Agenda item - Motions

Agenda item

Motions

Motions for Council – 28 January 2020

 

Motion 1 in the name of Councillor Achilleas Georgiou

 

Test and trace system

 

Crucial for defeating Covid-19 is an effective test and trace system. Thus far,

government attempts have proved inadequate. This Council believes that

local authorities working with local public health teams are best placed to

deliver test and trace.

 

The current test and trace system should be de-centralised with responsibility

and government funds given to local authorities to manage and administer.

 

Motion 2 in the name of Councillor Joanne Laban

 

In the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, this council reaffirms its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism:

 “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

 

Enfield Council pledges to continue to work towards combating antisemitism.

Motion 3 in the name of Councillor Maria Alexandrou

Cervical Cancer Screening

Cervical screening is a way for women to protect themselves from cancer. The sad reality is that fewer women are now having cervical screening. Last year 1.3m women didn’t attend NHS screenings. There are 3,200 new cases of cervical cancer every year and of those 870 women die from it.

According to Cancer Research UK 99.8% of cases are preventable. When Jade Goody fought her cancer battle, nearly 80% of women went for smear tests.10 years later, only 72% of women go. If this rate falls any lower, the rise in deaths will shoot up. In the case of Jade Goody, she ignored letters about her abnormal cells. She needed to go to hospital for surgery to remove those abnormal cells, surgery which most probably would have saved her life.

Many young women in their 20s and 30s are dying from cervical cancer and the tragedy is they are leaving behind their partners and young children.  We need to encourage everyone to look after their health and have regular check-ups.

Enfield Council therefore agrees to work together with other agencies for a local campaign on cervical cancer awareness and encourage women to attend that important screening test. It only takes 5 minutes at the doctor’s surgery and this test can save your life.

Motion 4 in the name of Councillor Joanne Laban

Covid thank you

The chamber gives it heartfelt thanks to the Enfield Council staff involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Motion 5 in the name of Councillor Joanne Laban

The Council supports the provision of meat options at its events and to exclude them is discriminatory against meat eaters. This chamber agrees that all Enfield Council events where catering is provided should include meat, vegetarian and vegan options to show its commitment to inclusivity.

Motion 6 in the name of Councillor Edward Smith

This Council agrees to review its recently published Climate Change Action Plan which set a target for the Council achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 because it is flawed and was not subject to adequate consultation for such an important and far reaching project. 

Motion 7 in the name of Councillor Edward Smith

This Council supports the current guidelines in the Local Plan regarding the location and appropriateness of high-rise residential development in the Borough.

Motion 8 in the name of Councillor Chris Dey

This Council recognises that the Mayor of London has totally mismanaged Transport for London’s finances, almost bankrupting it. We thank the Government for bailing out TFL once again. We call on the Mayor of London to get a grip of the situation putting TFL on a sustainable financial footing, reviewing revenue and increasing fares if needed each year in line with inflation.

Motion 9 in the name of Councillor Mike Rye  

This Council resolves:

·              To require all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people.

 

·              To actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including the precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks.

 

·              To encourage local suppliers of fireworks to stock ‘quieter’ fireworks for public display.

 

Motion 10 in the name of Councillor Chris Dey

 

Enfield Council commends the Government for the excellent way in which the vaccine programme has been rolled out, at pace, to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. At the time of writing over four million vaccinations have been completed leading the way, more then the rest of the European Union put together.

 

Furthermore, we thank the government and the NHS for mobilising the rapid flow tests last month. This has enabled us to conduct these important tests easily in Enfield to keep our residents safe and we extend our thanks  to the local teams who are running the test sites very efficiently achieving high levels of testing.

 

Motion 11 in the name of Councillor Tolga Aramaz

 

No Return to Austerity Post-Pandemic

 

Enfield Council recognises that the COVID-19 Pandemic has disrupted the economy significantly.  Lockdown measures have meant that the UK economy had shrunk over 20% by the end of August 2020 in comparison to the previous three months.

 

This will inevitably mean that certain reforms must be made to the economy in order to avoid exacerbating the economic crisis. 

 

Since 2010, austerity measures were introduced and quantitative easing was used to stimulate the economy unsuccessfully.  By 2016, up to £445 billion was created and given to the financial markets whereby a minuscule 8% of the wealth trickled down to the real economy, toppling the trickle-down economics argument. In June 2020, this figure now stood at a total of £745billion.

 

Realistically, quantitative easing should be used not to aid the financial markets but to aid the real economy by investing into building homes, developing infrastructure and creating jobs.

 

Currently, Enfield Council finds itself at breaking point because of austerity measures introduced by the government.  Since 2010, the council has lost more than 60% of its budget in real terms and cannot suffice anymore. 

 

Therefore, Enfield Council demands that the government does not reintroduce austerity measures post-pandemic and instead embraces the opportunity to change society for the better by investing in the real economy.

 

Motion 12 in the name of Councillor Nesil Caliskan

 

Private Cemeteries

 

Private cemeteries have led to shocking failures and prevent local authorities from enforcing standards.

 

It is a great cause for concern that in cases where private cemeteries are overcrowded, poorly maintained or reusing burial plots, local authorities do not have the powers to conduct their own inspections or investigations.

 

Enfield Council has taken steps locally to write to the Government and make the case for enforcement against privately owned cemeteries that are poorly maintaining burial grounds or illegally reusing burial plots.

 

Full Council notes the growing need for burial space in our borough and that the council has invested in its own cemeteries. As a council we should always do our best to ensure we are providing attractive, peaceful and safe cemeteries where graves can be properly prepared, well maintained and easily accessed by all grave owners and visitors.

 

Enfield Council moves to:

 

  • Call on the Government to intervene immediately and use its powers to more vigorously take action against private cemeteries to require them to meet the same legal requirements as local authority cemeteries which preserve decency and safety (such as the maintenance of graves, grounds and facilities, burial records, documentation regarding burial rights, staff training and complaint handling).

 

  • Reject the privatisation of cemeteries or outsourcing of burial services as they are a barrier to maintaining standards and prevent the local authority from enforcing against bad, or even illegal practices. 

 

  • Calls on the Government to follow recent steps taken in Scotland and ban private cemeteries.

 

  • Continue and seek to expand Enfield Council’s own management of the burial service, which operates at five cemeteries in the borough, which we took back in house to provide a more unified and cost-effective service.

 

Motion 13 in the name of Councillor Alev Cazimoglu

 

Integrated Care Systems

 

The 2012 Health & Social Care Act was a disastrous top down, ideologically driven re-organisation wasting £3bn of tax payers’ money, resulting in a more bureaucratic, fragmented NHS.  A decade of underfunding to the NHS & Social Care has led to increased waiting times and worsening health inequalities.   

 

The Government’s current reorganisation in creating Integrated Care Systems (I.C.S) risks repeating the same mistakes, resulting in a wasted opportunity to improve population health by working in a truly collaborative way with local councils to improve health outcomes.

 

Enfield Council raises four specific areas of concern to Enfield that remain and require further thinking:

 

Governance:ICS proposals need to make local government a partnership of equals in the health, wellbeing and social care system.

 

Management of Finances:A clear commitment on the distribution of finances based on local need rather than historic allocations.

 

Privatisation of Services:A guarantee that the provider collaboratives are exclusively in reference to NHS Providers and not private health care providers.

 

Protection of Local Land and assets for benefit of local communities:Establishment of mechanisms to safeguard decision-making on the sale of existing land and assets.

 

Motion 14 in the name of Councillor Katherine Chibah

 

Enfield Council notes that:

 

  • In the last few years, London has been the only major city in western Europe that hasn’t received direct Government funding to run day to day transport services, since it was cut by the last Government.
  • Before the Covid 19 crisis hit, Transport of London (TFL) had reduced its operating deficit from £1.5bn to £200m and was on track to turn this into a surplus.  It is only because of the pandemic and the sudden loss of £600m a month in fares that TFL had to turn to the Government for help.
  • Against this backdrop, the Conservative Government attempted to attach wholly unacceptable conditions to a new Transport for London (TFL) funding package.
  • The Government wanted to increase fares, remove free travel for the under 18s, extend the congestion charge, cause major hikes in council tax and to force TFL to take these actions as a condition of the proposed funding package.
  • The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set out proposals which show he has managed to limit the increase in council tax to less than half of what his opponents predicted – despite huge pressure from Government Ministers in order to increase the tax in order to fund public transport and policing in London.
  • Sadiq has been left with no choice but to propose this increase to help secure ongoing free travel and concession fares after the Government attached a series of draconian conditions in return for funding during last year’s emergency TfL negotiations.     
  • In doing this the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has rejected the actions of Government Ministers who wanted to impose punitive and damaging conditions on Londoners even though they had done the right thing to tackle Covid-19.
  • By standing up for Londoners against the Tory Government, Sadiq Khan has succeeded in seeing off the worst of the conditions that Ministers wanted to impose on Londoners.
  • The currently thin funding deal from the Government is due to expire in March with the result that ordinary people in Enfield will again face the threat of increased fares.

 

Enfield Council believes that:

 

  • The Government’s plans would have hit Enfield’s poorest residents the hardest, whilst at the same time stifling any economic recovery.  The plans would have created more car dependence, causing more congestion, pollution and environmental harm.  

 

Fares income fell by 90 percent over the first lock down because Londoners, including the residents of Enfield, did the right thing and stayed at home.

 

The Government’s plans would have unfairly punished Enfield residents, who did not cause the Covid crisis but would have been penalised for it.

 

Enfield Council will:

 

  • Work with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to do everything possible to protect Enfield residents against political attacks on the public transport system, especially when the current deal ends. 

 

  • Use all means at its disposal to challenge future unfair proposals for fare rises that will hit the oldest, the youngest, the poorest and most vulnerable.

 

  • Enfield Council should lobby the government for the public funding that TFL needs and deserves. 

Minutes:

Councillor Laban moved and Councillor Dey seconded the following motion: 

 

“In the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, this council reaffirms its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism:

 “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

 

Enfield Council pledges to continue to work towards combating antisemitism.”

 

Cllr Caliskan reaffirmed that previously Full Council has agreed to endorse the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

 

Following the debate on this motion, it was approved unanimously. 

 

Motions 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 and 14 lapsed under the guillotine arrangements.