Agenda item

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: Making Islington a Borough of Sanctuary

 

Councillor Bell-Bradford moved the motion. Councillor Bossman-Quarshie seconded. Councillors Ismail and Russell contributed to the debate. Councillor Bell-Bradford exercised his right of reply.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

(i)   To join a network of cities and towns which promote the inclusion and welfare of people who are fleeing violence and persecution in their own countries and become a recognised “Borough of Sanctuary”

(ii)  To work with community groups to harness public support to help and support refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in Islington.

(iii)To continue to celebrate the contribution of refugee and migrant communities to Islington.

(iv)To continue to work with organisations in the borough who support refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the borough.

(v)  To challenge anti-refugee and anti-migrant attitudes wherever they are found.

(vi)To continue to lobby the government to reform the No Recourse to Public Funds condition so that people are no longer blocked from fully participating in society for years while they wait for their status to be resolved. We will continue to put pressure on Central Government to put in place a fully-functional Windrush Compensation Scheme.

(vii)       To work with local businesses and community partners to further tackle the digital divide, provide affordable access to online services and look at ways to donate IT devices locally to those in need, rather than scrapping them.

 

 

Motion 2: Keeping the NHS in public hands 

 

Councillor Turan moved the motion. Councillor Khurana seconded. Councillors Ismail and Russell contributed to the debate. Councillor Turan exercised his right of reply.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)   To continue campaigning to keep the NHS in public hands and to stop the backdoor privatisation of NHS services, because public services are always best run in public hands

(ii)  To work with local MPs and the local CCG to stop any further Conservative Government selling off of local NHS services following Operose’s takeover of 49 GP surgeries

(iii) To continue supporting our local NHS services to roll-out the Covid-19 vaccine to local people and keep Islington safe

(iv)To work with North Central London CCG to inform local people of the pooling of patient medical records and ensure patients are aware of how they can opt-out

(v)  To continue seeking to bring local services back in-house where possible, such as housing repairs, including Partners for Improvement

(vi)To write to the Secretary of State for Health again, to set out local people’s concerns regarding the Centene takeover of AT Medics and to call for local NHS services to be run for the benefit of the public, not for profit.

 

 

Motion 3: Making Islington Homes Safe and Secure  

 

Councillor North moved the motion. Councillor Jackson seconded. Councillors Klute and Russell contributed to the debate. Councillor North exercised his right of reply.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)   Continue pressure on Central Government, including working with our local MPs, to provide the necessary funding to make every building in Islington safe from dangerous cladding and other fire safety risks, at no cost to leaseholders

(ii)  Adopt the 10 asks of the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign

1.    Urgent removal of all dangerous cladding

2.    Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings

3.    Government should provide money up front & recover from responsible parties

4.    Social Housing providers must have full & equal access to fund

5.    Building owners must be honest with fire safety defects

6.    Government should cover cost of interim safety measures

7.    Government should act as insurer & underwrite premiums

8.    Replace EWS

9.    Mental health support must be offered to affected residents

10. Protect residents from historic & future costs

(iii) Adopt the sensible recommendation of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee that the EWS1 process could be reformed to unlock the housing market whilst keeping residents safe

(iv)To continue to support and advocate on behalf of residents who have been failed by this Tory government’s failure to address the cladding and fire safety scandal.

 

 

 

Motion 4: Democratic participation and the coronavirus pandemic   

 

Councillor Russell moved the motion. Councillor Gill contributed to the debate. Councillor Russell exercised her right of reply.

 

The motion was put to the vote and CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)    To ensure council meetings are inclusive, to write to Robert Jenrick MP Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government to request a change in the law to enable councils to resume holding fully hybrid meetings. 

(ii)   To continue to broadcast Full Council and Committee meetings. 

(iii)  Until the law is updated, to make every effort to enable participation of elected councillors and members of the public in our meetings with a cross party agreement about formal decision making. 

Motion 5: Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill    

 

Councillor Russell moved the motion. Councillor Clarke moved the amendment. Councillor Ismail contributed to the debate. Councillor Russell exercised her right of reply on the motion. Councillor Clarke exercised her right of reply on 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 support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, by working with our local MPs to support this bill in Parliament, writing to the CEE Bill Alliance and calling on the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to back the Bill;

(ii)         To continue cross party work on climate with the UK100, and pledge to:

a.    Continue to assess our largest impacts on climate change, prioritise where action needs to be taken and measure and monitor progress towards targets

b.    Reduce our emissions at source and limit the use of carbon offsets as part of the global effort to avoid the worst impacts of climate change;

c.    Continue cross party work to ensure Carbon Neutrality by 2030, including through joining lobbying calls of the UK100 partnership of local government

d.    Work with residents and our local business, third sector and public sector bodies to cut the 91% of emissions generated by non-Council sources in the borough, promoting and incentivising efforts to reduce their carbon footprint

e.    Campaign in the run-up to COP26 for an ambitious agreement that recognises the gravity of our situation and its disproportionate impact upon the least well-off, both at home and globally.