Agenda item

Motions

15.1  Motion in the name of Councillor Chris Joannides

 

This Council notes that loneliness and isolation are a public health issue that must be tackled at a local, as well as national level. It is estimated one in ten people of pensionable age living in the London borough of Enfield are likely to be classed as lonely or severely lonely.

 

This Council believes: 

 

1.     Loneliness increases the risk of people falling into depression and suicide. 

2.     Loneliness increases the risk of heart disease and puts people at greater risk of blood clots and heart attacks.

3.     Being chronically lonely is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 

4.     Loneliness makes people more likely to drink more alcohol, eat more and exercise less. 

5.     Raising awareness of the health impact of loneliness is important because it affects older people's mortality and morbidity. 

6.     Councillors and the local authority as a whole can play a key leadership role in ensuring Enfield is an area in which people maintain and forge social connections. 

7.     Enfield Council's Health, Adult Social Services and Children's services scrutiny panels must play a central role in mapping local services and supporting local interventions to help reduce social isolation and loneliness. 

 

Enfield Council will work at three levels to address loneliness: 

 

One to one: 

 

1.     Improve information and advice on existing services and activities that reduce loneliness and isolation. Make sure this information is available both off and online. 

2.     Launch a local campaign to raise awareness of the health effects of loneliness and isolation amongst target risk groups. 

 

Neighbourhood: 

 

3.    Involve older people, including those experiencing or at risk of loneliness in mapping local services and co-producing solutions.? 

4.    Support the voluntary and community sector to build referral partnerships with frontline healthcare staff, fire services and social workers. 

 

Strategic: 

 

5.?To take active interest and role in ensuring the public health problem of social isolation in Enfield is recognised and assessed. 

6.?To regularly measure loneliness and mapping need through Joint Needs Assessment and lifestyle surveys. Use this to monitor impact of interventions. 

7.    To ensure addressing loneliness and isolation is part of any "ageing well "or "mental health" or other relevant priority in Health Scrutiny Panel. 

8.    To protect subsidies for public transport for over-60's and improve accessibility to public and community support. 

9.    To protect the borough's open spaces and Green Belt being encroached by development and allow the general public to enjoy the health benefits it brings. 

10.  Agree a plan, in conjunction with the Health Scrutiny, Adult Social Services and children services to take action to prevent and reduce loneliness.

 

15.2  Motion in the name of Councillor Maria Alexandrou

 

All blue badge holders to be exempt from all LTNs in Enfield.

 

When other boroughs are ensuring all blue badge holders are allowed to travel in and out of the implemented LTNs, it is only right that Enfield Council considers this policy.

 

In the name of equality and fairness, as blue badge holders are impacted more severely by these schemes, they should have access without the fear of penalty notices.

 

I urge the council to have meaningful engagement with disability groups. This will help the council better understand the difficulties in travelling, such as using public transport and the dependency on cars for hospital appointments.

 

With over 11,700 blue badge holders in Enfield, the LTNs are creating hardships that didn't exist before the implementation of Enfield’s LTNs.

 

I urge the council to review the impact on those with mobility issues and support them by giving exemptions to all blue badge holders in Enfield.

 

15.3  Motion in the name of Councillor Maria Alexandrou

 

International Men’s Day started in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago by Jerome Tuluk Singh to commemorate his father’s birthday.

 

Today it is a global awareness campaign and a great opportunity to appreciate and celebrate the positive values MEN bring to the world.

 

This year’s theme is Zero Male Suicide. Suicide is the biggest killer of MEN under the age of 50. I urge the council to focus support on MEN’s mental well-being.

 

15.4  Motion in the name of Councillor Chris Dey

 

Enfield Council notes:

 

·           The obligations it owes to the Armed Forces community within the London Borough of Enfield as enshrined in the Armed Forces Covenant; that the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage in the provision of services and that special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most.

·           Enfield Council along with all other local authorities in Great Britain, has proudly signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

·           That in the course of their service in His Majesty’s Armed Forces, some members of the Armed Forces Community, by virtue of the often dangerous and risky nature of their work, or environments in which they are required to operate, become wounded, injured or sick in such a way that affects their life in a permanent or significant way.

·           That a number of military compensation schemes exist to recognise and compensate Service Personnel and sometimes their families, for the hardship, inconvenience or ongoing impact conditions such as PTSD, limb loss, hearing loss etc.

·           Military compensation can be awarded through the War Pension Scheme (WPS), Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) or through a veteran’s occupational Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS), known as Service Invaliding Pensions (SIPs) or Service Attributable Pensions (SAPs). Compensation awards under these schemes may also include supplementary payments. This compensation often interacts with benefits issued through Local Authorities and may impact a veteran’s entitlement to such benefits.

·           That whilst some benefits such as Universal Credit rightly disregard military compensation as income, others administered by or subject to the discretion of Local Authorities, do not always do so, meaning that some veterans must give up their compensation in order to access essential financial support.

·           A 2022 Freedom of Information request by the Royal British Legion showed that only one in five (20%) of Local Authorities in Great Britain rightly disregarded all military compensation when assessing local benefits claims for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, Discretionary Housing Payments and Disabled Facilities Grants.

 

In light of the above, this council resolves:  

 

·           That no member of the Armed Forces Community should be forced to give up their military compensation to access the same welfare support as their civilian counterparts.

·           That all compensation paid under any of the relevant military compensation schemes should be treated as such and not regarded as income when the Local Authority assesses applications for benefits over which they exercise discretion: Council Tax Support scheme, Housing Benefit, Discretionary Housing Payments and Disabled Facilities Grants. Rather it should be treated as intended, as a compensatory payment made in recognition of the often significant and life changing service or sacrifice an individual has made in the course of their service in our nation’s Armed Forces.

·           To support the Royal British Legion’s call for all forms of military compensation to be disregarded as income in the assessment and administration of locally administered benefits over which this council exercises discretion.

·           To ask the cabinet member for finance to amend local policies to reflect such a position.

·         For the Cabinet Member for Finance to update members on this work, reporting back to an appropriate future meeting of this Council.

 

15.5  Motion in the name of Councillor Michael Rye

 

Enfield Council does not support the decision by the new Labour government to cut most pensioners winter fuel allowance. This will lead to more pensioners claiming benefits, falling into fuel poverty and some will choose between heating and eating to the detriment of their health adding to the strains on the National Health Service. Enfield Council resolves to request the Leader of the Council to write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer asking them to reverse this damaging decision.

 

15.6  Motion in the name of Councillor Joanne Laban

 

Enfield Council notes the Labour Government’s recent decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Payment to only pensioners in receipt of means-tested benefits like Pension Credit, as announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

 

The Winter Fuel Payment has been a lifeline for many older people across the UK and that restricting its availability solely to those on Pension Credit risks leaving many pensioners in financial hardship.

 

While some pensioners currently in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment may not require it, many thousands across Enfield sit just above the cut-off for Pension Credit and will now lose their allowance.

 

The decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, especially with such short notice and without adequate compensatory measures, is deeply unfair and will disproportionately affect the health and well-being of our most vulnerable older residents.

 

The government’s approach fails to consider the administrative barriers and stigma that prevent eligible pensioners from claiming Pension Credit, leaving many without the support they desperately need.

 

This chamber resolves to:

 

           Bring forward an Enfield Council-led local publicity campaign to increase awareness of the Pension Credit which in some respects will help access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need.

           Request that the Leader of Enfield Council write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.

           Encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through council services and partnerships with local charities and community organisations to ensure that all eligible pensioners in Enfield Council are supported in claiming their entitlement.

 

15.7  Motion in the name of Councillor Lee Chamberlain

 

This Council recognises the benefit provided by Woodcroft Wildspace including the space it provides for the Little Sparks play and bereavement charity. It recognises the huge investment in time and effort put into the space by the volunteers, providing the borough with a unique wildspace.  It furthermore directs council officers to support and ensure the continued future of the space in its current form and undertakes to honour the commitments made to the space by numerous councillors from both main parties.

 

15.8  Motion in the name of Councillor Lee Chamberlain

 

This Council notes the continued failure to restore the Grovelands Park Cafe and toilets since the roof was damaged eight months ago and instructs officers to see that the building is restored without further delay. 

 

15.9  Motion in the name of Councillor Lee Chamberlain

 

This council recognises the crucial role our local libraries provide across the borough and recognises that to remove that service would be a dereliction of duty. It notes that the current proposed cuts will disproportionately impact on the young, old and vulnerable who exist in all of our wards. Having been rated as the 10th most indebted council in the country, paying multiples in interest of the entire cost of the library service, the council resolves to ask the Administration to retain all of our libraries and look again at its finances; with the priority being to reduce its crippling interest payments, while protecting frontline services. 

15.10 Motion in the name of CouncillorBektas Ozer

Enfield Council welcomes the decision by the Government to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) through the winter.

Enfield residents have been severely impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, leading to record numbers of people seeking support from the Council.  The previous Government’s announcement to cut the HSF would have left the most vulnerable families in our borough without the vital support that had been provided through the fund.

Last year, Enfield Council received £5.6m through the HSF, which funded essential services such as holiday activities, school food bank supplies, school uniforms, and direct financial assistance of £500 to 4,000 low-income families in Enfield.

14 years of Conservative failure on the economy has left more families in poverty than when Labour were last in Government. We are pleased to see that this Labour Government is taking immediate action to prevent a cliff edge of support for the most vulnerable.

This extension will allow Enfield Council to maintain its support for local families and continue to work with local voluntary and charitable organisations to provide much-needed assistance during these challenging times.

Enfield Council supports the continued extension of the HSF and resolves to write to the Chancellor, expressing our gratitude for this decision and urging the Government to consider further enhancements to the fund to ensure comprehensive support for all residents in need.

15.11 Motion in the name of Councillor Bektas Ozer

Council notes that:

1.    There is great concern at reports that Thames Water continues to discharge raw sewage into Enfield’s waterways and rivers. 

 

2.    Sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas by water companies   more than doubled in 2023. The Environment Agency reports that there were 3.6 million hours of spills in 2023, compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022. 

3. This practice negatively impacts the quality of our natural water sources, with some charities alleging that storm overflows are being misused and under-reported.

4. Environment Agency data indicates that storm overflows were used 15 times within Enfield's local authority boundaries in 2022 alone, discharging for a total of approximately 121 hours.

5. Enfield Council shares The Rivers Trust’s concerns that storm overflows are being used during hot periods—a significant risk as England faces increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves.

6. Discharging untreated sewage in dry weather is harmful to both human health and river ecosystems.

7. The regulator Ofwat has been too weak in allowing Thames Water to continue to contaminate our waterways and the Government must empower them to hold the company to account.

Council believes that:

1.    The rules on sewage discharges must be tightened, and enforcement must be improved in collaboration with the Environment Agency.

2.    The Government must continue to put pressure on water companies to establish further legal requirements and regulations to monitor all sewage outlets, impose fines on companies that fail to comply, and set a legally binding target to reduce dumping events.

3.    Given the recent commitments by the new government, including the Prime Minister’s emphasis on personal responsibility at water companies, Enfield Council calls on the Government to enforce these responsibilities rigorously. The Prime Minister has highlighted the need for water companies to prioritise environmental stewardship, and this council urges the government to continue its commitment to holding water companies accountable.

Council therefore resolves to:

·         Write to the relevant Government Ministers, requesting immediate action to lower the risks of untreated sewage discharges into our rivers.

·         Call on the Government to ensure that Thames Water are not permitted to pass on their debts to customers through higher bills whilst shareholders receive millions in bonuses.

Minutes:

In accordance with the guillotine arrangements in the Council Procedure Rules all Motions LAPSED and were not debated.