Issue - meetings

12.1      Motion in the name of Councillor Laban

“The officers who work in the group offices do an exceptional job supporting past and present councillors. Enfield Council wishes to thank officers in both groups for their tireless dedication to the borough and its residents over many years. Their work has been greatly appreciated by councillors and residents.”

12.2      Motion in the name of Councillor Laban

“Enfield Council is committed to delivering fairness and equality. However, it currently has one of the highest levels of nepotism in Local Government. This council agrees to deliver on its promise to tackling inequality by reducing the level of nepotism that exists within the organisation. This act will give a strong signal to the local community as well as Officers that we are truly committed to delivering fairness and equality.”

12.3    Motion in the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou

“For all future international tournaments, the St. George’s Flag should have a prominent place within the chamber whilst the England team is still in the tournament.”

12.4      Motion in the name of Councillor Nesil Caliskan

“London Borough of Enfield has significant inequalities. Enfield Council serves a complex borough with extremes of poverty and affluence and one of the most diverse areas in England.

This Council is committed to delivering high quality public services to create a borough of opportunity for all residents with vibrant, inclusive and economically strong communities.

Outstanding and responsive council services provide residents with an excellent quality of life. They are a catalyst to tackling deep rooted inequalities to ensure every resident can achieve their full potential. Public services also provide an essential safety net to support the most vulnerable from the worst excesses of Tory-imposed austerity. 

Outsourcing a local authority in its entirety is a long-held Tory municipal fantasy, first articulated by Margaret Thatcher in the late 1980s. Large Tory-run authorities in Cornwall, Suffolk and Barnet embarked on their own high-profile versions of this Thatcherite model, claiming that impoverishment gave them no choice but to pursue large-scale privatisation. 

Enfield Council rejects this failed Tory model of municipalism.

By 2019, local government funding will have been cut by 70% since 2010, and further cuts are planned. Local authorities are, therefore, reviewing how they deliver services in the light of severe budgetary pressure.  There is evidence that many councils are bringing a significant number and range of services back in-house to gain maximum value from decreasing resources. 

Enfield Council believes that bringing services back in-house is desirable.  The benefits of insourcing or direct council provision include: 
•       Improving efficiency and reducing costs 
•       Involving local people in the design of services
•       Delivering better satisfaction levels and outcomes
•       Enhanced public accountability and ownership 
•       Delivering genuine social impact
•       The ability to integrate a range of services 
•       Reducing cost and time spent managing contracts 
•       Greater staff motivation and improved service quality 
•       Creating expertise and capacity in the council

This Council will conduct a realistic analysis on a service-by-service basis to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 13

The Mayor has agreed to accept the urgent motion set out below for the following reason.

The reason given as to why the motion had not been submitted earlier was because the motion had been about the incidents in Edmonton over the weekend, where some shooting and multiple stabbings had occurred.  Councillors have had many enquiries about the issue, and it was therefore felt that it was too important to wait until the next meeting.

Motion in the name of Cllr Terry Neville

Councillor Neville moved, and Councillor Laban seconded the following motion: 

“Following the shooting on Saturday 17 November of three men in Gordon Road and the soaring level of serious crime in Enfield and across the capital, the Council expresses its dismay at the continuing lack of action on the part of the Mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to re-prioritise the use of police resources to tackle this most serious problem. This has led to abysmally low detection and clear up rates. Against this background the council is also concerned at the cost of policing the increasing number of marches in central London (to which officers from all over London are drafted in to the centre), and urges the Mayor to seek to re -charge a fixed percentage of the policing cost to the march organizers, which would assist in funding additional officers for front line policing.

The council also condemns the Labour administration for not taking the issue more seriously and calls upon the cabinet member for community safety to bring forward proposals for tackling the root causes of gang related violence.

It further calls on the council to either instruct the Crime Scrutiny Panel to inquire into the problem, taking evidence from all interested parties, and to make recommendations to the council within six months, or to follow the successful precedent of the Conservative administration in2004/5 and set up a Special Commission to undertake such Inquiry.

Finally, it instructs the Director of Law and Governance to write to the Sentencing Council asking them to remind sentencers of both their power to depart from Sentencing Guidelines where, as now in respect of soaring levels of violent crime and burglary, deterrent sentences are required and to remind them that such sentences are exility provided for in section 142(1)(b), Criminal Justice Act 2003.”

During the debate, Councillor Ergin Erbil moved and Councillor Hasan seconded a procedural motion seconded the procedural motion 14.11 (a) (ii) that the question now be put.  This was not allowed by the Mayor, as she felt that sufficient debate had not taken place.

After further debate, Councillor Ergin Erbil moved and Caliskan seconded another procedural motion 14.11 (a) (ii) that the question now be put.  This was not allowed by the Mayor as she felt that sufficient debate had not taken place.”

Following further debate, the motion was put to the vote and not agreed with the following result:

For:  13

Against:  36

Abstentions: 0

The Mayor agreed to accept the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13

13.1    Motion in the name of Councillor Laban

“This Chamber agrees that the new Administration has fallen at the first hurdle by the announcement that the Annual Town Show will not be held.

This Council has no confidence in the leader of the council because if the administration cannot facilitate a long-standing event such as the Annual Town Show it is not competent enough to deal with the complex challenges our borough faces over the next four years.”

13.2    Motion in the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou

“For all future international tournaments, the St. George’s Flag should have a prominent place within the chamber whilst the England team is still in the tournament.”

13.3    Motion in the name of Councillor Barry

“The results of the recent election in Winchmore Hill once more showed that our residents support the Cycle Enfield scheme.  Opposition candidates made this an election issue and their share of the vote decreased by 8.5%.

We ask that the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet members for Community Safety & Public Health, the Environment and Economic Regeneration & Business do all they can to ensure that the other parts of this scheme are built at soon as possible so that other parts of the borough can also benefit from the advantages it brings.”

13.4   Motion in the name of Councillor Laban

The officers who work in the group offices do an exceptional job supporting past and present councillors. Enfield Council wishes to thank officers in both groups for their tireless dedication to the borough and its residents over many years. Their work has been greatly appreciated by councillors and residents.

13.5   Motion in the name of Councillor Laban

Enfield Council is committed to delivering fairness and equality. However, it currently has one of the highest levels of nepotism in Local Government. This council agrees to deliver on its promise to tackling inequality by reducing the level of nepotism that exists within the organisation. This act will give a strong signal to the local community as well as Officers that we are truly committed to delivering fairness and equality.

13.6    Motion in the name of Councillor Maguire

“The LGA has estimated that councils face a funding gap of £7.8 billion by 2025 – just to maintain current service levels.  By 2020, the Government will have cut a staggering £16 billion from core funding since 2010.  Here in Enfield, the Government has cut £161 million from our funding since 2010 with yet more to come.

These massive cuts threaten Enfield Council’s ability to deliver the services that the people of Enfield, whether residents or running businesses, expect and deserve.

This Council believes that this punitive action by this Government against local authorities shows a callous disregard for the young, sick, elderly and vulnerable who rely on council services to have a decent quality of life. 

This Council supports the LGA campaign – Moving the Conversation On – to build the case for long-term, sustained investment in local government as the way  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10

Motion 13.6

Councillor Maguire moved and Councillor Chibah seconded the following motion: 

“The LGA has estimated that councils face a funding gap of £7.8 billion by 2025 – just to maintain current service levels.  By 2020, the Government will have cut a staggering £16 billion from core funding since 2010.  Here in Enfield, the Government has cut £161 million from our funding since 2010 with yet more to come.

These massive cuts threaten Enfield Council’s ability to deliver the services that the people of Enfield, whether residents or running businesses, expect and deserve.

This Council believes that this punitive action by this Government against local authorities shows a callous disregard for the young, sick, elderly and vulnerable who rely on council services to have a decent quality of life. 

This Council supports the LGA campaign – Moving the Conversation On – to build the case for long-term, sustained investment in local government as the way forward to restore Enfield and other councils to a strong and stable financial footing.”

Councillor Hayward moved and Councillor Laban seconded the following amendment: 

To remove the words crossed through below: 

“The LGA has estimated that councils face a funding gap of £7.8 billion by 2025 – just to maintain current service levels.  By 2020, the Government will have cut a staggering £16 billion from core funding since 2010.  Here in Enfield, the Government has cut £161 million from our funding since 2010 with yet more to come.

These massive cuts threaten Enfield Council’s ability to deliver the services that the people of Enfield, whether residents or running businesses, expect and deserve.

This Council believes that this punitive action by this Government against local authorities shows a callous disregard for the young, sick, elderly and vulnerable who rely on council services to have a decent quality of life. 

This Council supports the LGA campaign – Moving the Conversation On – to build the case for long-term, sustained investment in local government as the way forward to restore Enfield and other councils to a strong and stable financial footing.”

Following the debate on the motion and the amendment, the amendment was put to the vote and not agreed with the following result:

For: 14

Against: 37

Abstentions:  0

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

For: 37

Against: 15

Abstentions: 0

Motion 13.7

Councillor Susan Erbil moved and Councillor Yusuf seconded the following motion: 

“As schools prepare to return after the summer, Enfield Council continues to be concerned about the immense pressure on our schools as a result of the Conservative government’s policies and austerity agenda.

The latest analysis by the Institute for Fiscal studies has shown that schools in England have been cut in real terms by 8% per pupil since 2010. Rising pupil numbers - and cuts to local authorities and sixth form funding - have seen a real-term reduction in school spending.

England's schools are also facing a ‘severe shortage’ of teachers. According to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10