Agenda and minutes

The Mayor’s Chaplain to give a blessing.

The Mayor’s Chaplain The Reverend Stephen Leader gave a blessing on the Council.

Councillor Hurer moved and Councillor Rye seconded a motion to change the order of business on the agenda under paragraph 2.2 (page 4-5) of the Council’s Procedure Rules to enable the meeting to take the motion in the name of Councillor Rodin (agenda item 10) as the next item of business. This was agreed by the meeting.

Any motions received by the noon deadline on Tuesday 28 April 2009 will be circulated to Members.

Councillor Rodin moved and Councillor Constantinides seconded the following motion:

“This Council is aware of the financial difficulties being faced by many Enfield residents in the current economic situation.  It recognises that its decision to increase the Council Tax for 2009/10 was unwelcome.  It is also aware that the Council has substantial financial reserves.  It therefore resolves: -

1.         to change its decision taken at the Council meeting on 25 February to increase the Council Tax for 2009/10 and instead to set a Council Tax for 2009/10 at the same level as that for 2008/9

2.         to declare its intention to set the Enfield element of the Council Tax for 2010/11 at the same level as the Council Tax for 2008/9.”

Councillor Rodin confirmed his view that it was unfortunate that this motion had not been debated at the last meeting because of the approach taken by the Majority Group.  He felt that it was important for Council to consider and vote on this matter.  As this was the Annual Meeting and the subject matter of the motion had been debated previously, he intended to formally move the motion without entering into a debate.

Councillor Rye responded on behalf of the Majority Group, confirming that this proposal had been debated twice as Opposition Business and at the budget Council meeting.

The motion was then put to the vote and lost with the following result:

For: 24

Against: 30

Abstained: 1

To elect the Mayor of the London Borough of Enfield for the Municipal Year 2009/2010.

Moved by Councillor Rye, seconded by Councillor Rodin:

“That Councillor Eleftherios Savva be elected Mayor of the London Borough of Enfield for the Municipal Year 2009/2010.”

On being put to the vote the motion was carried unanimously and Councillor Eleftherios Savva was duly elected Mayor.

RESOLVED accordingly.

Councillor E Savva then made and signed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office and was invested with the badge of office by the retiring Mayor, Councillor Chamberlain. 

The Mayor left the chamber to be robed and then returned to the meeting.

The Mayor made the following acceptance speech:

“Honoured and distinguished guests, friends, colleagues, fellow councillors I would like to welcome you and to thank you all for showing your support by being here today.  

I would like to thank Councillors on both sides of the chamber for supporting the nomination in electing me to serve as Mayor for the forthcoming year. I will endeavour to carry out my duties with dignity and to the high standards set by my predecessors. I would particularly like to thank both Mike and Jeff for the very kind words of introduction.

My thanks to Lee and Marcia Chamberlain for their work during the year. For Lee’s support during the twinning with Halandri and Sariyer.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the late Deputy Mayor, Councillor John Jackson who was my mentor throughout my political career, as he is greatly missed. My gratitude also to Councillor Terence Neville for all his mentoring and support during my time on the various committees.

So who am I?  I am a foster carer and I truly believe in helping and guiding young people to develop their skills for life. This is why I have decided that my charity for this year will raise funds to assist children and young people within the community of Enfield.  I hope that you will all support my fund raising efforts.

I have lived in Enfield for over 30 years. I am married to Androulla and we have a daughter and a grandson.  As we foster children our house is always a full house.

In 2002 I was elected as a councillor for the Bush Hill Park Ward.  One of my first experiences during my period of canvassing was when I knocked on a door which a typically alpha-male Greek opened, with one look at my rosette and a distinctive angry pointed finger, he said “I’m not voting for you Tories”.

So I said ok and thanked the man for this and politely noted that there were 6 people in the house eligible to vote and he said yes we voted for Savva.  So I thanked him for the 6 votes and promptly moved on.

I would like to finish off by saying that as a new councillor, on entering the Civic Centre dressed in jeans and a t-shirt Councillor Tony Dey saw me and said “you are a Conservative councillor now and your need to be appropriately dressed” So I apologised and followed his example and wore a suit and tie for my next visit to the Civic Centre.   Who do I see in front of me the very next day but Tony Dey in jeans and a t-shirt – that proved to me that we were a big happy family.

I am looking forward to my year in office and having the opportunity to visit as many organisations, charities and local groups that work tirelessly on behalf of those less fortunate than ourselves. 

To conclude, I must not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Mayor announced the appointment of Mrs Androulla Savva, as the Mayoress for the Municipal Year 2009/2010. He invested Mrs Savva with her badge of office.

The Mayor confirmed the appointment of Councillor Pamela Adams to be the Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2009/2010.  The Deputy Mayor then made and signed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office and was invested by the Mayor with her badge of office.  Councillor Adams then made a speech of thanks.

The Deputy Mayor then announced the appointment of Mrs Pat Dawson, as the Deputy Mayoress for the Municipal Year 2009/2010. She invested Mrs Dawson with her badge of office.

Councillor Lavender proposed Councillor Rye for the post of Leader of the Council. Councillor Hurer seconded this. There were no other nominations for the post of Leader. The nomination was agreed.

The Mayor then asked for nominations for the post of Deputy Leader of the Council.

Councillor Rye proposed Councillor Lavender for the post of Deputy Leader of the Council. Councillor Hurer seconded this. There were no other nominations for the post of Deputy Leader. The nomination was agreed.

AGREED that Councillor Rye be appointed Leader of the Council and Councillor Lavender the Deputy Leader.

On behalf of the Council, the Mayor will present past Mayor’s and past Mayoress’ badges to Councillor Lee Chamberlain and Marcia Chamberlain.

The Mayor presented past Mayor’s and Mayoress’ badges and certificates recording the Council’s appreciation to the retiring Mayor, Councillor Lee Chamberlain and Mayoress Marcia Chamberlain.

The Mayor, on behalf of the Council, thanked them for the contribution they had made as Mayor and Mayoress during the Municipal Year 2008/2009.

The Leader of each Group was presented with a small token of appreciation.

The Mayor made the following announcement:

“I am delighted to tell you that Sylvia Chapman, one of our social workers who is in the disabilities team, has been nominated to go head to head with some of the best council workers in the country, to win the coveted prize of Council Worker of the Year! Nominated for her exceptional work with visually impaired people she needs as many people to vote for her as possible.

Sylvia, who has worked for the council for 32 years, visits residents, usually over 60 who have been newly registered as disabled, and often these people can be adjusting to losing their sight, which can be extremely upsetting.

She will complete a visual assessment which will help the person come to terms with their situation, and how they can best be helped come to terms with the changes they are going through. The loss of sight can hit people extremely hard, and many grieve for the things they can no longer do.

She richly deserves this award and the more people we can get to vote for this deserving lady the better.

To vote for Sylvia you need to go to www.localgovernmentchannel.com/awards .

If you need to find out more please contact Suzanne in the council press office.”

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the Council meeting held on 1 April 2009.

AGREED that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 1 April 2009 be confirmed as a correct record subject to the following amendment:

Minute No. 116 (5) – correct spelling of chord.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bond, Charalambous, Headley and Wilkinson.

Members of the Council are invited to identify any personal or prejudicial interests relevant to items on the agenda. Please refer to the guidance note attached to the agenda.

There were no declarations in respect of the items on the agenda.

9.1       Urgent Questions (Part 4 - Paragraph 9.2.(b) of Constitution – Page 4-9)

With the permission of the Mayor, questions on urgent issues may be tabled with the proviso of a subsequent written response if the issue requires research or is considered by the Mayor to be minor.

Please note that the Mayor will decide whether a question is urgent or not.  The definition of an urgent question is “An issue which could not reasonably have been foreseen or anticipated prior to the deadline for the submission of questions and which needs to be considered before the next meeting of the Council.”

A supplementary question is not permitted.

9.2            Councillors’ Questions (Part 4 – Paragraph 9.2(a) of Constitution – Page 4 - 8)

The six questions received from Councillors are attached to the agenda.  Written responses will be circulated at the earliest opportunity.

1.         Urgent Questions (Part 4 - Paragraph 9.2. (b) of Constitution – Page 4-9)

 None received.

2.            Questions by Councillors

NOTED

i.          The six questions, on the Council’s agenda, which received a written reply by the relevant Cabinet Member.

ii.         The following supplementary question received for the question indicated below:

Question 1  from Councillor Rodin  to Councillor Lavender, Deputy  Leader of the Council/ Sustainable Communities & Employment & Place Shaping:

“Will Councillor Lavender agree with me that both sides of this Council should unite to ensure that North London Waste looks elsewhere for a new waste facility?”

Reply from Councillor Lavender:

“I agree that we should be united to prevent needless waste uses being located in this borough.”

Council is asked to note the decision taken and the reasons for urgency. The decisions set out below were made in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and Scrutiny Rules of Procedure (Paragraph 17.3- relating to the waiving of the requirement to allow a 5-day call-in period):

i.            Reorganisation of the Environmental Crime, Environmental Health and trading Standards Licensing Services within the Environmental Protection and Regulation Division.

Decision:

To implement immediately the Reorganisation of the Environmental Crime, Environmental Health and Trading Standards and Licensing services within the Environmental Protection and Regulation Division.

Reason for Urgency:

Urgent approval was sought for the implementation of this decision because as part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy, the Environmental Protection & Regulation Division is seeking to make £380k in efficiency savings. This decision had to be taken and implemented immediately to ensure that the planned savings could be made before the start of the financial year and for proper redundancy procedures to be followed and notices issued.

ii.         High Court Judgement on Judicial Review of Chase Farm Hospital

Decision:       

The decision relates to the High Court Judgement on Chase farm Hospital, as it was not possible to include details of this decision on the Forward Plan.

Reason for Urgency:

Urgent approval was sought for the implementation of this decision, as the deadline for the Council to make any decision on whether to lodge an appeal against the High Court Judgement was Tuesday 14 April 2009. It was not possible to include this decision on the Forward Plan because the High Court Judgement was not received until Wednesday 8 April 2009.

NOTED the urgent decisions below taken in accordance with the Council’s Rules of Procedure (Paragraph 17.3 – relating to the waiving of the requirement to allow a 5-day call-in period):

1.            Reorganisation of the Environmental Crime, Environmental Health and trading Standards Licensing Services within the Environmental Protection and Regulation Division.

2.         High Court Judgement on Judicial Review of Chase Farm Hospital

                                                                        (Report No. 1 – TO FOLLOW)

To receive the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources, asking the Council to determine the constitution and political balance of the committees, joint committees and panels that have been set up for the discharge of the Council’s functions.

Councillor Hurer moved and Councillor Rye seconded report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources (No.1), asking the Council to determine the constitution and political balance of the committees, joint committees and panels that have been set up for the discharge of the Council’s functions.

AGREED

1.         that the seats allocated to each political party, on the committees and boards to which Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 apply, be as set out in Appendix A of the report. 

2.         in accordance with paragraph 3.3 of the report, Council resolved without dissent that the rules of political proportionality should not apply to the bodies listed below:

a.         Health Care for London Joint Scrutiny Committee

b.            Standards Committee

c.            Twinning Working Party

d.            Conservation Advisory Group

e.         Green Belt Forum

f.            Learning Difficulties Partnership Board

g.            Parents Forum

h.            Secondary Tuition Centre

i.            Schools Forum

j.            Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

k.            Adoption Panel

l.            Fostering Panel

m.            Corporate Parenting Group

n.            Edmonton District Community Housing Partnership

o.            Edmonton Partnership Working Group

p.         Public Transport Consultative Group

q.         Tenant Participation Working Group

                                                                                                   (TO FOLLOW)

13.1         To establish Council bodies for the coming Municipal Year and to appoint  memberships to these (see list on yellow).

13.2         To confirm the terms of reference of those bodies set out in Part 2 (pages 2-27 to 2-70) of the Constitution.

AGREED

1.         the establishment of the Council bodies for the coming Municipal Year and to appoint memberships to these as set out in the list tabled at the meeting.

2.                  to confirm the terms of reference of those bodies set out in Part 2 (pages 2-27 to 2-70) of the Constitution.

                                                                                                   (TO FOLLOW)

To consider the Council’s representation on other bodies and organisations as required (see list on green).

AGREED the Council’s representation on other bodies and organisations as detailed in the list tabled at the meeting.

The Council is asked to agree the authority’s Scheme of Delegation as set out in Part 3 (pages 3-3 to 3-12) of the Constitution which is available on the website, Group Offices and the Democratic Services Team on request.

AGREED the Council’s Scheme of Delegation as set out in Part 3 (pages 3-3 to 3-12) of the Constitution.

   (TO FOLLOW)

16.1    To approve the calendar of Council meetings, including the next Council Meeting on Wednesday, 1 July 2009 at 7.00 p.m. at the Civic Centre.  The draft calendar has been the subject of consultation with Council Departments and party groups.

16.2         The Council is asked to approve the calendar subject to any further changes/additions being delegated to the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources, in consultation with party groups.

AGREED

1.         the calendar of Council meetings, including the next Council Meeting on Wednesday, 1 July 2009 at 7.00 p.m. at the Civic Centre. 

2.         that any further changes/additions to the calendar of Council meetings be delegated to the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources, in consultation with party groups.

None received.

None.

The next meeting of the Council will be held on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 7.00 p.m. at the Civic Centre.

NOTED that the next meeting of the Council was to be held on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 7.00 p.m. at the Civic Centre.