15.1 In the name of Councillor Barry:
“If the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is agreed, the people of Enfield will lose many of the regulations that protect their environment, their food and their rights as workers.
A report commissioned by the Government concluded that TTIP offers “few or no benefits to the UK while having meaningful economic and political costs.”
This Council resolves:
• To call on the Government to put the national interests of our people above those of big businesses and to reject this agreement.
• To write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, local MPs, MLAs, and all London MEPs raising our serious concerns about the impact of TTIP on local authorities and the secrecy of the negotiating process.
• To write to the Local Government Association to raise our serious concerns about the impact of TTIP on local authorities and ask them to raise these with Government on our behalf.
• To call for an impact assessment on the impact of TTIP on local authorities.
• To publicise the Council’s concerns about TTIP; join with other local authorities which are opposed to TTIP across Europe and work with local campaigners to raise awareness about the problems of TTIP.
• To contact the local authorities of municipalities twinned with Enfield asking them to consider passing a similar motion on TTIP.”
15.2 In the name of Councillor Nesil Cazimoglu:
“The country, particularly London, is facing a housing crisis and residents in Enfield are feeling the effects. This Council believes that the government’s Housing and Planning Bill will only make the situation worse; and that the only real solution is to build more homes.
House building is at its lowest since the 1920’s; private rents have increased by 37% in the past five years and the government continue to use billions of pounds of public money to subsidise private landlords through housing benefit.
The Housing and Planning Bill would:
• Forces ‘high-value’ council homes to be sold on the open market;
• Extend the right-to-buy to housing association tenants and
• Undermine section 106 requirements on private developers to provide affordable homes
There is no commitment in the Bill that affordable homes will be replaced like-for-like in the local area.
This Council resolves that the Bill undermines localism by granting the Secretary of State the power to override local plans, to mandate rents for social tenants and to impose a levy on stock-holding councils, violating the terms of the Housing Revenue Account self-financing deal.
This Council calls on the government to grant local authorities the powers and financial ability to increase the supply of housing for our residents. Councils must be given the financial flexibilities they need to be able to scale up housing development, both in partnership and directly.”
15.3 In the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou:
“This Council recognises that the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a symbol of Freedom and represents all that is great about the United Kingdom.
The Council will therefore have the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland present in all full Council meetings. The flag will have a prominent place either hanging behind the Mayor of Enfield’s chair or on a flagpole to the right of the Mayor.”
15.4 In the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou:
“In view of the fact that the Council has not acquired the site at Chase Farm Hospital for which outline planning permission was given for a three form entry primary school, and the locally based Lime Trust is keen to develop a free school on the site, the Council instructs the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services to write Department for Education to support the upcoming bid of the Lime Trust to open a primary free school with three forms of entry on the site”.
15.5 In the name of Councillor Alessandro Georgiou:
“Homelessness is an issue that all councillors should fight to eradicate. Helping those less fortunate is a pillar of civic service that is of the utmost importance. The Council therefore agrees to publish on its website and through other means the details of all homeless shelters in the borough and charities that can assist those that are homeless, in particular those that offer services during the winter months. This information will include contact details of homeless shelters and charities that are within the borough and other local authorities”
Minutes:
Councillor Nesil Cazimoglu moved and Councillor Oykener seconded the following motion:
“The country, particularly London, is facing a housing crisis and residents in Enfield are feeling the effects. This Council believes that the government’s Housing and Planning Bill will only make the situation worse; and that the only real solution is to build more homes.
House building is at its lowest since the 1920’s; private rents have increased by 37% in the past five years and the government continue to use billions of pounds of public money to subsidise private landlords through housing benefit.
The Housing and Planning Bill would:
• Forces ‘high-value’ council homes to be sold on the open market;
• Extend the right-to-buy to housing association tenants and
• Undermine section 106 requirements on private developers to provide affordable homes
There is no commitment in the Bill that affordable homes will be replaced like-for-like in the local area.
This Council resolves that the Bill undermines localism by granting the Secretary of State the power to override local plans, to mandate rents for social tenants and to impose a levy on stock-holding councils, violating the terms of the Housing Revenue Account self-financing deal.
This Council calls on the government to grant local authorities the powers and financial ability to increase the supply of housing for our residents. Councils must be given the financial flexibilities they need to be able to scale up housing development, both in partnership and directly.”
Following a short debate the motion was put to the vote and agreed with the following result:
For: 29
Against: 12
Abstentions: 0
Twenty six Labour councillors listed under the declaration of interests had received a dispensation in relation to their interests in this motion.
The following councillors declared their disclosable pecuniary interests: Councillors Jason Charalambous, Councillor Don McGowan, Councillor Alessandro Georgiou and Nesimi Erbil. They withdrew from the meeting and did not take part in the discussion or vote on the motion.
1.2 Councillor Barry moved and Councillor Chibah seconded the following motion:
“If the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is agreed, the people of Enfield will lose many of the regulations that protect their environment, their food and their rights as workers.
A report commissioned by the Government concluded that TTIP offers “few or no benefits to the UK while having meaningful economic and political costs.”
This Council resolves:
• To call on the Government to put the national interests of our people above those of big businesses and to reject this agreement.
• To write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, local MPs, MLAs, and all London MEPs raising our serious concerns about the impact of TTIP on local authorities and the secrecy of the negotiating process.
• To write to the Local Government Association to raise our serious concerns about the impact of TTIP on local authorities and ask them to raise these with Government on our behalf.
• To call for an impact assessment on the impact of TTIP on local authorities.
• To publicise the Council’s concerns about TTIP; join with other local authorities which are opposed to TTIP across Europe and work with local campaigners to raise awareness about the problems of TTIP.
• To contact the local authorities of municipalities twinned with Enfield asking them to consider passing a similar motion on TTIP.”
Following a short debate the motion was put to the vote and agreed with the following result:
For: 32
Against: 15
Abstentions: 0