Agenda item

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

 

The recent murder in Hillrise Ward came as a huge shock to the community and the local councillors. The thoughts and feelings of all councillors go out to the family of the victim. It is now naturally a matter for the police to investigate swiftly and fairly, and speculation as to the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime are a matter for the courts and not a public discussion which could prejudice the legal process. In the light of his previous answer at a council meeting earlier this year on the victim of a shotgun, also in Hillrise Ward, could Councillor Hull give us reassurance that the Council is taking appropriate steps to work with the police to reassure local people that we will do our utmost to try to ensure this does not happen again?

 

Reply:

 

Thank you for your question, David. For now, the murderer of David Robinson remains uncaught. The Murder Investigation Team within Islington Police are actively pursuing various lines of enquiry. Three arrests have been made to date, but these people have been bailed and no charges related to the murder have yet been brought. There have been no subsequent criminal incidents connected to the murder since. Further public appeals for information are going to be made shortly.

 

Every murder is one too many and our sincere condolences go to the families and friends affected by this tragic shooting and the loss of another young man from our borough. While we await, as we must, the due process of the law to run its course, the Council and the police continue to work together to tackle crime in every ward across the borough, including in Hillrise.

 

The Integrated Gangs Team co-located at Toldpuddle Police Station is an excellent example of the police and Council working together and with partners in Probation, Victim Support, St Giles Trust and others. The team is now settled and intervening in the lives of young men and women involved in serious youth violence and gangs. While they are not able to prevent every tragic incident, the team is providing a rapid response to identified young people, from custody through to the community, supporting them to escape the clutches of gangs.

 

In terms of community reassurance, the Council discuss with the police a plan of action after each incident of death or serious violence. Such plans can include jointly agreed public statements, community engagement and increased patrolling, including involving Council staff who go into affected areas to engage and reassure residents, especially young people who are often most affected by this type of violence. The Council's Targeted Youth Support team work with St Giles Trust workers – some themselves former gang members – and the Neighbourhood Policing Teams to engage residents as well as gather information to improve overall safety.

 

Finally, developments continue apace across the Council to streamline our engagement with the police, both operationally, such as within the Youth Offending Service and the Integrated Gangs Team and strategically, within the Safer Islington Partnership and through scrutiny arrangements. This partnership is vital to ensure such incidents are, thankfully, not commonplace here in Islington.

 

Supplementary question:

 

Thank you for a full answer. How big a problem is gun crime in the borough?

 

Reply:

 

On gun-crime specifically, there have been 30 reported firearms incidents in Islington this year, compared to 9 the previous year (including where firearms were shown or intimated), although this year’s figure does include 18 incidents recorded as a result of a single drive-by paintballing spree. The rise is in keeping with a London-wide rise in gun-crime of 45% compared to last year.

 

Any intelligence regarding anyone in possession of firearms is acted upon straightaway by dedicated police investigators. This is normally done under the guise of a drugs warrant so that the person passing the information cannot be identified. So far, the police have actioned in excess of 20 warrants in the last 12 months along these lines. Some firearms have been recovered. The Integrated Gangs Team targets offenders who may have access to firearms. Parkguard and the police conduct regular weapons sweeps. Islington Police also collaborate closely with police in neighbouring boroughs to address gun-crime. Finally, all recovered firearms are forensicated to see any links to previous offences.

 

Gun-crime is incredibly serious and I can assure you that the Safer Islington Partnership takes it incredibly seriously.

 

Question b) Councillor Russell to Councillor Comer-Schwartz, Executive Member for Community Development

 

Will Islington Council be following Sadiq Khan's recommendation and take action to save Fabric Nightclub?

 

Reply:

 

Although I cannot speak for the decision of the Licensing Sub Committee A following the Metropolitan Police’s request to review Fabric’s licence, I have overarching responsibility for the Council’s licensing policy. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my condolences to the friends and families of those who died.  

 

The Sub-Committee heard that 18 year old boys were able to buy MDMA in Fabric and were also able to conceal drugs on their person which were not detected by a search on entry to the club. The Sub-Committee considered evidence from the Police and concluded that the problems seen during the 2014 review of Fabric’s licence had not been adequately addressed. In light of all the circumstances, the Sub-Committee decided that revocation was both appropriate and proportionate.

 

The borough’s cultural scene is important and is part of what makes London a great city, but venues need to act in accordance with their licence. The Sub-Committee cannot consider other matters and is only able to decide on matters within its remit. 

 

Supplementary question:

 

I also extend my condolences to the families and friends of those who died. Would you like the Police to work more collaboratively with licenced premises and take a more balanced approach, taking into account public health factors and the needs of the night time economy?

 

Reply:

 

The Council does not have a say on national drugs policy, nor on local policing policy. I suggest you direct your questions to our local MPs, the Mayor of London, or GLA members such as yourself.

 

Question c) Councillor Russell to Councillor Burgess, Executive Member for Health and Social Care

 

Do you agree with the words of a petition supporter of the Early Dementia Service at St Luke's Community Centre, that “this is a vital service which helps provide continued self-respect and independence to members and is ultimately cost effective as well”?

                                                           

Reply:

 

Respect for those with dementia is a cause that is very dear to my heart. The Council and CCG are spending £12.5 million per annum on people with dementia, £11.4 million is spent on residential and nursing support, and the Dementia Strategy is currently being refreshed to make sure that we offer support to dementia sufferers at different stages of their illness. Officers are ensuring that dementia sufferers can continue to access the lunch club using the Community Transport Service.

 

Supplementary question:

 

Many of us were surprised to hear that this is the first time that St Luke’s have received a full explanation of why their funding is being cut. Will you meet with service users and the Chief Executive at St Luke’s and promise to include them in future decision making?

 

Reply:

 

I was also surprised to hear that this is the first explanation they had received. The contract was due to end in February 2016 and this was extended to September 2016 to allow service users to find alternative support. Officers wrote to St Luke’s in May and a meeting was held on 22 June to agree how support service users. I will be meeting with St Luke’s about this shortly.

 

d) Councillor Ismail to Councillor Caluori, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families

 

In light of recent A level achievements - does the Council keep a track record of young people who live in Islington and those who went to Islington Schools and achieved University degrees, after the Council has invested so much?

 

Councillor Richard Watts, Leader of the Council, replied in Councillor Caluori’s absence:

 

It is inspiring that we have so many high achievers in Islington; our own youth councillors are a great example. Members may remember Benjamin Harrison, who has gone on to work full time for a solicitors’ after completing an apprenticeship there.

 

However, although we have a lot of talented young people in Islington, I am concerned that some young people are not fulfilling their potential. I am concerned about those who drop out of school for one reason or another and become NEET. The council carries out a lot of work with young people to ensure that they remain on track, and those who do drop out are offered one-to-one support to help them to re-engage. This can even involve calling at young people’s homes if they are unwilling to engage through more usual channels.  I’m pleased that the number of NEETs has dropped significantly over the last few years.

 

Islington rates highly on the government social mobility league table and this proves that we are one of the best places in the country for working class pupils. It is important that we offer young people in Islington the best start in life. London Councils publishes data on the Islington residents who start higher education programmes each year. We know that in 2014/15 1,227 young Islington residents started a higher education programme, which is very impressive. We are also collating the destinations of leavers from Islington schools, which will get sent to Central London Connexions.

 

We also check the destinations of our care leavers carefully; there are currently 48 young people studying at university and an average of 20% of Islington care leavers each year have progressed to university in recent years.

 

The Council is keen to work with graduates, and provides a lot of graduate level jobs. We also working to improve the provision of high quality apprenticeships for local people too. We want to work further with JobCentre Plus to provide tailored support to young people, because our view is that the current package of employment support doesn’t work for everyone. We are pushing hard for devolution of these services, to allow us to provide better services to help local people and fully implement the recommendations of the Employment Commission.