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.

The Mayor made the following announcements:

1.            Councillors in arrears of Council Tax

I would like take this opportunity to remind Members of the Council that Section 106 of the Local Government Act 1992 states that any Councillor in arrears of Council Tax for 2 months or more may note vote on matters concerning the level of Council Tax.  This restriction obviously applies tonight in relation to items 7 and 8.  Such members if present must disclose the fact that this applies to them.  They may however remain in the meeting and speak.

Furthermore, if this applies to any member of the Cabinet, that member may not exercise any executive function in connection with the budget or the setting of Council Tax during the time that he / she is in such arrears.

Non-compliance could give rise to a criminal offence.

2.            Holocaust Memorial Events

I hosted a Holocaust memorial event in the Conference Room on 26 January 2006.  This was a very moving event with pupils from Cuckoo Hall School present singing and dancing as part of the programme.

I subsequently visited this successful multicultural school to present the pupils and staff with an Advanced Learning Award, being placed 39^th in the country and in the top 10% of schools. I was please to congratulate them personally on this significant achievement.  

3.            Mayor’s Charity Ball

I would like to remind all Members that tickets are now available for my Charity Ball, which is being held on 7 April 2006 at the Royal Chase Hotel.

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 January 2006.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 January 2006 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Boast, Bond, Burrowes, Costello, Eustance, Hayward, Headley, Ingham, Mattingly, Prescott and Richards.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Barker and G Savva.

Members of the Council are invited to identify any personal or prejudicial interests relevant to items on the agenda.  A definition of personal and prejudicial interests has been attached for members’ information.

Councillor Goddard declared a personal interest with regard to Item 13 Motions.

To receive the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources summarising for Members the more important matters arising from the Relationship Manager and District Auditor’s audit and inspection programme for 2004/05 and commenting on current issues.

The recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

Councillor Rye moved and Councillor Lavender seconded the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources (No. 290) summarising for Members the more important matters arising from the Relationship Manager and District Auditor’s audit and inspection programme for 2004/05 and commenting on current issues.

NOTED that the recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

RESOLVED to note the contents of the Annual Letter.

To receive the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources setting out the Council’s Budget for 2006/07 and the Medium Term Financial Plan (General Fund).

The recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

Councillor Rye moved and Councillor Lavender seconded the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources (No. 307) setting out the Council’s Budget for 2006/07 and the Medium Term Financial Plan (General Fund).

NOTED

1.         that the recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

2.         that during the debate Councillor Neville confirmed that in the future special collections of bulky items from peoples homes would be free of charge in an effort to increase recycling levels further.

3.            Councillor Charalambos moved and Councillor Taylor seconded the amendment to the revenue budget for 2006/7 detailed below:

“With regard to the revenue budget for 2006/7

i.          The net budget requirement in Enfield be set at £202.654m in 2006/7
(incorporating the following changes from the Cabinet recommendation –

additional spending
Budget for ward initiatives £0.930m;
Additional voluntary sector grants £0.350m;
Revenue cost of capital funding for new voluntary sector building £0.150m;
Regeneration funding £0.600m.

additional funding
Contribution from reserves £3.6m;
Reduction in earmarked reserves £2.037m)

ii.         As before.

iii.        As before.

iv.        That the Council Tax at Band D for Enfield services be set at £964.76, a reduction of 0.97%.

v.         The statutory calculations and resolutions in Appendix 8 are approved subject to amendment as appropriate by officers.”

The amendment was put to the vote with the following result:

In favour 17 votes:

Anolue, Brett, Buckland, Charalambous, Cole, Constantinides, During, G. Savva, Giliadi, Goddard, Hasan, Oykener, Richards, Rodin, Sandilands, Taylor, Salako

Against 31 votes:

Adams, Andrew, Barker, Boast, Chamberlain, Delman, Dreblow , E.Savva, Egan, Eustance, Fallart, Ford, Hall, Hurer, Jackson, Jukes, Laban, Lavender , McCannah, Neville, Nicholas, Pearce, Rye, Schofield, Steven, E.Smith, T.Smith, Vince, Wyatt, Yates and Zinkin

The amendment was therefore lost.

After a lengthy debate the recommendations detailed in the report and the statutory calculations set out Appendix 8 were put to the vote.

RESOLVED

1.         to note the comments in paragraph 7.14 regarding Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

2.         to note that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee asked for a number of proposals in the budget to be reconsidered as set out in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

3.         that the net budget requirement for Enfield be set at £206.261m in 2006/07;

4.         that a contribution of £396k be made to the Collection Fund;

5.         that, subject to final pupil count data, approval is given to expenditure of £186.391m on the schools’ budget, funded from the Dedicated Schools’ Grant;

6.         that the Council Tax at Band D for Enfield’s services be set at £998.55

(paragraph 7.9), an increase of 2.49%;

7.         to note the information regarding the requirements of the Prudential Code detailed in Section 9;

8.         to agree the proposals for allocating resources to capital projects as set out in paragraph 9.19;

9.         to agree the recommendations regarding the additions to the capital programme, as set out in Appendix 11;

10.       to approve the Prudential Indicators, the Treasury Management Strategy and the criteria  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

To receive the joint report of the Directors of Community, Housing and Adult Social Services and Finance and Corporate Resources, presenting for approval the detailed revenue estimates of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for 2006/07 following consultation with residents on the HRA budget position and the options for the rent proposals.

The recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

Councillor Laban moved and Councillor Andrew seconded the joint report of the Directors of Community, Housing and Adult Social Services and Finance and Corporate Resources (No. 292A), presenting for approval the detailed revenue estimates of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for 2006/07 following consultation with residents on the HRA budget position and the options for the rent proposals.

NOTED that the recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

RESOLVED

1.         That the detailed revenue estimates of the Housing Revenue Account for 2006/07 be approved as set out in table 1.

2          That the formula rents be increased by 3.2% in line with Government guidance.

3          The level of service charges as set out in paragraph 13.1 for those properties receiving the services be agreed for 2006/07. 

4.         The proposals for increases in other income as detailed in Appendices 2 and 3 be agreed for 2006/07.

To receive the report of the Director of Environment, Street Scene and Parks setting out the background and legal duties for highway maintenance, identifying the main issues relating to network safety, serviceability and sustainability, and proposing an effective and objective mechanism for prioritising planned maintenance requirements in order to address customer service requirements.

The recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

Councillor Neville moved and Councillor E Savva seconded the report of the Director of Environment, Street Scene and Parks (No. 298) settingout the background and legal duties for highway maintenance, identifying the main issues relating to network safety, serviceability and sustainability, and proposing an effective and objective mechanism for prioritising planned maintenance requirements in order to address customer service requirements.

NOTED that the recommendations set out in the report were endorsed at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 February 2006.

RESOLVED that the Council adopt the Highway Maintenance Plan.

To receive the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources proposing revised Contract Procedure Rules for inclusion in the Council’s Constitution.

The recommendations set out in the report were approved by the Audit Committee on 17 January and the Constitution Review Group on 9 February 2006.

Councillor Lavender moved and Councillor Rye seconded the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources proposing revised Contract Procedure Rules for inclusion in the Council’s Constitution.

The recommendations set out in the report were approved by the Audit Committee on 17 January and the Constitution Review Group on 9 February 2006.

RESOLVED to approve the revised Contract Procedure Rules (CPR) detailed in the report and the revised CPR be implemented with effect from 1April 2006.

To receive the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources proposing a number of changes to the Council’s Constitution endorsed at the Constitution Review Group meeting held on 9 February 2006.

Councillor E Smith moved and Councillor Egan seconded the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources proposing a number of changes to the Council’s Constitution endorsed at the Constitution Review Group meeting held on 9 February 2006.

NOTED that during consideration of this item all members of the Labour Group present at the meeting left the Council Chamber for the remaining items of business.

RESOLVED to approve the following changes to the Council’s Constitution:

(a)               the merged terms of  reference for the Staff Forum/Joint Consultative Group for Teachers (JCGT) (paragraph 3.1)

(b)               the new terms of reference for the Member Governor Forum (paragraph 3.2)

(c)        the revised terms of reference for the Schools Forum, subject to the addition of the following to the first paragraph of section 3

“These elections to be carried out in accordance with existing and agreed processes and practices.” (See paragraph 3.3 of this report)

(d)       the composition of Community Housing Partnership Boards be amended as follows (paragraph 6):

(v)                the Partnership Board elect a Chairman from amongst the councillor membership and Vice-Chairman from amongst the tenant representative membership each year.

(e)       the scheme of delegation in relation to planning be amended as follows (paragraph 3.5 of this report):

(i)         to provide that any application which is to be refused planning permission may be determined under delegated authority, subject to the exceptions set out in the revised scheme;

(ii)        to include authority to determine major planning applications for wholly industrial/commercial development as detailed in the report;

(iii)       the applications covered under (i) and (ii) above be in consultation with the Chairman of Planning Committee; and

(iv)       a report be submitted to Planning Committee in one year’s time reviewing the arrangements.

12.1    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.

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

Question 1 from Councillor Andrew to Councillor Rye, Leader of the Council.

“Would Councillor Rye inform the council what investment has been made in Edmonton by the Conservative Administration since 2002?”

Response from Councillor Rye:

“I am very proud of our record as a Conservative Administration trying to meet the needs of the whole Borough including Edmonton.  I have therefore set out below investment in Edmonton completed by us that was started before 2002, and also investment made by us since 2002.

Started before 2002

·        EPI - new homes in the Barbot, Montague and Plevna Road Estates, demolition of 1960s concrete tower blocks, a new ASDA supermarket bringing in hundreds of new jobs, new transport hub, state of the art leisure centre and health facilities.

·        New Starks Field School

·        Sure start

·        Lea Valley Athletics Centre

·        Since May 2002 we have completed – apart from EPI – 196 additional homes that include CDI sites, 42 shared ownership and 3 key worker homes

Started post 2002

·        Public safety centre – CCTV monitoring

·        Drug Treatment centre

·        Delta City Learning Centre

·        School building improvements at Hazelbury Junior (2004), Edmonton County Upper School (2005), Salisbury (2006/7), Latymer (2005), and Wilbury Primary School (2007)

·        Galliard School – a full-service extended school at “the cutting edge” and quoted as an exemplar of good practice in the Schools’ White Paper

·        New nursery and childcare facilities at Eldon Infants (2005), Galliard (2006), Hazelbury Infants (2004) and Raynham Primary (2006).

·        Creation of Forest Road Jubilee Park – meeting a specific pledge to create a new green space in Edmonton

·        HERS – Edmonton Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme – restoration and improvement to shop frontages in Edmonton Fore Street and Church Street.  The overall programme has been £680,000 of which a substantial sum is funded by ERDF and English Heritage.

·        Play and toilet refurbishment at Jubilee Park

·        Major improvements to Pymmes Park and Craig Park   New multi-use Games Area (MUGA) in place and a new dance studio being developed at the Youth Centre

·        Further improvements to be delivered before March 2006 at Durants Park (water play facility), Albany Park (Multi Use Games Area), Craig Park (playground), Albany Park (playground)

·        New Internet 31 centre opened in 2005

·        Pavement improvements to Brettenham Road, Bull Lane, Church Street, Haselbury Road, Lincoln Road,  ...  view the full agenda text for item 123.

1.         Urgent Questions

None received.

2.            Questions by Councillors

NOTED

1.         the question, on the Council’s agenda, which received a written reply by the relevant Cabinet Member.

2.         the following supplementary question received for the question indicated below:

Question 1

Councillor Andrew to Councillor Rye, Leader of the Council.

“Can Councillor Rye provide details of Neighbourhood Renewal spending since 2002.”

Reply from Councillor Rye:

“Yes I do have this information which is as follows:

2001/ 02 - Labour Administration

NRF Grant       £929,797

Actual Expenditure               £451,910

51% Under-spend       £477,887

2002 / 03 - Conservative Administration

NRF Grant & Carry Over     £1,872,583                       

Actual Expenditure     £1,347,602

38% Under-spend        £522,981

Necessary to expend NRF grant and carry over – new systems and financial controls introduced in 2003

2003 / 04 - Conservative Administration

NRF Grant & Carry Over     £2,384,576

Actual Expenditure     £2,369,882

0.76% Under-spend          £14,649

2004 / 05 - Conservative Administration                     

NRF Grant & Carry Over     £1,874,288

Actual Expenditure     £1,689,907

0.76% Under-spend                                              £184,382

As agreed with GoL after introduction of a commissioning system.

(In other words 100% agreed expenditure)

2005 / 06

Is programmed to be expended to within 3% of NRF allocation as agreed with GoL

This shows Labour do not care about Edmonton or they would have made sure all Neighbourhood Renewal monies were spent in a timely manner.”

In the name of Councillor Rodin

“This Council is deeply concerned at the lack of Council financial support for a range of European Objective 2 economic regeneration projects aimed at tackling worklessness and assisting those on low incomes in the most disadvantaged parts of Edmonton.

It notes that the EU funds ringfenced to Edmonton will be reallocated to other Boroughs in the Upper Lee Valley or to East London as a result of the Council’s refusal to match fund the proposals at a time when the Council is proposing to reduce its matched funding budget in regeneration.”

NOTED that as the motion on the agenda was not moved and seconded in accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the motion was therefore lost.

To confirm any changes to committee memberships.

Noted that there were no changes to committee memberships.

To confirm any changes to nominations to outside bodies.

Noted that there were no changes to nominations to outside bodies.

None received.

None received.

The next meeting of the Council will be held on Wednesday 29 March 2006 at 7.00 p.m. at the Civic Centre.

NOTED that the next meeting of the Council was to be held on Wednesday 29 March 2006 at 7.00 p.m. at the Civic Centre.