Agenda item

9.20pm – Councillor Ben Coleman moved, seconded by Councillor Rowan Ree, the special motion in their names:

“This Council:

·      Regrets the statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Stephen Barclay, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2023 that Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals are no longer on the list of 40 hospitals to be refurbished or rebuilt by 2030 but instead “may now fully complete construction after 2030”.

·      Notes that this breaks the pledge given by the Conservative government in 2019 to refurbish and rebuild Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals by 2030 as part of the New Hospitals Programme.

·      Notes that the well-respected Professor Tim Orchard, chief executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s, said the Health Secretary’s statement was “clearly disappointing” and “hugely damaging for the health and healthcare of hundreds of thousands of people”.

·      Notes that Professor Orchard also said the statement “does not reflect our understanding of next steps on the urgently needed redevelopment of our hospitals”; and notes that Mr Barclay subsequently apologised for making the incorrect claim in the House of Commons that work had already started at Charing Cross Hospital.

·      Views as meaningless the government’s claim to be committed to refurbishing Charing Cross, given that they have delayed any building work, given no deadline by which any refurbishment will be completed and not guaranteed any funding for the building work.

·      Regrets the inaccurate and disingenuous statements by Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, who in leaflets and on his website has wrongly claimed that funding has been secured for the full refurbishment whereas funding has not been secured and the previous 2030 deadline for completion of works has been scrapped.

·      Urges the Conservative government to honour its promise to provide the funding for the refurbishment and rebuilding of Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s hospitals and to reinstate the 2030 deadline for completion of the works.”

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Coleman and Ree (for the Administration).

Under Standing Order 15(e)(6), Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris moved, seconded by Councillor Jose Afonso, an amendment:

“Delete after “This Council” and replace with:

“notes the letter sent by the Borough’s Monitoring Officer on 9 June, which makes clear that the floor-by-floor refurbishment of Charing Cross Hospital will indeed go ahead, and that political language suggesting the contrary was inappropriate in a Council publication. This Council calls upon the Administration to apologise for telling residents that the refurbishment of Charing Cross Hospital has been ‘scrapped’, and to instead welcome the confirmation that the hospital will be refurbished. This Council further calls upon the Administration not to spread false information, alarming the most vulnerable in our community, for party political purposes.””

Speeches on the amendment were made by Councillors Lloyd-Harris, Afonso, and Dinsmore (for the Opposition) – and Councillors Miri, Vaughan, Perez, Ree, Schmid, and Cowan (for the Administration). The amendment was then put to the vote. Administration Councillors requested a named vote.

FOR                        10

AGAINST               29

NOT VOTING         0

The amendment was declared LOST.

Councillor Coleman made a speech winding up the debate as the guillotine fell. The substantive motion was then put to the vote:

FOR                        29

AGAINST                10

NOT VOTING         0

The substantive motion was declared CARRIED.

10.28pm – RESOLVED

This Council:

·      Regrets the statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Stephen Barclay, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2023 that Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals are no longer on the list of 40 hospitals to be refurbished or rebuilt by 2030 but instead “may now fully complete construction after 2030”.

·      Notes that this breaks the pledge given by the Conservative government in 2019 to refurbish and rebuild Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals by 2030 as part of the New Hospitals Programme.

·      Notes that the well-respected Professor Tim Orchard, chief executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s, said the Health Secretary’s statement was “clearly disappointing” and “hugely damaging for the health and healthcare of hundreds of thousands of people”.

·      Notes that Professor Orchard also said the statement “does not reflect our understanding of next steps on the urgently needed redevelopment of our hospitals”;and notes that Mr Barclay subsequently apologised for making the incorrect claim in the House of Commons that work had already started at Charing Cross Hospital.

·      Views as meaningless the government’s claim to be committed to refurbishing Charing Cross, given that they have delayed any building work, given no deadline by which any refurbishment will be completed and not guaranteed any funding for the building work.

·      Regrets the inaccurate and disingenuous statements by Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, who in leaflets and on his website has wrongly claimed that funding has been secured for the full refurbishment whereas funding has not been secured and the previous 2030 deadline for completion of works has been scrapped.

·      Urges the Conservative government to honour its promise to provide the funding for the refurbishment and rebuilding of Charing Cross, Hammersmith and St Mary’s hospitals and to reinstate the 2030 deadline for completion of the works.