Council Agenda
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Council Agenda City of Westminster Title: Council Meeting Meeting Date: Wednesday 2 May 2007 Time: 7.00pm Westminster Council House Venue: 97-113 Marylebone Road, London NW1 Members: All Councillors are hereby summoned to attend the Meeting for the transaction of the business set out below. Admission to the public gallery is by ticket, issued from the ground floor reception at Council House from 6.30pm. Please telephone if you are attending the meeting in a wheelchair or have difficulty walking up steps. There is wheelchair access by a side entrance. An Induction loop operates to enhance sound for anyone wearing a hearing aid or using a T transmitter. If you require any further information, please contact Nigel Tonkin. Tel: 020 7641 2756 Fax: 020 7641 8077 Minicom: 020 7641 5912 Email: [email protected] Corporate Website: www.westminster.gov.uk 2 1. Appointment of Relief Chairman To appoint a relief Chairman. 2. Minutes To sign the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 21 March 2007. 3. Notice of Vacancy To note that Councillor Michael Vearncombe, Member for Marylebone High Street ward, resigned from the Council on Tuesday 27 March 2007. A by- election to fill the vacancy is being held on Thursday 3 May 2007. 4. Lord Mayor's Communications (a) The Lord Mayor to report that, at the invitation of Her Majesty, he attended and greeted the President of the Republic of Ghana and Mrs Kufour at their formal arrival in the UK at the start of their State Visit to this country. (b) The Lord Mayor to report that, alongside the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, he led the Walk of Witness march – starting from Whitehall Place, Westminster – to mark the 200 th anniversary of the abolition of the Slave Trade. (c) The Lord Mayor to report that, on behalf of the Council and Citizens of the City of Westminster, he sent loyal greetings to Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of her birthday on 21 April. 5. Vote of Thanks To the retiring Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Councillor Alexander Nicoll and Mrs Grania Nicoll. 6. Declarations of Interests (if any) To receive declarations of interests from Members and Officers of the Council. Council Agenda 2 May 2007 3 7. Public Interest Report of the District Auditor - Objection to the City Council’s Accounts for 2003/04 re: Settlement with Dame Shirley Porter and others To consider the report of the Director of Legal and Administrative Pages Services and the appended Public Interest Report. 5 - 22 8. Petitions and Deputations (if any) 9 Questions (Standing Order 9 limits the questions to matters relevant to the general work or procedure of the Council). 10. Councillor Issues (a) Councillor David Boothroyd – Council leaseholders (b) Councillor Gwyneth Hampson – Lets Skip the Rest – dealing with waste 11. Statements on Urgent Matters Pursuant to Standing Order 4(3) (if any) (Standing Order 4(3) provides that with the approval of the Chairman of the Meeting, the Leader of the Council may make a statement on an urgent matter and the Leader of the Opposition will have an equivalent right to reply). 12. Cabinet Reports To receive and consider the following Cabinet reports:- (A) Cabinet Reports Pages Date 16 April 23 - 26 (B) Cabinet Committee Reports Date 11 April (Building Schools for the Future) 27 Council Agenda 2 May 2007 4 (C) Individual Cabinet Member Decisions Period 8 March 2007 to 19 April 2007 28 - 39 13. Committee Reports To receive and consider the following Committee reports: Committee Date Pages Resources and Corporate Services 26 March 40 - 41 Health and Community Services 2 April 42 - 44 Built Environment 3 April 45 - 48 Children and Young People 4 April 49 Westminster Scrutiny Commission 17 April 50 - 51 * General Purposes 20 April 52 Audit and Performance 24 April To Follow *There is a recommendation for decision in the above report. 14. Notice of Motion – Street Markets To be proposed by Councillor Audrey Lewis and seconded by Councillor Steve Summers: “This Council recognises the important contribution that street markets make in providing consumer choice and building community life and character in their neighbourhoods and welcomes the recognition that street markets are receiving through schemes such as Westminster's Market Trader of the Year competition. To strengthen our existing street markets this Council agrees that the people who shop in and live near street markets and the traders who work there should be given a larger say in how they are managed." Westminster City Hall Victoria Street London SW1 20 April 2007 Director of Legal and Administrative Services Council Agenda 2 May 2007 5 Date: 2 nd May 2007 Subject: Public Interest Report of the District Auditor (Objection to the City CITY OF WESTMINSTER Council’s Accounts for 2003/04 re. Settlement with Dame Shirley Porter and Others) Executive Summary and Recommendations Summary The District Auditor issued a Public Interest Report on 15 th March 2007 concerning his rejection of certain objections to the City Council’s accounts for the year 2003/4. The City Council is now required to consider the report and decide what action (if any) to take in response. A notice containing a summary of what has been decided (which must have been approved by the Auditor) has to be published in a newspaper circulating in the area of the City Council. The subject matter of the report concerns objections to the City Council’s accounts for 2003/4 by the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Dimoldenberg, and others, following the settlement of £12.3m agreed with Dame Shirley Porter and others in April 2004 in respect of sums she had been ordered to pay the City Council by way of “surcharge”, interest and costs in relation to the so called “Homes for Votes” affair. The total sum due at the time of the settlement was in the order of £44m and the objection was made on the basis that the City Council failed to recover the full amount due. On every major issue considered by the District Auditor, the arguments of the objectors have been rejected and the position maintained by the City Council throughout, upheld. A copy of the Public Interest Report is attached as Appendix 1. Recommendations: 1. That the District Auditor’s Public Interest report of 15 th March 2007 be noted and no further action be taken in respect thereof, save for the publication of the statement referred to in paragraph 2.2 below 2. That the statement set out in Appendix 2 be approved. Council Agenda 2 May 2007 6 Council Meeting City of Westminster Item No: nd Date: 2 May 2007 Classification: For General Release Title of Report: Public Interest Report of the District Auditor (Objection to the City Council’s Accounts for 2003/04 re. Settlement with Dame Shirley Porter and Others) Report of: Director of Legal and Administrative Services Wards involved: All Policy context: Low Council Tax Financial summary: The total costs of responding to the Objection and in respect of the District Auditors fees are estimated at £427,000 which will be apportioned between the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account. Report Author: Colin Wilson Contact details 020 7641 2710 Email: [email protected] Council Agenda 2 May 2007 7 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 The criticisms levelled at the Council by the objectors can be summarised as follows: • The Council took too long to pursue the debt and this gave Dame Shirley Porter the time she needed to remove her assets from the jurisdiction of the British courts; • The Council lacked the will to pursue the debt and therefore did not make sufficient efforts; and • The approach taken by the Council in the final mediation process was flawed and in consequence the amount accepted in settlement was inadequate. 1.2 The key findings of the report are: • That the Council acted reasonably in the recovery action that it took. • That a reasonable settlement was agreed in the circumstances. • That whilst recognising that the objectors strongly believe the Council has been deficient in its pursuit of Dame Shirley Porter since the surcharge was imposed, this belief is “misguided and simply wrong”. • That it is now time to bring this matter to a close and move on from the past. 1.3 On every major issue considered by the Auditor, the arguments of the objectors have been rejected and the position maintained by the City Council throughout, upheld. It is not considered necessary or appropriate to further summarise the Public Interest Report as it is, as required by the Audit Commission Act, attached in full as Appendix 1. 2.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 2.1 Under Section 11 of the Audit Commission Act 1998, as amended, the full Council must consider the Public Interest Report, in public, within one month or such extended period as may be allowed by the District Auditor. An extension of time has been agreed to allow the report to be considered at this scheduled meeting. 2.2 At the meeting, the Council must decide – (a) whether the report requires the Council to take any action or whether any recommendation is to be accepted; and (b) what, if any, action to take in response to the report or recommendations. Council Agenda 2 May 2007 8 In this case, no specific recommendation is made, although the District Auditor stresses that it is now time to bring the matter to a close and move on from the past. 2.3 As soon as practicable after the meeting, the City Council must notify the District Auditor of its decision, and publish a notice containing a summary thereof in a local newspaper.