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188.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 342 KB

To approve the minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 26 May 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 26 May 2022 be agreed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

189.

Declarations of Interest

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

 

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

 

*(a)    Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b)     Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)      Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)     Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)      Licences - Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f)      Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

(g)     Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Several members had an interest in Motion 2, Save Islington’s Buses, which were declared under the relevant agenda item.   

190.

Mayoral Announcements

(i)           Apologies

(ii)          Order of business

(iii)         Declaration of discussion items

(iv)        Mayor’s announcements

(v)          Length of speeches

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(i)               Apologies for absence

 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Burgess, Gallagher, Khondoker, Mackmurdie and Wayne.

 

(ii)              Order of business

 

No changes were proposed to the order of business.

 

(iii)            Declaration of discussion items

 

No items had been declared.

 

(iv)            Mayoral announcements

 

The Mayor said that she had enjoyed her first month in office. The Mayor was very pleased to attend jubilee celebrations across the borough, including community events and street parties at St Lukes Community Centre, Hilldrop Community Centre, Islington Chinese Association, Fredrica Street, Half Moon Estate, Elthorne Estate, St Mary’s Church, Caxton House and more. It was wonderful to see our communities come together to celebrate the jubilee. The Mayor thanked all of those involved in organising the events and making the jubilee weekend special.

 

The Mayor was also very pleased to attend Armed Forces Day celebrations. It is so important that we recognise those who have served in our Armed Forces. The Mayor thanked Islington Veterans Association and Peter McCafferty, the Borough’s Pageantmaster, for organising these events.

 

The Mayor noted that she had enjoyed the Mayor Making ceremony and celebrations and that she looked forward to serving as Mayor for the coming year.

 

(v)             Length of speeches

 

The Mayor reminded all councillors to take note of the timer and stay within the permitted length for speeches.

 

The Mayor also reminded all attendees that the meeting was being broadcast on the council’s website.

191.

Leader's Announcements

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader thanked the Mayor and said she was pleased to join the Mayor at a number of events over the past month, including jubilee celebrations, and an inspiring event at the Town Hall, welcoming tradeswomen from around the world.

 

The Leader had attended a number of events to celebrate Refugee Week and Windrush Day. The Leader praised the work of the Council to welcome migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to the borough, and expressed concern at the government’s proposals to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The Leader said she was proud to see a motion this evening to oppose these plans.

 

The Leader said her thoughts were with the family of the council’s former Corporate Director of People, Carmel Littleton, who had passed away one year ago. The Leader reflected on her time working with Carmel, and said her proudest achievement since becoming Leader was ensuring that every young person entering Year 7 had access to a laptop or tablet. This was something that Carmel was also passionate about, and the Leader hoped she would be proud.

 

The Leader congratulated Fiona Monkman, one of the council’s architects, who had recently been given the MJ Long Prize for Excellence in Practice for her work on the Centurion Close social housing block in Laycock ward. The Leader was proud Islington’s social housing, and the Council had committed to building 1550 more genuinely affordable council homes over the next few years. The Leader said that the quality of these homes was as important as the quantity, and asked the Council to give a round of applause to Fiona for her work.

 

The Leader expressed concerns at proposed cuts to local bus services as a result of government cuts to Transport for London funding. In particular, the Number 4 bus which stretched from the north to south of the borough. The Leader was proud to join trade union colleagues on the steps of the Town Hall and also join them in central London in protest against these government cuts and the cost of living crisis, and to demand better funding for local government and public services, and better wages for working people. The Leader said that the Council would always oppose government cuts and noted that the Council would consider a motion opposing the bus cuts later in the evening.

 

The Leader of the Opposition responded. The Leader of the Opposition also expressed her support for the motion welcoming refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to Islington, and welcomed that the Opposition and Majority groups could work constructively and in collaboration on these issues.

 

The Leader of the Opposition said she supported the council’s work to oppose bus cuts, in particular to the Number 4 bus. Cutting public transport at a time when we are seeking to reduce private car usage made no sense, and the opposition supported the motion submitted on this issue.

 

Finally, the Leader of the Opposition paid tribute to Charlie Kiss, a local campaigner and political activist, who had sadly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 191.

192.

Petitions

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Russell introduced a petition on behalf of a local resident, calling on the council to take steps to increase recycling facilities in public spaces.

 

193.

Questions from Members of the Public pdf icon PDF 294 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Question (a) from Julien Etienne to Cllr Champion, Executive Member for Environment & Transport: 

 

With a rapidly worsening climate crisis, Islington could soon experience an extreme heatwave such as that which affected British Columbia in Canada last Summer where temperatures came close to 50 degrees Celsius. The current Cool Spaces map lists no local indoor cool spaces in which Islington residents could take refuge in such an event. Does the Council have a plan to keep people safe in the event of a major heatwave?

 

As Julien was not present, the following written response was sent: 

 

My response is that sadly, as the climate emergency worsens and Global temperatures continue to rise, we are likely to see more and more extreme weather events, including heatwaves. While we are focused on tackling the climate emergency, reducing emissions and improving air quality, we know that we also need to keep people safe in the knowledge these events will continue for some time.

 

Our Council’s brilliant Emergency Planning team works with Public Health colleagues on a local protocol for severe weather; this includes actions which are linked to the Heatwave plan for England.

 

Some of the actions required include media alerts about keeping cool, supporting organisations to reduce unnecessary travel, reviewing safety of public events taking place, distributing information to high risk groups and mobilising community and voluntary support.

 

We are working on a number of measures to make Islington cooler and safer for people in extreme weather events. Our retrofitting scheme will help insulate council homes to make them cooler in the summer, our tree planting programme will add improve air quality and reduce temperatures, and our Greening the Borough project will add more green spaces for local people to enjoy and cool in, all year round.

 

This is something we are passionate about working on and will continue to do all we can to keep local people safe. Thank you again for your question.

 

Question (b) from Rebekah Kelly to Cllr Ngongo, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families:

 

Community safety is a serious concern for many residents, as most have been impacted in some way by crime or anti social behaviour. Would the £21,000 paid to change Islington Council's logo be better off spent toward tackling youth crime that is prevalent on the streets of Islington and what is the plan to address this issue?

 

Response:

 

Thank you for your question Rebekah. Keeping our borough and our young people safe is a top priority for this council.

 

Islington spends more than most other local authorities in the country on services that support young people. One of our local values is to keep young people safe, to keep them away from guns and violence. We are trying our best and we are working to help our young people, so they can access the services they need. This includes investing in youth clubs. We do have good resources across the borough and our young people are proud of everything we are giving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 193.

194.

Questions from Members of the Council pdf icon PDF 175 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Question (a) from Cllr Gilgunn to Cllr Ward, Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance:

 

The current Tory cost of living crisis is having a severe impact on working people in Islington, with prices and bills rising but wages stagnating. Could you tell me what the Council is doing to help people during this difficult time?

 

Response:

 

Thank you very much for your question. The cost of living crisis is having a real impact on the lives of local people. We see it constantly in our inboxes and when we are out and about talking to people. This is the result of years of neglect from the government, including pay stagnation, austerity and failure to invest in renewable energy.

 

I was proud to join you at the trade union demonstration in central London a couple of weeks ago to say that We Demand Better in Islington and call for a proper pay rise, as well as help with the cost of living.

 

Despite the government failure to tackle this issue, the council provides an extensive range of support to tackle poverty and reduce inequality in Islington.

This year, we have put further investment into our Council Tax Support Scheme of £700,000 and childcare bursaries of £160k to help people save on their bills and get back into work.

 

Our Council continues to provide free school meals to all primary school children, saving families money every week, as well as protecting the School Uniform Grant and the Older People’s discount on Council Tax.

We have distributed grant funding to help low-income households, we are currently distributing the council tax energy rebate and household support fund that will provide approximately £2.2m of support, to help residents with cost of living issues. Our IMAX team are helping residents claim over £5m of annual benefit entitlement in 2021/22 and we hope to achieve a similar figure in 2022/23.

 

While we will continue to do all we can to help, government austerity means we can’t do as much as we would like. That is why we must keep the pressure on the government to deal with this crisis and stop local people having the make a choice between heating and eating.

 

Supplementary question:

 

Thank you. The cost of living crisis is going to have a huge impact on local authorities across the country. Families are facing increases, especially in heating bills, and as we approach winter the crisis is going to bite hard. How do we as councillors respond to these demands from casework in relation to the cost of living crisis?

 

Response:

 

All members in this chamber will have inboxes full from families asking for help who are being asked to choose between heating and eating. We have a proud history of fighting austerity and producing budgets that keep our frontline services open. We have continued our household support scheme, continued our childcare bursary, continued free school meals for all primary school children, and we will keep up that fight. I look forward to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 194.

195.

Islington Armed Forces Community Covenant - Annual Update pdf icon PDF 297 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Comer-Schwartz introduced the report.

 

The recommendations in the report were put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That activity over the past year to celebrate and support Armed Forces personnel, veterans, and their families be noted.

196.

Chief Whip's Report pdf icon PDF 239 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Hyde moved the recommendation in the report.

 

The recommendation was put to a vote and CARRIED.  

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Miss Helen Spall be appointed as Mayoress for the remainder of Her Worship the Mayor of Islington Councillor Marian Spall’s term of office.

197.

Constitution Update pdf icon PDF 287 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Hyde moved the recommendation in the report.

 

The recommendation was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the amendment to the Constitution be approved as set out in the report.

198.

Notices of Motion pdf icon PDF 379 KB

Where a motion concerns an executive function, nothing passed can be actioned until approved by the Executive or an officer with the relevant delegated power.

 

Motion 1: Fair votes now

Motion 2: Save Islington’s buses

Motion 3: Welcoming refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to Islington

Motion 4: Solidarity with Ukraine migrants in Islington

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Motion 1: Fair Votes Now

 

The Mayor advised that a proposed amendment to the motion was circulated in the second despatch of papers.

 

The motion was moved by Councillor Hamdache. Councillor Russell seconded. Councillor Ward moved his amendment.

 

Councillor Hamdache exercised his right of reply on the motion. Councillor Ward exercised his right of reply on the amendment.

 

The amendment was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

The motion as amended was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)     To call for a national review of voting systems in all elections in England and UK elections;

 

(ii)    To oppose this Conservative Government’s efforts to remove existing PR systems, and to write a letter to Priti Patel condemning the removal of the supplementary vote from London’s elections for Mayor;

 

(iii)  To consult young people on their choice of voting system for Youth Council elections.

 

 

Save Islington’s Buses

 

The Mayor advised that an alteration to the motion had been circulated in the second despatch of papers and this was formally noted.

 

The Mayor noted that the motion asked the Council to express its support for the RMT and all other trade unions taking industrial action this year. As the majority of councillors present were members of trade unions, those members held an interest in this motion, as detailed in the Council’s register of interests.

 

Councillor Hyde moved that, under paragraph 14.2 of the Member Code of Conduct, a dispensation should be granted for those councillors to vote on a matter in which they hold an interest, otherwise the number of persons prohibited from participating in any particular business would be so great as to impede the transaction of the business.  This was put to the vote and the dispensation was granted.

 

Councillor Ozdemir moved the motion. Councillor Convery seconded. Councillors Graham and Russell contributed to the debate.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)    To call on Central Government to agree a long-term funding deal with TfL that would protect public transport and active travel investment in London;

(ii)   To campaign to save the Number 4 bus route and oppose cuts to bus routes in Islington;

(iii) To work with the Mayor of London to increase the amount of local people walking, wheeling or cycling;

(iv) To support the RMT union and all other trade unions taking action this year to protect workers’ pensions and conditions, oppose job cuts and call for a proper pay rise.

 

Motion 3: Welcoming refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to Islington

The Mayor advised that an alteration to the motion had been circulated in the second despatch of papers and this was formally noted.

Councillor Cinko-Oner moved the motion. Councillors Staff and Jegorovas-Armstrong seconded.

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

(i)    To write to the Government to publicly oppose plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and to support welcoming all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the UK;

(ii)   To call on the Government to seek to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 198.