Agenda item

MOTION 1 – SAVE SOUTHWARK WOODS (See page 9 of the main agenda)

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen.

 

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai, seconded by Councillor David Noakes, moved the motion.

 

Councillor Paul Fleming, seconded by Councillor Jasmine Ali, moved Amendment B.

 

Following debate (Councillors Stephanie Cryan, Barrie Hargrove, James Barber, Ben Johnson and Nick Dolezal), Amendment B 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 is proud of Southwark being one of the greenest boroughs in London and believes that woods in Southwark are a vital part of our borough. The council invests approximately £130,000 every year in valuable woodlands such as Dulwich Upper Wood, Sydenham Hill Wood and Russia Dock Woodland - a combined 55 acres of woodland - and also maintains many dedicated wildlife sites, nature gardens and Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation around the borough, to provide a habitat for wildlife and open space for residents to enjoy.

 

2.  That council assembly notes that at no stage prior to the submission of this motion have Liberal Democrat councillors sought to comment on or engage with the council on its cemeteries strategy and condemns any party seeking to “play politics” with this important issue.

 

3.  That council assembly regrets that inaccurate claims have been made about the council’s cemeteries strategy and notes its concern that these claims have led to residents being misinformed about the council’s plans to bring two pieces of designated burial ground, one of which is currently inaccessible, into use in Camberwell Old and New Cemeteries. The areas proposed for development measure less than one acre in total.

 

4.  That council assembly recognises the challenge the council faces in securing sustainable burial space in the borough and notes that if the council takes no action, burial space in Southwark will run out in early 2017.

 

5.  That council assembly believes that it is important to recognise the wishes of those residents who want to have the option to bury their loved ones locally and who for financial reasons would struggle to travel to visit a cemetery outside the borough.

 

6.  That council assembly notes that an extensive public consultation was undertaken in 2011 on the future of Southwark’s cemeteries and that the local community has also been given the opportunity to review detailed plans for the next phase of the Cemetery Strategy and contribute feedback over the last seven months.

 

7.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to:

 

·  Maintain the status of Camberwell Old and New Cemeteries as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation

·  Continue to work with the London Wildlife Trust, the Forestry Commission and the local community to ensure that the plans for managing the cemeteries enhance the existing biodiversity and ecology of the area

·  Continue to engage with the local community on the council’s plans for cemeteries throughout the process of implementing the cemeteries strategy

·  Continue to protect green spaces throughout the borough, as well as providing burial space for the future, to create quality open space for local people alongside a respectful place for the deceased.

 

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

 

MOTION 2 – RIGHT TO BUY (See page 10 of the main agenda)

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen.

 

Councillor Lucas Green, seconded by Councillor Tom Flynn, moved the motion.

 

Councillor Ben Johnson, seconded by Councillor Adele Morris, moved Amendment C.

 

Following debate (Councillor Richard Livingstone), at 10.12pm the Mayor announced that the guillotine had fallen.

 

Amendment C 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 welcomes this administration’s commitment to building 11,000 new council homes to meet growing demand for affordable housing in the borough, with the first 75 of these new homes recently being built at Willow Walk.

 

2.  That council assembly notes however that the council’s ambitious house-building programme is at serious risk from the government’s right to buy proposals, which could lead to up to 500 council homes a year in Southwark being sold, as well as forcing the sale of new council homes as soon as they are built.

 

3.  That council assembly believes these proposals will have a devastating effect on council housing in Southwark and could effectively stop the local authority from building much-needed new council homes, particularly in the north of the borough.

 

4.  That council assembly believes that at a time when London boroughs are facing a housing crisis, it is an utter disgrace for the 12,000 people on Southwark’s housing waiting list for the government to force the sale of desperately needed council homes. Council assembly also believes that is wrong for council housing to be sold in London, where there is a massive housing shortage, to fund the sale of housing association properties outside the capital.

 

5.  That council assembly calls on the cabinet to work with other London boroughs to lobby the government to reconsider these preposterous plans and to push for an exemption to new build homes, to ensure that the government’s plans do not jeopardise the council’s ambitious council house building programme.

 

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

 

MOTION 3 – CHILDREN MISSING FROM CARE (See pages 10 - 11 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors James Okosun and Maria Linforth-Hall formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Evelyn Akoto and Kath Whittam formally moved and seconded Amendment D.

 

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:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Puts on record its concern about the issue of young people in Southwark and throughout London going missing from care, which can put already vulnerable people at further risk of exploitation, abuse or other serious harm.

 

2.  Notes that in 2014/15 there were 249 recorded incidents of children going missing from care in Southwark.

 

3.  Recognises that this is a complex issue and thanks council officers and care home staff who have been working to support young people in care and reduce the number going missing.

 

4.  Welcomes the council’s decision to commission the St Christopher’s Charity to provide home visits for all young people reported missing, building trust and working with the young people to understand the reasons behind why they go missing, which is successfully reducing repeat missing episodes.

 

5.  Welcomes the close analysis of the impact of this work by the Corporate Parenting Committee over the last year, by meeting with St Christopher’s and considering the early data produced and the feedback from young people.

 

6.  Welcomes the work being done by the council to respond to the reasons why children are going missing from care, and to find innovative ways to improve outcomes for children and young people at risk of family breakdown, to strengthen parenting and rebuild relationships between young people and their parents and to help keep more families together.

 

7.  Welcomes the council’s recruitment drive to increase the number of local foster carers through exempting them from council tax so that when children do need to be taken into care they are able to stay close to family and friends.

 

8.  Also welcomes the work of the Safer London Project working with young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation, to build relationships with some of our most vulnerable young people and ensure that safety plans are put in place to reduce the risk of exploitation.

 

9.  Welcomes the work done on this issue by politicians on all sides, including the ‘Looked-After Children: Missing In Care’ report by Caroline Pidgeon AM published in June 2015, which looked at the problem across London.

 

10.  Recognises that this is a problem that should be acknowledged and understood by all councillors in order to highlight the issue, work towards reducing the number of recorded incidents in future years and ensure there is no complacency whatsoever where the welfare of looked-after children is concerned.

 

11.  Notes that the council has a weekly report on children missing from care and that all children are offered a missing from care interview undertaken by St Christopher’s to find out if the young person is at risk, or if there are any problems with their placement.

 

12.  Notes that corporate parenting has responsibility for monitoring data on children missing from care and has a membership of cabinet member, backbenchers and independent members, is cross-party and has regular attendance not only from officers but also other agencies such as health as well as contributions from Speakerbox, our award-winning Children in Care Council.

 

13.  Notes that corporate parenting committee is not only well placed to scrutinise the issue of children missing from care and the council’s response but is actively doing so.

 

14.  Also notes the on-going scrutiny of this issue by the multi-agency Children’s Safeguarding Board.

 

15.  Welcomes any request for further scrutiny by education and children’s services scrutiny sub-committee.

 

16.  Calls on the cabinet to continue to tackle the problem of children missing from care by:

 

·  Monitoring each of the recommendations included in the corporate parenting committee’s statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care

·  Receiving a report on the work commissioned from St. Christopher’s and the council’s response to the feedback captured from our young people

·  Working closely with the police and all other key partners from the Children’s Safeguarding Board on missing children and those at risk of sexual exploitation.

 

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

 

MOTION 4 – REVITALISING THE BLUE (See pages 11 - 12 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Leo Pollak and Catherine Dale formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Eliza Mann and Damian O’Brien 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:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Believes that while high streets are at the heart of the economic and civic renewal of many of our neighbourhoods, the challenges of online competition, redeveloped shopping centres and prevalent retail uses that take money out of a neighbourhood mean that creative solutions are required for their future vitality.

 

2.  Welcomes the investment Southwark Council has made through the Investing In Local Retail Environment (ILRE) and High Street Challenge programmes across the borough, including the improvements made to shop fronts and public realm at the Blue and Southwark Park Road and the support provided to help establish the Blue Bermondsey business improvement district.

 

3.  Supports the Blue Bermondsey BID’s efforts to drive new investment into the area in a way that directly benefits local people and welcomes the establishment of a “Commonplace” survey to identify what kinds of shops, stalls, attractions and general amenities local people want.

 

4.  Notes that the balance of shops around the Blue and Southwark Park Road does not serve local residents well, with 4 betting shops, 8 fast food takeaways, and 12 general grocer/late night off licences in the immediate area.

 

5.  Notes that the Southwark Park Road/Market Place town centre has a very high concentration of retail units under council ownership and management.

 

6.  Calls on cabinet to develop a new lettings strategy or charter for the parade, in dialogue with the Blue Bermondsey BID, local residents and landlords, which takes a holistic view on the maximisation of revenue income from the parade by creating over time the full variety of retail uses serving all parts of the local community and establishing the Blue as a cultural and retail destination for people in Bermondsey and beyond.

 

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

 

MOTION 5 – ALBION PRIMARY SCHOOL (See page 12 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Bill Williams and Renata Hamvas formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That Southwark faces a significant challenge in meeting the growing demand for school places across the borough. Council assembly therefore welcomes the redevelopment of Albion Primary School, which will provide new school facilities and enable the school to expand to add an additional class, providing education to more Southwark children.

 

2.  That council assembly welcomes the leadership being provided by Albion Primary School in meeting the challenge of growing places and building an innovatively designed new school, which makes the best possible use of outdoor space.

 

3.  That council assembly further applauds Albion Primary School for taking the brave decision to release a portion land on the site for housing, helping to meet the council’s ambitious pledge to build 11,000 new council homes while also enabling the school to build a state of the art building with fantastic facilities.

 

4.  That council assembly believes the redevelopment of Albion Primary will deliver a genuinely world class school for Southwark children, make a huge contribution to the regeneration of the area and provide high quality facilities for the local community.

 

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