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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. View directions

Contact: Jonathan Moore  Tel: 020 7527 3308

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 105 KB

The Minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 24 May 2018.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the Annual Council meeting on 24 May 2018 be confirmed as a correct record and the Mayor be authorised to sign them.

2.

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.

 

Minutes:

None.

3.

Mayoral Announcements

(i)            Apologies

(ii)           Order of business

(iii)          Declaration of discussion items

(iv)          Mayor’s Announcements

(v)           Length of speeches

 

Minutes:

(i)            Apologies for Absence

 

Apologies were received from Councillors Clarke-Perry, Fletcher, Ismail, Klute, Ngongo, Wayne and Woodbyrne.

 

(ii)          Order of Business

 

No changes were proposed to the order of business.

 

(iii)         Declaration of Discussion Items

 

No items were declared.

 

(iv)         Mayor’s Announcements

 

The Mayor’s thoughts were with all of those affected by the stabbing of a 14 year old boy near Archway the previous weekend. The Mayor said that the escalation of knife crime across London is a huge concern, and thanked the emergency services for their work in responding to all of the terrible incidents quickly and professionally.

 

The Mayor was honoured to attend the minute’s silence to commemorate the anniversary of the Finsbury Park terror attack, alongside the family of Makram Ali, Mohammed Mamoud of the Finsbury Park Mosque; Toufik Kacimi of the Muslim Welfare House; representatives of Islington Faith Forum; local MPs, the Mayor of London, councillors and government ministers. The Mayor thanked the emergency services, councillors and council staff who responded to the attack and thanked everyone for attending.

 

The Mayor was pleased to attend Armed Forces Day, and thanked Islington Veterans Association and Cllr Poole, the Armed Forces Champion, for their ongoing work in supporting the armed forces.

 

The Mayor had attended the EPIC Awards, which recognise the outstanding contributions made by Council staff. The Mayor congratulated Jade Alexander, a social worker who supports disabled young people, for receiving the Employee of the Year award. The Mayor was proud to celebrate the achievements of council staff and congratulated all of the award winners and all of those nominated.

 

The Mayor had attended several community events, including the Cally Festival, Andover Soul in the City, Archway Carnival, the Amwell Street Fair, and events held as part of The Great Get Together, held in memory of Jo Cox MP. The Mayor was pleased to see so many councillors at community events, and encouraged everyone to support their local events over the summer.

 

(v)          Length of speeches

 

The Mayor asked all members to be mindful of the timer and keep within the permitted length for speeches.

4.

Leader's Announcements

Minutes:

Councillor Watts thanked everyone who attended the event to mark the first anniversary of the Finsbury Park terrorist attack. Councillor Watts thanked the family of Makram Ali and other survivors for attending, as well as representatives of the Muslim Welfare House and Finsbury Park Mosque. Councillor Watts also reiterated his thanks to all of those who provided support after the attack.  

 

Councillor Watts said he was proud of how the borough came together after the attack; the terrorist, Darren Osbourne, had failed in his attempt to drive Islington’s communities apart, as the attack had made Islington’s communities stronger and brought them closer together.

 

Councillor Watts noted this was the first ordinary Council meeting since the local election and said that the administration had hit the ground running. The Council had decided to invest in new housing in EC1, had secured apprenticeships for local young people, had secured the largest fine in the council’s history for a rogue private landlord, had launched a ‘Housing First’ pilot to prevent and address homelessness, and had stood up for local people in campaigns to protect NHS services and improve the accessibility of public transport. Councillor Watts said that, although the election was only a few weeks ago, the Council was already making Islington a fairer place.

 

Councillor Watts also commented on the recent stabbing near Archway and advised that community safety was a top priority of the administration. Local people were concerned about the safety of their neighbourhoods; the Council was firmly on their side and was working to ensure that Islington is a safe and welcoming borough.

 

Councillor watts emphasised that the overwhelming majority of young people in Islington are not involved in criminal activity and praised the work of council services, schools and local organisations in providing opportunities to young people, despite the huge cuts to their funding. However, there are real concerns about youth crime in Islington, and the Council was working with the Police to address these.

 

Islington worked to prevent young people getting involved in crime through its ‘early intervention’ approach; the Council supported young people and their families by investing in mentors and caseworkers. The extra £2million the Council had invested to keep young people safe had provided a range of services for young people, as well as extra CCTV and pioneering work to understand the root causes of serious youth crime. However, keeping the community safe was increasingly challenging due to continuous government cuts to the council and the Police. The Government had cut 300 police officers in Islington since 2010 and this undoubtedly had an effect on the safety of the borough.

 

Councillor Watts was pleased that serious knife crime in Islington had fallen 13.5% compared to a London-wide increase of around 2% and praised the work of the Integrated Gangs Team, which included representation from the council, Police, JobCentre, NHS, and other organisations. The team worked to identify and intensively support young people entrenched in gang activity, helping them to turn their lives around  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Petitions

Minutes:

Councillor Spall presented a petition on behalf of residents objecting to a planning application for a proposed shop, café and homeless night shelter on the Elthorne estate.

 

Councillor Heather presented a petition on behalf of residents regarding noise pollution and potential fire risks caused by restaurants on Seven Sisters Road.

 

6.

Petition debate - Reduce traffic on new Islington Quietway pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Minutes:

Tabitha Tanqueray introduced the petition ‘Reduce traffic on new Islington Quietway’ on behalf of the petitioners. The petition was submitted at the 22 February 2018 meeting of the Council and, in accordance with Procedure Rule 19.1(d), was scheduled for debate as it received over 2,000 signatures.

 

Councillor Webbe moved the motion to debate the petition. Councillor Champion seconded. Councillors Khondoker and Russell contributed to the debate. Councillor Webbe exercised her right of reply.

 

The following main points were raised during the debate:

 

·         Quietway 10 is a major cycle route through the borough, from Finsbury Park to Clerkenwell. The petitioners’ believed that reducing traffic on Quietway 10 would make cycling safer and more enticing for all residents. Cycling has health and wellbeing benefits, and also helps to reduce air pollution.

·         The petitioners’ considered that the most cost effective way of reducing traffic would be modal filtering to reduce through traffic while still allowing residents to access their homes. This could be achieved through bollards or gates. 

·         The Council was working to provide healthier and safer streets for all road users, and wanted all residents to lead active and healthy lives and enjoy the benefits that came from cycling, without fear of injury.

·         The Council was committed to delivering a successful quietway network across Islington, and was also very concerned by the borough’s air quality and its effect on the health of local people. The Council understood the benefits of closing certain routes to through traffic, and was exploring options for improving the quietway route, however it was necessary to carry out comprehensive consultation with the local communities that would be affected by road closures, including local businesses.

·         It was suggested that a ‘live trial’ approach could assist in engagement with local communities. It was also suggested that the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling should be a factor any public engagement on traffic reduction schemes.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

To continue to encourage residents to participate in local democracy by carefully considering the concerns raised in the petition and to undertake the debate in a spirit of openness and transparency.

7.

Questions from Members of the Youth Council pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Minutes:

Question a) from Youth Councillor Bella to Councillor Comer-Schwartz, Executive Member for Community Development:

 

It was great to attend the celebration event to mark the repeal of Section 28 and to learn about how Islington has always been at the forefront of campaigning for LGBT equality. How are faith institutions encouraged to extend LGBT equality within education settings they are responsible for both inside and outside of the school curriculum?

 

Response:

 

Thank you for your question. I attended the celebration too, and it is important that we reflect on our history in Islington. The Council works closely with faith institutions to extend LGBT equality. An example of this is in our work with the Westminster Diocese regarding support for Catholic Schools.  These schools access support from the Catholic Education Service alongside Islington Council’s School Improvement Service and our Health and Wellbeing Team. Both organisations advocate for schools to be inclusive and sensitive to individual pupils. Governing bodies have responsibilities for schools’ approaches in relation to the Equalities Act. The Catholic Education Service model policy for relationship and sex education suggests that schools include the statement, “that our school strives to do the best for all of the pupils, irrespective of disability, educational needs, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, pregnancy, maternity, sex, gender identity, religion or sexual orientation or whether they are looked after children.”

 

Our resources for Islington schools are accessed and used by faith schools, including the ‘out with homophobia’ teaching resource for both primary and secondary schools. Islington’s relationship and sex education resources strive to be inclusive of all children and young people.

 

In the light of relationship and sex education becoming a statutory duty, the Health and Wellbeing team has been consulting with a number of schools, including faith schools, and will be issuing further guidance following consultation with a range of stakeholders, including LGBT groups within the borough.

 

 

Question b) from Young Mayor Honey to Councillor Watts, Leader of the Council:  

 

At the recent council election, Islington’s voters provided you with a mandate to continue with the commitment to make Islington a fairer borough. What positive things can Islington’s young people expect during the next 12 months which will improve their lives?

 

Response:

 

Thank you very much. Islington Labour received 61% of the vote at the election, that is the highest any party had received in my life time. What people were fundamentally voting for wasn’t about personalities, it was about politics, priorities, and making Islington a fairer place. We were the only party that had a serious plan for the future of our borough, and our manifesto included a range of policies to make Islington fairer.

 

I need to mention the work of the Fair Futures Commission. Islington is a fantastic place to grow up; I know that kids who are fortunate enjoy all of the opportunities possible to enjoy; including world class culture and world class job opportunities. If you have a bit of money, Islington is the best place to grow up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Questions from Members of the Public pdf icon PDF 67 KB

Minutes:

Question a) from Sebastian Sandys to Councillor Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development:

 

What conditions are the Council proposing to attach to the planning permission granted to the developers of the Richard Cloudesley site?

 

Response:

 

Thank you for your question. On 1 March 2018, the Council’s Planning Committee resolved to grant planning permission for 66 much needed new council homes and a new two–form entry primary school on this site.  This resolution was made subject to the City of London resolving to grant planning permission for a duplicate planning application; this resolution was subsequently made by the City of London Planning and Transportation Committee on 26 March 2018. The resolution was also subject to any direction made by the Mayor of London, and the Mayor confirmed on 18 June 2018 that he did not intend to intervene in this application.

 

In addition, the resolution to grant planning permission was made subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement, and a number of planning conditions that were set out in Annex 1 to the committee report, which is available on the Council’s website.

 

The Planning Committee also resolved to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Environment & Regeneration, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, to make minor amendments to the Section 106 heads of terms and the conditions.

 

In accordance with the council’s procedures, the committee report, including Annex 1, was published in advance of the meeting of the Planning Committee, and any late representations on the application were reported to the Committee.   In addition to this, people who wished to speak for and against the planning application were given the opportunity to do so at the Committee meeting.

 

Interested parties were therefore provided with an opportunity to view and comment on the draft conditions either verbally or in writing.

 

Before taking their decision, the Committee properly and fully considered all the written and verbal material that was presented to the meeting, including Annex 1 of the committee report.

 

The Local Planning Authority is now in a position to issue its decision on the planning application in accordance with the resolution made by the Planning Committee. 

 

Prior to the decision being issued, there will be some changes to the planning conditions set out in Annex 1 of the committee report.   These changes will be extremely minor in character and do not materially or substantially change in any way the conditions that were agreed by the Planning Committee.  In line with the resolution made by the Planning Committee a decision on these changes will be made by the appropriate officer following consultation with the Chair of the Planning Committee.

 

Supplementary question:

 

This afternoon the crowd funder successfully reached its target, which means that the decision will be subject to judicial review. Will you meet me and the objectors to ensure that money is not wasted, and the London Borough of Islington is not again hoodwinked by the Corporation of London.

 

Response:

 

I am not going to apologise for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Questions from Members of the Council pdf icon PDF 77 KB

Minutes:

Question a) from Councillor Clarke to Councillor Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development:

 

Islington Council recently secured a High Court victory over a developer who was twice refused planning permission at the former Territorial Army site on Parkhurst Road, because the plans did not include enough genuinely affordable homes. This is a significant legal victory that will support this Council’s plans to deliver more genuinely affordable homes for local people, including at the former Holloway Prison site. Can Councillor Ward explain what steps he and the Council are taking to ensure the precedent this judgement sets is recognised by the development industry and by government?

 

Response:

 

Thank you for your question. Yes, this really is a landmark legal case, which will help the Council, as well as local authorities across the country, to maximise the delivery of genuinely affordable housing.  It will be a powerful tool that will help us dissuade developers from paying too much for land and then using the “dark arts” of viability to reduce the amount of genuinely affordable housing on the site in question. Put simply, you can’t overpay for land, and then say “we can’t afford to build social housing”. They’re not going to get away with it anymore. This is a hugely significant victory and we are very proud of it.  

 

Following the High Court decision on 27 April 2018, the Council publicised the judgment very widely. The Parkhurst Road case was then featured in a number of development industry, planning and legal publications, as well as several local papers.  

 

The case continues to attract media interest – only last week City Metric published my article on the Parkhurst Road victory under the title “Developers can no longer over-pay for land to wriggle out of their affordable housing commitments”.

Over the last couple of months, the case has also featured at a number of legal seminars/events organised by leading law chambers. It truly is a case of national significance.

     

Council officers distributed the High Court decision to all the specialist officer networks related to planning and development viability in London and have also been invited to give talks on the matter.

 

You might also be aware that in a highly unusual move, in a postscript to the judgment, Judge Mr Justice Holgate also recommended that the current, widely used, guidance on viability assessments by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors should be revised. That is “in order to address any misunderstandings about market valuation concepts and techniques, the “circularity” issue and any other problems encountered in practice over the last 6 years, so as to help avoid protracted disputes of the kind we have seen in the present case”. 

 

This is something that the Council has been calling for over the last couple of years, due to serious concerns about how the RICS Financial Viability in Planning guidance note was being applied in practice. We are now looking to join forces with the Mayor of London to seek engagement with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Corporate Plan pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Watts moved that the Council adopt the Corporate Plan 2018-22. Councillor Burgess seconded.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Corporate Plan 2018-22 be adopted.

11.

Constitution Update pdf icon PDF 94 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Gill moved the recommendations. Councillor Hamitouche seconded.

 

The recommendations were put to the vote an CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

(i)            That the amendments to the Constitution as set out at Appendix 1 to the report submitted be agreed;

(ii)           That the Members Allowance Scheme for 2018/19 be adopted;

(iii)          That the Director of Law and Governance be authorised to make any consequential amendments to the Constitution considered necessary.

12.

Quarterly Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Gill moved the recommendations in the report. Councillor Hamitouche seconded.

 

RESOLVED:

 

To note the decision taken on 13 April 2018 to award a contract to Insight Direct (UK) Ltd for the purchase of Microsoft licences.

 

13.

Chief Whip's Report pdf icon PDF 68 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Gill moved the recommendations. Councillor Hamitouche seconded.

 

The recommendations were put to the vote an CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:


Committee Appointments

(i)            That Katy Porter, Chief Executive of the Manor Gardens Welfare Trust, be appointed as the voluntary sector representative on the Health and Wellbeing Board and Haringey and Islington Health and Wellbeing Boards Joint Sub-Committee with immediate effect for a two-year term or until a successor is appointed.

 

(ii)           That Osama Al Jayousi be appointed as Primary Parent Governor representative on the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee with immediate effect for a four-year term or until a successor is appointed.


Outside Body Appointments

(iii)          That Councillor Nathan be appointed as a Council representative on the Sadler’s Wells Foundation with immediate effect until February 2019 or until a successor is appointed.

 

(iv)          That Councillor Spall be appointed as a Council representative on Islington United Charities with immediate effect for a four-year term of until a successor is appointed.


Other Appointments

(v)           That Councillor Lukes be appointed as Migrants Champion with immediate effect for a one-year term of until a successor is appointed.

 

(vi)          That the appointment of Councillor Turan as a Deputy Whip of the Labour Group be noted.

 

(vii)        That the appointment of Alan Layton, Director of Financial Management, as the Acting Section 151 Officer be noted.

 

 

14.

Notices of Motion pdf icon PDF 98 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 – Fairness for All

Motion 2 – Parity of Esteem Between Physical and Mental Health Services

Motion 3 – Make Votes Matter

Additional documents:

Minutes:

MOTION 1: FAIRNESS FOR ALL

 

As Councillor Ngongo had submitted apologies for absence, the motion was moved by Councillor Comer-Schwartz. Councillor Lukes seconded. Councillor Webbe contributed to the debate.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.  

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)            To explore establishing a programme of briefing sessions for Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, to enable them to provide advice to residents affected by the Windrush scandal;

(ii)           To explore how to direct local residents affected by the Windrush scandal towards independent immigration advice, including by providing training to Frontline council staff;

(iii)          To make representations to the Government to urge them to implement the recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Detention, including to end the practice of indefinite detention and introduce a time-limit of 28 days on the length of time anyone can be detained for immigration purposes; prosecute staff if there is evidence of abuse in detention; only use detention as a last resort; and directly involve experts-by-experience in future inquiries into detention;

(iv)          To continue to support calls for the rights of local residents originally from other European Union countries to be immediately guaranteed.

 

 

MOTION 2: PARITY OF ESTEEM BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

 

Councillor Gantly moved the motion. Councillor Burgess seconded. Councillors Clarke and Russell contributed to the debate.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)                  To write to the Secretary of State for Health to urge him to ensure a genuine parity of esteem is achieved between physical and mental health services, and to provide adequate funding to ensure the NHS can deliver mental health services for all;

(ii)                To work with NHS partners, and the voluntary and community sector, to ensure residents can access the mental health services they need; including by providing community based preventative services and commissioning specific services for residents from BAME communities;

(iii)               To support Thrive LDN’s campaign to empower individuals and communities in Islington to improve their mental health;

(iv)               To reaffirm this Council’s commitment to ensuring the NHS remains free at the point of use, and remains publicly owned and publicly accountable.

 

 

MOTION 3: MAKE VOTES MATTER

 

Councillor Russell moved the motion. Councillor Watts moved the amendment circulated in the additional despatch of papers. Councillor Burgess seconded 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 write to the Prime Minister to ask her to guarantee the full rights of EU Citizens, including their right to vote and stand in local elections;

(ii)           To write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to make clear this Council’s opposition to requiring voters to present photo identification before being able to vote, and to ask what plans the Government has to increase participation at local elections.