Agenda and minutes

Council - Wednesday, 26th February, 2020 7.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Penelope Williams  Email: penelope.williams@enfield.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

The Mayor's Chaplain to give a Blessing

Minutes:

The Mayor’s Chaplain, Father Emmanuel Ogunnaike from St Edmunds Catholic Church in Edmonton, gave the blessing. 

2.

Mayor's Announcements in Connection with the Ordinary Business of the Council

Minutes:

The Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting.  

 

1.            Speech of the Young Mayor

 

The Young Mayor, Okan Gurhan, gave a brief speech. He began by expressing his gratitude to Councillor Kate Anolue for setting up the young mayoralty and enabling him to be the first young mayor of Enfield. 

 

Being Young Mayor had been a wonderful opportunity, he had met so many people and he had gained so much from the experience.  Highlights included visiting the House of Lords and meeting Bambos Charalambous MP and attending the Mayor’s Day with mayors from all over London. 

 

On 17 April 2020 they had arranged a public speaking event called the Big Speech for year 8 children.  He hoped members would be able to attend.

 

He was very grateful for an amazing year and he hoped to be able to go on to Oxford University to study Politics Philosophy and Economics and become a lawyer, politician or a banker. 

 

The Mayor thanked Okan Gurhan and said how much she valued the young people. 

 

2.            The Mayor’s Announcements

 

The Mayor began by saying how quickly the last year had passed. 

 

The Mayor thanked the officers in democratic services who had enabled her to achieve the goal of creating a young mayor and deputy mayor for Enfield.  This had been a great success and for next year there were now 45 young people interested in the roles.  She hoped the Council would continue to support the initiative. 

 

The Mayor said that she was happy to have spent her life working with people, 40 years at North Middlesex Hospital and for the people of Enfield and she would continue to do so. 

 

The Mayor was organising a special event on Friday 6 March 2020 to commemorate International Women’s Day, celebrating the achievements of local women.

 

During the year the Mayor had visited lots of organisations and other boroughs.  Enfield had a great deal of vivacity, people spoke over 100 different languages and it was a wonderfully cultured borough.  She had lived in Enfield for more than 40 years and loved Enfield.

 

Last week she had visited sickle cell unit at North Middlesex Hospital.  They needed their own machine.  This had changed dramatically since her last visit in 2012 but more resources were needed.  This was one of her ten charities for which she was raising money.  She wanted to help the lonely, the vulnerable, carers and the elderly and all vulnerable, isolated and lonely residents.

 

This had been a tough year but she felt that it could not have gone better.  When people invited her to an event, she had found it difficult to refuse, so she had been to many events. 

 

The Mayor said that she could not have done it without the help and support of Koulla Panaretou, the Mayor’s Secretary, saying how hard she worked and how wonderful the way she appealed to people was.  She also thanked her wonderful drivers Bill Cornish and Paresh Thakore who were so caring, always on time  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Aramaz, Aydin, Cazimoglu, David Sanders, Demirel, Dey, Elif Erbil, Eren, Lappage, Milne and for lateness from Councillors Alessandro Georgiou and Levy. 

4.

Minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2020 pdf icon PDF 217 KB

To receive and agree the minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2020. 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2020 were confirmed as a correct record. 

5.

Declaration of Interests

Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non pecuniary interests relating to items on the agenda. 

Minutes:

Before inviting members to declare any interests, the Mayor asked Jeremy Chambers (Director Law and Governance) to make a short statement on the declaration of interests’ requirements, in relation to agenda item 6 (Budget Report 2020/21 and Medium-Term Financial Plan). 

 

NOTED

 

1.            Under guidance issued by the Department of Communities and Local Government there was no requirement for members to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPA) in relation to item 6 on the budget or setting of the Council Tax. 

 

2.            The requirements within Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 would, however, still applied, which required any Member who was two or more months in arrears on their Council Tax to declare their position and not vote on any issue that could affect the calculation of the budget or Council Tax.  No declarations in this respect were made at the meeting.

 

3.            Having noted the advice provided, the following interests were declared:

 

·         Councillor Mahym Bedekova declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 8 the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), Business Plan Budget 2020/21, Rent Setting and Service Charges. 

 

·         Councillors Oykener and Lemonides declared a disclosable-pecuniary interest in Item 11 (Review and Adoption of the Statutory Pay Policy Statement) as they had relatives who worked for the Council.    

6.

Petition - Whitewebbs Park pdf icon PDF 246 KB

To receive a report from the Director of Law and Governance detailing a petition received about Whitewebbs Park. 

(Report No. 220)

 

Members are asked to note that the Petition has been submitted under the Council’s Petition scheme and, in accordance with the scheme, has been referred for debate at Council as it contains more than the required 3,124 signatures.

 

Under the terms of the Petition Scheme the petition organiser will be given 5 minutes to present the petition at the Council meeting.  Council will then have the opportunity to discuss the petition for a maximum period of 15 minutes.

 

The Council will then need to decide how to respond to the petition.  In doing this, Council may decide to take the action requested, not take the action (for reasons given during the debate) or to commission further investigation. 

 

Where the issue is one on which the Council Executive are required to make the final decision, the Council will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision.

Minutes:

The Lead Petitioner Sean Wilkinson spoke for 5 minutes in support of the petition on Whitewebbs Park.  He raised the following points: 

 

·         Leases and freehold purchase were used in the past by the rich and powerful to enclose the land of Enfield Chase.  The poor received nothing. However, in 1931 an enlightened Council purchased Whitewebbs Park as public open space for the people of Enfield. 

·         Whitewebbs is a beautiful park with a small café, many attractive footpaths and a public golf course.  It makes a huge contribution to people’s mental and physical wellbeing.

·         The ancient woodland with its magnificent trees cleans the air, helps flood prevention and to combat climate change. 

·         Although it is poorly served by public transport, there is free parking which makes it very accessible.

·         There is an abundance of plant and animal life, lots of biodiversity. 

·         Any development that involves construction, earth-working and landscaping would be a denial of the Council’s commitment to climate reform. 

·         There was concern that the potential for dealing with 200,000 cubic metres of imported material has not been retracted from the tender documents. 

·         The suggestion that the golf course was losing money could be applied to any of the Council’s leisure facilities.  It was felt that accounts can be twisted to show anything. 

·         The golf course needed quality preparation, the right facilities and adequate parking. 

·         There has been a policy of secrecy around this issue, minimal publicity, misleading and contradictory statements. 

·         The initial commitment to require the current level of public access across the park has been changed to rights of way, but there were none in the park. 

·         Any community consultation had been done by the community, who had consulted with 120 park users at a public meeting and had put together a petition signed by over 3,500 people. 

·         A Council committee and councillors had been misled by officers. 

·         The secrecy had generated a great deal of mistrust. 

·         The Council had only organised a question and answer session with the preferred bidder.  There was no longer any stakeholder involvement. 

·         Councillors were custodians not owners of the park and they had a responsibility to guard it for the people of Enfield, not to sell it off to the rich and powerful

·         The petitioners wanted their children and grandchildren to have a beautiful natural park, to enhance the environment, defend the climate, for the Council to think anew and put an end to these proposals. 

 

In response, Councillor Caliskan, Leader of the Council thanked the petitioner and the residents who had come to attend the meeting.  She made the following points: 

 

·         She agreed that the park was absolutely beautiful.

·         The Council had owned the freehold since 1931 and there were no restrictive covenants. 

·         The golf course had been opened in 1932 so there was a long history of sport on the site.  However, over the past 5 years the golf course had has lost money, over £960,000.  This money was needed to deliver other vital services such as adult social care and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Change in the Order of Business

Minutes:

Councillor Glynis Vince moved and Councillor Michael Rye seconded a motion to extend the time available for debate on reports from 60 minutes to 90 minutes.

 

This was not agreed after a vote with the following result:

 

For:  13

Against:  35

Abstentions:  0

 

Councillor Glynis Vince moved and Councillor Michael Rye seconded a motion to change the order of business to take item 9 after item 13.

 

This was not agreed after a vote with the following result:

 

For: 13

Against:  36

Abstentions: 0

8.

2020/21 Budget and 2020/21 to 2024/25 Medium Term Financial Plan pdf icon PDF 3 MB

To receive the report of the Acting Executive Director of Resources, presenting for approval the Budget for 2020/21 and Medium-Term Financial Plan 2020/21 to 2024/25.            

(Report No: 190A)

(Key Decision – Reference No: 5076)

 

Members are asked to note that Cabinet considered the report at their meeting on 12 February 2020 and recommended it to Council.

Minutes:

Councillor Maguire moved and Councillor Caliskan seconded the report of the Acting Executive Director Resources presenting the 2020/21 Budget and 2020/21 to 2024/25 Medium Term Financial Plan for Council approval.  (Report No: 190A)

 

NOTED

1.            Recommendations 2.1 – 2.10 had been endorsed and recommended onto Council for formal approval by Cabinet on 12 February 2020.

 

2.            The amendment to recommendation 2.1 (ii) set out in the green update sheet as follows:

 

“2.1(ii) a.  Set the Council Tax at Band D for Enfield’s services for 2020/21 at £1,363.77 (section 7), being a 1.99% general Council Tax increase and a 2.00% Adult Social Care Precept.

b.   Set the Council Tax at Band D for the total of Enfield’s services and GLA services for 2020/21 at £1,694.8

c.  Note the GLA element of the Total Band D for 2020/21 being £332.07”

 

3.            The following comments highlighted by Councillor Maguire, Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement when moving the report. 

 

a.         That once again the Council would receive insufficient funding from the Government.  Since 2010 it had suffered a cut of more than 50%, down from £191.2m to £94.7m.  In real terms, taking account of inflation, this would be £178m.

b.         Enfield also suffers from the damping mechanism, meaning it receives £11m less than Government assesses we should.  This equates to £80 for every household.  A £76m budget gap. 

c.         Many services have increased costs including social and children’s services.

d.         Nevertheless, the administration had managed to set a resilient and sustainable budget which will protect vulnerable residents.

e.         The Government’s one-off approach to funding could only be a sticking plaster.  Despite multiple promises the settlement this year only covers one year which makes planning ahead difficult. 

f.          The Adult Social Care precept will bring in £4.5m which will not be enough.

g.         However, despite reduced funding and many savings, the Council continues to provide the best possible services.

h.         Thanks to the Chief Executive, Executive Directors and all the staff who had worked so hard to find every penny of savings and deliver this budget. 

i.          This year the Council had produced a 5-year financial plan, a 10 year Capital strategy and a ten year treasury management strategy to provide additional transparency.

j.          The savings identified were realistic and achievable. It was proposed that the Council uses £1.5m of its reserves which keeps them at an acceptable level of £39m.  17% of the net budget. 

k.         Full details are set out in the report including all savings and income generation schemes, the schools’ budget, fees and charges, anticipated pressures and including an additional £10.5m for adult social care, using £1m of the Community Infrastructure levy to support the recommendations from the recent poverty commission, 0.5m for flytipping.

l.          The green update sheet contains an amendment highlighting the contribution to the Mayor of London. 

m.       The Council Tax will increase by 1.99% including the increase in the Mayor of London’s levy of 3.91%, this will result in an average increase of £1.22 a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Duration of Time allowed for the Council Meeting

Minutes:

The Mayor advised, at this stage of the meeting, that Council Procedure Rule 9 would apply.

 

NOTED that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 (page 4-8 – Part 4), the remaining items of business on the Council agenda were considered without debate.

10.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA), Business Plan Budget 2020/21, Rent Setting and Service Charges pdf icon PDF 557 KB

To receive the joint report of the Executive Director of Place and Executive Director of Resources presenting for approval the revenue estimates of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for 2020/21, Business Plan Budget 2020/21 and rent setting and service charges.                                 

(Report No:193A)

(Key Decision – Reference No: 5008)

 

Members are asked to note that this report was considered by Cabinet on 12 February 2020 and recommended to Council. 

Minutes:

RECEIVED the report of the Executive Director Place and Director of Finance, on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan Budget 20/21, Rent Setting and Service Charges.  (Report No: 190A)

 

NOTED

 

1.            That the recommendations in the report had been endorsed and approved for recommendation onto Council by Cabinet on 12 February 2020.

 

AGREED

 

1.            To approve the HRA 30-Year Business Plan shown in Appendix 1

2.            To approve the detailed HRA Revenue Budget for 2020/21

3.            To note the 10-year HRA Capital Programme and additional borrowing requirements to deliver 3,500 additional units

4.            To note the social and affordable rent levels for circa.10,100 properties in 2020/21 and note the London Affordable Rent levels applicable for new homes to new tenants

5.            To Approve the level of service charges for 2020/21 for those properties receiving this service.

6.            To Approve the new pricing structure for Community Halls and Garages as outlined in paragraph 3.46 of the report

7.            To note changes to the Landlord consent process and introduction of tiered application fees for 2020/21

8.            To approves increasing the Under-Occupation incentive to support the downsizing strategy as shown in paragraph 3.66.  In addition, delegate to Director of Housing and Regeneration to increase the incentive aiming

9.            for flexible, bespoke packages that meet the needs of vulnerable

10.         tenants on a case by case basis by up to £2,000 per case.

11.         To approves the Leaseholder Ground Source Heat Pump charging proposal outlined in paragraph 3.78.

12.         To note the change in Thames Water billing, from the Council collecting the charges to Thames Water directly charging residents outlined in paragraph 3.88.

13.         To note the heating charges for 2020/21 for those properties on communal heating systems. heating systems.

 

Councillor Laban, Leader of the Opposition, indicated that if there had been a vote the Opposition Group would have voted against this report. 

 

 

11.

Capital Strategy and Ten Year Capital Programme 2020/21 to 2029/30 pdf icon PDF 922 KB

To receive a report from the Acting Executive Director Resources setting out the Council’s Capital Strategy and Ten-Year Capital Programme. 

(Report No: 191A)

(Key Decision Reference Number 5026)

 

Council is asked to approve the capital strategy and ten year programme and to note that Cabinet considered this report on 12 February 2020 and recommended it for Council approval. 

Minutes:

RECEIVED the report of the Acting Executive Director Resources on the Capital Strategy and Ten-Year Capital Programme.  (Report No: 191A)

NOTED that this report was recommended to Council by Cabinet at their meeting on 12 February 2020. 

AGREED

1.        To approve the 2020/21 Capital Strategy.

2.        To approve 2020/21 Capital Programme and to note the 2020/21 to 2029/30 Ten Year Capital Programme as set out in Appendix 1 - Table 3C, this includes the following additions considered by Cabinet on 28th January:

                          i.       Capital programme monitor Period 8 (November) 2019 additions (£359.97m),

                         ii.      2020/21 Corporate Condition Programme (CCP) - KD5004, £2.5m,

                        iii.       Montagu Industrial Estate Redevelopment - KD4876, £33.36m

                       iv.       Business Case for Capital Funding for Highways, Street Scene and Parks infrastructure 2020/21-2029/30 - KD5044, £7.2m.

3.        To approve the following presented as separate agenda items:

Housing Revenue Account (HRA) -10-year Capital Programme £1,173m

 

Councillor Laban, Leader of the Opposition, indicated that, if there had been a vote, the Opposition Group would have voted against this report. 

12.

Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 343 KB

To receive a report from the Acting Executive Director Resources seeking approval of the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21.

(Report No: 192A)

(Key Decision Reference Number:  5027)

 

Council is asked to approve the strategy and to note that this was recommended to Council for approval by Cabinet at their meeting on 12 February 2020. 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RECEIVED the report of the Acting Executive Director Resources on the Treasury Management Statement 2020/21.  (Report No: 192A)

 

NOTED that this report had been recommended to Council by Cabinet at the meeting held on 12 February 2020. 

 

AGREED

 

1.            To approve the attached Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2020/21;

2.            To note the Economic context & Interest rate forecast (Appendices A and B);

3.            To approve the Prudential Indicators set out in AppendixD;

4.            To approve the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement (AppendixE); and

5.            To approve the Counterparty List and Limits set out in AppendixF.

6.            To note the plans to develop options for financing the ten-year capital programme and report to Cabinet in December 2020, as per section 4 Next Steps. In the interim the Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement we will regularly update, and progress will be reported in the formal treasury reports (outturn and mid-year).

           

Councillor Laban, Leader of the Opposition, indicated that if there had been a vote the Opposition Group would have voted against this report. 

13.

Review and Adoption of the Statutory Pay Policy Statement - 2020 pdf icon PDF 310 KB

To receive the report of the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development presenting the Council’s Statutory Pay Policy Statement for consideration and approval.

(Report No: 218)

 

Members are asked to note that the Pay Policy Statement was considered and approved for recommendation onto Council by the Remuneration Committee on 14 January 2020.  

Minutes:

RECIEVED the report of the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development on the review and adoption of the Council’s statutory pay policy statement.  (Report No: 218)

 

AGREED the amendments to the statutory pay policy statement as included in appendix 1 to the report. 

14.

New decision-making arrangements to spend the Enfield community infrastructure levy & section 106 agreements pdf icon PDF 309 KB

To receive a report from the Executive Director Place regarding the allocation and spend of the Enfield Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 agreements. 

(Report No: 195A)

(Key Decision Reference Number:  5029)

 

Council is asked to approve the allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) through the main capital programme and to note that this decision was recommended to Council by Cabinet on 12 February 2020. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RECEIVED the report of the Executive Director Place on the new decision making arrangements to spend the Enfield community infrastructure levy and section 106 agreements.   (Report No: 195A)

 

NOTED that Cabinet agreed to recommend this report on to Council at the meeting held on 12 February 2020. 

 

AGREED

 

1.            From April 2020 onwards to allocate CIL spend through the main capital programme and agree on the priorities on its allocation, as part of the annual budget setting process.

2.            To note that Cabinet agreed the following at their meeting on 12 February: 

·      To approve the proposed governance arrangements through which decisions on the funding of infrastructure (CIL and S106 agreements) will be determined (see section 3.12);

·         To note the revocation of the Regulation 123 List (April 2016) which restricts the use of CIL to specified projects

·         To delegate authority to the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning to approve consultation on the neighbourhood portion (based on 15% of CIL receipts) and the priorities on how it is spent

·         To approve the publication of the borough’s first Infrastructure Funding Statement (see appendix 1) setting out how CIL and S106 income has been spent over the previous financial year (2018/2019) and how spend will be prioritised over the next reporting period; and

·         To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning to approve the publication of future Infrastructure Delivery Statements and authority to consult on updates to the Infrastructure Delivery Plan.

 

Councillor Laban, Leader of the Opposition, indicated that if there had been a vote the Opposition Group would have voted against this report. 

16.

Councillor Question Time pdf icon PDF 458 KB

14.1    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.”

 

Submission of urgent questions to Council requires the Member when submitting the question to specify why the issue could not have been reasonably foreseen prior to the deadline and why it has to be considered before the next meeting. 

 

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

 

Please note that the list of questions and their written responses will be published on Tuesday 25 February 2020. 

Minutes:

1.            Urgent Questions

 

There were no urgent questions. 

 

2.            Questions by Councillors

 

NOTED the forty questions on the Council agenda and the written responses provided by the relevant Cabinet Members.

17.

Committee Membership

To confirm any changes to Committee memberships:

 

No changes have been received to date.  Please note that any changes received once the agenda has been published will be tabled on the Council update sheet at the meeting. 

Minutes:

There were no changes to committee memberships.   

18.

Nominations to Outside Bodies

To confirm any changes to the nominations to outside bodies:

 

No changes have been identified to date.  Please note that any changes notified after the agenda has been published will be reported to Council on the update sheet tabled at the meeting. 

Minutes:

There were no nominations for outside bodies.   

19.

Date of Next Meeting

To note the date agreed for the next Council meeting, Annual Council:

 

·         Wednesday 13 May 2020 at 7pm at Enfield Civic Centre. 

Minutes:

NOTED that the next meeting of the Council would be Annual Council on Wednesday 13 May 2020 at 7pm.