Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Trey Campbell-Simon, David Morton, and Nicole Trehy.

Councillors Patricia Quigley and Lucy Richardson attended the meeting remotely and did not participate in the discussion or vote on decision items.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that 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 disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant 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.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 13 July 2022 and 20 September 2022.

7.06pm – The minutes of the Full Council meetings held on 13 July 2022 and 20 September 2022 were agreed as accurate records.

There were no announcements.

The Mayor thanked all of the residents who submitted questions. She noted that public question time was limited to 20 minutes, and it would not be extended.

Questions 1, 2, 7, and 11 were addressed in the meeting. The Mayor noted that any questions not addressed in the meeting would receive written responses which would also be published in the minutes. All the questions and responses can be found in Appendix 1.

7.23pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The report and recommendations were declared CARRIED.

7.24pm – RESOLVED

1. That Full Council approves the revision to the Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety’s portfolio and new Lead Member responsibilities detailed in the report.

2. That Full Council appoints Councillor Helen Rowbottom as Lead Member for Flood Mitigation and Councillor Liz Collins as Lead Member for Energy Crisis Support.

3. That Full Councill approves that the Members Code of Code be updated to include the requirement for Members to inform the Monitoring Officer if they commit any offence leading to disqualification as outlined in the Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022.

4. That Full Council approves the revisions to the Constitution listed in the report.

7.24pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillors Florian Chevoppe-Verdier and Helen Rowbottom (for the Administration).

NOTE: Due to a fire alarm the meeting was suspended for 38 minutes. The meeting resumed at 8.10pm.

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The report and recommendations were declared CARRIED.

8.14pm – RESOLVED

1. To approve that a special dispensation be granted to Councillor Patricia Quigley for non-attendance in person at meetings of the authority due to shielding until further notice pursuant to Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1972.

2. To note that Councillor Patricia Quigley will continue to attend meetings remotely.

8.14pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

The report and recommendations were then put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The report and recommendations were declared CARRIED.

8.14pm – RESOLVED

1. That Councillor Ben Coleman be appointed as the Council’s representative to Sands End Arts and Community Centre to 31 October 2025.

2. To confirm the appointment of Councillor Ann Rosenberg as the Council’s representative to Sands End Arts and Community Centre to 31 October 2023.

8.15pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

The report and recommendations were then put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The report and recommendations were declared CARRIED.

8.15pm – RESOLVED

1. That the revised Members’ Allowances Scheme 2022/23 as set out in the report and attached as Appendix 1, be approved.

8.16pm – Councillor Max Schmid moved a motion under Standing Order 15(e)3 to reorder special motions in the following order: 7, 2, 5, 6, 8, 1, 9, 4 and 3. Councillor Genevieve Nwaogbe seconded the motion, and it was agreed.

8.16pm – Councillor Omid Miri moved, seconded by Councillor Laura Janes, the special motion in their names:

“This Council unequivocally condemns the brutal actions of the regime in Iran against its own citizens following the murder of an innocent young woman, Mahsa Amini, for non-compliance with the compulsory hijab rule.

Since her murder, widespread protests have erupted across Iran calling for freedom of choice with regards to the hijab and the liberalisation of the political system - these protests have resulted in the deaths of many more Iranians of all ages at the hands of security forces.

On behalf of the large Iranian diaspora community in Hammersmith and Fulham, this Council stands with the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and calls on the UK Government to escalate its condemnation of the regime by summoning the Iranian ambassador immediately.

Furthermore, the Council condemns the ongoing persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban, and reaffirms its commitment to women's rights across the world.

The Council also calls on the UK Government to do more to provide safe haven and support to Afghans and Iranians, and all refugees, fleeing oppression and conflict - many of them settled in and supported by Hammersmith and Fulham.”

Speeches on the motion were made by Councillors Miri, Perez, Cowan, and Homan (for the Administration) and Councillors Brocklebank-Fowler and Stanton (for the Opposition).

The motion was then put to the vote.

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The motion was declared CARRIED.

8.45pm – RESOLVED

This Council unequivocally condemns the brutal actions of the regime in Iran against its own citizens following the murder of an innocent young woman, Mahsa Amini, for non-compliance with the compulsory hijab rule.

Since her murder, widespread protests have erupted across Iran calling for freedom of choice with regards to the hijab and the liberalisation of the political system - these protests have resulted in the deaths of many more Iranians of all ages at the hands of security forces.

On behalf of the large Iranian diaspora community in Hammersmith and Fulham, this Council stands with the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and calls on the UK Government to escalate its condemnation of the regime by summoning the Iranian ambassador immediately.

Furthermore, the Council condemns the ongoing persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban, and reaffirms its commitment to women's rights across the world.

The Council also calls on the UK Government to do more to provide safe haven and support to Afghans and Iranians, and all refugees, fleeing oppression and conflict - many of them settled in and supported by Hammersmith and Fulham.

8.45pm – Councillor Ben Coleman moved, seconded by Councillor Patrick Walsh, the special motion in their names:

“This Council:

·      Notes the high level of air pollution in our borough and the need for action to address this to protect residents, particularly children;

·      Welcomes the success of the project to reduce pollution and congestion in residential streets to the east of Wandsworth Bridge Road;

·      Notes that this has improved air quality in those streets as a result of removing 8,000 cars and a tonne of carbon dioxide a day from them by preventing out-of-borough drivers from using the area as a cut-through;

·      Notes that the scheme came in after extensive consultation with residents and that all borough residents with a car permit continue to enjoy unrestricted access to the area;

·      Notes that residents to the west of Wandsworth Bridge Road have requested the scheme be extended to them and that the Council has committed to doing so on a trial basis with further consultation;

·      Welcomes the Council’s commitment to make the whole of South Fulham a Clean Air Neighbourhood where the air is cleaner for families and children and the roads are quieter and safer for pedestrians and cyclists;

·      Welcomes that this will include new environmental, traffic calming and safety improvements on Wandsworth Bridge Road to make it a better place to live, work and shop;

·      Welcomes the 20mph speed limit recently introduced in Wandsworth Bridge Road at the request of residents;

·      Welcomes the pre-engagement on the trial extension to the west of Wandsworth Bridge Road that has already taken place with resident groups and hundreds of residents, chaired in a bi-partisan way by Labour and (now ex-) Conservative Councillors;

·      Notes that the consultation and engagement that has taken in South Fulham is the biggest in the borough’s history and has far exceeded what is required by the government; and

·      Commits to consulting extensively further during the trial in line with government guidance.

This Council also:

·      Confirms its ambitious target of protecting residents’ health by reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030 for our borough;

·      Notes that the government's own Net Zero Strategy contains a "key commitment" of delivering more so-called low traffic neighbourhoods “with the aim that half of all journeys in towns and cities will be cycled or walked by 2030”;

·      Notes that this Net Zero Strategy was introduced in the House of Commons on 19 October 2021 by Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, the then Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change, who said, “We must continue to take decisive action if we are to meet our net zero goal”;

·      Regrets Mr Hands’s hypocrisy in running a petition calling for the South Fulham scheme to be abolished despite its obvious clean air benefits, which sits at odds with the ministerial office he once held;

·      Is disappointed that Mr Hands has consistently refused a briefing by council traffic engineers on the scheme, and believes this is so that he can claim not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.2

9.29pm – Councillor Rowan Ree moved, seconded by Councillor Ben Coleman, the special motion in their names:

“The Council notes the government’s “mini-budget” on 23 September, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the government would borrow billions of pounds to abolish the additional rate of income tax levied on those earning £150,000 a year.

This Council notes the reaction to the Chancellor’s statement, which saw:

• The pound fall to $1.0327, an all-time low, increasing the cost of imported goods and services;
• The largest two-day sell-off of UK government debt on record, requiring the Bank of England to spend billions of pounds to protect the country’s pensions;
• 40% of available mortgages withdrawn from the market, notably those aimed at people on lower incomes or with fewer savings, thus increasing the cost of housing for this group; and
• A prediction by financial markets of an increase in interest rates to 6%, which would increase borrowing cost for households, businesses and the Council.

The Council welcomes the government’s U-turn on abolishing the top rate of income tax under pressure from groups as diverse as the Labour Party, people earning over £150,000 a year and some senior Conservative MPs, including Michael Gove and Grant Shapps, the latter describing it as “wrong on every level.

The Council regrets local MP Greg Hands’ support, prior to the government's U-turn, for abolishing the top rate of tax, tweeting “There is nothing inherently revolutionary or wrong with what the Government is proposing on tax... All of the measures have strong merits."

The Council fears that the Chancellor plans to usher in a new era of austerity, following his refusal to reconsider departmental budgets in light of higher inflation, and notes that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated this will result in a real terms cut of £18bn a year in government spending.

The Council notes that under the previous Conservative austerity policies:

• The Council’s funding was cut by 55% in real terms;
• Public services across the country were starved of the funding they needed; and
• Those most reliant on government support suffered the most from spending cuts.

The Council calls on the government to:

• Avoid further damaging austerity policies;
• Protect the public services that residents rely on; and
• Ensure that our poorest and most vulnerable fellow citizens do not pay the price for the government’s ideologically-driven economic mismanagement.”

Speeches on the motion were made by Councillors Ree, Lang (who made his maiden speech), Collins, Daly, Melton (who made his maiden speech), Harvey, Schmid, and Coleman (for the Administration) and Councillors Dinsmore and Afzal-Khan (for the Opposition).

Councillor Ree then made a speech winding up the debate before the motion was put to the vote.

FOR                        32

AGAINST                10

NOT VOTING         1

The motion was declared CARRIED.

10.24pm – RESOLVED

The Council notes the government’s “mini-budget” on 23 September, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the government would borrow billions of pounds to abolish the additional rate of income  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.5

10.24pm – Councillor Bora Kwon moved, seconded by Councillor Nikos Souslous, the special motion in their names:

“The Council notes that over the last 12 year the Conservative government has caused immeasurable damage to the residents of Hammersmith and Fulham and the entire United Kingdom. This includes:

• The damaging programme of austerity that has left public services on their knees
• A catastrophic Brexit that has undermined trade, soured relations with our closest neighbours and reduced British influence globally
• A decline in support for the Union
• The muddled, mishandled response to the Covid pandemic, including placing covid-positive residents into care homes
• Degrading the office of Prime Minister through a series of scandals, including holding a flurry of parties at 10 Downing Street during Covid lockdowns and the failure to deal with improper conduct by senior Conservative MPs
• An acute housing crisis leaving millions in overcrowded conditions and younger generations unable to enter the housing market
• Surges in hospital, GP and ambulance waiting times alongside an increase in health inequality
• Record levels of sewage flowing into our oceans and rivers and suffocating restraints on the expansion of onshore wind power
• A justice system in crisis, with rising crime and fewer police, prosecutions and convictions
• Mismanagement of the economy, which has seen anaemic growth, real terms reductions in salaries, the devaluation of sterling, a cost-of-living crisis and spiralling mortgage and rental payments

The Conservative Party has seen four Prime Ministers since 2016, each presenting a different flavour of the same failed approaches.

The Council therefore calls on Councillors and MPs of all parties to put our country and our community first and demand a general election so this dying government can be retired before it does any more damage.”

Speeches on the motion were made by Councillors Kwon, Souslous, and Taylor (who made her maiden speech) (for the Administration).

The guillotine fell at 10.40pm.

Councillor Kwon then made a short speech winding up the debate before the motion was put to the vote.

FOR                        32

AGAINST                10

NOT VOTING         1

The motion was declared CARRIED.

10.42pm – RESOLVED

The Council notes that over the last 12 year the Conservative government has caused immeasurable damage to the residents of Hammersmith and Fulham and the entire United Kingdom. This includes:

• The damaging programme of austerity that has left public services on their knees
• A catastrophic Brexit that has undermined trade, soured relations with our closest neighbours and reduced British influence globally
• A decline in support for the Union
• The muddled, mishandled response to the Covid pandemic, including placing covid-positive residents into care homes
• Degrading the office of Prime Minister through a series of scandals, including holding a flurry of parties at 10 Downing Street during Covid lockdowns and the failure to deal with improper conduct by senior Conservative MPs
• An acute housing crisis leaving millions in overcrowded conditions and younger generations unable to enter the housing market
• Surges in hospital, GP and ambulance waiting times alongside an increase in health inequality
• Record levels  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.6

10.43pm – As the guillotine had fallen, the special motion in the names of Councillors Rebecca Harvey and Lisa Homan was taken as moved and seconded:

“The Council notes that 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that commences on 25 November 2022, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December 2022, Human Rights Day. First created and launched in 1961 it calls on the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls which this Council fully endorses.

The Council is deeply concerned that VAWG is rampant across the country. It notes that under the current Government, sex-based offences such as rape and sexual assault have seen unprecedented rises and low prosecution rates and even lower conviction rates.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has over many years consistently worked towards:

• the goal of eliminating violence against women and girls
• devised our strategy of ending Violence Against Women and Girls through prevention and education and support
• working with partners including the Angelou Project, Standing Together, Refuge
• and encouraging businesses to support projects such as Ask Angela.

The Council notes that in 2022, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence coincides with the World Cup in Qatar. Violence against women and girls increases from between 26 – 38% during international football competitions and that during Euro 2020 there was a spike in reported domestic abuse.

Considering the disastrous state of the underfunded criminal justice system in this country, there is a serious risk of an escalation in domestic violence cases in the coming months. This Council pledges to redouble its efforts to work with our partners including those in the Angelou Partnership, our residents and wider community to try and keep everyone safe and prevent VAWG.

The Council calls on the Government to properly fund the criminal justice system so that perpetrators can be held to account.

The Council calls on organisations in the borough working in all sectors to raise awareness of domestic violence and misogyny, making it clear that it is unacceptable at any time.”

The motion was then put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The motion was declared CARRIED.

10.43pm – RESOLVED

The Council notes that 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that commences on 25 November 2022, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December 2022, Human Rights Day. First created and launched in 1961 it calls on the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls which this Council fully endorses.

The Council is deeply concerned that VAWG is rampant across the country. It notes that under the current Government, sex-based offences such as rape and sexual assault have seen unprecedented rises and low prosecution rates and even lower conviction rates.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has over many years consistently worked towards:

• the goal of eliminating violence against women and girls
• devised our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.8

The special motion was withdrawn.

10.43pm – As the guillotine had fallen, the special motion in the names of Councillors Rowan Ree and Zarar Qayyum was taken as moved and seconded:

“The Council notes that:

1. The pressure on organisations to pay their fair share of tax has never been stronger.
2. Polling from the Institute for Business Ethics finds that “corporate tax avoidance” has, since 2013, been the clear number one concern of the British public when it comes to business conduct.
3. Two thirds of people (66%) believe the Government and local councils should at least consider a company’s ethics and how they pay their tax, as well as value for money and quality of service provided, when awarding contracts to companies.
4. Around 17.5% of public contracts in the UK have been won by companies with links to tax havens.
5. It has been conservatively estimated that losses from multinational profit-shifting (just one form of tax avoidance) could be costing the UK some £17bn per annum in lost corporation tax revenues.
6. The Fair Tax Mark offers a means for business to demonstrate good tax conduct, and has been secured by a wide range of businesses across the UK, including FTSE-listed PLCs, co-operatives, social enterprises and large private businesses.

The Council believes that:

1.    Paying tax is often presented as a burden, but it shouldn’t be.

2.    Tax enables us to provide services from education, health and social care, to flood defence, roads, policing and defence. It also helps to counter financial inequalities and rebalance distorted economies.

3.    As recipients of significant public funding, local authorities should take the lead in the promotion of exemplary tax conduct; be that by ensuring contractors are paying their proper share of tax, or by refusing to go along with offshore tax dodging when buying land and property.

4.    Where councils hold substantive stakes in private enterprises, influence should be wielded to ensure that such businesses are exemplars of tax transparency and tax avoidance is shunned.

5.    More action is needed, however, as current and proposed new UK procurement law significantly restricts councils’ ability to either penalise poor tax conduct (as exclusion grounds are rarely triggered) or reward good tax conduct, when buying goods or services.

6.    UK cities, counties and towns can and should stand up for responsible tax conduct - doing what they can within existing frameworks and pledging to do more given the opportunity, as active supporters of international tax justice.

The Council resolves to:

1.    Approve the Councils for Fair Tax Declaration.

2.    Lead by example and demonstrate good practice in our tax conduct, right across our activities.

3.    Ensure IR35 is implemented robustly and contract workers pay a fair share of employment taxes.

4.    Not use offshore vehicles for the purchase of land and property, especially where this leads to reduced payments of stamp duty.

5.    Undertake due diligence to ensure that not-for-profit structures are not being used inappropriately by suppliers as an artificial device to reduce the payment of tax and business rates.

6.    Demand  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.9

The special motion was withdrawn.

The special motion was withdrawn.