Agenda item

To consider the following motions:

 

·  Cost of Child Care

 

·  London Housing Strategy

 

·  Urgent Review of Cycle Safety

 

·  Safer Crossings on Borough High Street

 

·  East Dulwich Police Station

 

·  Billboard Advertisement at Elephant & Castle Roundabout

 

·  Tribute to Grace Jones.

The Mayor reminded the meeting that it had agreed to the change of speakers on Motions 4 and 5.  It had been agreed that Councillor Patrick Diamond would replace Councillor Gavin Edwards as the seconder of Motion 4: Safer Crossings on Borough High Street and Councillor Dan Garfield would replace Councillor Martin Seaton as the seconder of Motion 6: Billboard Advertisement at Elephant and Castle Roundabout.

 

MOTION 1 – COST OF CHILD CARE (see page 18 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Rosie Shimell, seconded by Councillor Lisa Rajan, moved the motion.

 

CouncillorRenata Hamvas, seconded by Councillor Cleo Soanes, moved Amendment D.

 

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

 

CouncillorAnood Al-Samerai, seconded by Councillor James Barber, moved Amendment E.

 

Following debate (Councillors Fiona Colley, Rowenna Davis, Stephen Govier, Graham Neale and Toby Eckersley), Councillor Renata Hamvas exercised her right of reply.

 

At 10.03pm the Mayor announced that the guillotine had fallen and the meeting would move to the vote on the outstanding motions and amendments.

 

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

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Recognises the significant cost of good quality childcare for families across the borough.

 

2.  Therefore condemns the Liberal Democrat/Tory cuts to financial support available for working parents for childcare costs. Notes that in 2011 the government cut support within the tax credit system from 80% to 70% of eligible childcare costs, with a cap of fees at £175, meaning low income families faced a reduction in help towards childcare bills. Council assembly also condemns the Liberal Democrat/Tory government for failing to raise the £175 ceiling despite the rise in childcare costs.

 

3.  Further condemns the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition government’s closure of over 500 Sure Start centres since the general election in 2010, resulting in 35,000 fewer childcare places, following government cuts of £430 from English local authority Sure Start budgets between 2010-11 and 2012-13.

 

4.  Welcomes the previous Labour government’s decision to extend childcare to 15 hours per week for 3 and 4 year olds and notes that in Southwark, 3,300 3 year olds and 3,670 4 year olds are benefitting from these funded early education places. Notes that the government has now extended this provision to 20% of two year olds in families on the lowest incomes. Council assembly welcomes this additional provision, but notes that this is against a backdrop of punishing families through the tax credit system and making it harder for parents who want to work and need support with childcare. 

 

5.  Calls on cabinet to help local parents by funding additional childcare hours on top of those already offered by the government.

 

6.  Welcomes the commitment that a Labour government would increase this provision and provide 25 hours of free childcare a week for working parents with three and four-year-olds, worth £15,000, using a levy on banks.

 

7.  Further welcomes Labour’s commitment to offer “wraparound” provision between 8am and 6pm – from breakfast to after-school clubs – in primary schools.

 

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

 

MOTION 2 – LONDON HOUSING STRATEGY (see pages 18 - 19 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Mark Williams and Helen Hayes formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Paul Noblet and Tim McNally 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 London is facing a housing crisis, as housing supply fails to match the city’s growing population. Home ownership in London has fallen below 50 per cent for the first time since records began and the rise in house prices has outstripped the increase in household incomes. In 2013, the average rent for a three bedroom flat typically consumed 59 per cent of a London family’s income. Londoners now experience the highest levels of overcrowding in the country and the capital has record levels of homeless households in temporary accommodation.

 

2.  That council assembly notes the Mayor of London’s draft Housing Strategy and welcomes the commitment to increase housing building in London. Council assembly notes the ambition to build at least 42,000 new homes in London per annum for the next ten years, approximately twice as many as are currently built per year, but expresses concern that this number may not be sufficient to solve London’s current housing crisis, with recent research suggesting that more than 60,000 new homes a year are needed to meet growing demand in the capital.

 

3.  That council assembly welcomes the fact that the Mayor of London has accepted Labour’s argument about the importance of genuinely affordable housing and welcomes the move in the Mayor’s Housing Strategy to recognise the continued need for new homes at social rent.

 

4.  That, however, council assembly expresses concern about the balance between “discounted rents”, which are set well above target rent levels for social housing but below market rents, and “capped rents” which are equivalent to the current social rent.

 

5.  That of the 15,000 new affordable homes that the Mayor will seek to deliver each year:

 

·  Approximately 4,000 will be flexible low cost home ownership and 9,000 will be affordable rent.

·  Of the 9,000 affordable rent houses, only half of these homes will be “capped” at low affordable rents, with the remaining half set at “discounted” rents of up to 80% of market rent.

 

6.  That this means that social rented housing makes up only 11% of the Mayor’s annual housing target.

 

7.  That council assembly expresses concern that the Mayor’s decision to allow “affordable” rents to be set at up to 80% of market prices will make renting unaffordable for many residents in the borough. Southwark Council, along with other London boroughs, has initiated a judicial review of this decision, the implication of which would be that councils will have little power to make sure new affordable housing is genuinely affordable for local people.

 

8.  That council assembly welcomes the commitment of Southwark Council to building more homes in the borough, having built 2,300 new homes over the last two years, including 1,230 affordable homes.

 

9.  That it notes that Southwark is the fifth highest London borough in terms of house building over the last two years and also the fifth highest in building affordable housing.

 

10.  That council assembly congratulates other Labour boroughs for their commitment to house building, making up seven of the top 10 London boroughs in terms of house building over the last two years, and nine out of the top 10 boroughs for building additional affordable housing in London.

 

11.  That council assembly welcomes this administration’s commitment to build 11,000 new council homes. Council assembly notes that since 2010 the council has already approved over 10,000 new homes in the borough, including almost 3,000 new affordable homes.

 

12.  That council assembly notes the acknowledgement in the Mayor’s draft London Housing Strategy that boroughs, the government, the Mayor and the public and private sectors must work together to achieve the 42,000 target for house building. However, council assembly also expresses concern that many London boroughs, particularly Conservative and Liberal Democrat boroughs, are likely to have significantly lower housing targets than Southwark.

 

13.  That Southwark is playing its part in solving London’s housing crisis; council assembly calls on other councils to do the same.

 

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

 

MOTION 3 – Urgent review of cycle safety (see page 20 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Graham Neale and Geoffrey Thornton formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Darren Merrill and Chris Brown 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:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Notes with sadness the loss of cyclists’ lives on London’s roads in recent months and years, including the tragic death in November of Walworth resident and community volunteer Richard Muzira.

 

2.  Welcomes the steps Southwark Council has taken to improve cycling safety in the borough, including running a campaign to promote cycling and cycle safety, free cyclist training, Safer Urban Driver courses for drivers of HGVs, a programme of cycle parking on the highway and the 'Park to Park' mass cycle ride for children.

 

3.  Applauds the commitment of the leader of the council in championing the issue of cycling safety, working on a cross-party basis with leaders across London. Council assembly welcomes the Mayor of London’s agreement to hold a London-wide cycle summit following the proposal from the leader of the council.

 

4.  Welcomes the cabinet’s commitment to utilise the expertise of a cycling consultant to review cycling safety in the borough and to identify steps which can be taken to improve cycling safety and take up in Southwark.

 

5.  Welcomes the work of the leader of the council in pressing for a comprehensive route of cycleways across Southwark and London, providing cyclists with effectively dedicated routes to minimize any interaction with motorised traffic. Council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue working with TfL to deliver dedicated cycle routes on Blackfriars Road.

 

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

 

MOTION 4 – Safer Crossings on Borough High Street (see pages 20 - 21 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Claire Hickson and Patrick Diamond formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Poddy Clark and Geoffrey Thornton formally moved and seconded Amendment H.

 

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

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Applauds the work of local campaigners, including Southwark Living Streets and Borough Babies, in organising the ‘Safe Crossings on Borough High St Campaign’.

 

2.  Notes that high numbers of people cross Borough High Street every day at its junctions at:

 

·  Great Dover Street and Marshalsea Road

·  Trinity Street and Great Suffolk Street.

 

3.  Notes that many of the people who use these junctions are families who live to the east of Borough High Street and whose children go to schools on the west side of Borough High Street, including Charles Dickens Primary School, the Cathedral School and St Joseph’s Primary School, Friars Primary School, the London Christian School, St Saviour’s and St Olave's school, the Bright Horizons Nursery and The Arc Nursery.

 

4.  Calls on cabinet to work with Transport for London to:

 

·  Review crossing safety on Borough High Street

·  Create pedestrian crossings at the junction with Great Dover Street and Marshalsea Road, and at the junction with Trinity Street and Great Suffolk Street.

 

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

 

MOTION 5 – EAST DULWICH POLICE STATION (see page 21 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors James Barber and Jonathan Mitchell formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Helen Hayes and Andy Simmons formally moved and seconded Amendment I.

 

Amendment I 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 condemns the closure of East Dulwich and Sydenham police stations and the reduction in opening hours at Gipsy Hill police station, leaving Dulwich residents without adequate access to police front counter facilities.

 

2.  That council assembly calls upon the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to ensure that as the East Dulwich police station site is developed for a new use, a police front counter facility is incorporated on the ground floor of the building, with a commitment to staff this facility throughout the week, and that MOPAC works with the council to assess the feasibility of the rest of the site being used for school provision.

 

3.  That council assembly recognises the need for additional community services and facilities in Dulwich, particularly including school places and calls upon the Lambeth and Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Property Co to expedite the decision-making process in relation to the development of new health facilities on the Dulwich Hospital site, so that the remainder of the site can be used to develop new community facilities, including new school provision.

 

4.  That council assembly also calls on any free school providers to work closely and cooperatively with the council on school place planning in the Dulwich area.

 

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

 

MOTION 6 – Billboard Advertisement at Elephant & Castle Roundabout (see page 21 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Neil Coyle and Dan Garfield formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Lisa Rajan and Adele Morris formally moved and seconded Amendment J.

 

Amendment J 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:

 

1.  Applauds work of local community activists Vijay Luthra, Claire Maugham and Karl Eastham, who succeeded in getting an offensive billboard advert removed from the Elephant & Castle roundabout following public complaints.

 

2.  Recognises the negative effect of inappropriate adverts anywhere in the borough and notes the council’s guidelines to contractors about the types of adverts they display on council sites.

 

3.  Congratulates the council for acting immediately to have the offensive advert removed and notes that the advert was taken down by council officers the same day they were alerted to the issue.

 

4.  Welcomes the swift action of Primesight, the billboard operator, in responding quickly to the council’s request.

 

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

 

MOTION 7 – Tribute to Grace Jones (see pages  21 - 22 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Eliza Mann and Graham Neale formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Notes with sadness the passing of the UK’s oldest resident, Grace Jones from Bermondsey, who died in November aged 113.

 

2.  Acknowledges her remarkable life which spanned the whole of the 20^th century and her contribution to the local community.

 

3.  Calls on the cabinet to pay a lasting tribute to the life of Grace Jones by naming a new public building after her at the earliest opportunity.

 

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