elected Mayor for the 2019-20 municipal year.

 

Councillor Sandra Rhule accepted the office of Mayor.  The outgoing Mayor declared that Councillor Sandra Rhule was duly elected Mayor of Southwark for 2019-20. 

 

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Catherine Rose, invested the new Mayor, Councillor Sandra Rhule, with the badge of office.  The new Mayor signed the declaration of acceptance of office and took the chair. 

 

Thereafter, the outgoing Mayor was presented with a replica of the Mayoral badge of the London Borough of Southwark.

 

The new Mayor stated that she appointed Councillor Lorraine Lauder MBE as the Mayor's consort. The new Mayor’s consort was presented with a badge.

 

The new Mayor appointed Councillor Barrie Hargrove as Deputy Mayor.  The Deputy Mayor was invested with the badge of office.

 

The outgoing Mayor, Councillor Catherine Rose, gave her outgoing speech. 

 

The new Mayor gave her incoming speech and announced that her chosen charities would be the MumMum Foundation, Camberwell Choir School and Art Academy London.

There were none.

RESOLVED:

 

1.  LONDON COUNCILS LEADERS’ COMMITTEE (S101 JOINT COMMITTEE)

 

Note:  Council Assembly may only nominate cabinet members as representatives or deputies to this joint committee.

 

1 representative and up to 2 deputies

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Peter John

 

Deputies

 

Labour nominations  Councillors Rebecca Lury, Victoria Mills

 

2.  LONDON COUNCILS TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE (S101 ASSOCIATED JOINT COMMITTEE)

 

Note:  Council Assembly may only nominate cabinet members as representatives or deputies to this joint committee.

 

1 representative and up to 4 deputies

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Richard Livingstone

 

Deputies

 

Labour nominations  Councillor Johnson Situ

 

 

3.  LONDON COUNCILS GRANTS COMMITTEE (ASSOCIATED JOINT COMMITTEE)

 

Note:  Council Assembly may only nominate cabinet members as representatives or deputies to this joint committee

 

1 representative and up to 4 deputies

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Evelyn Akoto

 

Deputies

 

Labour nominations  Councillor Rebecca Lury

 

4.  LONDON LGBS COMMON INVESTMENT VEHICLE (CIV) LIMITED

 

1 representative and up to 2 deputies

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Victoria Mills

 

Deputy

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Peter John

 

5.  GREATER LONDON EMPLOYMENT FORUM

 

1 representative and 1 deputy

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Stephanie Cryan

 

Deputy

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Leo Pollak

 

6.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – ARTS/CULTURE, TOURISM, SPORT AND LEISURE

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Rebecca Lury

 

7.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE/SAFEGUARDING AND SCHOOLS

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Jasmine Ali

 

8.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – CRIME AND PUBLIC PROTECTION

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Evelyn Akoto

 

 

9.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/BUSINESS

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Stephanie Cryan

 

10.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Victoria Mills

 

11.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INCLUDING ADULT SERVICES

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Jasmine Ali

 

 

12.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – HOUSING AND REGENERATION

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Kieron Williams

 

 

13.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – PLANNING/ INFRASTRUCTURE/DEVELOPMENT

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Johnson Situ

 

14.  LONDON COUNCILS BOROUGH LEAD MEMBER – SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Stephanie Cryan

 

15.  LONDON COUNCILS LIMITED

 

1 representative

 

Labour nomination  Councillor Peter John

The nominations for chairs and vice chairs of committees and the nominations to the Local Government Association General Assembly were circulated. 

 

There were three contested positions.

 

The position of chair of overview and scrutiny committee was put to the vote, and it was agreed that Councillor Ian Wingfield be appointed chair of overview and scrutiny committee.

 

The position of vice-chair of planning committee was put to the vote, and it was agreed that Councillor Kath Whittam be appointed vice-chair of planning committee.

 

The position of community champion for the north-east area was put to the vote, and it was agreed that Councillor Sunny Lambe be appointed community champion for the north-east area.

 

The substantive motion was carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly noted the appointment of political group leaders, deputies and whips.

 

LABOUR GROUP

 

Leader  Councillor Peter John

 

Deputy Leader  Councillor Rebecca Lury

 

Chief Whip  Councillor Sarah King

 

LIBERAL DEMOCRAT GROUP

 

Leader  Councillor Anood Al-Samerai

 

Deputy Leader  Councillor William Houngbo

 

Chief Whip  Councillor Hamish McCallum

 

2.  That council assembly noted the political balance of the council as set out in the report

 

3.  That council assembly noted that with one independent member on the council, there is no change to proportionality; the allocation of seats on committees and panels, as agreed by council assembly on 11 July 2018, remains the same as set out below.

 

4.  That council assembly established the following committees for the coming municipal year 2019-20:

 

Table 2: Ordinary Committees - Total number of seats 29

 

Committee	Total	Lab	Lib Dem
Committee 1 Appointments Committee	7	6	1
Committee 2 Planning Committee	8	6	2
Committee 3 Audit, Governance and Standards Committee	7	5	2
Committee 4 Corporate Parenting Committee	7	6	1
Total	29	23	6

 

Table 3: Other committees - Total number of seats 26

 

Committee	Total	Lab	Lib Dem
Overview and Scrutiny Committee	11	8	3
Licensing Committee	15	12	3
Total	26	20	6

 

Note: The political balance rules require that the political groups represented on council have proportionate representation on council committees. A political group must comprise at least two members, so the one Independent member does not constitute a political group. Councils can allocate seats on committees to members not aligned to a group, but are under no statutory obligation to do so.

 

Table 4: Multi-ward areas

 

1.	North-west
2.	North-east
3.	West-central
4.	East-central
5.	South

 

Note:  The composition of multi-ward areas will be set out in Article 8 of the constitution(see paragraphs 42 to 43 of the report).

 

Health and wellbeing board

 

5.  That the health and wellbeing board be established as a committee of the council under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 with the membership set out in paragraph 39 of the report. 

 

6.  That it be noted that the local authority membership is nominated by the leader of the council. In accordance with committee procedure rules, the board is chaired by the leader.

 

Appointment of chairs and vice chairs

 

7.  That council assembly appoint chairs and vice chairs for the following committees:

 

APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE

 

Chair - Councillor Peter John

Vice chair – Vacant

 

AUDIT, GOVERNANCE AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE

 

Chair - Councillor James McAsh

Vice chair – Vacant

 

CORPORATE PARENTING COMMITTEE

 

Chair -  Councillor Jasmine Ali (Appointment of cabinet member with the responsibility for children and schools formally noted)

Vice chair – Vacant

 

LICENSING COMMITTEE

 

Chair - Councillor Renata Hamvas

Vice chair - Councillor Adele Morris

 

OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

 

Chair - Councillor Ian Wingfield

Vice chair - Councillor Jane Salmon

 

PLANNING COMMITTEE

 

Chari - Councillor Martin Seaton

Vice Chair - Councillor Kath Whittam

 

All outstanding appointments will be referred to the first meeting of the respective committee in the 2019-20 municipal year.

 

Appointment of community champions

 

8.  That council assembly appointed community champions for the following multi-ward areas:

 

	Councillor	Multi-ward area
1.	David Noakes	North-west
Deputy	Karl Eastham	North-west
2.	Sunny Lambe	North-east
Deputy	Leanne Werner	North-east
3.	Dora Dixon-Fyle	West Central
Deputy	Jason Ochere	West Central
4.	Sunil Chopra	East Central
Deputy	Vikki Mills	East Central
5.	Andy Simmons	South
Deputy	Margy Newens	South

 

Establishment of the council’s panels

 

9.  That council assembly established the following council panels (see paragraph 56 of the report):

 

Table 5: Panels - Total number of seats 16

 

Panel	Total	Lab	Lib Dem
Council assembly business panel	4	3	1
Constitutional steering panel	4	3	1
Pensions advisory panel	3	2	1
Voluntary bodies appointments panel	5	4	1
Total	16	12	4

 

Note: This table is based on the panels established in 2018-19.

 

Appointments of chair to constitutional steering panel and voluntary bodies appointments panel

 

10.  That Councillor Sarah King be appointed chair of the Constitutional Steering Panel.

 

Notes:

 

1.  That it be noted that the council assembly business panel is chaired by the Mayor.

 

Urgency committee

 

11.  That the role of the urgency committee between a municipal election and the annual meeting of council assembly, as agreed by council assembly on 26 March 2014, be noted as set out in paragraphs 58 and 59 of the report.

 

Appointments to Local Government Association (LGA) General Assembly

 

12.  That council assembly appointed up to three representatives and allocates the seven votes to representatives to attend the LGA General Assembly (see paragraphs 58 and 59 of the report).

 

Representative	No. of votes	Group
To be nominated by whip	3	Labour
To be nominated by whip	3	Labour
To be nominated by whip	1	Liberal Democrat

 

Other appointments to joint committees/outside bodies

 

13.  That council assembly noted the cabinet and other committees will make appointments to all other outside committees and bodies for the municipal year 2019-20 as required by part 3Q of the constitution.

Councillors Peter John and David Noakes paid tribute to Marion Marples, a noted local teacher, community worker and recipient of the Honorary Liberty of the Old Metropolitan Borough of Southwark, who passed away suddenly on 30 April 2019.

 

At this point, the meeting agreed the programme motion.

 

RESOLVED:

 

The order of business and timings for the meeting will be as follows:

 

Time	Business
12:00 - 12:15	1. Preliminary business and announcements
12:15 – 13:30*	3. Reports
	3.1: Executive Functions
	3.2: Reform of Community Councils: Empowering Communities Programme
	3.3: Changes to Scrutiny Arrangements
	3.4: Member Allowances Scheme 2019-20 – Amendment to Special Responsibility Allowances
	3.5: Establishment of Committees, Panels and Related Matters
	3.6: Nominations to London Councils Committees, Greater London Employment Forum, Borough Lead members,  London Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Common Investment Vehicle (CIV) Ltd and London Councils Limited 2019-20

 

Note:  Start time is approximate; the meeting will commence at the rise of the civic awards ceremony. Any time left remaining will be rolled into the next items.

 

* subject to the guillotine rule; maximum 15 minutes debate per item.

 

That the meeting be conducted as follows:

 

Item 3.5 Establishment of committees, panels and related matters

 

To seek the meeting's consent to suspend council assembly procedure rule 4.5.2 in relation to the number of reserve members on the planning committee and agree that the group whips may appoint additional reserve members as follows:

 

Planning Committee – 8 Places
	Labour (6)	Liberal Democrat (2)
Reserves
	Labour (6)	Liberal Democrat (2)

 

 

(See pages 87-90 of the agenda)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly noted the schedule of special urgency and urgent implementation decisions (set out in Appendix 1 of the report) taken in accordance with access to information procedure rules 19 and 20.

(See pages 77-86 of the agenda)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly agreed the following dates for meetings of council assembly be fixed in the council calendar for the 2019-20 municipal year:

 

Council Assembly	Type of Meeting
Saturday 18 May 2018 at 11.00am (As agreed by  council assembly 11 July 2018)	Annual Meeting Note: To be held jointly with Civic Awards Ceremony
Wednesday 17 July 2019	Ordinary meeting
Wednesday 27 November 2019	Ordinary meeting
Wednesday 26 February 2020	Budget and council tax setting
Wednesday 25 March 2020	Ordinary meeting
Saturday 16 May 2020 Note: Alternative date is Saturday 9 May 2020	Annual meeting  Note: To be held jointly with Civic Awards Ceremony

 

2.  That council assembly noted the calendar of council meetings for the 2019-20 municipal year as shown at Appendix 1 of the report.

(See pages 73-76 of the agenda)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly agreed to maintain the interim boundaries for community councils, in order to support further options and consultation for potential new community council arrangements.

 

2.  That council assembly agreed to receive a report later in 2019 on proposed new community council arrangements.

(See pages 66-72 of the agenda and the appendices bundle)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly agreed to adopt and approve for publication the Southwark Statement of Licensing Policy 2019-21 (Appendix A of the report).

(See pages 49-65 of the agenda)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly approved the revised Member Allowances Scheme for 2019-2020 with effect from 1 April 2019 (see Appendix 1 of the report), having regard to the advice of the London Councils Independent Remuneration Panel Report 2018 (see Appendix 2 of the report).

Amendments are set out in supplemental agenda no. 1.

(See pages 36-48 of the agenda)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That the council’s pay policy statement, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be agreed.

(See pages 28-35 of the agenda)

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Agreed the New Southwark Plan Proposed Submission version: Amended policies January 2019 (Appendix A of the report) for formal consultation.

 

2.  Noted the Consultation Plan (Appendix B of the report), Consultation Report (Appendix C of the report), Integrated Impact Assessment (Appendix D of the report), Equalities Impact Assessment (Appendix E of the report) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (Appendix F of the report).

MOTION 1: MAKING SOUTHWARK A LIVING WAGE PLACE

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes:

 

a.  That low pay is a leading cause of poverty, with the majority of people living in poverty now being in working households. 

b.  That the real Living Wage is independently-calculated based on real living costs and reflects the minimum people need to earn to get by. It is currently £10.55 an hour in London.

c.  That 21% of all workers in the UK still don't earn a  real Living Wage – meaning that they are paid less than it costs to have a decent quality of life.

d.  That research from the Living Wage Foundation has found that 93% of Living Wage Employers have seen benefits since accrediting; that 86% say it has improved their reputation; and that 75% say it has increased staff motivation and retention.

 

2.  Council assembly further notes:

 

a.  That Southwark Council is an accredited Living Wage Employer. This means that all council employees and contractors are paid at or above the London Living Wage.

b.  That Southwark Council has also led the way in establishing the Southwark Apprenticeship Standard, which commits organisations and employers to providing high quality apprenticeships, including paying at least the London Living Wage.  Over 50 Southwark employers have now signed up to the standard.

c.  That Southwark has also signed up to the Ethical Care Charter, which has improved working conditions for contracted employees who provide home care services to Southwark residents. The Ethical Care Charter includes a requirement to pay the London Living Wage to all home care staff, and pay for travel time.

d.  That both the Southwark Apprenticeship Standard and the Ethical Care Charter have led to positive outcomes not only for employees but for service users and local residents.

e.  That the council’s work to promote the Living Wage to other employers in the borough has been a key factor in 137 employers in Southwark now being accredited Living Wage Employers.

f.  The Council Plan commitments on the Living Wage, which are to:

i)  Double the number of employers who pay the London Living Wage and make Old Kent Road and Canada Water London Living Wage Zones;

ii)  Introduce a Southwark Good Work Standard and only work with companies that will recognise trade unions, pay the London Living Wage and do not use harmful zero hours contracts;

g.  That the Living Wage Foundation has announced that it is piloting “Living Wage Places” where councils work with ‘anchor institutions’ (major local employers who represent the community) to increase the uptake of employers paying the London Living Wage across the area.

 

3.  Council assembly further notes:

 

a.  That this Conservative government’s so-called ‘Living Wage’ is set at £7.83 per hour for over 25 year olds – and for those under 25 and apprentices it can be as low as £3.70 per hour.

b.  That the government’s ‘Living Wage’ is calculated as a percentage of median earnings, rather than being calculated as the amount of money needed to live on.

c.  That the real London Living Wage is currently £10.55 per hour – almost £3 per hour more than the government’s Living Wage for over 25 year olds.

d.  That this disparity between the government’s ‘Living Wage’ and the actual Living Wage means too many people in this country cannot afford a decent quality of life on the wages they earn, and so are either forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, or find themselves falling into poverty.

 

4.  Council assembly resolves to call on cabinet to:

 

a.  Reiterate our commitment to making the Old Kent Road and Canada Water London Living Wage Places, recognised by the Living Wage Foundation.

b.  Work with the Living Wage Foundation and major local employers and organisations who are prepared to be ‘anchor institutions’, to make the whole of Southwark a Living Wage Place.

c.  Write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, asking him to calculate the government’s Living Wage based on the actual earnings that people need to have a decent quality of life, rather than an arbitrary percentage of median national wages.

 

MOTION 2: NEXUS-GROUP GP SERVICES

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes:

 

a.  The Care Quality Commission inspection into the NEXUS Group declared that the GP service provided was ‘inadequate overall and requires improvement for all population groups’

b.  That the report details risks of legionella, inconsistent systems for checking equipment and vaccines, as well as the presence of expired medical emergency equipment.

 

2.  Council assembly also notes that:

 

a.  £8.7 million of S106 monies was recently approved by planning committee to be invested in health facilities across the borough

b.  The inadequacies found at the NEXUS group relate not to facilities but to the systems and services provided.

 

3.  Council assembly therefore:

 

a.  calls on the cabinet member for community safety and public health to investigate the reasons for the poor service provision and report back to councillors.

b.  calls on cabinet to query how the S106 money will be spent, given that improving facilities will not necessarily resolve the NEXUS performance issues.

c.  also calls on cabinet to ensure that future money derived from S106 and community infrastructure levy (CIL), which is designed to accommodate increase pressures deriving from new development, is allocated to the areas that have earned those funds due to having undertaken that development.

 

MOTION 3: CROSSRAIL AND CUTS TO TRANSPORT FOR LONDON

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes:

 

a.  London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said there is no date that Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild can give "with confidence" for when Crossrail will open.

b.  That Crossrail delays will strip Transport for London (TfL) of £600m in revenue over 3 years, with possible further delays and losses running to millions more.

c.  The gaping hole in TfL’s finances created by the government’s decision to withdraw the operating grant of £700 million annually.

d.  The announcement of 30% more cuts to TfL’s business plan by 2022, including staffing.

e.  Job losses, already in their thousands, overwhelmingly affecting lower grades, with no equivalent reduction in directors.

f.  Tens of millions of pounds spent each year on private sector consultants, many costing £1,500 per day.

 

2.  Council assembly resolves to call on cabinet to:

 

a.  Publicly support the full restoration of the grant.

b.  Lobby TfL’s leadership to honour its existing policies, and to implement a step change in industrial relations.

c.  Call on the Mayor to:

i)  lead a review of TfL’s Pay for Performance scheme.

ii)  reinstitute a common pay and conditions structure and network-wide collective bargaining for London’s bus workers.

iii)  commission an independent review of the use of consultants at TfL.

iv)  launch an immediate public review into the Crossrail fiasco.

v)  engage with the trade unions on the proposals to cut a further 30% of expenditure on “middle and back office roles”.

 

MOTION 4: HIV IN SOUTHWARK

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

4.  Council assembly welcomes:

a.  The recent news of a Londoner becoming the second person to be found "free" of HIV.

b.  The fact that new diagnoses of HIV in the UK as a whole have been declining since their peak in 2005, falling 17 per cent from 5,280 in 2016 to 4,363 in 2017.

c.  Britain achieving the UN’s “90-90-90 targets” to end the AIDS epidemic, with 92 per cent of people living with HIV diagnosed, 98 per cent of people diagnosed receiving treatment, and 97 per cent of people receiving treatment having an “undetectable viral load”, with levels of virus in the blood so low it cannot be passed on.

 

5.  Council assembly also recognises that Southwark still has the second highest number of people diagnosed with HIV in UK.

 

6.  Council assembly believes that to eradicate HIV/AIDS we need a comprehensive approach that allows all people to access quality life-saving and life-enhancing prevention (such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis - PrEP), treatment, care and support services. PrEP has significantly reduced the risk of HIV being passed on to others. 

 

7.  Council assembly welcomes Southwark’s participation in the England ‘trial’ but notes demand is high and extremely oversubscribed which leaves too many vulnerable. The Terrence Higgins Trust estimate that every day the NHS delays access to PrEP, 17 people are diagnosed with HIV. 

 

8.  Council assembly therefore calls on the UK government to set a target to end transmissions by 2025 and to end the oversubscribed PrEP trial by fully funding its roll out across England.

 

MOTION 5: REFORM OUR BROKEN HOUSING ECONOMY

 

Amendment B – Lost

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes:

 

a.  The existing pipeline of Southwark’s New Homes programme with over 635 council rent homes delivered across 20 sites, 101 now under construction, 595 with planning permission and in contractor procurement, and 1,478 in design and consultation.

b.  That Southwark has an ambitious target to deliver 11,000 council homes by 2043, and is currently identifying council homes sites on existing land and pursuing land acquisition opportunities to deepen the pipeline of council homes development projects.

c.  The best available social rent grant level (£100,000/unit) is currently less than a third of the average build cost (£310,000/unit).

d.  The council is restricted in its use of Right to Buy receipts to replace lost social homes. Current rules require Right to Buy receipts to be spent within three years, never combined with grant, and otherwise returned to HM Treasury with interest.

e.  That current land assembly powers recognise a landowner’s right to a speculative premium based on events and actions in which they played no part. This makes purchasing new land for council housing more difficult, and damages the viability of including more council housing in schemes more difficult. 

 

2.  Council assembly calls on cabinet to:

 

a.   Lobby and campaign for a housing economy that supports the affordable housing needs of Southwark residents, including:

i)  Social rent grant being linked to build costs.  The Mayor of London’s mandate to solve the housing crisis hasn’t been fully respected, with social rent grant level increased from £60,000/unit to £100,000/unit against an average build cost of £300,000/unit.

ii)  Full retention and flexibility to use Right to Buy receipts, including combining with grant. To also give freedom to suspend Right to Buy, or otherwise mitigate against its impact by (a) allowing covenants in new Right To Buy leases requiring any re-let at social rent, and (b) a one-in/one-out policy capping one year’s Right To Buy applications against the number of social rent completions in the previous year.

iii)  The ability to secure affordable land for affordable housing. The current Land Compensation Code recognises the landowners’ right to speculative ‘hope value’ – the compensation regime should be pegged to the existing use value of a site, with a fixed premium.  The council endorses the proposed reforms in Helen Hayes MP’s Planning (Affordable Housing and Land Compensation) Bill.

 

MOTION 6: END VIOLENCE AT WORK CHARTER

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council Assembly notes:

 

a.  That many public service workers are subjected to violence and aggression in the course of their work.

b.  That UNISON, the UK’s biggest trade union, state that almost half of their members working in the community sector have been subjected to violence or aggression in the course of their work in the previous two years.  Incidents reported by UNISON members range from verbal aggression to serious physical assaults.

c.  Evidence, publicised by UNISON, that in some contracted out services, public service workers are told by their employers to tolerate violence, suggesting assaults are just “part of the job”.

d.  UNISON’s ‘End Violence at Work Charter’ - which commits employers to ten basic actions to safeguard public service workers and provide support should they become the target of violence at work. The actions include managing risk, providing appropriate training and making support available to those who have suffered from violent incidents.

e.  That the 'End Violence at Work Charter' is already making headway in driving up safety standards for public service workers and recognises that 37 major employers in the charity and housing association sectors have already signed up across the UK.

f.  That council assembly would like to see more employers confront the issue of violence in the workplace and ensure that nobody providing services on our behalf is left exposed to unacceptable risk of violence.

 

2.  Council assembly resolves to call on cabinet:

 

a.  To make the ‘End Violence at Work Charter’ a core part of Southwark Council’s commissioning process.

b.  To ask all existing service contract providers to sign up to the End Violence at Work Charter and make the award of new contracts dependent on a commitment by the organisation to sign the Charter.  This step is consistent with the Council’s ongoing commitment to an ethical procurement and commissioning process.

c.  To reiterate its opposition to violence at work in all sectors and reaffirms its commitment to working with its own employees and trade unions to ensure that all appropriate steps and support are in place to tackle the issue for its own workforce.

There was one late question to the leader from Councillor Anood Al-Samerai, the written response to which was circulated on yellow paper at the meeting.  There were two supplemental questions.

 

There were 36 members’ questions, the written responses to which were circulated on yellow paper at the meeting.  There were 16 supplemental questions.

As part of the programme motion the meeting agreed to hear a deputation from:

 

Residents of East Dulwich

 

The group’s representative spoke to the meeting for five minutes and thereafter asked a question of the cabinet member for environment, transport management and air quality.

 

Three members asked questions of the deputation.

Amendment A was put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

 

The motion was put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

Declaring a Climate Change Emergency

 

1.  Council assembly notes:

 

a.  Southwark’s Council Plan Commitments to make Southwark carbon neutral by 2050 and halve Southwark Council’s emissions by 2022. 

b.  Southwark Council’s existing work to tackle climate change, including:

  i.  Cutting the council’s carbon emissions by 25%;

  ii.  Divesting pensions funds away from fossil fuels into sustainable alternatives;

  iii.  Introducing idling fines for drivers who leave their engines running while idle;

  iv.  Closing roads around schools to improve air quality;

  v.  Ensuring more people are walking and cycling rather than using greenhouse gas emitting vehicles;

  vi.  Protecting Southwark’s biodiversity;

  vii.  Keeping recycling rates high: Southwark’s are currently the highest in inner London;

  viii.  Committing to ending single use plastic in the council, halving it in the borough, and introducing water fountains to reduce plastic bottle use.

2.  Council assembly further notes:

 

a.  Humans have already caused climate change. Global temperatures have already increased by 1°C from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO₂ levels in excess of 400 parts per million are already far in excess of the 350 deemed the safe level for humanity.

b.  That plastic pollution has become a widespread and critical problem throughout our society and steps must be taken to halt and reduce the flow of plastic waste into our environment. This is a problem that is not going away - all of the plastic ever created still exists today and estimates suggest that 1 in 3 fish now contain some traces of microplastic so our waste is now contaminating our food chain.

c.  The recent 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which states that we have just 12 years to act on climate change if global temperature rises are to be kept within the recommended 1.5°C.

c.  That the expected consequences of a 2°C instead of a 1.5°C increase in global temperatures would include 99% of warm water corals and their associated ecosystems disappearing, at least one in ten summers in the Arctic having little or no sea ice at all, 420 million more people worldwide being exposed to extreme heatwaves, sea levels at least 10cm higher, more frequent extreme weather events, and potential mass extinctions of animals.

d.  That this Conservative government’s failure to take the radical steps required to prevent an increase of over 1.5°C is shameful. Its guidelines to only reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 are woefully short of the change that is needed.

e.  That as a largely low-lying area next to the tidal Thames, Southwark is particularly prone to the impact of sea level rises and flooding.

f.  Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s recent announcement that the Labour Party intends to launch a Green New Deal, which would decarbonise the UK’s economy, and create thousands of new jobs in the renewable energy sector in deprived areas and communities. Proposals also include increasing the UK’s installed offshore wind capacity sevenfold, bringing all homes in the UK up to the highest efficiency standard, and tripling the UK’s solar power capacity.

g.  That the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared a climate emergency.

 

3.  Councilassembly believes:

 

a.  This situation requires urgent action by all levels of government, businesses and individuals.

b.  That, despite the leadership already shown by Southwark Council to reduce carbon, it needs to go further still if we are to play our part in preventing further climate change and to set an example to others.

c.  That, whilst Southwark Council can and should take all possible steps to reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental sustainability, ultimately this problem needs to be tackled on a national and international scale.

d.  That bold climate action can deliver economic and social benefits: new jobs, economic savings, business opportunities and improved health and wellbeing.

 

4.  Council assembly resolves to call on cabinet to:

 

a.  Declare a Climate Emergency and do all it can to make the borough carbon neutral by 2030.

b.  Develop a strategy, working with local stakeholders, to ensure that the council becomes carbon neutral at a much more rapid pace than currently envisaged. This Carbon Reduction Strategy should aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 if feasible. This strategy should be clear in its targets and resources required. It should also be developed in a way that is sufficiently flexible to make best use of new carbon reduction technologies as they develop.

c.  Call on other London boroughs to also work towards carbon neutrality by 2030.

d.  Lobby government to provide the power and resources to the Mayor of London and local authorities to accelerate the pace of carbon reduction.

e.  Lobby the government to take radical steps to divest away from fossil fuels, invest in new technologies to make innovative approaches such as carbon sequestering possible, and reduce the UK’s reliance on greenhouse gases.

 

5.  On the principle of ‘Think Global, Act Local’, council assembly:

 

a.  Notes the value of community assets, such as the allotments in Lamash Street in Saint George’s Ward, through which local residents have provided a sustainable source of locally produced organic food for decades;

b.  Fully supports the Rotherhithe – Canary Wharf Pedestrian and Cycle bridge, which will be the centrepiece of the green transport strategy for the area;

c.  Commits itself to investigating the possibility of gradually phasing out car lease schemes for those non-key workers who do not need exclusive access to a car in order to carry out their job;

d.  Recognises the vital importance of open spaces to Southwark’s communities, in particular that the availability and accessibility of open space in our borough contributes towards addressing loneliness amongst older people, by providing a place for them to socialise;

e.  Further recognises that well maintained public open spaces can provide an appropriate place for younger people to meet and socialise, in a way which minimises the risk of anti-social behaviour;

f.  Notes that there are considerable financial savings to be made by ‘going green’, whether it be more energy efficient lighting, smart meters at council properties, or  piloting energy generation schemes such as installing solar panels on council properties;

g.  Commits itself to supporting low or zero-emissions public transport, and calls on Transport for London (TfL) to reinstate the no-emission RV1 bus service in full;

h.  Commits to working with TfL to reduce congestion on Jamaica Road and Lower Road;

i.  Commits to push developers to work harder on meeting the council and GLA’s carbon reduction targets, and ensure that monies collected in lieu through the Carbon Offset Fund are spent on projects that genuinely offset the equivalent emissions created by new developments;

j.  Commits to investigate ways of combining ‘Big Data’ and new technologies to support smarter management of our local environment, taking inspiration from examples such as the Municipality of Albertslund in Denmark, who tested different waste solutions to improve knowledge on how to optimise the collection and route planning of waste, and the city of Copenhagen who have used data-driven traffic management to improve air quality.

The meeting agreed to receive submissions from the following:

 

Local residents on climate change

 

The group's representatives spoke to the meeting for five minutes.

 

The group asked a question of the relevant cabinet member.

 

Belham Parents Air Quality Group

 

The group's representatives spoke to the meeting for five minutes.

 

The group asked a question of the relevant cabinet member.

 

Living Bankside

 

The group's representatives spoke to the meeting for five minutes.

 

The group asked a question of the relevant cabinet member.

 

Plastic Free East Dulwich

 

The group's representatives spoke to the meeting for five minutes.

 

The group asked a question of the relevant cabinet member.

A petition was received from the East Dulwich Independents Business Association on the subject of "Save our High Street, fight controlled parking zone (CPZ) in East Dulwich".  Members debated the petition.

 

RESOLVED:

 

To commission further investigation into the matter.  Councillor Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for environment, transport management and air quality, agreed to take this forward.

Councillor Peter John, leader of the council, offered the council's sympathies to Christchurch, New Zealand, following the attack there.

 

Councillor Damian O'Brien supported this statement.

 

A one minute silence was held in memory of this event.

To approve the scheme budget for the direct delivery of the Copeland Car Park Site.

1.  That the total scheme budget of £18,255,000 for the direct delivery of the Copeland Car Park site, which includes the professional fees and on-costs outlined in paragraph 15 to 20 of the report be approved.

 

2.  That the funding for this project come from the Housing Revenue Account.

To approve the acquisition of a leasehold interest in 223 Southwark Park Road, SE16.

1.  That the leasehold interest held by Glasdon Estates be acquired by accepting a surrender of the existing long lease for an agreed capital sum (payable by the council).

 

2.  That a meantime food and beverage “offer” on the basis described in paragraph 7( b) of the report (but with the council’s sole involvement only) be brought forward. Meanwhile the property will be put into use to create a destination for The Blue around local food production and to generally increase footfall to the town center, benefiting local traders.

 

3.  That it be noted that the property is held in the Housing Revenue Account, and the principle purpose of the acquisitions is the delivery of new council homes, acquired through the HRA. Detailed redevelopment options are to be appraised, potentially drawing in adjacent London Borough of Southwark (LBS) owned land (also HRA).

 

GW2: Contract award approval – Conant House QHIP 18/19

That the award of the Conant House 2018-2019 QHIP via a mini-competition from the major works constructor framework to A&E Elkins Ltd for a period of 30 weeks be approved.

To note the consultation response and delegate authority to the head of the chief executive’s office to submit the formal consultation to the GLA as provided at Appendix 1 of the report.

1.  That the consultation response be noted.

 

2.  That authority to submit the formal consultation response to the GLA as provided at Appendix 1 of the report be delegated to the head of the chief executive’s office.

Approval of the enforcement policy and penalty matrix for implementing fixed penalty notices under the Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detector Regulations 2015

1.  That the adoption of the Private Sector Housing – Enforcement Policy Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations Statement of Principles, in Appendix 1 of the report, for use by the duly authorised officers be approved.

 

2.  That authority for enforcement of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 be delegated to the strategic director of environment and leisure.

 

3.  That authority to make minor amendments to the enforcement policy and statement of principles in Appendix 1 of the report to reflect any legal changes by way of regulations and/or guidance be delegated to the strategic director of environment and leisure.