Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Andrew Jones and Bora Kwon.

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.

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 10 February 2025 were agreed as an accurate record.

1.    That Cabinet agrees to adopt the Suicide Prevention Strategy 2024–2027 for the borough.

Councillor Alex Sanderson (Deputy Leader) introduced the report and highlighted the Council’s shared vision for suicide prevention, for residents to get help and receive appropriate and effective support at the right level and at the right time. The strategy focused on four key areas:

• Investing in local support services.
• Delivering the ‘Reach out’ campaign to raise awareness of local services.
• Strengthening referral pathways between stakeholders to ensure residents received tailored support.
• Providing suicide awareness training for frontline officers, police and local enforcement teams, empowering them to assist residents in crisis.

Councillor Sanderson noted that suicide prevention in Hammersmith and Fulham was predicated on the belief that suicide was not inevitable and that working to reduce the rate of deaths by suicide was everybody's business.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1. That Cabinet agrees to adopt the Suicide Prevention Strategy 2024–2027 for the borough.

1.    To approve the revised version of Hammersmith and Fulham’s Plastic Free Policy statement and accompanying action plan.

2.    To commit to the OWL programme’s Single-use Plastics Pledge in collaboration with London boroughs.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt (Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecology) introduced the report and noted that the report refreshed the objectives and actions set out in Hammersmith and Fulham’s Plastic Free Policy Proposal first published in 2018. Cabinet. The updated policy and action plan would eliminate non-essential single-use plastics from the Council’s operations and facilitate a reduction in single-use plastic consumption across the borough.

Councillor Stephen Cowan (Leader of the Council) raised the issue of pubs handing out plastic cups since the pandemic. Councillor Harcourt said it was not a licensable activity, but the Council was planning to work with establishments to take a pledge to reduce single use plastics.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

1. To approve the revised version of Hammersmith and Fulham’s Plastic Free Policy statement and accompanying action plan.

2. To commit to the OWL programme’s Single-use Plastics Pledge in collaboration with London boroughs.

The Key Decision List was noted.