Agenda item

To consider the following motions:

·  Post offices for Southwark

·  Changes to NHS Southwark

·  Save Chambers Wharf.

MOTION 1 – POST OFFICES FOR SOUTHWARK

(see page 18 of the main agenda)

The motion was withdrawn by the movers with the request that it be submitted to the next ordinary meeting of council assembly.

MOTION 2 – CHANGES TO NHS SOUTHWARK

(see pages 18 - 19 of the main agenda)

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Neil Coyle and Mark Williams, formally moved and seconded the motion.

Councillors Helen Morrissey and Patrick Diamond, formally moved and seconded Amendment D.

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

Councillors David Noakes and Denise Capstick, formally moved and seconded Amendment E.

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:

1.  That council assembly recognises and appreciates the excellent work done by doctors, nurses and other health workers in Southwark.

2.  That council assembly believes the government’s Health and Adult Social Care Bill is creating uncertainty in the NHS at a time when budgets are already tight and regrets that Southwark PCT will be required to hold back £21 million, which could be spent on patient care, to pay for the government’s reorganisation.

3.  That council assembly believes the government’s top down reorganisation lacks direction and is an unnecessary distraction to Southwark’s NHS staff at a time when they want to focus on patient care.

4.  That council assembly also notes that the number of people in Southwark waiting more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment has increased by 168% since May 2010 – the largest increase in London.

5.  That council assembly believes the government’s decision to abolish waiting time targets has led to this increase in Southwark and now means fewer than 90% of Southwark patients are being treated within 18 weeks.

6.  That council assembly believes giving patients’ certainty about when they will be treated is fundamentally important to their health and that low waiting times are a benchmark for excellence in the NHS.

7.  That council assembly welcomes the opposition of Harriet Harman and Tessa Jowell to the government’s NHS reforms and notes Simon Hughes’s comments on 8 December that there had been a “particular issue” in Southwark regarding waiting times. It hopes that instead of blaming hardworking NHS staff in Southwark Simon Hughes will take their side and oppose the government’s NHS reforms.

8.  That council assembly rejects David Cameron’s assertion that there was a "real problem" with nursing in UK hospitals and believes that if the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government really wants to help nurses in Southwark to focus on patient care, it should listen to what nurses are saying and drop this unnecessary health bill.

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

MOTION 3 – SAVE CHAMBERS WHARF

(see pages 19 – 20 of the main agenda)

This motion was considered after the deputation from Save Your Riverside and prior to the guillotine having fallen.

The Mayor announced that Amendment F had been withdrawn.  Thereafter the meeting agreed to suspend council assembly procedure rule 1.14 (4 ) to allow for a single debate on the motion and the remaining amendment.

Councillor Peter John, seconded by Councillor Claire Hickson, moved Motion 3.

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai, seconded by Councillor Eliza Mann, moved Amendment G.

Following debate (Councillors David Hubber, Fiona Colley, Jeff Hook and Catherine Bowman), Councillor Peter John exercised his right of reply.

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 unquestionable importance of a clean River Thames, but notes the purchase of Chambers Wharf by Thames Water and that it is the company’s preferred construction site in Southwark for a “Super Sewer” junction.

2.  That council assembly notes that 150 residential properties, two schools with over 1000 students and the Thames Path are situated very near to the Chambers Wharf site.

3.  That council assembly regrets the impact Thames Water’s plans could have on the local community and notes that construction will take at least seven years, three years of which will be 24 hours a day for seven days a week. This will not only lead to an increase in noise pollution but to increased heavy vehicle traffic on the local roads, which are not only narrow but also where the schools are located posing a real danger to school children and local residents.

4.  That council assembly believes construction so close to residents and schools for such a length of time would be a major source of air pollution possibly causing respiratory illnesses, asthma and bronchitis.

5.  That council assembly is also concerned that Southwark residents’ water bills are likely to increase by £70 per year if Thames Water’s proposal goes ahead and, once completed, Thames Water cannot guarantee there will not be sewage smells from the site.

6.  That council assembly requests the cabinet to call on Thames Water to find an alternative non-residential site to Chambers Wharf that will have no impact on Southwark residents and welcomes the report of the Selborne Commission which has been set up by a number of riverside London councils to examine alternatives to the Thames Tunnel.

7.  That council assembly calls on all political groups in Southwark and local MPs to stand up to Thames Water in opposing Chambers Wharf as a construction siteand to respond to the phase 2 consultation.  Council assembly also welcomes Simon Hughes MP's calls for a debate on the floor of the House of Commons and calls for all Southwark's MPs to take part in this.

8.  That council assembly recognises and formally thanks the Save Your Riverside campaign for all their hard work in raising awareness of the issue and detailing credible technical arguments to challenge Thames Water.

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