Agenda item

Question a) Councillor O’Halloran to Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development:

 

Housing is a hugely important issue for residents in my ward and for everyone across the borough.  Can you tell me what your priorities will be in your new role?

 

Reply:

I have some very big shoes to fill and I would like to pay tribute to the work done by ex-Councillor James Murray.  We will continue to build affordable homes and to fight for a better deal for local people in rented accommodation and work tirelessly to make our repairs service the best in London.

 

Supplementary question:

 

A lot of people contact me regarding the Housing and Planning Act – what will you do to protect residents?

The Act will have terrible impacts on residents.  We will be offering advice to residents effected and continue to fight to get the Act changed.

Question b) Councillor Debono to Councillor Caluori, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families:

 

In recent years the council has had an excellent relationship with local schools, and this has helped to achieve brilliant results and progress for our young people. Given the government has made it clear that it still wants to see all schools become academies, what is the council doing to ensure that Islington’s community of schools model is protected?

 

Reply:

Congratulations on your appointment as Chair of Children’s Scrutiny Committee.  I look forward to working with you.  The initial announcement was that every school would become an Academy and I know that they have now pulled back from that position in response to Islington Save our Schools campaign.  We need to continue through working with our schools, to deliver high quality schools, over 90% of which are rated good or outstanding.  By working closely with them we have achieved a lot.  We have had discussions about the possibility of a school led partnership with the council having a strong role and we need to be robust to push away moves towards Academies.

Question c) Councillor Nick Ward to Councillor Burgess, Executive Member for Health and Social Care:

 

According to government figures, the proportion of people living with HIV in London is three times higher than the average across England, and in 2014, London accounted for 45 per cent of all people diagnosed as HIV positive in England. In Islington, more than 1,200 people are living with HIV. Given that these figures show a rise in the prevalence of HIV in London, do you agree with me that NHS England’s decision not to commission the highly effective HIV prevention treatment, PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis), represents a serious risk to the work undertaken to tackle HIV, and do you share the concerns of the Terence Higgins Trust which has said that the delay in commissioning PrEP will see seven more people contract HIV every day?”

Reply:

Thank you for your question.  The figures are very clear and I agree with the Terence Higgins Trust.  We’ve made tremendous progress in reducing late diagnosis of HIV in Islington in recent years, and commission excellent local sexual health services which are making a real difference.  However, we continue to see new HIV infections, and the use of these anti-HIV drugs would help considerably and I agree the decision not to fund PrEP is a major missed opportunity.   The human impact of living with HIV is considerable, but with the lifetime costs of treatment for HIV in excess of £350,000, not investing in effective prevention interventions is a false economy for the NHS.  We are working closely with other councils to lobby government and the NHS to overturn this decision and make this important intervention available as soon as possible.  We are in the forefront of ensuring that services are as good as they can be, but to say that many health services are creaking at the seams is an understatement and one way to help is prevention.  Why is it that when we get a chance, the government cuts the funding again and again.  We will do what we can to stop them.

 

 

Question d) Councillor Poyser to Councillor Hull, Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety:

There was recently a shooting incident in Elthorne Park involving a pellet gun. One victim was struck in the arm, but did not need hospital treatment. A second victim was taken to hospital as a fragment of pellet hit them in the eye. What attempts are being made by the council and partners to ensure that weapon ownership, of any kind, in the Borough is monitored and what efforts are being made to reduce weapon ownership?

 

Reply:

Thanks for your question, David. Legal weapon ownership is covered by very strict laws in this country, both in terms of age restrictions and background checks. Islington Council Trading Standards routinely conduct test-purchase operations against premises selling any age-restricted products, paying particular attention to those involved in the sale of knives. Where they are deemed to have sold to minors, appropriate enforcement action is taken. The council has demonstrated that we will prosecute shop keepers who sell knives to young people – indeed, only recently a retailer was prosecuted for selling a knife to a young person, which was then proven to have been used in a subsequent stabbing.

 

The legal ownership of firearms is regulated by a specialist unit in the Metropolitan Police Service who conduct thorough background checks on the person concerned. There are tight laws governing the use, storage and transportation of these weapons.

It is the illegal ownership or possession of weapons that presents the biggest threat to the borough. Illegal weapons can be purchased from a variety of sources, each presenting its own challenges in terms of monitoring and enforcing. Internet sales, often from websites not based in the UK, have been proven to be the key routes for knives and other weapons such as CS spray. Young people in Islington and elsewhere in the country have been able to purchase large “zombie killer” or combat knives from such sites. Where these sites can be identified, a coordinated partnership enforcement approach between police and trading standards can close them down or block them. However, the accessibility and volume of the sites present a real problem.

Our local police take the main role around enforcement and removal of weapons from the streets of Islington, conducting regular intelligence-led stop & searches in hotspots known for violence or gang activity and conducting weekly weapon sweeps in every ward. This is backed up by regular weapon sweeps from a range of other partners such as Parkguard, Green Space and estate caretakers.  The law has recently changed to reflect the seriousness of carrying a weapon, with mandatory sentencing guidance for those found to have been a repeat knife-carrier.

All of the above is geared towards enforcement and protection, but prevention and behaviour-change play a pivotal role too. Frontline workers in Children’s & Adult Services, Offender Management Services, Schools and other similar settings actively engage those they encounter about the dangers of weapons and the impact of carrying and using them. Where possible, evidence-based interventions (such as the Youth Offending Service Knife Awareness Programme) are run to target those known to (or at risk of) carrying weapons to dissuade them from continuing to do so. There is a lot going on, but it is never enough.

 

Supplementary question:
There is an area on Hillrise which is a special bit of land, where there was an incident involving street drinkers?

Reply:

The violent crime you mentioned took place against two men in their 40s in your ward on 23^rd May. The suspect has not been identified and the details provided by the vulnerable victims remain limited. Unfortunately, however, it does sound like a case of a young man in broad daylight taking pot-shots at street drinkers for kicks. If that is what has happened, I am sure everyone in this chamber, you and I included, would find such behaviour despicable. Police CID are investigating and I sincerely hope they catch the culprit.

 

Question e) Councillor Poyser to Councillor to Councillor Hull, Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety:

There has recently been another attempted suicide on Archway Bridge. Luckily the victim was saved. It is obviously important that any changes to the bridge are well tested with world class experts to ensure that suicide becomes impossible, while there is minimal effect on the appearance of the Victorian Bridge, an Islington landmark. Both Islington and Haringey Planning Committees have agreed to Transport for London’s plans last year. Is there an idea of when we can expect to see the anti-suicide changes to the bridge, and any other suicide prevention measures?

.      
Reply:

On the morning of 9^th June, a woman in her 20s did threaten to jump off Archway Bridge. Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance Services attended and road closures were put in place. In the end, the woman was led to safety and taken under the Mental Health Act to a North London hospital. Thank goodness this particular suicide attempt was averted and the young woman is still alive.       

 

In terms of suicide-proofing the bridge, Islington Council’s Planning Committee approved TfL’s design, in principle, for suicide prevention fences on the Grade 2 listed bridge on 8^th October 2015 with conditions requiring detailed design proposals and a sample section to be erected in situ on the bridge.  Since that time, mock-ups have been undergoing vigorous testing and experimentation in the workshop, with one sample section being erected on the bridge, to ensure that this bespoke structure is effective in its aim.  Technical difficulties were encountered by TfL and these need to be resolved to ensure that the measures are fit for purpose.  In order to hasten the process, Islington Council recommended that TfL engage additional structural engineers and this recommendation was taken up. 

 

The Council’s Design and Conservation Team are in regular contact with TfL and are able to respond quickly to developments.  TfL is currently waiting for its contractor to provide a date for when the final mock-up will be viewed by them at the workshops.  TfL expect to be able to inspect it by mid-July.  If no concerns arise from this mock-up, it is anticipated that a sample section will be placed in situ on the bridge by the end of August, with submission of an Approval of Details (AOD) application as soon as possible after that, with full installation and completion taking place by the end of the year. CCTV will also be installed along with the fencing.

Supplementary question:

Those of us who experienced the suicide of someone close to us are hugely concerned.  Can the process be speeded up?

 

Reply:

I am firmly of the view that this is all taking longer than it should, because with each month that passes we run the risk of another life lost. Given it is potentially, quite literally, a matter of life and death, I have recently asked the Chief Executive of the Council to contact TfL to see if there is any way to expedite the process.

 

Question f) Councillor Ismail to Councillor Caluori, Executive Member for Children, Young People & Families -

 

Most of Islington’s Secondary Schools are thriving since the Labour administration, that I am proud to be part of, came into office in 2010. However, my question concerns the comments of parents and young people that Year 10 and 11 students are being excluded more than students in other years, at a time that is a critical turning point in a young person’s life.

 

Can I ask why that is the case, and how many Year 10 and 11 students have been excluded in the last few years, with a breakdown by gender and ethnicity. In addition, may I ask what information we have about what happens to these young people and, what power does the Council have to support schools or influence them not to exclude students, particularly those in Years 10 and 11 , so that young people do not face difficulties in future?

Reply:

We know how poor the outcomes are for students who are permanently excluded. It is most common in years 9 and 10 and the reasons for exclusion are serious. Over the last four years, eighteen year 10 students have been permanently excluded, 8 for weapon related incidents, 4 for drug and alcohol and 4 for threats to an adult.  There are thirteen different categories.  Guidance is clear and exclusion is only used as a last resort, when there is persistent breach of policy and the student remaining in school may cause harm to other pupils.  We have a statutory responsibility to ensure continuing education.  We also have a headteacher led board which considers requests for permanently excluded pupils to return to mainstream schools from the PRU.  The Scrutiny Committee has looked into this and I am looking forward to their report.  It is not a route we enter into lightly.  We have a good relationship with schools and will support them to ensure that they have exhausted all alternatives.  If a young person is permanently excluded there is usually something wrong in the family and we need to work out what and where to intervene.

Supplementary question:

 

How does the Council train teachers to deal with poor behaviour in the classroom?  With challenging behaviour?

Reply:

 

I don’t have the details of that to hand, but it is very important that we support schools as teachers do have to deal with some very challenging behaviour.

 

Question g) Councillor Ismail to Councillor Shaikh, Executive Member for Economic Development –

 

What has been achieved in the last 12 months since you have been lead member for economic development,  what are the issues for economic growth development in the borough that you will be  developing, and what two areas will you prioritise in the next 12 months for economic prosperity in our borough inclusive of gender, age  and ethnicity?

 

Reply:

Thank you for your question.  We have had a lot of success in the last year.  Our support for economic development within the borough is driven by our objective to prevent poverty and social inequality.  We are taking the work forward strategically.  We have established a new economic development board. The board brings together elected members, including myself and the Leader of the Council with senior officials over all directorates. The board has been tasked to prepare an economic development strategy for Islington, including key issues such employment, business, skills and affordable workspace.  We will be delivering the strategy with the new Economic Development Reference Group and I look forward to working with Councillor Parker.  We are continuing to deliver important work the progress the Employment Commission objectives, to help long term unemployed and residents overs 40 years of age into paid employment.  We’ve also developed a partnership with the CCG provide £1m to develop and test a completely new service supporting people with long term conditions or disabilities into work.  We’ve strengthened the work of our Town Centres with a new Town Centre Management Group in Finsbury Park to complement those existing in Archway and Nags Head.  In the immediate future we will be focussing on developing the strategy, ensuring residents have the right skills and ensuring the provision of affordable workspaces.

 

Supplementary question:

Recognising the contribution that women made to the local economy and their ambition and aspiration, what financial and signposting support can you offer?

Reply:

That is a very important point.  Support for social enterprise will be part of the new strategy.  I look forward to working with you in that area.

Question h) Councillor Russell to Councillor Watts, Leader of the Council:

In October 2015 this council passed a motion on Prevent resolving:

• To work with local schools, school governors and local faith groups to ensure that the implementation of Prevent is effective, sensitive and constructive. 
• To work with local groups to ensure extremism is challenged collaboratively rather than driven underground or over exaggerated.
• To praise the many local community and faith groups who work across our borough to improve community cohesion and prevent violent extremism.
• To work with local Trade Unions, universities and faith groups to make representations to government and local MPs to request the Government to change the elements of the anti-terror programme that damage community cohesion and are therefore counter- productive.

What progress has been made on this work?

 

Reply:

 

Thank you for your question.  Recent events have shown that this work is vital.  The Chief Constable who is the police lead on Prevent has concerns about the practicality and enforceability of the government’s approach.  In Islington we have been working to meet our legal duties, but in a way that achieves cohesive communities rather than driving them apart.  EGA are leading on good practice in schools and the Adult and Community Learning Team have been verified by Ofstead, who looked at Prevent.  As a council we are working with a range of community groups and on Saturday are holding a rally against hate crime.  Community cohesion is central to keeping our borough safer.  We will keep meeting and talking to groups and at a senior Home Office meeting have set out concerns in a constructive way.

 

Supplementary question:

 

That is really reassuring.  I am especially keen to see that in education and healthcare we are listening to all groups.  Can you give me that assurance?

 

Reply:

 

Yes.

 

Question i) Councillor Russell to Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development

I would like to congratulate the Executive Member for Housing on his appointment and ask him if he will set out his plans for increasing council housing in the borough?

 

Congratulations on your election to City Hall.  We have an ambitious new build programme.  There are currently 225 completed, 125 being built and 156 working their way through the planning process.  We have more proposals at the feasibility stage and are on target to deliver 500 new homes by 2019. We are also working with our partners to provide a total of 2000 affordable homes by 2019.  We hope all the new City Hall members will support us in achieving our goals.

Supplementary question:

I was very glad to hear you talking about the repairs service earlier.  Do you commit to end the misery of cold damp homes and the two tier system on estates?

 

Reply:

I will very as hard as I can to make it the best repair service in London.