Agenda item

Question (a) from Councillor Caroline Russell to Councillor James Murray, Executive Member for Housing and Development:

"Will the Council review its decision to hold on to overpayments made by tenants with communal heating systems this year and repay the money immediately?"

Reply:

Thank you for your question.  Firstly we charge the way we do for communal heating and hot water because it is more efficient, cheaper and it allows us to have fairer charging across the borough.  We are setting the budget tonight for 2015-16 and we don’t know exactly what our costs will be or how cold it will get.  We set a reasonable estimate based on last year’s costs and sometimes the final cost is below that and sometimes it is above; just like people pay by direct debit for other services.  The money paid is now ring-fenced.  We use any surplus to smooth out the costs to residents, however, if a significant surplus develops we would make a refund to residents and have done so in the past.  At the end of the year we will make an assessment and there may be a large enough surplus to make a refund this year.

Supplementary Question:

Smoothing sounds marvellous, but if any ordinary customer overpaid one of the big six, they would get their money back.  Tenants are angry that they don’t get the same from the council – they are effectively giving the council a loan. I am glad you are considering a refund.  Will you consider increasing the attention paid to insulating people’s homes so people get lower bills?

Reply:

This council takes fuel efficiency very seriously.  Street properties are much harder to insulate, but we have a huge programme to insulate wherever possible; it’s good for the environment and it reduces fuel bills for residents.  We are going to smooth out costs across all tenants on communal heating charges to share the benefit.  Tenants and Leaseholder get charged the same over the longer term.  We are trying to make heating charges low and predictable so bills don’t go up hugely one year and down the next.

Question (b) from Councillor Caroline Russell to Councillor Janet Burgess, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing:

"Why is the Council cutting funding for the Latin American Women's Aid Refuge?

Reply:

The Latin American Women's Aid Refuge contract with the council was until 2013 with an option to extend for two years to 31 March 2015, which we did.  The contract was paid for out of the Supporting People Grant, which is being reduced by 50% this year and although the refuge is located in Islington, people don’t go to refuges near where they live for obvious reasons and we therefore believe that refuges should receive plan-London funding.  We are contacting colleagues from other councils to support organisations like this and they are submitting a bid to the DCLG for funding which we hope will be successful.  We continue to support their work and provide business rate relief for example.  I can assure Caroline that we take their work very seriously.
 

Supplementary Question:

It seems unfortunate that for a service which delivers so much, it’s a shame more work was not done to prepare them for the funding to disappear.

Reply:

They knew two years ago that the contract was extended for only two years and we have done a lot to support them.

Question (c) from Councillor Dave Poyser to Councillor Asima Shaikh, Executive Member for Economic and Community Development:

“Given our diverse community here in Islington, which makes all of us so proud to be Islingtonians, what actions does Councillor Shaikh hope she will be able to take in her new role working with our excellent voluntary sector to promote our ‘harmony in our diversity’?” 

Reply:

I feel really privileged to take on this new role, especially as it affords an opportunity to champion the voluntary and community sector which lies at the heart of our ambitions to achieve a fairer Islington.  Community organisations help improve the quality of life for our most vulnerable residents. Islington communities get on well with each other.  Community cohesion can be undermined by inequality, the local impact of global events, deprivation and an irresponsible media.  There are three things we intend to do to promote cohesion and harmony.  Improve understanding within and across our communities and the Council and the voluntary sector have a vital role in facilitating relationships. Shared values based on trust, respect and tolerance bind communities together.  Secondly we will strive to ensure cohesion is placed within the fairness agenda; that it sits at the heart of the fairness agenda. We will also ask questions about the sections of our community which suffer disproportionate structural inequalities.  Tackling inequalities is vital.  Despite the Tory led cuts, we will continue to reach out to communities to achieve and maintain community harmony in our borough.