Agenda and minutes

Prior to the commencement of the meeting, a minute’s silence was held for all of those affected by the London Bridge terror attack on 29 November 2019.

The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 September 2019.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 September 2019 be agreed as a correct record and the Mayor be authorised to sign them.

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.

None.

(i)           Apologies

(ii)          Order of business

(iii)         Declaration of discussion items

(iv)        Mayor’s announcements

(v)          Length of speeches

a)    Apologies

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Burgess, Convery, Gantly, Hamitouche, Kay, Khondoker, Picknell and Shaikh.

b)    Order of Business

No changes were proposed to the order of business.

c)    Declaration of Discussion Items

No items were declared.

d)    Mayor’s Announcements

The Mayor advised that, due to the pre-election period of heightened political sensitivity, procedure rules 10.2(f), (i), (j) and (k) relating to petitions, questions and motions were suspended for the duration of the meeting.

The Mayor thanked the many colleagues who attended the Remembrance events in November. The Mayor said that it was an honour to attend the wreath laying events on Remembrance Sunday as well as the Poppy Appeal launch with the Islington Veterans Association. Many local people attended the events to remember and pay their respects. The Mayor thanked everyone involved in organising the events for all their hard work.  

The Mayor paid tribute to Lilian Reeve, who passed away on Remembrance Sunday. Lilian was a local resident who served in the Second World War as a nurse in the Royal Air Force.  Lilian never missed a Remembrance Day parade. The Mayor passed on the council’s condolences to her family and friends.

The Mayor had attended many events since the last meeting, including the Community Apple Day at the Ecology Centre, the Harvest Festival with the London Pearly Kings and Queens, and the 25th Anniversary of Angel Shed Theatre Company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, which were all fantastic events.

October was Black History Month and the Mayor had attended the Black Women Rising Event at City University, highlighting the many positive contributions that Black women make to society.

The Mayor had also opened a national conference on improving the experiences of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children at the Art House. The Mayor said she was proud of the council’s work to support refugees, particularly young people seeking asylum.

The Mayor had attended the Council Caretaker Awards to celebrate the fantastic work of the caretakers on Islington’s estates. The Mayor highlighted that the council’s caretakers do so much more than look after estates; they do great work to support the local community and often go above and beyond the call of duty. 

The Mayor’s fundraising dinner was held on Tuesday evening and raised nearly £1,500 for the Mayor’s Charities, Centre 404 and Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre. The Mayor thanked Fish Central for hosting this event and supporting her charities.

The Mayor enjoyed the opening of the Charterhouse Christmas Fair, switching on the Christmas lights across the borough and the Talking Newspaper Christmas Party.  The Mayor said that the Talking Newspaper provides a great service for local people with visual impairments and it was nice to talk to some of their clients.

e)    Length of Speeches

The Mayor reminded members to take note of the timer and to keep within the

permitted length for speeches.

The Mayor reminded councillors to consider the political sensitivity when making their remarks.

Councillor Watts said that his thoughts were with the family and friends of the victims of the terror attack at London Bridge. Councillor Watts said that there was a responsibility on all of us to think about how we can bring our communities together and support community cohesion in the face of such appalling attacks.

Councillor Watts thanked the Islington Veterans Association and all of those who supported the Remembrance Day events. Councillor Watts also passed on his best wishes to the family of Lilian Reeve, the second world war veteran, who passed away on Remembrance Day.

Councillor Hull moved the recommendations in the report. Councillor Watts seconded. Councillor Russell contributed to the debate. Councillor Hull exercised his right of reply.

The recommendations in the report were put to the vote and CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

(i)           That the Council Tax Support Scheme for 2020/21 be agreed as set out in Appendix A to the report submitted;

(ii)          That it be noted that the Council is retaining a cap of 8.5% for council tax support – despite unprecedented central government funding cuts both for this scheme and for the council generally – as part of our ongoing commitment to provide support throughout the different stages of residents’ lives, where it is needed.

(iii)         That the amendments to council tax agreed at full Council on 6 December 2018 be retained. To be clear, this means that, from 1 April 2020, the following will continue to apply:

1)   council tax exemption classes A and C will have a discount of 0% for all cases;

2)   council tax discount for second homes will be 0% in all cases;

3)   council tax discount for empty furnished lets will be 0% in all cases; and

4)   a premium will be charged at the maximum percentage allowed on the council tax of all properties that have remained empty for over 2 years in all cases.

Councillor Hull moved the recommendations in the report. Councillor Watts seconded. Councillor Russell contributed to the debate. Councillor Hull exercised his right of reply.

The recommendations in the report were put to the vote and CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

(i)            That the changes to the capital programme covered in the report and the revised 2019/20 capital programme at Appendix 1 to the report submitted be agreed.

(ii)           That it be noted that the medium-term capital programme will be further reviewed and increased as part of the 2020/21 budget setting process.

The Mayor advised that this report had been circulated in the additional despatch of papers.

Councillor Gill moved the recommendations in the report. Councillor Turan seconded. The recommendations were put to the vote and CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

(i)            That the amendments to the Constitution set out in the Appendix to the report submitted be approved;

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

The Mayor advised that this report had been circulated in the additional despatch of papers.

Councillor Gill moved the recommendations in the report. Councillor Turan seconded. The recommendations were put to the vote and CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

(i)           That Claire Ballak be appointed as the Parent Governor Representative (Primary) on the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee for a four year term or until a successor is appointed;

(ii)          To appoint Cllr Comer-Schwartz, the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families, to the Disciplinary Appeal Committee for the remainder of municipal year or until a successor is appointed.

(iii)         To appoint Cllr Williamson as a trustee of the Cloudesley Charity with immediate effect for a period of four years or until a successor is appointed.