Agenda and draft minutes

7.08pm – The Chief Executive invited formal nominations for the office of Mayor for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Max Schmid proposed, seconded by Councillor Genevieve Nwaogbe, that Councillor Patricia Quigley be elected Mayor of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

There being no further nominations, the proposal was put to the vote:

FOR:                      UNANIMOUS

AGAINST:               0

NOT VOTING:        0

The recommendation was declared CARRIED.

7.09pm – RESOLVED

That Councillor Patricia Catherine Mary Quigley was duly elected Mayor of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for the 2024/25 Municipal Year, following which she made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and signed the statutory undertaking to observe the Code of Conduct for Councillors.

7.11pm – The Mayor then made a brief speech thanking her constituents, her fellow Councillors, and her family for their support.

She announced that she was appointing Fulham Reach Boat Club, Action on Disability, and Solidarity Sports as her charities for the Mayoral year.

The Mayor announced that she was appointing Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier to act as her Consort for the Mayoral year.

The Mayor then announced that she had appointed Councillor Daryl Brown to be Deputy Mayor for the 2024/25 Municipal Year and she had appointed Mr Benito Brown to act as her Deputy Mayor’s Consort.

7.20pm – Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ben Coleman, Sally Taylor, Ann Rosenberg, Paul Alexander, Nikos Souslous, Patrick Walsh, Jackie Borland, Andrew Dinsmore, and David Morton.

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.

7.20pm – There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 28 February 2024 as an accurate record.

7.20pm – The minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

Ofsted gives ‘Outstanding’ rating to H&F Children’s Services

On behalf of the Council the Mayor thanked the Council’s Children’s Services team for achieving an ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in a report published on the 16^th of May. The report found that, “children living in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham receive excellent services [and] highly effective and committed leaders have continued to make improvements.”

Speeches were made by Councillors Alex Sanderson (for the Administration), and Alex Karmel (for the Opposition).

Death of former Councillor, Leader of the Council and Freeman of the Borough – Barrie Stead

With great sadness, the Mayor informed the Council of the death of former Councillor and Freeman of the Borough Mr Barrie Stead on Monday 18 March 2024. Mr Stead was elected as a White City Councillor in 1971, a position he held until 1978. During his time as the Leader of the Council, he enabled the founding of Riverside Studios Arts Centre, the rebuilding of the Lyric Theatre, and the acquisition of Fulham Palace.  He was awarded Freeman of the Borough in recognition of his selfless service to the Borough.

Speeches were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan, Bora Kwon, Liz Collins, and Lisa Homan (for the Administration), Alex Karmel (for the Opposition), and the Mayor.

Death of former Councillor – Dr Jenny Vaughan

With much regret, the Mayor informed the Council of the death of former Councillor Dr Jenny Vaughan on Sunday 31 March 2024. Dr Vaughan was elected as Councillor for Walham ward from 1998 to 2002, and Sands End ward from 2002 to 2006. Dr Vaughan also served on the Health and Social Services Scrutiny Panel and Leadership Scrutiny Panel during this time.

Speeches were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan, Lisa Homan, and Rory Vaughan (for the Administration), Amanda Lloyd-Harris (for the Opposition), and the Mayor.

The Mayor then led the Council in a minute of silence in memory of Barrie Stead and Dr Jenny Vaughan.

8.03pm – The report on the appointments made by the party groups on the Council for 2024/25 was noted.

8.03pm – 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.

8.03pm – RESOLVED

1.    That Full Council approve the following changes to Lead Member roles:

a.    Create a new Lead Member for Land Development as detailed in Appendix 1.

b.    Create a new Lead Member for Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Migrants as detailed in Appendix 1.

c.     Amend the role profile for the Lead Member for Wellbeing and Early Access to Support as detailed in Appendix 1.

d.    Delete the Lead Member for Youth Advancement role.

2.    That Full Council approve the changes to the membership and terms of reference of the Pensions Fund Committee, Standards Committee, and Standards Committee Sub-Committees in Appendix 2.

3.    That Full Council approve the changes to the Children’s Services Register of Authorities detailed in Appendix 3.

8.04pm – The report on the appointment of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Members was noted.

8.04pm – The report on the allocation of seats and proportionality on Committees was noted.

8.04pm – 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.

8.04pm – RESOLVED

1.    That the Council agrees the appointments of Chairs and Memberships of Regulatory, Policy and Accountability and other Committees under its Constitution for the Municipal Year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 1.

2.    This Council also notes their respective portfolios and terms of reference, as set out in the constitution.

8.04pm – 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.

8.05pm – RESOLVED

1.    That the Council’s appointments to Local Government Organisations for 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 1, be agreed.

2.    That the Council’s appointments to Outside Bodies for 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 2, be agreed.

8.05pm – 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.

8.05pm – RESOLVED

That Full Council:

1.    Approve the Member Code of Conduct attached as appendix 1 for adoption.

2.    Approve the list of sanctions at Appendix 2 available if a Councillor breaches the Code.

3.    Adopt the LGA’s Guidance on the Member Model Code of Conduct Complaints Handling (the “Guidance on complaints handling”) at Appendix 3.

4.    Approve Arrangements for dealing with complaints alleging a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct at Appendix 4.

8.06pm – 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 Councillor Rowan Ree (for the Administration) and Councillor Alex Karmel (for the Opposition).

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR:                      32

AGAINST:               0

NOT VOTING:         8

The report and recommendations were declared CARRIED.

8.13pm – RESOLVED

1.    That the recommendations of the Independent Panel on the remuneration of Councillors in London (January 2024) outlined in Appendix 2 be noted.

2.    That the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2024/25 as set out in the report and attached as Appendix 1, be approved.

3.    That the sickness, maternity, paternity, shared parental, neonatal care and adoption leave outlined in Appendix 3, be adopted.

4.    That the Members’ Allowances annual uplift be in line with the average basic allowance paid across London for the previous year.

8.13pm – The Council received a verbal report from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan. The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, made a speech on behalf of the Opposition.

8.22pm – The monitoring report was noted.