Agenda and minutes

Councillor Susan Wise declared an interest in Item 11 as a Lewisham Homes

Board Member.

Councillors John Muldoon and Alan Hall both declared an interest in Item 4 as

elected governors of the NHS SLAM Foundation Trust.

Councillor John Paschoud declared a personal interest in Item 12 as a

member of Voluntary Action for Lewisham’s CYP Steering Committee.

Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in the same item as

his spouse.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on July 20 2016 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Councillor Helen Klier presented a petition supported by 5 Milford Towers

leaseholders calling on the Council to establish a Forum with the purpose of

effecting an efficient, fair and informed outcome for all parties in the recovery

of leases.

Councillor Liam Curran presented a petition supported by 31 residents of

Peak Hill Avenue SE26 calling on the Council to give residents the right to

park outside their homes.

Councillor Sue Hordijenko

On behalf of the Council, the Chair welcomed Councillor Sue Hordijenko to

her first meeting.

Councillor Crada Onuegbu RIP

The Chair announced the sad news concerning the death of a serving

member, Councillor Crada Onuegbu and welcomed members of her family

who were in attendance at the meeting.

The Mayor said all members of the Council shared the family’s loss. He

acknowledged that Crada had been a long serving Cabinet member whose

services had been largely underestimated. He considered her a good, caring

person with great empathy for young people and that he had always highly

valued her advice and wisdom. The Mayor added that even after the onset of

serious illness which contributed to her leaving the Cabinet in 2014, she had

remained committed to the Council and he remembered her as a friend who

would be missed.

Councillor John Muldoon reported that the Chair and Governors of the NHS

SLAM Foundation Trust had conveyed their condolences. He said Crada had

been the longest serving appointed governor representative of stakeholder

organisations and had served with two Chairs and two Chief Executives

during her tenure.

Councillor David Michael mentioned he had worked with Crada for many

years, particularly in her role as Cabinet Member for Community Safety. He

said he found her to have a strong sense of justice and was deeply connected

with the equalities agenda. He knew she could be counted on to speak up on

issues of social justice without fear or favour and that even recently she had

been campaigning for fairness in housing waiting lists at the Evelyn Assembly.

He added that despite her grave illness she had never lost interest in the

happenings at the Labour Group, Ward Assembly or local Labour Party

branch.

Councillor Michael concluded by paying tribute with the following adapted quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong woman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the woman who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends herself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if she fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Mr Tony Dykes representing LAACTSA next addressed the Council. He said

Crada had been Chair of the organisation since 2011 and in 2013 had actually

led a delegation to South Africa. He said he had been with her there for 11

days and had got to know her warmth and vitality. She had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

16 questions were received from the following members of the public which

were answered by the Cabinet Member indicated. A copy of the questions

and answers was circulated separately and can be viewed on the Council

website with the meeting papers.

8 questions were received from the following Councillors which were

answered by the Cabinet Members indicated. A copy of the questions and

answers was circulated separately and can be viewed on the Council’s

website with the meeting papers.

Councillor Kevin Bonavia moved that the recommendations be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Joan Millbank. The Chair then allowed

contributions to be made by Janet Emmanuel, a Member of Lewisham

Citizens and Assistant Head at Sydenham School, Rosario Guimba-Stewart,

Director of Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network and Fardous Babouh, a

refugee from Syria. There was then a general debate to which Councillor

Jeffrey, Councillor Egan, the Mayor, Councillor Amrani and Councillor

Coughlin contributed. Councillor Bonavia waived his right to reply and the

recommendations were then put to the vote and declared to be carried

unanimously and it was:

RESOLVED that

(1) the Council’s response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by

conflict in Syria by resettling up to 10 Syrian refugee households in Lewisham

be noted;

(2) the outline timetable for receiving the first households and overall

participation in the Syria Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme be noted;

(3) the Lewisham Syrian Refugee Offer at Appendix 1 sets out that

accommodation will be procured from the private rented sector, the local

community and/or voluntary sector agencies to accommodate Syrian

refugees;

(4) the Lewisham Syrian Refugee Offer proposes the tendering and

appointment of a support resettlement service;

(5) the approved Syrian Refugee Offer attached at Appendix 1 be noted;

(6) the delegated responsibility to the Executive Director for Customer

Services to enter into a formal agreement with the Home Office to resettle up

to 10 Syrian refugee households in Lewisham be noted; and

(7) the agreed budgetary provision of £50,000 for contingency costs and

administration of the Lewisham Refugee Offer be noted.

Councillor Alan Smith moved that the recommendations be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Liam Curran and it was:

RESOLVED that the final search parameters and site selection criteria as set

out in Appendix 1 be approved

Councillor Alan Smith moved that the recommendations be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Liam Curran. Following a contribution from

Councillor Susan Wise it was:

RESOLVED that

(1)  the consultation on the preparation of Gypsy & Traveller Site(s) Local

Plan be approved as set out in the Regulation 18 (Stage 2) ‘Potential Sites’

Report (Appendix 1) together with the consultation on the associated

Integrated Assessment Report (Appendix 2); and

(2) all necessary authority be delegated to the Executive Director for

Resources and Regeneration to make any minor alterations to the

consultation documents prior to the start of the formal consultation.

Councillor Kevin Bonavia moved that the recommendations be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Jamie Milne and it was:

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Councillor Kevin Bonavia moved that the recommendations be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Jamie Milne and it was:

RESOLVED that

(1) the adjustments to the financial statements in the Audit Findings Reports

be noted;

(2) the Action Plans set out in the Reports be approved;

(3) the Letter of Representation on behalf of the Council be approved;

(4) the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) be approved;

(5) the 2015/16 audited Statement of Accounts be approved;

Councillor Brenda Dacres moved that the recommendation shown below be

approved and this was seconded by Councillor Jim Mallory and it was:

RESOLVED that Councillor Johnston-Franklin be appointed as a non-

executive Director of the Board of Youth First

Councillor Dacres proposed and Councillor Mallory seconded that the

following appointments be made to Committees and outside bodies

RESOLVED that the following appointments be made:

SLaM Council of Governors                       Cllr Sorba

Marsha Phoenix Memorial Trust               Cllr Michael

Public Accounts Select Committee          Cllr Hordijenko

Audit Panel                                                   Cllr Hordijenko

Planning Committee C                               Cllr Hordijenko

Councillor Mallory proposed and Councillor Jeffrey seconded that the

following appointment be made to an outside body:

RESOLVED that the following appointment be made:

The Albany                                                    Cllr Dacres

The Mayor gave notification that he had filled vacancies as follows:

Corporate Parenting Panel                         Cllr Britton

LAACTSA                                                     Cllr Elliott

RSPCA Champion                                      Cllr Bourne

RESOLVED that the Mayoral appointments be noted.

The motion was moved by Councillor Sorba and seconded by Councillor

Moore.

There was then a debate to which Councillors Barnham, Hall, Smith and

Coughlin contributed. Following a reply from Councillor Sorba, the motion was

then put to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“This Council contests both the claims in the government’s White Paper

“Educational Excellence Everywhere” and the proposals put forward by the

Prime Minister, Theresa May:

Specifically:-

1. The re-introduction of the Grammar School system; resulting in the

segregation of children from the age of 11 and a two tier education

system. Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw said this month,

“The notion that the poor stand to benefit from the return of grammar

schools strikes me as quite palpable tosh and nonsense – and is very

clearly refuted by the London experience.” Neil Carmichael the Chair of

the House of Commons Education Select Committee and Alan Milburn

the Chair of the Government’s Social Mobility and Child Poverty

Commission are also opposed.

2. The removal of the 50% cap which will now allow new Faith Schools to

admit the entirety of their intake on the basis of their religious practices.

3. The over-riding objective eventually to make all schools Academies

without consulting stakeholders such as Governing Bodies, Senior

Leadership Teams, Elected Members etc. – despite the fact that

Academies are (a) not obliged to teach Personal, Social and Health

Education, (b) are permitted to hire unqualified teachers and that (c)

there is no solid evidence to indicate conversion leads to a rise in

performance;

4. The abolition of Parent-Governors on School Governing Bodies and

thus the parental voice;

In contrast, this Council urges national government policy to:-

1. Move away from a fixation with changing school structure and

governance and a prejudice against local authorities;

2. Adequately fund an inclusive, not selective educative school system

that serves both equal opportunity and social diversity.

3. Prioritize closing gaps in achievement linked to race, gender and socio-

economic class;

4. Redefine educational achievement as more than just the accumulation

of rising exam grades and include within it the successful development

of wider attributes such as curiosity, self-confidence, creativity and

collaborative and technical skills;

5. Utilise and adequately resource the school environment such that it

nurtures the wellbeing and resilience of children;

6. Meet the challenge of recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of

both teachers and support staff and so reach education policy

objectives;

7. Recognise that the interaction between the child and the teacher is

more likely to improve learning than continual and disruptive top-down

institutional reorganization. 

The Council resolves to communicate these views to the Department for

Education, the Shadow Secretary for Education and the Local Government

Association.”

The meeting closed at 9.32pm