Skip to content

Agenda item

Questions from Members of the Council

Minutes:

Cllr Andrews to Councillor Hull, Executive Member for Finance and Performance

 

I understand that the council has recently won the case against the current owner of Myddleton Square Gardens, the MCG, I would like to know why the council still do not have a new lease for Myddleton Square Gardens, what action is being taken and why it is taking so long?

Reply:

So far we have won the right to have a lease, but the terms have to be set by the court.  We can’t speed up the process and have to follow the court’s timetable.  I hope that the court will find in our favour.  A letter has been sent to residents to explain and I have a copy here for you to take.

Supplementary question:

This situation illustrates how vulnerable the council and people are to speculators holding plots of land that are almost of no use to them.  It looks like part of the borough is vulnerable to speculators and developers.

Reply:

I think as councils go, we are one of the local authorities who have resisted that most aggressively.  We have radical planning policies that help us get round the threat posed by those developers, which is a threat to the whole of London that is encouraged by government policy.

 

Councillor Andrews to Councillor Shaikh, Executive Member for Economic and Community Development

In Clerkenwell we have had 5 small businesses closed including a pub, a shop and newsagents. In view of the very uneven playing field  that  there is for small family business especially when it comes to tax can you tell me, so that I can tell my constituents, what help the council is providing to for small family business?

 

Reply:

This question reflects the council’s concerns about local businesses facing a hard time.  There are 10,000 small businesses in the borough whose situation is exasperated by rising property prices.  We are seeking to protect them through a variety of planning tools.

 

Supplementary question:

Unfortunately the south of the borough is so close to Farringdon that the development there is attracting large hotel chains and international businesses squeezing local businesses that have been here for many years.  Businesses are asking us what we are going to do for them.  It would be helpful if you could come and experience some of that.  The government is letting multinationals pay no tax and squeeze small businesses.

Reply:

I agree, it will be a good opportunity to find out first hand.


Councillor Poole to Councillor Convery, Executive Member for Community Safety

Would the Executive Member for Community Safety consider following Lambeth in banning the use and supply of new psychoactive substances (including nitrous oxide) in public places?

Reply:

This is specific legislation that in Lambeth they have chosen to use to target drug users.  We do have similar problems in Islington, but not on the same scale; it is a less pressing issue.  Lambeth are targeting users rather than suppliers, whilst our activities target suppliers.  We have joint operations with the Police and using street trading powers had our first successful prosecution in October. 

Supplementary Question:

I am somewhat disappointed.  We need to protect the public from erratic and untested substances.  Walk around my ward and you will see lots of canisters and young men on the way to work smelling of cannabis.  Even if people think these substances are harmless, they are anti-social – residents in Theberton Square were recently disturbed by a car full of gibbering idiots inhaling something at 4am.

Reply:

There have not been a significant number of public complaints about these issues.  No doubt there are canisters littering the streets but is it such a grave problem that we should go after users?  Nitrous Oxide reduces blood pressure and has been linked to a number of deaths.  The law is likely to change quite shortly.  It is almost certainly going to be made illegal and then we will be able to take a position regarding people using these drugs, but it is more important to go after the suppliers than the users.


Councillor Poole to Councillor Murray, Executive Member for Housing and Development

 

Would the Executive Member for Housing & Development detail the extent of listed building status pertaining HMP Pentonville?

Reply:

Councillor Murray advised that the prison is one of 4,000 Grade II listed buildings across Islington, which provides it with extra protection.  A, B, C and D wings and the Chapel wing are included in the listing.  Grade II buildings are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them.  Listing is an important way the planning system protects the special characteristics of our built heritage.

 

Supplementary question:

 

I am declaring an interest, although I know that I don’t have to do so.  The somewhat frenzied speculation about the future of Pentonville may be premature, as it sounds like developers will face considerable obstacles.  I ask Councillor Murray and all Council to get behind this local organisation.  It employs local people, supports local businesses and allows local people to be close to relatives who are inmates.

Reply:

We want to avoid a situation where prisoners will be removed away from their families, the courts, lawyers and the help that’s available locally to reintegrate.  The government faces lots of barriers.  The government’s proposed planning changes make me nervous, but if there is any process to close the prison, with any luck it will take so long that Jeremy Corbyn will be in No. 10 by then and he will put a stop to it.

 

Councillor Russell to Councillor Webbe, Executive Member for Environment and Transport


I was interested to learn in the local paper that Labour councillors have "slammed the brakes" on their parking consultation.  What did the Council learn from the £87,000 consultation on parking and was it good value for money?"

 

Reply:

Thank you for your question.  In order to get the views of local people and businesses we conducted one of the biggest consultations in the council’s history and were right to do so.  I understand that you even conducted your own bit of consultation.  I’m also pleased to be able to cut down on costs; when you compare it with the former LibDem administration between 2001 and 2007 spent £850K on a consultation about CPZs and in that context the wide ranging consultation we ran, was good value for money.  We said we would listen and we are doing so.  We will take it forward in recommendations in forthcoming Executive papers.

Supplementary question:

So this £85K consultation didn’t reveal what you already knew about areas where residents had reported parking stress?  Hillrise residents requested a review and were told there were no funds available and now you have found them.  Will you apologise to the residents of Islington about this and be more responsive?

Reply:

I am not aware of the review you mentioned.  We listened to all the responses and in the same zone and the same street we got different responses.  When you look at the results, we put a set of proposals forward and consulted and asked residents for their views.  Even in Zones where residents did support proposals their neighbours said no and we have listened to the majority.  Where they have said yes we will go with the recommendations.  We chose to listen and that’s why we conducted this in the way we have.


Councillor Russell to Councillor Watts, Leader of the Council

What can the council do, to resettle Syrian refugees given that government is not currently providing a 5 year funding package?"

 

Reply:

Thank you for your question.  Forgive me for not answering in detail as I have answered the same question earlier.  It would be better if the government offered five years social care but the real issue is living costs and a lack of properties under the cap.  We’ve had a lot of offers, the people of the borough are very generous, but the government scheme is very complex; it has to be a flat or a house, not a room and it has to be available for at least 15 months at well below market rent.  London Citizens have found some fantastic people but the priority is to find more and get a scheme that works for London.

Supplementary question:

Just to clarify it is not the lack of five years funding, but the lack of available housing?

Reply:

The lack of funding is a problem, but it’s not a killer problem, those are the problems about housing and the benefits cap.  That affects local residents as well as refugees.  The lack of funding will cause problems, but we would not let that stop us, but at the moment the housing rules make it really hard to do it.


Councillor Ismail to Councillor Watts, Leader of the Council

 

Young people and men from the BAME community, with good educational qualifications, are over-represented in the numbers of unemployed people in the borough.  What do you think is the biggest single barrier to their gaining employment and what is the council doing to address it?

 

Reply:

Thank you for your question and for meeting me earlier today; it was very productive.  BAME employment is a big challenge.  What’s going right is the educational improvement in schools, but many supports, such as the EMA and housing benefit for under 21 year olds are being removed.  We are trying to do what we can, we’ve provided Islington Bursaries, are building affordable housing and are protecting youth services.  Probably the biggest issues are housing and the need for positive role models.

Supplementary question:

Thank you for answering.  Islington is a diverse borough.  More BAME councillors have been elected since 2012 and we now have two BAME Executive members and some BAME officers progressing through the ranks, but there is still more to do in our schools, in the council, in the CCG and the Police.  How can we secure more prominent roles for BAME men so that young men have role models to look up to?

Reply:

Thank you for your campaigning; it does you credit.  One third of staff are from a BAME background, but BAME staff are slightly under represented in senior positions.  These are higher than the national averages.  We are making sure there are positive role models; a whole range of training and development is available to BAME staff and we have taken the individual’s name off application forms to get rid of name discrimination.  I look forward to working with you more on this.


Councillor Kaseki to Cllr Watts, Leader of the Council

 

The humanitarian crisis in Europe, with refugees and migrants fleeing conflict and persecution, has led many residents to express their concerns to me and to other councillors about the treatment of these people. Can I ask the Leader of the Council what the Council is doing to prepare for the arrival of any Syrian refugees and what his views are of the response of European Union member states to this human crisis?

Reply:

No London council is eligible to join the government’s scheme so we are not members.  It isn’t good enough and we will do what we can, but we don’t have official arrangements in place.  We are working with voluntary sector groups to make sure that refugees are properly welcomed and given the support they need to become a credit to the community.

Supplementary question:

In humanitarian crises what action should be taken on this issue at a European level?

Reply:

More countries just need to do their bit.  Germany has and Britain and some others haven’t.  We know what happens in Syria has knock on consequences everywhere and if we stand by and let it happen there will be worse consequences.  We need to join together to welcome refugees.

The time allowed for questions had expired and a written response has been sent to the question below:

Councillor Ismail to Councillor Shaikh, Executive Member for Economic and Community Development:

 

Islington has a vibrant & diversity community, but not all communities seem to benefit equally from funding from the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee.  What are you doing, as the Executive Member, to ensure that all communities have equal access to opportunities to apply for funding and to ensure that funding is fairly distributed across the borough’s different communities?

 

Reply:

 

I’d like to thank Cllr Ismail for raising this question, which importantly highlights the need for us as a Council to work with our community and voluntary sector in more creative ways, particularly during this time of swingeing Tory cuts to local government - cuts that will impact on the level of support we can provide to the community and voluntary sector in Islington.

 

As a Council, we know that, our voluntary and community sector lies at the heart of our ambition for a fairer Islington.

 

We recognise the valuable contribution that the VCS makes in supporting our most vulnerable residents and in helping to tackle a broad range of complex social issues.

 

As a council we know the importance of core funding and small grants to voluntary and community organisations as they provide a foundation from which organisations can grow and develop responsive initiatives.  In Islington, since 2011, over 40 organisations have received direct grant funding from the Council of £3.5 million per year enabling them to support and improve the quality of life for thousands of our residents. 

 

However, we also recognise that the Council’s relationship with the sector cannot simply be based on funding.  Both the Council and the voluntary and community sector need to adapt, be flexible, and identify opportunities to collaborate for mutual benefit.  To this end we have developed a VCS Strategy in consultation with the sector which maps out our vision and approach in working with the sector in the future.

 

Our approach moving forward focusses on building and developing strong partnerships between the whole council and the VCS.  We want these partnerships to leverage in the financial resources, physical space and expertise that our voluntary and community sector organisations require to be independent, financially resilient and responsive to local need.

 

Importantly we want to see a better connected sector, with more collaboration and sharing of resources between organisations and groups who share similar goals or who are serving the same communities.

 

To this end we absolutely recognise the importance of consortium working within the sector, particularly in order to leverage in much needed funding into the sector, whih will also help us deliver our corporate priorities.

 

And over this last year we have been working with organisations in the sector to help them develop consortia.

 

For example, our VCS team have been supporting our Learning, Skills and Employment Service to work with Voluntary Action Islington to pull together a consortium of VCS organisations who have a specific interest in helping people into employment. 

 

And there are likely to be further opportunities to develop consortia in other service delivery areas, such as health and well-being.

 

At the moment we are working with the sector to help them develop consortia so that they will be ready and better able to take advantage of potential funding opportunities that will be announced through the European Structural Fund, the Big Lottery and generally through the broader devolution agenda.

 

The VCS team will continue to play this facilitative role - to identify funding opportunities, and to bring relevant stakeholders together into consortia so that we can pull down any additional funding into the borough as a whole.  This is a vital role that the Council can play especially given the unprecedented Tory cuts to our Council to date, and those still to come. 

 

Supporting documents: