Agenda item

To consider the following motions on the theme submitted by members of the council:

 

·  Future Vision for Southwark

 

·  A Vision for Southwark

 

·  Vision for Localism

The Mayor reminded the meeting that it had previously agreed to waiver procedure rules to allow a revised debate on the themed motions.  All the motions and amendments would be taken as formally moved and seconded and a speaker from the four groups on the council would speak on the theme for three minutes, thereafter the debate would be open to any member who indicated to speak.

 

The Mayor also reminded the meeting that it had previously agreed to accept revised Amendment G.

 

MOTION 1 – FUTURE VISION FOR SOUTHWARK(see pages 1 - 4 of the main agenda)

 

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

 

MOTION 2 - A VISION FOR SOUTHWARK (See pages 4 – 5 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Mark Williams, seconded by Councillor Michael Situ, formally moved the motion.

 

Councillor Althea Smith, seconded by Councillor Stephen Govier, formally moved Amendment A.

 

Councillor Andy Simmons, seconded by Councillor Renata Hamvas, formally moved Amendment B.

 

Councillor Paul Noblet, seconded by Councillor Jonathan Mitchell, formally moved Amendment C.

 

Councillor James Barber, seconded by Councillor Tim McNally, formally moved Amendment D.

 

MOTION 3 - VISION FOR LOCALISM (see pages 5 – 6 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Michael Mitchell, seconded by Councillor Lewis Robinson, formally moved the motion.

 

Councillor Martin Seaton, seconded by Councillor Mark Glover, formally moved Amendment E.

 

Councillor Graham Neale, seconded by Councillor Adele Morris, formally moved Amendment F.

 

Councillors Lisa Rajan, Mark Williams, Althea Smith and Michael Mitchell rose to speak on the motions and amendments.

 

The following councillors then spoke on the theme - Councillors Rosie Shimell, Veronica Ward, Paul Noblet, Reneta Hamvas, Lewis Robinson, Gavin Edwards, David Noakes, Michael Situ, Mark Gettleson and Neil Coyle.

 

The Mayor announced that the time allocated to the themed section of the meeting had expired.  The clerk announced that the amendments and the substantive motions would be voted on separately.

 

Vote on Motion 1 - Future Vision for Southwark 

 

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

 

Vote on Motion 2 - A Vision for Southwark

 

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

 

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

 

Amendment C was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

 

Amendment D 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 welcomes the work that this administration has done over the last four years to deliver the council’s vision of creating a fairer future for Southwark.

 

2.  That council assembly notes that since 2010, the council has faced almost £80 million in government funding cuts, which have caused significant budget pressures. This year alone the council has lost over £25 million in funding, equating to £249 for every single person in Southwark.

 

These cuts have meant the council has been required to do more with less. Council assembly welcomes the fact that the administration – in line with the preferences of Southwark residents - has protected frontline services and delivered savings through efficiencies in back-office and support services, cutting councillor allowances, cutting the cost of consultants and temps and cutting bills for catering, taxis and publicity.

 

3.  That council assembly applauds the success of this administration in delivering on its “Fairer Future” promises, including:

 

i.  Ensuring every primary school child in Southwark receives a free healthy, nutritious hot meal every day – delivering nearly four million free school meals each year and saving families £340 a year per child

 

ii.  Supporting residents in Southwark through the current cost of living crisis by freezing council tax for four years in a row and keeping council rents low

 

iii.  Ensuring that every employee, contractor and agency staff employed by the council are paid the London Living Wage

 

iv.  Doubling Southwark’s recycling rate and bringing a record 17 council parks up to green flag standard

 

v.  Investing £326 million to make every council home in the borough warm, dry and safe

 

vi.  Supporting older people in the borough by halving the price of meals on wheels, introducing a social care hotline providing expert advice, and building a new Centre of Excellence to deliver cutting edge facilities for dementia patients

 

vii.  Supporting 26 talented young people from Southwark facing financial hardship to go to university

 

viii.  Supporting 1,000 Southwark residents to find work through the council’s employment programmes in the last 18 months.

 

4.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue working towards delivering a fairer future for all in Southwark, and in particular by:

 

i.  Creating quality affordable homes in Southwark, building more homes of every kind for local people, including 11,000 new council homes, improving the quality of existing council homes, driving up standards in the private rented sector and keeping rents in Southwark among the lowest in London

 

·  London faces a housing crisis and needs new homes.  Council assembly welcomes that this administration has already given permission for over 11,000 new homes of every type in the borough and has also started building 11,000 new council homes. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to:

 

o  Ensure there are more homes for local people, whether your home is privately rented, shared ownership, council or private.

o  Ensure that at least 50% of all new council homes go to people from that area, with the rest going to other Southwark residents.

o  Keep improving council homes and deliver a quality kitchen and bathroom for every council tenant.

 

ii.  Supporting the best start in life by continuing to deliver free school meals for all primary school children, investing in affordable childcare for families in Southwark and expanding school places across the borough

 

·  Council assembly welcomes Labour’s commitment to quality affordable childcare and the administration’s decision to keep all our popular nurseries open despite the Liberal Democrat/Tory government cutting the money available for nurseries. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to:

 

o  Invest in the borough’s children’s centres and work with parents to set up two new community nurseries to increase the number of affordable places in the borough.

o  Launch a Childcare Commission to bring together experts, parents, providers and employers to find new ways to guarantee care and early education to help parents and carers to balance work and family life.

o  Guarantee a local primary place for every child and open new secondary schools to meet demand.

 

iii.  Building a strong local economy by leading the campaign for the London Living Wage, working with local businesses to support job creation and ensuring that young people in Southwark are ready for work

 

·  Southwark is a borough of growth and opportunity: a great place to do business, and to work. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to:

 

o  Ensure that this growth continues, by supporting 5,000 local people into jobs and creating 2,000 new apprenticeships over the next four years.

o  Ensure that our young people are ready for work; we will guarantee that every school leaver has something to do whether training, education or a job.

o  Provide an hour’s free parking in our shopping parades to support small shopping parades, which rely on local and passing trade, and to help residents to shop locally.

 

iv.  Continuing to deliver value for money and get the basics right in the face of significant government cuts, continuing to drive up recycling rates, investing in our roads and working to keep our streets clean and safe

 

·  Council assembly condemns the Liberal Democrat/Tory government for their savage cuts to Southwark’s budget.  Council assembly condemns Liberal Democrats and Tories in Southwark who have failed to stand up for the interests of people putting party interest before local need.  Council assembly welcomes that this administration has been using money wisely, so even with 25% less money from the coalition government the council is keeping our streets clean, improving bin collection and making the borough safer. This administration has doubled recycling rates; council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to continue to drive up recycling rates and divert more than 95% of waste away from landfill.

 

·  Historic underinvestment in roads means the council is faced with expensive bills to fill potholes. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to double capital investment into roads making them safer with better surfaces for all roads users.

 

v.  Supporting people of all ages in Southwark to lead healthy and active lives, preventing barriers that prevent people from getting fit, investing in cycling to improve safety and take up, supporting our more vulnerable residents and becoming an “Age Friendly Borough”, to help people get the best out of Southwark, whatever their age

 

·  Council assembly notes that this administration wants to make it easier for people to be healthy, so that residents in Southwark can live a full life, whatever their age. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to help residents to keep fit by making swimming and gym use free for all residents in our leisure centres.

 

·  Council assembly welcomes the council’s investment in better cycling and is making Southwark a 20mph borough to make our streets safer. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to use Dutch expertise to deliver Southwark a safer cycling network and work with the Mayor to extend bike hire across the borough.

 

vi.  Taking pride in our borough, investing in our parks and libraries, continuing to invest in green energy and transforming our town centres through regeneration to make them places that we can all live, work and enjoy.

 

·  After years of the Liberal Democrats and Tories talking down Southwark, council assembly welcomes that Labour is transforming our borough, through huge investment in Walworth, Camberwell and Peckham, and big improvements at the Elephant and Castle and Canada Water. Government cuts mean lots of councils are closing libraries. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to invest in Southwark’s libraries and keep them open, increasing access by giving a free library card to every secondary school child.

 

·  The Tory Mayor has cut over 300 Southwark police officers and PCSOs since 2010. Council assembly supports Labour’s commitment to campaign to get them back.

 

5.  That council assembly also calls on cabinet to help local parents by funding additional childcare hours on top of those already offered by government.

 

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

 

Vote on Motion 3 - Vision for Localism

 

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

 

The clerk explained that as Amendment E had been carried Amendment F fell

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly notes the persistently low turnouts in local elections, indicating a lack of connection with the voters; and also the wide disparity in turnout between the wards.

 

2.  That council assembly believes the future of Southwark will be best served when the people are empowered and encouraged to engage with local politicians.

 

3.  That council assembly warmly welcomes the steps that have been taken by this administration to improve consultation with local people through community conversations with thousands of residents. Council assembly welcomes the fact that this feedback from residents has been used to shape policy on issues such as priorities for council services, setting the budget and the future of council housing, and that the outcomes of this consultation have then been fed back to the community.

 

4.  That council assembly also welcomes the council’s work as an acknowledged leader in devolving control of housing services to residents through the creation of tenant management organisations (TMOs). Council assembly notes that residents on the D'Eynesford and Gloucester Grove estates have recently voted to create TMOs for their areas, and will join Styles House which launched in January 2014 and 12 other TMOs in Southwark who provide housing services to over 4200 homes.

 

5.  That council assembly notes that this administration has also successfully sought to allow residents even greater control through the creation of the country's first 'self-financing' TMO in the Leathermarket Joint Management Board (JMB), giving residents control of all rents and service charges in their area.

 

6.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue working with local people in Southwark to encourage community involvement in decision-making and to ensure council policies reflect the priorities of local people.

 

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