Agenda item

To consider motions on the following:

 

·  Traffic and transport including cycling and public transport

·  A fair deal for tenants and leaseholders

·  Campaign against the high stake gambling machines

·  Towns against tax dodging

·  Healthy and active communities

·  Tackling empty homes in Southwark

·  Local government devolution

·  HIV testing.

RESOLVED:

 

Traffic and transport including cycling and public transport

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That a well resourced, well maintained and accessible transport system can improve the lives of our residents, expand economic growth, improve public health and make the borough a more pleasant place to live. Council assembly recognises the need for a robust transport policy that enables people to travel around the borough and access services as freely and easily as possible, while at the same time minimising the environmental impact of transport and making the borough a safer, cleaner, healthier and more attractive place to live.

 

2.  That council assembly believes that transport policy should reflect an emphasis on public transport, including improving walking and cycling routes, increasing bus capacity and improving transport links for people living in outreach areas of the borough, who are currently poorly served by National Rail.

 

3.  That council assembly recognises the key role played by the council in promoting and encouraging sustainable forms of transport, such as walking and cycling, to improve health and air quality, and to improve the public realm, including streets, parks and open spaces.

 

4.  That council assembly welcomes the progress made by the council to reduce traffic and encourage more environmentally friendly forms of transport. In particular, council assembly welcomes the launch of the new cycling strategy for consultation, which aims to both improve cycling experiences and increase the number of people cycling in the borough.

 

Economic growth

 

5.  That council assembly recognises the potential for improvements in transport to unlock economic growth by increasing employment opportunities, opening up connectivity across the borough and improving links between Southwark and the rest of London.

 

6.  That with a projected population increase of 19% over the next fifteen years, it is essential to ensure capacity and affordability of public transport in Southwark by maintaining and improving the existing transport network, to ensure that those who live and work in the borough are able to make journeys as freely and easily as possible.

 

7.  That council assembly recognises that significant public transport improvements are needed in parts of the borough which are currently under-served and in need of additional investment.

 

8.  That council assembly fully supports Labour’s campaign to extend the Bakerloo line south of Elephant and Castle and welcomes the cross party support for this campaign. Council Assembly welcomes that after more than 100 years since the extension was first proposed, a consultation is now being undertaken by TfL to consider options for the route.

 

9.  That council assembly supports the expansion of the Bakerloo line to serve both Camberwell and the Old Kent Road and calls on Cabinet to continue pushing for a two-branch extension with Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London and to push for a more ambitious timetable for the delivery of the Bakerloo line extension.

 

10.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to support small businesses in Southwark and encourage people to shop locally by supporting the small business Saturday campaign, including suspending parking charges to encourage people to shop locally.

 

Public health

 

11.  That council assembly recognises the potential to improve public health through transport policy, by encouraging residents in the borough to make more active journeys walking and cycling. Council assembly believes that sustainable journeys should be prioritised and encouraged through transport policy.

 

12.  That over 100 people in Southwark die prematurely each year from poor air quality. Council assembly supports the implementation of an Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) in London, but believes that the current ULEZ proposal by TfL will not go far enough to improve air quality across the capital. Council assembly calls on the cabinet to press the Mayor and TfL to consider Labour’s proposed revisions to the scheme, including widening the zone beyond the Central London Congestion Charge boundary, committing to levy increased charges for more polluting vehicles, introducing a scrappage scheme to provide targeted assistance to drivers and cleaning up the TfL bus fleet.

 

13.  That council assembly welcomes the launch of the borough’s new cycling strategy, which aims to increase the number and quality of cycling journeys made in Southwark. Council assembly welcomes the cabinet’s commitment to more than double cycling in the next ten years by proving the infrastructure, education and information needed to get more people cycling. Council assembly also welcomes the fact that more money is being spent on cycling in Southwark than ever before, with £2 million funding committed for cycling over the next four years.

 

14.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to:

 

i)  Continue investing in cycling, both to make roads safer and to promote  cycling as a healthy more of transport.

 

ii)  Invest in cycling infrastructure, including:

 

·  Introducing new cycle routes

·  Closing off roads to motor vehicles to make routes more accessible for cyclists

·  Identifying areas where segregated cycle lanes could be introduced to improve cycle safety

·  Pressing TfL for an expansion of the cycle hire scheme.

 

Making the borough a more pleasant place to live

 

15.  That prioritising sustainable modes of transport and designing roads and public spaces to be more pedestrian friendly has a positive impact on the public realm, making the borough cleaner, greener and a more attractive place for people to live and work.

 

16.  That closing off roads to enable children to play outdoors can promote healthy activities and bring together the community in a positive way. Council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue to promote play streets, making it easier and safer for children to play outdoors in Southwark.

 

17.  That council assembly welcomes the steps taken by the council to ensure we have a transport system that works for all, by improving disabled access and making Southwark an age friendly borough. Council assembly believes that significant access improvements are needed across the London transport system and welcome’s the Mayor of London’s recognition of the need for improved step free access in the London Infrastructure Plan. However, council assembly believes that the Mayor’s commitment to step free access in two thirds of stations by 2050 is not sufficient, and calls on the cabinet to push the Mayor of London to commit to a more ambitious target of step free access across the London transport network by 2030.

 

18.  That council assembly welcomes the council’s ambitious step to become a 20mph borough, making Southwark a pioneering council in London committed to reducing road casualties and creating a more pleasant environment for people in the borough.

 

19.  That council assembly recognises the potential for transport improvements to transform communities; making improvements to streets and public spaces by opening up areas and making them even better places to live, work and visit.

 

20.  That council assembly welcomes the cabinet’s commitment to transform the Elephant and Castle area through one of the biggest regeneration projects in London. Council assembly calls on the cabinet to work with TfL to deliver proposals to remove the northern roundabout and create a major new public space, to improve walking and cycling routes and to make the area feel cleaner and greener.

 

21.  That council assembly welcomes the cabinet’s commitment to transform the Old Kent Road, making it more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists. Council assembly welcomes the designation of the Old Kent Road as an opportunity area, but recognises that the area is desperately in need of better public transport links. Council assembly calls on the cabinet to lobby the Mayor of London for infrastructure improvements, improved public transport connections and the extension of the Bakerloo line to support the development of the area. Council assembly welcomes the consultation on options for the area.

 

A fair deal for tenants and leaseholders

 

That the amended motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That council assembly notes that:

 

i)  This administration wants to make Southwark a place we can all be proud of. The council is committed to tackling the borough’s biggest problems and making a real difference to the quality of life of local people. As the largest local authority landlord in London, our housing department has a key role in achieving this aim.

 

ii)  The council provides a range of housing services to help make our residents’ homes cleaner, safer and more modern and to keep neighbourhoods clean and safe. Estate cleaning and grounds maintenance is inspected every 6 weeks by housing officers and tenant representatives and performance is consistently good.

 

iii)  Last year the council carried out 3,149 estate inspections, to ensure services are being provided to a good standard. 97% of estates were rated good or excellent. 99.98% of bin collections are done on time and in the last year the council carried out:

 

·  99.6% of grafitti removals within 24 hours

·  99.6% of fly tipping removals within 24 hours

·  99.8% of dog fouling removals within 48 hours.

 

iv)  This administration has driven up standards in repairs and is taking innovative steps to improve the quality of our services. Since 2010 satisfaction with repairs has increased from 72% to 82% and 82% of repairs are now completed right first time, 14% higher than 2010.

 

v)  This administration wants to go even further than this to ensure high quality service. Council assembly welcomes the cabinet’s commitment in the draft Council Plan to:

 

·  Introduce resident inspectors - putting residents in control of repair quality

·  Introduce deep cleaning of estates, to remove built up dirt and keep estates clean

·  Introduce an independent leaseholder management company to empower the local community to hold the council properly to account and ensure leaseholders know they are getting a fair deal.

 

vi)  The council’s vision is to make Southwark’s homes and neighbourhoods great places to live, where good quality services are delivered right first time. In many areas of the service the council does just that, but this administration is always looking for ways to improve the services that the council provides to our residents. When things go wrong the council will look at compensation on a case by case basis.

 

2.  That council assembly believes that the council should continue to work with residents to improve services, rather than expecting residents to put up with poorer quality homes in exchange for compensation.

 

3.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to prioritise getting things right first time and to continue to invest in improvements to ensure a high quality service is delivered to all residents.

 

Campaign against the high stake gambling machines

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That council assembly reiterates its concern about the proliferation of high street betting outlets in Southwark which, like for many other London boroughs, is an issue of grave concern to the council and local residents.

 

2.  That council assembly notes that there are more than twice as many betting shops in the poorest 55 boroughs compared with the most affluent 115, equivalent by population. Council assembly also notes the concerns of the Gambling Commission that fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) present a high inherent money laundering risk.

 

3.  That council assembly regrets that despite this evidence that the most vulnerable are being targeted, the government has refused to act.

 

4.  That council assembly condemns Liberal Democrat and Tory MPs, including government minister and local MP Simon Hughes, for voting against Labour’s motion calling for local authorities to be given new powers to restrict the growth of FOBTs, despite publicly backing campaigns to curb high stakes gambling machines.

 

5.  That council assembly notes that Labour’s proposal have been welcomed by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, which praised Labour for ‘putting pressure on the government to take action sooner rather than later’.

 

6.  That council assembly calls on the government to back Labour’s proposals to enable local authorities to curb the growth of FOBTs and to establish a separate planning class for betting shops.

 

7.  That council assembly calls on cabinet to work with The London Borough of Newham and other London councils to make a submission to the government under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 to reduce the maximum bet per spin on FOBTs in on street betting shops from £100 to £2, bringing them in line with other gambling machines.

 

8.  That council assembly calls on Liberal Democat MPs and government ministers, including Simon Hughes MP, to demonstrate their support for the campaign against high stake gambling machines by backing Labour councils’ submission to reduce the maximum bet per spin on FOBTs and to introduce a separate use class for betting shops, instead of simply voting on the issue at an party conference that no one cares about.

 

Towns against tax dodging

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That council assembly believes:

 

  i.  Southwark as a local authority has a duty to provide the best possible public services.

 

  ii.  The council’s ability to provide quality local services would be significantly enhanced by the increased revenues from the government tackling tax dodging.

 

  iii.  Allwho benefit from public spending should contribute their fair share.

 

  iv.  The UK must take a lead role in creating a fairer tax system and combating tax dodging 

 

2.  That council assembly notes:

 

  i.  It has been estimated that the UK Treasury loses as much as £12 billion to tax dodging by multinational companies every year. Developing countries lose three times more to tax dodging than they receive in aid each year - enough to give a basic education to the 57 million children currently missing out.

  ii.  The UK has a particular responsibility to end tax dodging, as it is responsible for 1 in 5 of the world’s tax havens in the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

 

  iii.  The use of tax havens by UK companies is rife, with 98 of the FTSE 100 companies routinely using tax havens.

 

  iv.  Large multinational companies pay as little as 5% in corporate taxes globally, while smaller businesses pay up to 30%.

 

3.  That therefore council assembly calls on cabinet to support ActionAid’s Towns Against Tax Dodging campaign and to support the motion:

 

“While many ordinary people face falling household income and rising costs of living, some multinational companies are avoiding billions of pounds of tax from a tax system that fails to make them pay their fair share. Local governments in developing countries and the UK alike would benefit from a fairer tax system where multinational companies pay their fair share, enabling authorities around the world to provide quality public services. The UK government must listen to the strength of public feeling and act to end the injustice of tax dodging by large multinational companies, in developing countries and the UK.”

 

4.  That council assembly notes the work of all parties in government to start to tackle tax avoidance since 2004.

 

5.  That council assembly acknowledges that government action since 2010 has helped HMRC collect considerable additional tax revenue by:

 

·  Increasing the number of prosecutions for tax crimes

·  Closing tax loopholes

·  Improving tax data systems to reduce fraud

·  Collecting tax through deals with tax havens like Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Channel Islands.

 

6.  That council assembly agrees that because of the increasingly global nature of trading operations and finance, tax avoidance should most effectively be tackled at a national and international level.

 

Healthy and active communities

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That everyone in our borough should have the opportunity to lead a healthy and active life. As a local authority Southwark Council is supporting local residents to be healthy and active by:

 

1)  Committing to make swim and gym use free for all Southwark residents in council leisure centres to ensure that that cost is not a barrier preventing people in Southwark from getting fit and healthy. This groundbreaking initiative will be particularly targeted at those who would benefit most from free swimming and gyms, including residents with ill health, children and young people, older people, and those with disabilities.

 

2)  Giving free healthy school meals to all primary school children in Southwark, despite four years of opposition from Liberal Democrat councillors, saving parents £340 a year for each of child, and extending free fruit to all primary school pupils as a healthy morning snack.

 

3)  Investing in our parks and open spaces and bringing even more of our parks up to green flag standards.

 

4)  Delivering a cycling strategy to improve cycle take up and safety in the borough.

 

5)  Doubling the number of free NHS health checks to catch problems like heart disease and diabetes.

 

6)  Providing a wide range of sports provision, including:

 

·  Free accredited training for Southwark residents

·  Equipment grants for clubs and coaching courses to increase sport participation for young people

·  A wide range of disability sport opportunities and sportability grants to increase opportunities for disabled people in sport and physical activity

·  A large programme of older adult classes

·  Sports activities for women and girls

·  Free community sport hours at leisure centres and parks across the borough.

 

7)  Investing in sports infrastructure, including the state of the art BMX track in Burgess Park, reinstating Southwark Park athletics track, and new leisure centres at Elephant and Castle and Canada Water.

 

8)  Helping residents in Southwark to support each other to lead healthy and active lives, by working with partner organisations, including Volunteer Centre Southwark, Community Action Southwark and Southwark Arts Forum, to make it easier to volunteer and to encourage more people in Southwark to volunteer.

 

2.  That there are a number of barriers that can prevent people from being healthy and active, including finance, time, work, ill health, disability or access to health, sport and leisure services.  Council assembly welcomes this administration’s work to remove these barriers and support our residents to become healthy and active. However, council assembly is concerned that the government is making it harder for people to be healthy and active by:

 

1)  Overseeing an increase in GP waiting times, cancelled operations and delays in treatments.

 

2)  Hitting 3,500 families in the borough with the bedroom tax, making it harder to make ends meet and forcing people into debt for the first time.

 

3)  Imposing harsh welfare cuts and forcing huge increases in the number of families in Southwark relying on food banks.

 

3.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue doing everything possible to support local residents to be healthy and active members of the community and to remove the barriers currently preventing some residents from leading healthy and active lives.

 

Tackling empty homes in Southwark

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That council assembly:

 

1)  Notes the projected rise in the borough's population within the next twenty years and the need to ensure sufficient housing as part of the borough's housing strategy and the new Southwark Plan.

 

2)  Notes that Southwark has one of the strongest records in London for delivering new homes, with more affordable homes being delivered over the last 3 years than any other London borough.

 

3)  Welcomes the administration’s commitment to build 11,000 new council homes, with the first 1,500 to be delivered by 2018.

 

2.  That council assembly also:

 

1)  Agrees that minimising the number of empty homes in the borough will also be a key way of ensuring the maximum number of homes for Southwark residents.

 

2)  Notes recent media reports of some other inner London boroughs where up to one third of new developments are said to be left empty as 'buy to leave' investment opportunities.

 

3)  Welcomes the new powers given to local authorities by the government to charge additional council tax for second and long-term empty homes and notes that Southwark was one of the first local authorities to use these powers.

 

4)  Notes, however, that minimising the number of empty homes in the borough on its own will not meet the growing demand for housing, which will require more homes to be built across the borough, particularly affordable homes.

 

3.  That council assembly therefore calls on the cabinet to:

 

1)  Identify ways the council's planning powers could be used to ensure future new homes in Southwark do not stay empty for more than three months.

 

2)  Increase the number of existing empty homes in the borough that are charged council tax by reviewing the current council tax exemptions on empty homes.

 

3)  Support calls for the qualifying period for charging the empty home premium to be reduced from two years to one and for the amount to be increased from 150% to 200% council tax.

 

4)  Continue to build more homes of every type in Southwark, including council homes at council rents.

 

Local government devolution

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That council assembly believes that local government has significant potential to shape outcomes for residents and to positively change the lives of people in our borough. Therefore, council assembly believes that local government is best placed to deliver services to residents to meet local need.

 

2.  That local government has proved itself as the most efficient part of government. Local authorities are continuing to delivering services, balance budgets and grow local economies while at the same time making huge savings, following government cuts of up to 30% of councils’ budgets.

 

3.  That the devolution of public health to local authorities has been a welcome first step towards delivering better health outcomes and a more joined up approach to health and social care. Council assembly notes the efforts of this administration to put public health in Southwark at the front and centre of the council’s priorities in every area, including transport, housing, leisure and environment.

 

4.  That council assembly believes giving local government greater control over health and welfare spending has the potential to tackle health inequalities locally, to deliver better services and to save taxpayers money.

 

5.  That council assembly calls on cabinet to work with other London boroughs and the Mayor of London to lobby government to be less centralist and to introduce greater devolution to local authorities in London.  Council assembly further calls on cabinet to write to the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to call for the devolution of greater health and welfare powers to local government, in order to improve service delivery and local accountability.

 

HIV testing

 

That the motion referred from council assembly as a recommendation to cabinet, set out below, be agreed.

 

1.  That Southwark Council:

 

i.  Recognises the importance of local action in coordinating and commissioning accessible and effective HIV testing to reach the undiagnosed and reduce late HIV diagnosis.

ii.  Recognises that Southwark has a high prevalence of HIV (over 2 diagnosed per 1,000 residents) and commits to strengthening its own provision of HIV testing services through working with local NHS partners, HIV charities and patient groups.

 

iii.  Recognises that late HIV diagnosis is a Public Health Outcomes Indicator in the Public Health Outcomes Framework.

 

iv.  Recognises the volume and quality of public health and local government guidelines and performance indicators designed to support local authority implementation and monitoring of appropriate and effective testing guidelines.

 

2.  That the council further notes:

 

i.  That an estimated 100,000 people were living in England with HIV in 2012; 22% were unaware of their status.

 

ii.  That there is an impact of late diagnosis on individual health, public health and health budgets. Late diagnosis increases the likelihood of the need for complex and expensive treatment and the risk of onward transmission to others. 47% of people diagnosed with HIV in 2012 were diagnosed late (with a CD4 count <350mm3).

 

iii.  That if diagnosed early, put on a clear treatment pathway and guaranteed access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV can expect to have a near-normal life expectancy and live healthy and active lives.

 

3.  That recognising the weight of evidence in favour of expanding local HIV testing services, Southwark Council:

 

i.  Resolves to:

 

·  Act to halve the proportion of people diagnosed late with HIV (CD4 count <350mm3) in Southwark by 2020.

 

·  Act to halve the proportion of people living with undiagnosed HIV in Southwark by 2020.

 

ii.Further resolves to:

 

·  Ensure that rates of late diagnosed HIV are included as an indicator in its Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

 

·  Ask the Director of Public Health to provide a report outlining what needs to be done locally in commissioning and provision of services in order to halve late diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV by 2020.

 

·  Become a supporter of the Halve It Coalition by contacting the Halve It secretariat (info@halveit.org.uk) informing them of this resolution and by agreeing to be listed as a Halve It coalition supporter.