Agenda and minutes

To approve and sign as an accurate record the Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 19 October 2011.

The minutes of the Council Meeting held on 19 October 2011were confirmed and signed as an accurate record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Donald Johnson, PJ Murphy and Peter Tobias.

The Mayor’s Announcements were circulated and tabled at the meeting.  (Copy attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes).

7.03pm - The Mayor announced with great sadness the deaths of former Councillors and a former Mayor, Mr Robert Gordon Field on 8 November 2011, Mr Simon Knott on 20 November 2011, and Captain Peter Prince (RN retired) on 3 December 2011 in London.

Mr Robert Field was elected as Councillor for Brook Green Ward in May 1959 and served until 1971. He was Deputy Mayor from 1969 – 1970 and elected Mayor from 1970 – 1971. He was elected again as Councillor for Brook Green Ward in May 1974 – 1978.

Mr Simon Knott was elected as Councillor for Broadway Ward in 1967 and served until 1968. He was elected again as Councillor for Broadway Ward in May 1974 – 1989.

Mr Peter Prince (RN Captain retired), was elected as Councillor for Brook Green Ward in May 1982 and served until 1994. He was elected Leader of the Opposition from 1986 – 1991.

The meeting stood for one minute in their memory.

Councillors Adronie Alford, Nicholas Botterill and Stephen Greenhalgh paid tribute to Mr Peter Prince and Councillor Greenhalgh paid tribute to Mr Simon Knott.

If a Councillor has any prejudicial or personal interest in a particular report he/she should declare the existence and nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of the item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a prejudicial interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken, unless a dispensation has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

Where members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance, then the Councillor with a prejudicial interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration, unless the disability has been removed by the Standards Committee.

Councillor Georgie Cooney declared a personal interest in Special Motion 2 – Special Schools, as she was a governor at Queensmill and Cambridge Schools.

There are no public questions to consider.

There were no public questions received.

This report contains an estimate of the Council Tax collection rate and calculates the Council Tax base for 2012/13.

The Council Tax base will be used in the calculation of the Band D Council Tax undertaken in the Revenue Budget Report for 2012/13.

7.15 pm - The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh.

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                         29

AGAINST                0

NON VOTING         12

The report and recommendations were declared CARRIED.

7.15 pm RESOLVED:

That the following recommendations for the 2012-2013 financial year be approved:

(1)        That the estimated numbers of properties for each Valuation Band as set out in the report, be approved.

(2)        That an estimated Collection rate of 97.5% be approved.

(3)        That the Council Tax Base of 80,087 Band “D” equivalent properties be approved.

This report provides information on the Council’s debt, borrowing and investment activity up to 30 September 2011.

7.16 pm - The report and recommendation were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh.

The report and recommendation were put to the vote:

FOR                         Unanimous

AGAINST                0

NON VOTING         0

The report and recommendation were declared CARRIED.

7.16 pm RESOLVED:

That the Council’s debt, borrowing and investment activity up to the 30 September 2011 be noted.

To consider and determine any Special Motions:

Under Council Procedure Rule 15 (e) (iii), Councillor Mark Loveday moved that Special Motion 2 – Special Schools have precedence and be debated as the next item which was agreed.

7.18 pm – Councillor Georgie Cooney moved, seconded by Councillor Helen Binmore, the special motion standing in their names:      

“This Council notes:

1)     That 100% of the special schools in H&F; as well as the specialist provision at the Bridge Academy, are rated as Outstanding by Ofsted: Queensmill, Cambridge, Woodlane, The Bridge and Jack Tizard - this is an historical achievement. 

This Council welcomes:

1)     The new autism unit attached to Fulham Primary

2)     The increased number of schools which have at least BB93 acoustics for children with hearing impairments

3)     The new SEN website which is to try and improve communication between all parties involved with SEN children

4)     The exciting new site committed to the development and co-location of Queensmill primary and secondary schools

5)     The improved provision of Cambridge school due to the cost effective move to the Bryony Centre, next to the Phoenix. Pupils from each school can now attend lessons on either site, according to their needs

6)     The new hydrotherapy pool at Jack Tizard school which is being used by children from all over the borough. There is even a bus available to pick the children up from different sites. 

7)     The commitment of the 5 newly qualified teachers of OCR Level 5 - 'teaching and understanding learners with specific learning difficulties' and the 7 who are currently undergoing the training.

8)     The excellent work of the staff at the Medical Needs Unit, Woodlane school, managed by the headteacher, Peter Harwood. In addition, the success of the independent travel training, also managed by Peter Harwood.

9)     The 3 students at Fulham Cross and William Morris who are visually impaired and are now accessing the entire curriculum through braille. A great achievement. 

10) Queensmill school for autism, once again, has been accredited by the National Autism Society whilst also managing a new, bigger and stronger team of Occupational Therapists. 

This Council resolves to continue to strive to improve the provision and opportunities for all children with SEN in Hammersmith and Fulham.” 

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Georgie Cooney, Helen Binmore and Marcus Ginn (for the Administration).

Under Standing Order 15 (e) (vi), Councillor Caroline Needham moved, seconded by Councillor Elaine Chumnery, an amendment to the motion as follows:

“Delete the last paragraph, and insert the following:

“This Council resolves to continue to enhance the provision of support to all children with Special Education Needs by providing support to families through Short Breaks (respite care), the provision of appropriate youth services and specialist holiday play schemes. The Council recognises that children with special needs are particularly vulnerable to poverty and will provide targeted support to protect children with special needs from financial hardship.”

Speeches on the amendment were made by Councillors Caroline Needham and Elaine Chumnery (for the Opposition) and Councillors  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.1

7.48 pm – Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh moved, seconded by Councillor Mark Loveday, the special motion standing in their names:      

“This Council notes the inappropriate and rambling personal attacks by Ken Livingstone on members of this Council at a public meeting at St Augustine's Church on 2 November 2011 that clearly demonstrate his unfitness to be the next Mayor for London or to represent the people of Hammersmith and Fulham.

This Council notes since 1 May 2008 Boris Johnson has delivered on his promises to:

•       Beef up the police presence in the borough by increasing police numbers and cutting red tape at the Metropolitan Police Service

•       Implement serious strategies on knife and gun crime and arm the police with handheld weapon scanners

•       Crack down on the culture of casual disorder that leads to more serious crime, with live CCTV on buses and a community service scheme for young people who abuse free travel

•       Make transport safer in Hammersmith and Fulham by putting more uniformed officers on buses and station platforms

•       Protect our green, open spaces and encourage more recycling across the borough

•       Scrap the Western Congestion Charge zone and make the existing system fairer and more flexible for residents in Hammersmith & Fulham

•       Work in partnership with the borough Council to build the homes that people in the borough want and can afford

•       Stretch the taxpayer pound to give Hammersmith & Fulham Council Tax payers more bang for their buck and axe the waste and overspending at City Hall.

•       Freeze the Mayoral Council Tax precept in each year to reduce the burden on taxpayers in the borough.

This Council looks forward to the re-election of Boris Johnson as Mayor for London in May 2012.”

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Stephen Greenhalgh, Mark Loveday, Tom Crofts, Nicholas Botterill and Andrew Johnson (for the Administration).

Under Standing Order 15 (e) (vi), Councillor Stephen Cowan moved, seconded by Councillor Lisa Homan, an amendment to the motion as follows:

“Delete all after “This Council” and replace with:

“is deeply concerned by the increasing hardship that tens of thousands of Hammersmith and Fulham households are experiencing.

The Council therefore regrets the following actions and failures by London Mayor Boris Johnson:

• Fares Hikes - That transport fares have risen by vastly more than inflation since Mr. Johnson was elected in 2008 - with some fares rising by almost 60%. This stealth tax has added unnecessary additional costs to millions of Londoners’ budgets and the Conservative London Mayor did this during the worst economic slow down since 1929. The Council notes that Boris Johnson hopes to continue to vastly increase transport fares up until 2017 should he be re-elected on 1^st May 2012. This would cause additional hardship to Borough residents and will continue to have a dampening effect on the London economy.
• Crime failures - That knife crime has risen and the London Mayor has failed to cut total crime. Furthermore, the Metropolitan Police Authority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.2

8.46 pm – Councillor Nicholas Botterill moved, seconded by Councillor Rachel Ford, the special motion standing in their names:

“This Council notes that:

1.         Transport for London (TfL) commenced works on the Hammersmith Flyover several weeks ago.

2.         On Friday 23 December 2011, a decision was made following an overnight inspection by TfL engineers to close the flyover to traffic pending full scale structural assessments.

3.         Although this route and the structure of the Hammersmith Flyover form a strategic London route and that they are therefore under the full control of TfL, the resulting adverse impacts of closure to the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham (in economic and social terms) are severe.

This Council calls on TfL to:

·            Seek to reopen the flyover at the earliest opportunity when it is safe to do so,

·            Carry out all remedial works to the structure of the Hammersmith Flyover sufficient to extend the life span and allow unrestricted operation in as timely a manner as possible,

·            Continue to share all information and engineering assessments on the flyover with officers of this Council as soon as they are available, and

·            Continue to liaise with the affected boroughs on the traffic management implications of closure.”

Under Standing Order 15 (l), Councillor Nicholas Botterill moved, seconded by Councillor Rachel Ford, an amendment to their motion, to which the meeting agreed, as follows:

“Delete paragraph 3 and add after “severe”

“3.  Although the flyover was reopened to single file light traffic in each direction on the 13^th January 2012, there is still considerable consequent additional congestion having an adverse impact on travelling in the borough, in particular westbound traffic in Hammersmith.

4. TfL is proposing a programme of works (full details should be available by the end of January) which will allow full reopening of the flyover to all traffic in time for the London Olympics in July 2012. These works will most likely continue after the Olympics.

5. The remedial works (when fully complete) will give the flyover an additional expected life of seven to ten years.”

Delete bullet point 1 and insert

“Convene a consultative panel which will include representatives of business and commerce, the Council and local residents to consider options for full replacement of the flyover in particular the potential for a tunnel.”

Speeches on the special motion (as amended) were made by Councillors Nicholas Botterill, Rachel Ford and Lucy Ivimy (for the Administration).

Under Standing Order 15 (e) (vi), Councillor Michael Cartwright moved, seconded by Councillor Stephen Cowan, an amendment to the motion as follows:

“Add the paragraph below after the following words: “of closure” in the final paragraph…

“Request the Greater London Authority to carry out an investigation into the circumstances regarding the deterioration and closure of the flyover.

Request that the Mayor carry out a feasibility study into putting the A4 into a tunnel through central Hammersmith, and pending receipt of the study, put the pedestrian bridge to Furnival Gardens into abeyance.

Notes that this Council was warned about the problems with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.3

9.20 pm – Councillor Andrew Johnson moved, seconded by Councillor Harry Phibbs, the special motion standing in their names:      

“This Council notes and endorses the recent comments made by Leader of the Opposition, The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, that:

1.        “Those on the waiting list for council accommodation should move up that list if they are contributing to their communities, being good neighbours, and seeking work”

2.         “Need matters, but actually you should be rewarded with extra points, and councils around the country are starting to do this, and I want more of them to do it, if you for example work or contribute to your community."

This Council resolves:

1.         To continue to meet its statutory obligations in respect of urgent housing need, and;

2.         To enable social housing in Hammersmith & Fulham to be accessed by residents who work or make a contribution to the local community, and;

3.         To ensure that the future scheme of allocation for social housing will seek to give greater priority for those applicants who can demonstrate a positive community contribution. These will include:

·        Those in employment

·        Those looking to start their own business

·        Those undertaking certain training

·        Transfer applicants with a positive tenancy history with no previous rent arrears

·        Those who can demonstrate a contribution to the local community through certain types of voluntary work

·        Current and former members of the armed forces, including the Territorial Army.”

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Andrew Johnson and Harry Phibbs (for the Administration).

Under Standing Order 15 (e) (vi), Councillor Stephen Cowan moved, seconded by Councillor Andrew Jones, an amendment to the motion as follows:

“Delete all after the final line of the third paragraph that reads “… for example, work to contribute to your community” and replace with:

• “This Council recognises that it is increasingly impossible to allocate homes if the political will to build and maintain local social housing isn’t there and the supply is being drastically cut. The Council therefore deplores the Conservative Administration’s approach to housing in this Borough which has seen them:

• Insulting all residents of social housing by branding them as locked into a “dependency and expectancy culture”
• Refusing to grant planning permission for any genuinely affordable social housing to rent since they were last made to do so when Ken Livingstone was London’s Mayor
• Planning to demolish up to a third of all Council housing stock
• Selling off much needed genuinely affordable council homes to property speculators instead or re-letting them to residents on the housing waiting list
• Encouraging property speculators to use “confidential” financial modelling as a means to allow them to avoid GLA and this Council’s own planning requirements to build affordable social housing
• Refusing to build any genuinely affordable homes to buy that gives people on average incomes opportunities to get onto the property ladder
• Wrongly making local residents on the housing waiting list accept Private Sector Landlord properties rather than a council home which is detrimental to their rights,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.4

There are no information reports to consider.

There were no information reports to this meeting of the Council.

* * * * *   CONCLUSION OF BUSINESS    * * * * *