COUNCIL

Wednesday 25 January 2017 at 7.00 pm

MINUTES

The Worshipful the Mayor in the Chair

COUNCILLORS PRESENT:

Councillors Councillor Danial Adilypour, Councillor Michelle Agdomar, Councillor David Amos, Councillor Donatus Anyanwu, Councillor Mary Atkins, Councillor Matthew Bennett, Councillor Alex Bigham, Councillor Jennifer Brathwaite, Councillor Linda Bray, Councillor Tim Briggs, Deputy Mayor Marcia Cameron, Councillor Rezina Chowdhury, Councillor Malcolm Clark, Councillor , Councillor Fred Cowell, Councillor Kevin Craig, Councillor Edward Davie, Councillor Jim Dickson, Councillor Max Deckers Dowber, Councillor Jacqui Dyer, Councillor Jane Edbrooke, Councillor Paul Gadsby, Councillor Adrian Garden, Councillor Robert Hill, Councillor Jack Holborn, Councillor Claire Holland, Councillor Jack Hopkins, Mayor Saleha Jaffer, Councillor John Kazantzis, Councillor Ben Kind, Councillor Jackie Meldrum, Councillor Diana Morris, Councillor Jennie Mosley, Councillor Louise Nathanson, Councillor Matt Parr, Councillor Lib Peck, Councillor Jane Pickard, Councillor Guilherme Rosa, Councillor Neil Sabharwal, Councillor Mohammed Seedat, Councillor Iain Simpson, Councillor Joanne Simpson, Councillor Martin Tiedemann, Councillor Amélie Treppass, Councillor Christiana Valcarcel, Councillor Imogen Walker, Councillor Christopher Wellbelove, Councillor Clair Wilcox, Councillor Andrew Wilson and Councillor Sonia Winifred

APOLOGIES: Councillor Scott Ainslie, Councillor Adedamola Aminu, Councillor Liz Atkins, Councillor Anna Birley, Councillor Florence Eshalomi, Councillor Annie Gallop, Councillor Bernard Gentry, Councillor Nigel Haselden, Councillor Rachel Heywood, Councillor Vaila McClure, Councillor Paul McGlone and Councillor Sally Prentice

ABSENT:

1. DECLARATION OF PECUNIARY INTERESTS There were none. 2. MINUTES The Chair noted that during the meeting on 19th October 2016, a comment had been made by Councillor Matthew Bennett suggesting that Councillor Tim Briggs was not a qualified solicitor. It had subsequently been established that this was incorrect and Councillor Bennett had therefore apologised for the error. The apology, sent to Councillor Briggs through the Council’s Monitoring Officer, is appended to these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 19th October 2016 be approved as a correct record of the proceedings.

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chair informed Council of the death of former councillor Amrita Parker who had served as a Conservative councillor for Clapham Park Ward between the years of 1990-1994. Council then observed a one minute silence as a mark of respect.

The Chair noted the apologies received in advance of the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Schools, Councillor Jane Edbrooke, gave a short announcement about the Corporate Parenting Pledge. She explained that acting as corporate parents to ’s looked after children was one of the most important responsibilities bestowed on local councillors received when they took office. Accordingly, Members were advised of the variety of ways they could get involved and asked to play an active role in delivering the best outcomes for looked after children in Lambeth. 4. PETITIONS, PNQS AND DEPUTATIONS a) Petitions

A petition with 200 signatures was received from Councillor Rezina Chowdhury, requesting that action be taken to calm traffic on Streatham High Road and adjacent residential roads.

A petition with over 255 signatures was received from Councillor Jane Edbrooke, campaigning to save the Park Estate Community Centre from demolition planned by Hyde Housing Association.

A petition with 381 signatures was received from Councillor Alex Bigham, requesting that the Council deploy immediate and effective traffic calming measures on Albert Square, Aldebert Terrace, Dorset Road, Claylands Road, Meadow Road, Trigon Road and in particular to apply a ban on HGV through traffic. The same deterrent measures should apply to all streets within the boundary of South Lambeth Road, Clapham Road and Harleyford Road.

A petition with 2116 signatures was also received from Councillor Alex Bigham, campaigning to stop Hyde Housing Association from leasing the Stockwell Community Centre to another group without guaranteeing that the centre would remain open and continue to provide the same services to local residents.

b) Public Notice Questions

There were none.

c) Deputations

ii On behalf of tenants and leaseholders of Hyde Southbank Homes (HSH), Ms Marilyn Evers presented a deputation relating to the Stockwell and Kennington Community Centres.

Ms Evers explained that Hyde Housing Association was proposing to demolish the Community Centre on Kennington Park Estate and privately lease the Stockwell Centre to another organisation. However, to do this would be contrary to the promises laid out in the transfer agreements previously settled by the Council and HSH. These transfer agreements formed a legally binding commitment which both parties had a duty to honour.

Before deciding about the transfer in ownership of their homes, residents had thoroughly considered these promises and been assured of ongoing legal protection. Ms Evers therefore urged the Council to take appropriate action to enforce the transfer agreements and prevent Hyde Housing Association from implementing the proposed plans.

The published annual accounts for HSH indicated that there was enough income to maintain and manage the Community Centres. The Hyde Group should not be allowed to divert HSH rent payments to pay for market sale housing and simultaneously claim it could not afford to maintain the community centres. It was noted that the transfer agreements also prevented any surplus HSH income from being diverted to any other part of the Hyde Group.

The Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Matthew Bennett, thanked those in attendance and congratulated residents on their high profile campaign which had been well supported by ward councillors. Councillor Bennett had spoken with Councillor Bigham on the issue already but announced that a further meeting would be held with councillors, officers and the Legal team to establish how the Council could best support HSH residents. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Lib Peck, would also meet with a Senior Director of Hyde Housing Association in due course.

The Mayor confirmed that a full written response would be sent within 10 days. 5. CABINET STATEMENT The Leader of the Council, Councillor Lib Peck, made a statement to the Council. She began by congratulating Councillor Jacqui Dyer on receiving a MBE for services to mental health in the New Year Honours list.

Councillor Peck had earlier met with Marcus Jones MP, Minister for Communities and Local Government, and had challenged him directly on the financial settlement for local government. Local government was at breaking point and unprecedented funding cuts had made the situation unstainable. Lambeth now faced a 26% cut over the next three years, in addition to the 56% cut already made since 2010.

The cuts were having a severe impact on adult social care services and the extra 1% that councils had been allowed to charge in tax was inadequate. An immediate and significant injection of funding from central Government was required to reverse the trend.

When raising these issues with Marcus Jones MP, Councillor Peck had been speaking in her capacity as Chair of London Councils and had received cross-party support from other London Administrations. This was at odds with the local Conservative Party who remained silent on the effect of the funding cuts and failed to recognise that forthcoming changes to business rates as a threat to local businesses. Furthermore, the Opposition had not acknowledged the effect that Southern Rail were having on the lives of residents. iii

Councillor Peck commented on the attendance of Opposition Members and stated that Lambeth Labour would continue to stand up for residents at a local and regional level. 6. OPPOSITION STATEMENT The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Tim Briggs, gave the following statement to Council:

“We were told yesterday that the Opposition Group now did not want to read out an apology from Councillor Bennett at this meeting, but instead have the Mayor basically say ‘We have emailed an apology and it will be printed in the minutes’.

We said that Councillor Bennett should make an apology in full council as the allegation was made in full council, or someone on his behalf - if he wasn’t quite up to it himself.

If the Labour Group did not want Councillor Bennett to make an apology, then that was their decision.

After all, the begrudging apology Councillor Bennett posted on Twitter at 10:30pm on a Sunday evening looked like it had been extracted from him by force. And despite me refuting the allegations at the last meeting, Councillor Bennett chose not to make an apology at the time.

We are now in a position where no apology has been made either in person or in this chamber.

When I was challenged in the council chamber by Councillor Simpson to make an apology over getting my figures wrong for the extra £100m given to Lambeth by Conservative central government to put in new kitchens and bathrooms in council homes, I apologised, in the council chamber, because it was the right thing to do; but also because I hoped that people would think better of me for apologising than if I had kept quiet, or made a half-apology.

But this Labour administration thinks that it can always cover up its failures, either in part or completely, or spin the blame onto someone else.

How can anyone trust an administration that won’t admit that it has made a mistake?

What hope for people having their homes demolished?

What hope for people whose libraries are being closed or turned into gyms?

Also what weakness from the Labour leadership, what poor decision-making, to not require a proper apology to be made, but instead allow this whole matter to drag on.

Then again, we don’t really know who is in charge of policy, the Labour Cabinet or the Policy and Communications department; spin doctors don’t like apologies, they prefer to put out ‘alternative facts’.

But I tell you now, in the face of all this nonsense, this small Opposition will scrutinise what the Labour council is actually doing, and hold it to account.

We will suggest improvements on the structure and purpose of resident engagement committees because it is in the interests of tenants and leaseholders for us to do so.

iv And next month we will put forward alternative budget proposals for the council to cut the cycle of waste and mismanagement under Labour that has now made Lambeth the 29th poorest borough in the country”. 7. QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS The following supplementary questions were heard by the Council:

3. Councillor Marsha de Cordova to Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Councillor Jackie Meldrum

Supplementary question:

Councillor de Cordova said the Government had failed to tackle the adult social care crisis and asked the Cabinet Member to expand on the problems faced by local services in Lambeth.

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Meldrum said that the NHS and social care should be understood as a single sector and that it was no longer possible for local services to deliver more with less. The Council did not have the resources to fund services tackling loneliness and the voluntary sector had a key role to play here. It was difficult to recruit social care professionals in London, which often meant employing high numbers of expensive agency staff. Lambeth Council was working to transform social care services but effective change would take time. The Government however continued to ignore the impending public health crisis.

4. Councillor Luke Murphy to the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Tim Briggs

Supplementary question:

Councillor Murphy asked the Leader of the Opposition whether he supported the Transport Secretary’s decision to prevent Transport for London (TfL) from taking over Southern Rail services.

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Tim Briggs said that there was no legal precedent allowing for the transfer of the contract and instead argued that TfL should manage the service under the name of Govia Thameslink.

5. Councillor Michelle Agdomar to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Lib Peck

Supplementary question:

Councillor Agdomar asked the Leader to expand on the implications of the compassionate redress scheme and explain the ongoing role of the Council in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Peck reiterated the seriousness of the issue and noted that the Council would continue to work closely with the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association. The redress scheme was being developed to properly reflect the extent of the abuse and further details would be announced in forthcoming months. The Council had issued

v an apology to all those who were put at risk whilst under Lambeth’s care and would continue to work cooperatively with the IICSA; so far the Council had shared more than 111,000 documents. All parties had a responsibility to act sensitively on this issue and it was positive that the South London Press had apologised for their coverage of previous developments in Lambeth.

7. Councillor Martin Tiedemann to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, Councillor Jennifer Bathwaite

Supplementary question:

Councillor Tiedemann asked what action would be taken to monitor the effectiveness of the New Park Road safety scheme in Hill.

Supplementary answer: Councillor Jennifer Brathwaite commended the New Park Road safety scheme and described it as a model example of what could be achieved through collaborative working with schools, communities and neighbourhoods. Pedestrian safety was now as the heart of the area which had benefitted from colourful road markings and additional trees. The Council would monitor the speed of traffic and expected positive results. Exact details of the monitoring report would be forwarded to Councillor Tiedemann in due course.

9. Councillor Louise Nathanson to the Deputy Leader of the Council (Finance), Councillor Imogen Walker

Supplementary question:

Councillor Nathanson requested further explanation about the breakdown of Council spending on health and social care and asked why the administration had reduced spending on public health by £1.04m more than the reduction in grant from Government?

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Walker said that due to the scale of the Government cuts, it was not possible to single out public health spending for complete protection. The Conservative opposition did not understand the work of the Council, nor the pressure on the organisation and residents. Other Conservative-controlled councils were now voicing their concerns with the Government’s approach. This opposition should do the same.

11. Councillor Tim Briggs to the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Matthew Bennett

Supplementary question:

What were the precedents for opposition Members sitting on boards of special purpose vehicles?

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Bennett said that the Labour administration had invested £500m in improving housing in Lambeth and would build a thousand extra homes at council rent through ‘Homes for Lambeth’. Lambeth Conservatives had a poor record on social housing and whether there was precedence for opposition Members to sit on

vi the board or not, the Leader of the Opposition had nothing to offer.

12. Councillor Ed Davie to the Cabinet Member for Children and Schools, Councillor Jane Edbrooke

Supplementary question:

Councillor Davie stated that the Government was cutting more from the school budgets of the poorest boroughs, including Lambeth. He then asked the opposition Member, Councillor Bernard Gentry, should resign given that he had moved away from Lambeth.

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Edbrooke said it was regrettable that Councillor Gentry had moved away from the borough at a difficult time for residents, with schools experiencing significant funding cuts from central Government. Despite this, Lambeth Council was committed to providing outstanding education provision and was amongst the top 15 education authorities in the country. The Council would continue to work with Lambeth schools to offset the impact of the cuts.

13. Councillor Tim Briggs to the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Matthew Bennett

Councillor Briggs was satisfied with the full written answer provided by the Cabinet Member but said it did not tally with the experience of residents on Myatt’s Field North Estate.

14. Councillor Adrian Garden to the Cabinet Member for Children and Schools, Councillor Jane Edbrooke

Supplementary question:

Councillor Garden expressed his disappointment that the land owners originally involved in the proposed expansion of Sudbourne Primary School had backed out the scheme. However, it was positive that alternative options would be established in the next two months. He then asked what the Council was doing to make the Education Funding Agency (EFA) act more proactively to improve the standard of Orchard Primary School and expand its capacity.

Supplementary answer:

Councillor Edbrooke shared the disappointment at the land owner’s decision to pull out of the proposed development and said that officers regularly raised this issue with their counterparts at the EFA. Ultimately investment in such schemes was dependent on the Government’s will to improve education provision from young people.

Questions 1, 2, 6, 8 and 10 did not receive follow up questions as the original questioners were not in attendance. 8. REPORTS

8.1 COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT SCHEME The Deputy Leader of the Council (Finance), Councillor Imogen Walker, introduced the report and stated that the bespoke Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme assisted 30,000 Lambeth residents with their council tax.

vii Following approval of the report, the CTS scheme would be continued for a fifth consecutive year. It was noted that bailiffs had not been used on any CTS recipients and that tax collection rates had increased year on year.

Due to Government cuts the CTS scheme would now cost the Council and extra £4.8m and work would be undertaken to ensure a sustainable plan was in place for the future. The Council would consult residents on any proposed changes and work to deliver a fair tax support scheme for those most in need.

It was RESOLVED:

i. To adopt an unamended Council Tax Support scheme for 2017/18 subject to annual up-rating and adjustments for inflation, which were already catered for in the existing 2016/17 scheme. ii. To note the intention to review the scheme for 2018/19 in line with the financial resilience strategy and broader financial position of the council.

9. MOTIONS Council debated two motions. Speakers were as follows:

Motion 1: Conservative Motion – Travel fares

Speakers: Councillor Louise Nathanson (proposer) Councillor Andy Wilson Councillor Rezina Choudhary Councillor Jennifer Brathwaite Councillor Louise Nathanson

Voting: Council voted on the original motion on travel fares:

For: 2 Against: 48 Abstention: 0

RESOLVED

That the original motion was NOT carried.

Motion 2: Labour Motion – Business rates campaign

Speakers: Councillor Christopher Wellbelove (proposer) Councillor Tim Briggs Councillor Amelie Trespass Councillor Matt Parr Councillor Jack Hopkins

Voting:

Amendment 1 – Proposed by Councillor Scott Ainslie viii

For: 48 Against: 0 Abstention: 2

Amendment 1 was carried.

Council then voted on the substantive motion on the business rates campaign:

For: 48 Against: 2 Abstention: 0

RESOLVED

The substantive motion was CARRIED.

This Council notes Lambeth’s strong track record of encouraging small businesses in our borough, providing jobs and economic opportunities to residents from all backgrounds.

This Council further notes the appalling likely impact that the Government’s proposed business rate changes will have on hundreds of small businesses, with some facing rises of as much as 43% from 1 April 2017. The average rise is likely to be around 35% for those seriously affected. Although local authorities like Lambeth must collect business rates, the majority of the collected revenue goes to central government with the redistribution mechanism meaning Lambeth will see no extra investment despite the large projected increases for local businesses.

Council further notes that Lambeth’s Business Improvement Districts, as well as hundreds of small businesses and local residents have expressed concern about these unfair rises.

This council therefore resolves to:

 Stand up for small businesses by campaigning against these changes.  Welcome the letter from the Leader of the Council to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government calling for measures to allow businesses to cope with any rates rise.  Further support the proposal that a phasing plan or more appropriate transitional relief be put in place to help those affected, and for ministers to carry out a longer term review of the effectiveness of business rates as a method of taxation.  Urge all residents to sign the Council’s petition supporting our small businesses in their lobbying against these changes.  Council commits to procuring its goods/services from local small businesses wherever possible.

Motion 3: Green Motion - Streatham transport links

Voting:

Amendment 1 – Proposed by Councillor Jennifer Brathwaite

For: 48

ix Against: 2 Abstention: 0

Amendment 1 was carried.

Council then voted on the substantive motion on Streatham transport links:

For: 48 Against: 2 Abstention: 0

RESOLVED

The substantive motion was CARRIED. Council notes that at the first public meeting after the council election to discuss bringing the Crossrail 2 route to Streatham, held on the 2nd July 2014, Streatham residents voted overwhelmingly that the campaign to improve transport links for Streatham should proceed on a cross party basis.

Notes that improving the transport network throughout the borough, with a particular focus on Streatham, has been a key council priority for the last few years.

Notes that the Council has lobbied Government, the Mayor of London and Transport for London repeatedly for the takeover of Southern’s rail franchise by TfL, bringing Crossrail 2 to Streatham, improvements to cycleways in the local area, better pedestrian crossings on the A23 and for a clean bus corridor through Streatham and Brixton.

Council believes that a Crossrail 2 station in Streatham would help tackle congestion and pollution on local roads - including the dangerous A23 – and improve the quality of life for local residents.

Council notes that at the public meeting on 29th June 2016, attended by senior local politicians from different parties and Council officers, it was highlighted how the decision not to bring Crossrail 2 through Streatham was based on outdated evidence. Council notes the resolve of the meeting to ask the Mayor of London and Secretary of State for Transport to do a proper, up-to-date assessment of the transport needs of Streatham.

Council notes that Green member, tabled a Mayor’s question on Wednesday 14th September 2016, asking for all modeling work relating to the assessment of Streatham’s transport needs be made available to Streatham Action’s Transport Group and Lambeth Council, so comparisons could be made with up to date data.

Council notes that the Mayor asked TfL to forward the findings of the analysis. This data has still not been made available. Council further notes that Streatham forms a key part of Lambeth’s draft Long Term Transport Strategy.

Council resolves to:

 Continue to lobby for transport improvements for Streatham  Release to all Streatham Cllrs the evidence which shows what lobbying LB Lambeth has done to make the business case for Crossrail 2 to come through Streatham  Continue to lobby the deputy mayor for transport and the London Mayor to

x make the business case for Crossrail 2 to come though Streatham  Continue to lobby the Department for Transport to make the case for Crossrail 2 to come through Streatham

Motion 4: Labour - Govia Thameslink railways

Voting:

Council voted on the original motion on Govia Thameslink railways:

For: 48 Against: 2 Abstention: 0

RESOLVED

The original motion was CARRIED.

Council notes the motion passed at October’s council meeting about the failures of Govia Thameslink railways and the Southern Rail franchise to provide an adequate service to Lambeth residents, and the further decline in standards that passengers have suffered in recent months. Lambeth's scrutiny committee reviewed the issue in November and found clear failings in how this vital part of the borough's transport infrastructure was performing.

Council further notes the disgraceful comments of the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling MP, in a leaked letter in December 2016 that stated he was not authorising the transfer of the failing franchise to Transport for London (TfL) purely to stop the network “falling into the hands of a Labour Mayor”.

This Council:

 Condemns the Transport Secretary for playing politics with the rail network at a time when thousands of commuters are facing a substandard service characterised by long delays and cancelled trains.  Calls on the government to listen to the recommendations of Lambeth's scrutiny committee and the letter to the Transport Secretary from the Leader of the council and hand the operation of the franchise to TfL immediately so they can begin improving our rail network.

Motion 5: Labour - Adult social care

Voting:

Amendment 1 – Proposed by Councillor Scott Ainslie

For: 0 Against: 50 Abstention: 0

Amendment 1 was NOT carried.

Council then voted on the original motion, as proposed by Councillor Edbrooke:

xi For: 48 Against: 2 Abstention: 0

RESOLVED

The original motion was CARRIED.

This Council notes with disappointment the recent announcements from the Government about the future funding of adult social care and health services in this country. It further notes that, having ignored this issue completely in the Autumn Statement, it then announced an inadequate package in December that will not remedy the growing gap between demand and funding in Lambeth and other parts of the country.

This Council:

 Condemns the £4.6 billion in cuts that the government has made to adult social care funding since 2010 and their failure to address the crisis that resulted from that.  Calls on ministers to hold an urgent review of the adult and social system and to work with local authorities to produce a long term strategy for how these services are properly resourced and delivered.

The Chair congratulated Councillor Jacqui Dyer on receiving a MBE for services

The meeting closed.

The meeting ended at 8.40 pm MAYOR Wednesday 22 February 2017

Date of Despatch: Thursday 2 February 2017 Contact for Enquiries: Wayne Chandai Tel: 020 7926 0029 Fax: (020) 7926 2361 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.lambeth.gov.uk

xii Page 1 Minute Item 2

Apology from Councillor Matthew Bennett Dear Alison,

Further to the email sent to Cllr Nathanson in December I am writing to you regarding my response to Cllr Briggs’ question at full council in November.

I am very happy to note that Cllr Briggs is a solicitor and sincerely apologise for any offence caused at the most recent council meeting.

I put forward the points about his qualifications in good faith as when I made the comment he was not listed on the Law Society’s roll of over 157,000 solicitors. I did not realise when making my comment that the information could not be categorically relied upon otherwise I would have immediately retracted my comment when Councillor Briggs responded at the Council meeting.

Best wishes,

Matthew This page is intentionally left blank