Minutes for Council meeting, Mar 4 2009, 7.00PM official page

Apologies for absence are listed above.

The Speaker welcomed Cllr Louisa Thomson as the newly elected councillor for Stoke Newington Central ward, and advised members that Cllr Thomson was unable to attend this meeting due to ill-health. The Speaker also welcomed Gifty Edila, the new Corporate Director for Legal and Democratic Services, to her first Council meeting. Members of the Council then joined the Speaker in paying tribute to the hard work and commitment of Fiona Fletcher-Smith, Corporate Director for Neighbourhoods and Resources, who was leaving Hackney for a position in the Greater London Authority

The Speaker advised Council that on 31^st January he had celebrated the Vietnamese New Year, seeing in the Year of the Ox at the VLC Centre in Whiston Road.

On 5^th February the Speaker had taken part in a parenting session at the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities projects which was one of this year’s Speaker’s charities.  On 7^th February he had celebrated the Chinese New Year at the Chinese Community Centre.  On 9^th February he had held a reception for the Kurdish Mayor of Viransehir in Turkey.

The Speaker had visited Lauriston School on 11^th February where he had spoken with the school council about how democracy and voting work. He had also visited Jubilee School which he said was very keen on Fairtrade. 

The Speaker’s Quiz had taken place on 12^th February and £582 had been raised for the Speaker’s charities. All those who had taken part were thanked, and the Speaker paid particular tribute to the Speaker’s Officer and the Member Support team.

The Speaker advised that his charities had received a further boost on 20^th February when he had received a cheque from the local committee of the Campaign for Real Ale raised from a collection at the Pig’s Ear festival at the Ocean in December.

On 21^st February the Speaker had handed over a shield to the Hackney Rugby Football Team which had won the local league.

On 24^th February the Speaker had met with Henry Ellingham, the oldest man in Europe who is 112 years old and had been born in Clapton.  Mr Ellingham was visiting the Town Hall as part of his visit to Hackney. The Speaker thanked Cllr Desmond for arranging the visit.

On 25th February the Speaker had held a reception to thank the members of the Women Land Army and Timber Corps still living in Hackney for their invaluable support to the country in the Second World War. They had told him about when they went into the countryside to chop down trees, make planks and railway sleepers, and milk cows on farms.

On February 26^th, the Speaker had opened the premiere of the film ‘A Charmed Life’ about a Hackney resident called Eddie Noble which was shown in Hackney Museum. The film was made by Ros Gihan Williams, Mike Stride and Cllr Vernon. The Speaker thanked Nicola Baboneau of the Learning Trust for the valuable work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

This is the time for Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations they may have in any matter being considered at this meeting having regard to the guidance attached to the agenda.

Under Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, any Member who is in arrears of two months or more Council Tax must declare this and abstain from voting on the budget (item 9).

Cllr Borris declared a personal interest in the budget report as she was a trustee of Abney Cemetery.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the ordinary meeting on 28^th January 2009 be approved as a correct record.

Petition regarding swimming facilities in the borough in relation to Orthodox Jewish children. The petition will be introduced by Cllr Joseph Stauber.

Cllr Stauber, a member of the Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission, presented a petition to the Speaker about swimming facilities available to Orthodox Jewish children in the borough.  He referred to the growing problem of childhood obesity and the associated health risks, and urged the Council to keep Clissold Pool open later on Sundays.

The Speaker stated that in accordance with the provisions of the Council’s Constitution, there would be no debate about the petition at this meeting. However this would be the subject of a report from the relevant Cabinet member at the next ordinary Council meeting.    

6.1 From Mr Loughran to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games:

‘Can the Council confirm or deny that Hackney’s East Marsh “will not be concreted over but will have a temporary surface that will be removed after the Games when East Marsh returns as playing fields” as was promised on their website on October 10^th 2008?’

6.2 From Mr Sills to the Mayor:

‘Would you accept that many of the pavements in the side streets of Hackney were in a dangerous state from Monday 2^nd February to Thursday 5^th February because of the Council’s apparent failure to take any effective action to deal with the snow storm in Hackney?’

6.1 From Mr Loughran to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games:

‘Can the Council confirm or deny that Hackney’s East Marsh ‘will not be concreted over but will have a temporary surface that will be removed after the Games when East Marsh returns as playing fields” as was promised on their website on October 10^th 2008?’

Cllr Nicholson responded by confirming that East Marsh would not be concreted over. He said that the Council had an agreement with the London Development Agency which set out this commitment, and the agreement had back-up mechanisms for ensuring the reinstatement was to the required standard. Because of the agreement, the least invasive covering possible would be put on the Marsh while it was used as a coach park, and the responsibility for this lay with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

In response to a supplementary question from Mr Loughlan, Cllr Nicholson stated that the ODA had discussed the types of covering that might be used, and once the specification was agreed, this information would be shared with the Council.

6.2 From Mr Sills to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods:

‘Would you accept that many of the pavements in the side streets of Hackney were in a dangerous state from Monday 2^nd February to Thursday 5^th February because of the Council’s apparent failure to take any effective action to deal with the snow storm in Hackney?’

Cllr Laing said that he did not accept this. He thanked the hundreds of Council staff who had worked very hard across the recent period of adverse weather, saying that many staff had worked over twelve hours to clear snow from key areas.  A number of staff had made their way in during a snow storm with several inches of snow on the roads, despite severe disruption to the transport network.  Unlike a number of other authorities across the country the Council did not run out of grit and was able to continue to grit the main routes throughout the cold spell. 

Cllr Laing thanked the hundreds of Council staff who had worked beyond what was expected of them in order to provide meals on wheels, waste operations, and other vital services; for example, refuse and cleansing staff gave up their weekend at short notice so that residents could receive their collections and have their streets swept. He said that staff had demonstrated a true commitment to public service which had meant that the Council had responded to this period of adverse weather in a planned and prioritised way.

7.1  From Cllr Jonathan McShane to the Cabinet Advisor for Hackney Homes:

‘I’m sure he’ll join me in welcoming Hackney Homes achieving two stars in the recent inspection.  However would he also agree that two stars is not enough, and that residents should expect further improvements still?’

7.2  From Cllr Vincent Stops to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Olympics:

‘How does the Council plan to manage the impacts of population, housing and employment growth, the increasing demand on services and the impact of this growth on our local environment? And how will we ensure that 2010 and its legacy contributes towards this?’

7.3  From Cllr Feryat Demirci to the Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods:

‘During the recent by-election campaign, I couldn’t help noticing that whatever resources the Council puts into cleansing, some residents, visitors and businesses continue to spoil our local environment. Could he tell me what we are doing to enforce against this?’  

7.4  From Cllr Brian Bell to the Mayor:

‘Can he confirm that the Audit Commission’s recent judgements on the Council were encouraging in that they found ‘The Council’s performance demonstrates continued and significant improvement in a range of key lines of enquiry. This is particularly commendable on the back of an ‘improving strongly’ assessment in the previous Direction of Travel Assessment in March 2008.  Whilst the overall score for the Council has remained as a three (performing well), this is a much stronger performance than our previous assessment. In overall terms four individual elements have improved compared with last year and none have reduced’. However would he also agree that there are still some sections which need to substantially improve the services they offer our residents?’ 

7.5  From Cllr Geoff Taylor to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services:

‘At this two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, can the Cabinet Member assure us that public funds are not being used to fund science lessons that give any credence whatever to ‘creationism,’ ‘intelligent design’ or similar ideas? What systems are in place to ensure that this continues to be the case?’

7.6  From Cllr Jessica Webb to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods:

‘What can be done about the layout and condition of the Wick/ Eastway/ Chapman Road junction, both to widen to two lanes the right turn, and to make investigations into reinstating the left turn?’

7.7  From Cllr Clayeon McKenzie to the Cabinet Member for Finance:

‘What can the Council do to help those needing loans or mortgages during the credit crunch? In particular there are a number of leaseholders in my ward who are finding it extremely difficult to meet their obligations towards Decent Homes and other works.’

7.8  From Cllr Linda Kelly to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods:

‘Could he tell us what Hackney and the other London authorities are proposing to provide free travel 24 hours a day for older and disabled residents?’

7.9  From Cllr Louisa Thomson to the Cabinet  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Questions from Members of the Council and their oral and written responses are set out in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.

Mayor Pipe advised members that the Council had received the top score of ‘improving strongly’ and retained its three star rating in the national Corporate Performance Assessment (CPA).  He provided details of some scores, for example, Benefits and Housing had received excellent scores (up from three), and Environment had moved up from a score of two the previous year.  Satisfaction surveys showed an ongoing improvement and there was an increase of almost 12% in resident satisfaction with Hackney the place according to the 2008/09 Place Survey conducted by Ipsos Mori. The Mayor informed members that the Council had been awarded Beacon status for strategic commissioning and for using the opportunity of hosting the 2012 Games to encourage communities to be more active. He also made reference to Hackney Homes having achieved two stars in its recent inspection, which meant that significant government funding would be provided for the completion of Decent Homes works, and he gave his personal thanks to Charlotte Graves, Hackney Homes’ Chief Executive.  Finally, the Mayor said that the Council had been shortlisted for Most Improved Council of the Year and for Partnerships Team of the Year in the Local Government Chronicle awards, the results of which would be known later in the month.

Cllr Coggins responded to the Mayor’s statement, saying he was pleased that the Council had retained its good Corporate Performance Assessment. In response to the petition submitted to the meeting, he asked that the Council investigate whether Clissold Pool could be open for longer, and the Mayor confirmed that this would be looked into.

Cllr Coggins referred to Cllr Alcock’s response to question 7.7, and asked that consideration be given to extending the criteria for those who were eligible for mortgage credit.

In his response to the Mayor’s statement, Cllr Sharer said that the Council had much to be proud of and he congratulated Hackney Homes on having achieved two stars.

Cllr Sharer asked whether leaseholders who lived in properties where Decent Homes works were taking place would be able to fit their own windows if they met Decent Homes specifications.

Cllr Sharer also raised the subject of admission places for children in local schools. The Mayor responded that while a significant number of local children had not secured a place at a school of their choice, 61% of children had got their first-choice place. He explained that as Hackney schools continued to improve, more parents chose to send their children locally, but that new places had been created in secondary schools and Hackney did still have vacant school places. 

Appendix 4(a) of the budget report was tabled and Council was advised of the following:

• That paragraph 9.38 of the report was amended so that the paragraph that started ‘Pension Back-funding reserve’ (page 28 of the Council pack) now read, ‘Pension back-funding Reserve of £2.5m by 31^st March 2008. As mentioned previously at Paragraph 9.20 in this report, this reserve was reviewed in light of Actuarial advice following the 2007 valuation, however further additions are anticipated in the light of possible future increases in the Council’s Pension Fund contributions.’

• That Table 4 (page 129 of the Council pack) was amended so that the ‘description’ column relating to Ocean now read, ‘The funding is required for essential repairs to the building pending a review of the options for the future management of the venue.’

• That Public Conveniences -‘Use of WC (page 138 of the Council pack) should read, ‘This is the existing level of charge and does not represent an increase over 2008/09.’

The Mayor expressed his thanks to officers in Finance who had worked on this year’s budget. This was the fourth year that Council Tax had been frozen, the seventh year that the Council had set a balanced budget without service cuts, and this year efficiency savings of 3% had been achieved.

Mayor Pipe commended the budget to Council. He described some of the service improvements to residents which included improved leisure services including free swimming for people over sixty, and for under eighteen year olds in the school holidays; more street cleaning; the restoration of Clapton Library and a new library and archive in Dalston; more hours of home care for adults; and the opening of a fourth new secondary school in the summer. 

Cllr Coggins thanked officers in Finance for their help and support and introduced his budget amendment which was seconded by Cllr Odze. Cllr Coggins said that although he welcomed the freezing of Council Tax, residents deserved a reduction. He said that rents had increased by 6.2%, service charges had increased by 5%, and that charges to shops and other local businesses were up by 22%. 

Cllr Sharer thanked officers in Finance for their help, and introduced his budget amendment which was seconded by Cllr Borris. Cllr Sharer said the budget had a lot to commend it, although he would like to see additional expenditure including environmental improvements to Hackney town centres and funding to reduce gang-related violence. This would be offset by the cessation of production of Hackney Today and through additional savings achieved through a reduction in expenditure on other publications. 

Cllr Borris thanked Finance officers for their help and introduced her budget amendment which was seconded by Cllr Sharer. She also felt the budget had much to commend it, but said she would abstain on the vote as the budget did not address climate change issues. Her budget amendment included a reduction in c02 emissions, a comprehensive insulation programme, the installation of renewables on Council buildings, a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Mayor formally commended the Corporate Plan to Council.  The Speaker then invited members to adopt the recommendations as set out in the report. The vote was as follows:

For: Many

Against: 5

Abstentions: 1.

Council therefore RESOLVED:

To note the 2009/10 – 2012/13 Corporate Plan and note the progress made over the past year in delivering the Mayor’s priorities as highlighted within the Plan.  

Cllr Krishna introduced this report and commended it to Council.

RESOLVED:

To approve the Learning Trust’s Annual Plan (Continuous Improvement Plan) for 2009/10.

Cllr Chapman introduced this report stating that staff were the Council’s most valuable asset, and he iterated the importance of recruiting and retaining the right staff. He was encouraged by the Executive’s response to the Commission’s report.

Cllr Alcock welcomed the work of the Commission and its recommendations, particularly performance indicators which would help monitor progress.

Cllrs Taylor, Desmond and Odze contributed to the ensuing debate.

Council noted the scrutiny review and the executive response. 

There were no appointments to Council committees made at this meeting.

Meeting closed: 9.40 pm.

Appendix 1.

The following questions were taken at the meeting and received an oral response:

7.1 From Cllr Jonathan McShane to the Deputy Mayor:

In the absence of Cllr McShane, this question was asked by Cllr Akehurst.

‘I’m sure he’ll join me in welcoming Hackney Homes achieving two stars in the recent inspection. However would he also agree that two stars is not enough and that residents should expect further improvements still?’

Response from Cllr  Alcock:

Cllr Alcock said she welcomed the result of the recent Hackney Homes inspection and she paid tribute to the work of its Chief Executive Charlotte Graves, the Hackney Homes Board and staff. She said that local people deserved the best quality housing, and that the Council and Hackney Homes were committed to listening to residents to identify concerns and priorities and developing action plans to address these. 

7.2 From Cllr Vincent Stops to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Olympics:

‘How does the Council plan to manage the impacts of population, housing and employment growth, the increasing demand on services and the impact of this growth on our local environment? And how will we ensure that 2010 and its legacy contributes towards this?’

Response from Cllr Nicholson:

Cllr Nicholson said that the increase in population would need to be supported by the development of physical infrastructure, such as public transport, and social infrastructure such as access to GP surgeries and school places. He explained that the principles that underpinned Hackney’s growth were the quality of new development, existing buildings and the environment; and neighbourhoods that supported community cohesion.

7.3 From Cllr Feryat Demirci to the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods:

‘During the recent by-election campaign, I couldn’t help noticing that whatever resources the Council puts into cleansing, some residents, visitors and businesses continue to spoil our local environment. Could he tell me what we are doing to enforce against this?’

In the absence of Cllr Demirci, it was agreed that a written response to this question would be provided.

7.4 From Cllr Brian Bell to the Mayor:

‘Can he confirm that the Audit Commission’s recent judgements on the Council were encouraging in that they found, “The Council’s performance demonstrates continued and significant improvement in a range of key lines of enquiry. This is particularly commendable on the back of an ‘improving strongly’ assessment in the previous Direction of Travel assessment in March 2008. Whilst the overall score for the Council has remained as a three (performing well), this is a much stronger performance than our previous assessment. In overall terms four individual elements have improved compared with last year and none have reduced.” However would he also agree that there are still some sections which need to substantially improve the services they offer our residents?

Response from Mayor Pipe:

The Mayor stated that the Council's performance on the Audit Commission’s Use of Resources  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.