Agenda for Council on Thursday, 6th April, 2017, 7.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

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

Items
No. Item

1.

Election if required of the Chair/Deputy of the Meeting

Minutes:

Not required.

2.

The Mayor's Chaplain to Give a Blessing

Minutes:

Osma Pakos from Palmers Green Mosque gave the blessing.

3.

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

Minutes:

The Mayor began by saying that it was unbelievable that she was speaking to everyone at Council for the last time as Mayor.  She said that the year had passed very quickly and she had been extremely busy.  She also asked members to take some time to look at all the photos displayed which represented the many engagements that she had carried out in the wonderful community of Enfield. 

 

1.               Thank-yous

 

The Mayor thanked the officers who had worked so hard throughout the year and the directors for their support.  She added that there was no “i” in team and that strength had been in how hard everyone had worked together.

 

The Mayor thanked her two consorts Andrew and Edward Lappage, who had contributed so enormously to her Mayoral Year, as well as the deputy mayor, her consort, her children and grandchildren and the people of Enfield for their invitations.  She also added thanks to Councillors Alev and Nesil Cazimoglu, the Leader, Councillor Taylor and Councillor Neville for their support. 

 

2.               Past Engagements

 

February and March were months full of events including: 

 

·       The launch of the Sing to your Baby Project at Wilbury School working with the Chicken Shed Theatre.  She gave a special mention to Councillor Orhan who had also attended.

·       Women’s World Day of Prayer at the Salvation Army in Edmonton.

·       Joining Soroptimists at a Coffee Morning for International Women’s Day in the Parish Centre at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George.

·       Celebrating women in the arts as part of an International Women’s Day activity at the Millfield Theatre.

·       Early morning breakfast meeting with the Enfield Chase Rotary Club.

·       Bella Cora and Enfield Community Singers concert in Muswell Hill – celebrating and raising money for St Patrick’s Day.  

·       Taking part in the Central London Parade following the Enfield Float.

·       Construct with Us Event at the Nightingale Academy when she and Councillor Alev Cazimoglu had taken a ride up in a cherry picker, learning about the amazing opportunities in the construction industry available to Enfield young people.

·       Have a Cuppa Tea Party at the Ruth Winston House, raising awareness about dementia.

·       Joining the walkers in Jubilee, Broomfield and Town Parks.

·       Hosting a networking event with Enfield Racial Equality Council in the Mayor’s Parlour looking at the diversity in music in Enfield.

 

3.               The Mayor’s Ball

 

The pinnacle event of the year was the Mayor’s Ball, supported by many members, large numbers of whom had given money to her charity.  Donations from anyone who had not yet donated would be still welcomed.   She thanked all who made the evening so enjoyable, particularly her family, many of whom had also attended the event.

 

4.               Thanks to Sponsors

 

The Mayor thanked her sponsors throughout the year: Faiveley Transport, London Waste, the Synagogue Ladies Guild, the Rotary Clubs across Enfield, Enfield in Bloom, the Lions Club of Enfield, Lefkara Association, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Arsenal Football Club, the Holy Family Convent, Barnfields, Lidl, Little by Little Consultants, the Cricketers, Thorntons, Opera  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Savva, Keazor, Hurman, N. Cazimoglu, Vince, Jukes, Steven, Lavender and David-Sanders.

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 Asmat Hussain (Assistant Director Legal and Governance) to make a short statement. A dispensation was granted to the Chamber regarding motions 10.8 and 10.10  as the topics were such that many members would need to declare a DPI, therefore it was felt that this met the criteria 32 4 (a) of impeding the transaction of the business.

6.

Minutes of the Meeting held on 28 February 2017 pdf icon PDF 255 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2017 as a correct record. 

Minutes:

Councillor Stewart moved an amendment to the minutes of the 28th February 2017, Councillor Ekechi seconded motion 10.4, not During as previously stated.  With this change the minutes were agreed.

7.

Opposition Business - "The Council's Labour administration isn't listening" pdf icon PDF 255 KB

An issues paper prepared by the Opposition Group is attached for the consideration of Council.

 

The Council rules relating to Opposition Business are also attached for information.   

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Neville introduced the Opposition Business Paper:

 

The issues highlighted were as follows:

 

1.          The paper set out instances which the opposition felt cumulatively add up to the paper's headline.

 

2.          The opposition felt they had good examples but most obvious and most striking was Cycle Enfield. Councillor Neville stated residents, businesses, bus operators in fact all have made adverse comments but none have been listened to, still less properly responded to. The opposition felt that Implementation of the scheme had inflicted untold harm and inconvenience to residents and businesses alike.

 

3.          Reference was made to the A105 and the 3km (linear) barriers between The Triangle and Bush Hill Road junction being there over one month with very little work, he stated that traders had undeniably suffered serious losses and that in his view Councillor Anderson couldn’t even be bothered to meet them - accounts produced, were dismissed with the arrogance of a third world dictator whose regard for the truth leaves much to be desired, to say nothing of his grasp of facts

 

4.          Councillor Neville continued, the contract started September 16, six months on very little has been completed but he told The Standard that the scheme was one third completed. In fact a dashcam survey done last week showed less than 8% completed and operational. And for those Labour members not familiar with problem of the AI05, have I got news for you. All this is about to be repeated in the even more difficult carriageway of the Hertford Road.  Councillor Neville went on to say that at a recent Hertford Road call-in Councillor Anderson repeated the misstatement to his own members on OSC that the scheme was a TfL scheme. If any doubt "it's always the best policy to speak the truth unless of course you are an exceptionally good liar" but can't even acknowledge his wrong doing when residents who were there write to him after the event.

 

5.          The opposition felt that the Council has an obligation to listen and respect the views of its residents. One resident woke up as did many others to find her road turned into one way working, not just for a couple of days but now coming up 6 weeks, and without any prior notification. Councillor Neville expressed his view that on present form, her letter emailed to all members will go either unanswered or be dismissed as just another opponent of the scheme.

 

6.          The final issue raised on opposition business was regarding repairs to highways, and what is seen by the opposition as a lack of budget provision in capital, but a press comment issued claiming that £6m had been allocated from revenue and £1.7 from capital allocated for highway maintenance.

 

7.          Councillor Achilleas Georgiou Deputy leader responded to the issues paper highlighting the following:

 

8.          Majority group members hold ward surgeries every Saturday across the borough where residents can just turn up, how do you contact a conservative Councillor?  We hold ward forums and Enfield  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS

Minutes:

Councillor Alessandro Georgiou moved and Councillor Ertan Hurer seconded a proposal under paragraph 2.2(B) of the Council procedure rules to change the order of items on the agenda so that item 10.5 be taken as the next item.

 

The change in order was not agreed.

 

17 For

33 Against

0 Abstentions

9.

Appointment of Chief Executive pdf icon PDF 84 KB

To receive a report from the Assistant Director Human Resources setting out the recommendation from the Council's Appointment Panel for the appointment of the new Chief Executive.          TO FOLLOW

(Report No:  248)

 

Council is asked to note that Appointment Panel is due to undertake the final interviews for this position on Thursday 30th March 2017.  The report has therefore been marked as “To Follow” pending the outcome of the recruitment process.

Minutes:

This item was withdrawn, and the Mayor asked Asmat Hussain (Assistant Director Legal & Governance) to read a short statement which stated the Council had not concluded recent exercises, therefore the approval of the appointment would go to the Council meeting on 10th May 2017.

10.

Changes to Council Constitution pdf icon PDF 91 KB

To receive the report of the Executive Director Finance, Resources and Customer Services setting out changes to the Council Constitution following recommendation from the Members and Democratic Services Group (1 March 2017).  (Report No:  249)

 

Council is asked to approve the recommended changes. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Simon moved the report and Councillor Neville seconded the report.

 

Councillor Simon explained that the term ‘Big Decisions’ doesn’t fit with Local Government legislation and the constitution needs to comply, the Key functions would remain. 

 

There was a recommendation to delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make minor amendments to the constitution without referring every matter to full Council.

 

The recommendations in the report to Council were agreed.

 

11.

CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS

Minutes:

Councillor Stewart moved, and Councillor Taylor seconded a proposal under paragraph 2.2(B) of the Council procedure rules to change the order of items on the agenda so that item 10.7, 10.10, 10.4, 10.9 and 10.1 were taken in that order.

 

The change in order was agreed.

 

12.

Motions

10.1  In the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou:

 

“The people of the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union. Therefore the Council resolves that the flag of the EU should be removed from the flag pole on the civic centre premises and replaced with the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

 

10.2  In the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou:

 

“This Council resolves that the National Anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should have time reserved to be sung during the beginning of each Full Council Meeting.”

 

10.3  In the name of Councillor Terry Neville:

 

“Borough residents were once again exposed to an unnecessary and pointless 24 hour strike on the London Underground in January, including the Piccadilly Line locally, which brought chaos to our capital and put extra pressure on other transport services. As with previous disputes this strike served only to inflict the maximum inconvenience and misery on hard working Londoners trying to get to and from their place of work.

 

The Council condemns the actions of the Transport Unions involved, and calls upon the Government to fully implement the relevant provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016 to further restrict the ability to take industrial action in the public transport sector.”

 

10.4  In the name of Councillor Ahmet Oykener:

 

“The White Paper helpfully returns to an emphasis on affordable housing of all tenures, both rented and affordable homeownership. The government does now accept that the housing market is “broken” and so in this regard we are disappointed that the Paper did not go further. Whilst the Paper recognises the great role that Local Authorities can play in meeting the serious housing demand challenge it could and should have gone further. In particular we continue to ask for the government to allow councils to borrow against our assets which is the one measure which will truly enable a renaissance in housing building. There are different ways to do this so what I propose is we work together, meet the Minister, and agree a new deal which is right for the people of Enfield”.

 

10.5  In the name of Councillor Terry Neville:

 

“The Council is aware that the management of the Cycle Enfield proposals post implementation has aroused considerable concerns amongst residents which have not been satisfactorily addressed, coupled with the failure to provide in this year’s capital budget (2017/18) adequate funding for highways maintenance, and other matters leads the Council to conclude that it has no confidence in Councillor Daniel Anderson as the Cabinet Member for the Environment.”

 

10.6  In the name of Councillor Joanne Laban:

 

“Enfield Council believes that air quality is an important issue in our borough. However the Mayor of London’s proposal to extend the Ultra-Low Emission Zone to the North Circular is not the solution that Enfield requires. Enfield Council agrees to seek a meeting with the Mayor to discuss his proposals and put forward alternative measures that will make a real  ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

Minutes:

Motion 10.7 In the name of Councillor Joanne Laban

 

“The terrorist attack in Westminster on 22nd March 2017 was an attack on British democracy and our values. Enfield Council gives its upmost praise to our partners London's Emergency Services for their professionalism on the day and continued work to keep London safe. Enfield Council stands united with the Prime Minister and Opposition Party leaders in defiance against terrorism and those who seek to destroy our way of life.”

 

Following the debate the motion was put to the vote and agreed with the following result:

 

For: 50

Against: 0

Abstentions: 0

 

Motion 10.10 In the name of Councillor Ayfer Orhan

 

“The Government has embarked on a schools funding formulae which if implemented will mean a real terms funding cut of £3 billion a year by 2020.  In Enfield, schools will lose £28,839,090 by 2020 coming on the back of £3 million already deleted for schools improvements and government cuts to SEND funding.

 

The Government should recognise the strength of public feeling as parents, local Authorities and MPs up and down the country have expressed their concerns about the consequences of the funding gap in their schools.

 

Given the loss in funding to schools across the country, and specifically in Enfield, this Council calls upon the Government to listen to the demands of Enfield’s schools, teachers and parents, to rethink its position and provide fair funding for all schools in the borough.”

 

Councillor Alessandro Georgiou moved an amendment. The Mayor did not allow the amendment as it did not meet the council procedure rules.

 

For: 32

Against: 0

Abstentions: 17

 

Motion 10.4 In the name of Councillor Ahmet Oykener:

 

“The White Paper helpfully returns to an emphasis on affordable housing of all tenures, both rented and affordable homeownership. The government does now accept that the housing market is “broken” and so in this regard we are disappointed that the Paper did not go further. Whilst the Paper recognises the great role that Local Authorities can play in meeting the serious housing demand challenge it could and should have gone further. In particular we continue to ask for the government to allow councils to borrow against our assets which is the one measure which will truly enable a renaissance in housing building. There are different ways to do this so what I propose is we work together, meet the Minister, and agree a new deal which is right for the people of Enfield”.

 

For: 32

Against: 13

Abstentions: 0

 

DURATION OF THE TIME ALLOCATED FOR MOTIONS

 

The Mayor advised at this stage of the meeting that the time available for motions had now elapsed, so Council procedure rule 9 would apply.

 

NOTED that in accordance with Council procedure rule 9 the remaining motions lapsed due to lack of time.

 

Motion 10.1 In the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou:

 

“The people of the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union. Therefore the Council resolves that the flag of the EU should be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Councillor Question Time pdf icon PDF 368 KB

12.1    Urgent Questions (Part 4 - Paragraph 10.2.(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. 

 

12.2    Councillors’ Questions (Part 4 – Paragraph 10.2(a) of Constitution – Page 4 - 8)

 

The list of 35 questions and the responses will be published, in accordance with the Council procedure rules, on Wednesday 5 April 2017, the day before the Council meeting.

Minutes:

1.1       Urgent Questions

There were no urgent questions.

 

1.2   Questions by Councillors

 

NOTED

 

1.          The thirty-five questions on the Council agenda and written responses provided by the relevant Cabinet Members.

 

2.          The following supplementary questions and responses received, for the questions indicated below:

Question 1 from Councillor Erbil to Councillor Oykener, Cabinet Member for Housing

 

The number of properties is 400, this is less than the 2500 people waiting in temporary accommodation”

 

Reply from Councillor Oykener

 

“This council is against the government cuts and pressures on housing, there are 2500 properties in the pipeline and 10000 houses in planned in the next century, this administration is excited, it has been createive and we have been innovative.”

 

Question 2 from Councillor Neville to Councillor Taylor, Leader of the Council

 

“Thank you Councillor Taylor for the response, does he not accept however that an administration taking a robust view of finances would have taken the action such as was taken on the 1st March 2017 this year, last Autumn?”

 

Reply from Councillor Taylor

 

“Firstly, it is not unusual to send instructions towards the end of the financial year as a reminder, CMB also sent instructions in June and January to staff curtailing expenditure, mitigations have been taken already by officers in order to control expenditure and I can assure councillor Neville that the Cabinet members and Senior Officers are aware and take action.  There is no doubt amongst staff that this is our objective and they should be doing their bit.”

 

Question 3 from Councillor Jiagge to Councillor Taylor, Leader of the Council

 

“Will the Leader indicate what other action has been taken.”

 

Reply from Councillor Taylor

 

“I met with the MP for Edmonton Kate Osamor, and she wrote to David Green.  She said in her letter there has been no public consultation on the impact of the closure of the Job Centre Plus, where is the listening government?  We have a high percentage of clients who attend the JCP who are in precarious situations, sometimes with mental health problems they are now being cast adrift with the decisions of this government.  This is a bad decision made by a bad government.”

 

Question 4 from Councillor Dines to Councillor Oykener, Cabinet member for Housing.

 

“Will the Cabinet member give a commitment tonight that no building will be on green belt ?”

 

Reply from Councillor Oykener

 

“Resisting building on green belt is the policy of the council and has been debated previously in this chamber.  One must read carefully the white paper, which is offering LA the choice, our position is to protect the green belt as it is now.”

 

Question 5 from Councillor Jemal to Councillor Anderson, Cabinet member for Environment.

 

“Can the Cabinet member tell me how trees are managed in the Borough?”

 

Reply from Councillor Anderson

 

“Trees are managed in accordance with the corporate tree strategy removing dead or diseased trees, planting new ones, benefits are reduced insurance claims with reduced number of trees being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Committee Membership

To confirm any changes to the committee memberships.

 

Please note no changes have been notified to date.  Any 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.

15.

Nominations to Outside Bodies

To confirm any changes notified to the nominations on outside bodies.

 

Please note no changes have been notified to date.  Any received once the agenda has been published will be tabled on the Council update sheet at the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no changes to Outside Bodies.

16.

Called in Decisions

None received. 

Minutes:

There were no called in decisions.

17.

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the next meeting of the Council will be Annual Council and will be held on Wednesday 10 May 2017 at 7pm at the Civic Centre. 

 

Minutes:

The date of the next Council meeting will be Wednesday 10th May 2017 this is for Annual Council and Mayor making.