Agenda item

To consider the following late motion:

 

·  Rights of EU Citizens

MOTION 1 - MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE CHARTER (See page 37 of the main agenda)

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen.

 

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai, seconded by Councillor Richard Livingstone, moved the motion.

 

Following debate (Councillor Peter John), the motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  Council assembly notes that there is a 1 in 300 chance of developing Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a disease that has no cure and kills more than half those diagnosed within two years.

 

2.  Council assembly supports the Motor Neurone Disease Charter, which sets out the care and support that people living with MND and their carers deserve and should expect. The charter identifies five rights for people living with MND and their carers:

 

·  People with MND have the right to an early diagnosis and information

·  People with MND have the right to high quality care and treatments

·  People with MND have the right to be treated as individuals and with dignity and respect

·  People with MND have the right to maximise their quality of life

·  Carers of people with MND have the right to be valued, respected, listened to and well supported.

 

3.  By adopting the Motor Neurone Disease charter, Council assembly expects Southwark Council to promote the Charter and make it available to all councillors, council staff, partner organisations and health and social care professionals who deliver services for the council.

 

4.  Council assembly calls on cabinet toadopt the Motor Neurone Disease Charter and raise awareness of MND and what good care looks like for those living with this devastating disease, as stated in the charter, and do everything we can as the council to positively influence the quality of life for local people with MND and their carers living in our community.

 

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

 

MOTION 2 - SCHOOL FUNDING IN SOUTHWARK (See page 37-38 of the main agenda)

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen.

 

Councillor Catherine Rose, seconded by Councillor Jasmine Ali, moved the motion.

 

Councillors James Okosun, seconded by Councillor James Barber, moved Amendment B.

 

Following debate, (Councillor Catherine Rose), at 10.05pm the Mayor announced that the guillotine had fallen.

 

The guillotine having fallen, Amendment B was put to the vote and declared lost.

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  Council assembly expresses its grave concern about the new schools funding formula being proposed by the government, which could see funding for Southwark schools cut by 20%, which would have a devastating impact on schools in our borough.

 

2.  Council assembly notes that Southwark schools have made dramatic improvements in raising standards and that these unprecedented cuts risk reversing these improvements.

 

3.  Council assembly believes that the government should show a real commitment to the next generation and level up funding for schools outside of London, like the previous Labour government did within London.

 

4.  Council assembly welcomes the government’s u-turn on its plans to force all schools to become academies following pressure from local authorities and campaigners, but remains concerned about the government’s proposals to forcibly convert ‘coasting’ or ‘failing’ schools, despite evidence that intensive support from a local authority can help a struggling school get back on track.

 

5.  Council assembly notes that the government’s forced academisation plan would have cost an estimated £1.3bn and calls on the government to instead use this money to provide fair and adequate funding to all schools in the country.

 

6.  Council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue to work with Southwark schools through support and investment to drive improvements and to oppose proposals for any schools to be forced to convert to academy status without the support of local parents and the community.

 

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

 

MOTION 3 - TAX COMPLIANCE AND PROCUREMENT (See page 38-39 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Helen Dennis, having declared a pecuniary interest in this item, left the room for the vote upon the motion.

 

The guillotine haven fallen, Amendment C was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  Council assembly notes that:

 

·  corporate tax evasion and avoidance are having a damaging impact on the world’s poorest countries and the UK’s tax revenue that funds vital public services

·  as much as £30bn is lost to UK tax revenues annually through tax evasion and avoidance

·  this practice also has a negative effect on small- and medium-sized companies in Southwark which pay more tax proportionately.

 

2.  Council assembly further notes that:

 

·  the UK government has taken steps to tackle the issue of tax compliance by issuing ‘Procurement Policy Note 03/14’ which applies to all central government contracts worth more than £5m

·  the availability of independent means of verifying tax compliance, such as the Fair Tax Mark

·  in early 2015, new regulations required public bodies, including local authorities, to ask procurement qualification questions of all companies for tenders over £173,000 for service contracts and £4m for works contracts.

 

3.  Council assembly welcomes the Corporate Tax Transparency Initiative that the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum is spearheading, which seeks to use the collective shareholder power of Local Authority Pension Funds to influence the companies we part own.

 

4.  Council assembly believes that bidders for Southwark council contracts should be asked to account for their past tax record using the standards in PPN 03/14 rather than the lower standards in the recent regulations for public bodies.

 

5.  Council assembly therefore calls on the cabinet to amend the borough’s existing procurement procedures to require all companies bidding for council contracts to self-certify that they are fully tax-compliant in line with central government practice, using the standards in PPN 03/14 in all contracts of the amount specified above.

 

6.  Council assembly also calls on the cabinet to publicise this policy and to report on its implementation annually.

 

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

 

MOTION 4 - A CINDERELLA LINE (See page 39 of the main agenda)

 

Amendment D to this motion was agreed as per the programme motion.

 

The guillotine haven fallen, Amendment E was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  Council assembly notes that commuters on the Catford loop stations are facing overcrowding and late running trains at Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye and Nunhead stations.

 

2.  Council assembly further notes that London Bridge station is also facing overcrowding at peak times due to a combination of train service disruptions and ongoing construction work at the station, and that this is leading to further delays and passenger dissatisfaction.

 

3.  Council assembly notes with concern that at peak times trains run at 130 per cent capacity and are only on time 55 per cent of the time.

 

4.  Council assembly welcomes Network Rail’s commitment to delivering more train services from 2018 when the works at London Bridge station are complete.

 

5.  Council assembly recognises, however, that urgent improvements are needed before 2018, and calls on the cabinet to lobby Thameslink and Network Rail to take immediate action to deliver:

 

·  A reliable day to day service

·  All trains in the morning and evening peaks having eight carriages.

 

6.  Council assembly also recognises that Govia Thameslink passengers are suffering currently from strike action and high levels of staff sickness, and supports calls for the company to resolve these issues as well as abandon the new revised timetable on its Southern Trains network meaning 341 fewer services each day and leading to Southwark stations such as East Dulwich having even fewer trains during the morning rush hour compared to the previous already crowded service.

 

7.  Council assembly also calls on the cabinet to join forces with the Cinderella Line Campaign, Lewisham Council and other councils in responding to the forthcoming Department for Transport draft south London timetable for 2018 onwards to provide:

 

·  At least four trains per hour throughout the day on the Catford Loop with all trains running through to St Pancras, rather than some trains (mainly in the evening) running to Blackfriars only as presently

·  At least four trains per hour throughout the day to Victoria from Nunhead/Peckham Rye/Denmark Hill

·  For services to be evenly spread across the hour rather than bunched together

·  Station standards that match London Overground.

 

8.  Council assembly further calls on the cabinet to supports calls for:

 

·  Southern Trains executives not to receive their bonuses

·  A new system of passenger refunds for journeys delayed more than 15 and 30 minutes

·  The company to lose their franchise as a result of their ongoing failure to provide a decent service to Southwark residents

·  Suburban rail services to be incorporated into the Transport for London network and for the Southern Trains franchise to be one of the first to be transferred given the ongoing service issues.

 

9.  Council assembly notes that hundreds of Southwark rail services have been cut this week under a new timetable, which follows months of disruption, delays and cancellations for passengers on Southern services.

 

10.  Council assembly notes that the new timetable has only 1-2 services an hour through Peckham Rye and Queens Road to London Bridge and vice versa, which will lead to massive delays, station overcrowding and huge disruption for our residents trying to get to work.

 

11.  Council assembly notes its concern that the new timetable, which has 341 fewer daily services, will compromise passenger safety by leaving remaining trains dangerously overcrowded, and will leave an already unreliable service at breaking point.

 

12.  Council assembly condemns Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) for failing to provide an adequate and reliable service for passengers and believes that the government should strip GTR of its franchise and allow Transport for London to run the service.

 

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

 

MOTION 5 - CONDEMNING HATE CRIME (See page 40 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen, the motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  We are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society. Racism, xenophobia and hate crimes have no place in our country.  Southwark Council condemns racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally. All people living in Southwark are valued members of our community and we will not allow hate to become acceptable.

 

2.  Southwark Council works closely with the police and local bodies and organisations to support programmes to fight and prevent hate crimes, including hate crime training and awareness, services and support for victims and taking robust action against perpetrators.

 

3.  Council assembly calls on the cabinet to continue to work with these organisations and take all necessary action to fight and prevent racism and xenophobia and all hate crimes.

 

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

 

MOTION 6 - RIGHTS OF EU CITIZENS (see page 6 of supplemental agenda no. 1)

 

The guillotine having fallen, the motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  Council assembly notes the 52% rise in hate crime and racial abuse in London reported to the Metropolitan Police since the EU referendum and the need to reassure EU residents in Southwark that the council stands with them against such incidents.

 

2.  Council assembly further notes the level of unease and insecurity expressed by many EU residents about the lack of information about their future residency and working rights in the United Kingdom following the referendum result and how this impacts on the 21,977 registered European Union voters in Southwark and council employees who are EU voters.

 

3.  Council assembly believes the government has so far failed to provide any assurances to EU citizens resident in the United Kingdom that they will have the right to remain in this country and supports calls that this issue should not be used as a bargaining chip in the Government’s negotiations on leaving the European Union.

 

4.  Council assembly acknowledges the growing calls for action with over 50,000 people signing a petition nationally calling on the Prime Minister to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the United Kingdom.

 

5.  Council assembly calls on cabinet to urge the government and the borough’s Members of Parliament to support all measures to secure the right to remain for EU citizens in Southwark.

 

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