Agenda and minutes

Councillors Walsh and Dromey declared personal interests in Item 11 as

founder members of the Bakerloo. Extension.Com campaign.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on July 17 2017 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Roland Moyle MP

The Council was advised of the death of former MP, Roland Moyle. The Mayor remembered him as a very effective MP who made a great contribution to Lewisham and as someone who worked closely with local representatives. All present observed a one minute silence in his memory.

Resignation of the Chief Executive

The second announcement reported the intention of the Chief Executive,

Barry Quirk, to resign, in order to take up a similar role with the Royal

Borough of Kensingon & Chelsea which faced major challenges in the wake

of the Grenfell disaster.

At the end of the meeting tributes were paid to him by the Mayor, Councillor

Mallory, Councillor Hall, Councillor Dromey, Councillor Wise, Councillor

Dacres, and Councillor Bonavia.

The Chief Executive responded by thanking the contributors for their kind

words and he recounted with fondness his time with Lewisham where he had

been a Chief Officer or Chief Executive since 1985. At the conclusion of his

valedictory, the Council rose to acknowledge his service with a standing

ovation.

Darryl Neita

The Council congratulated Darryl Neita on her success at the World Athletics

Championships in London

Borough of Culture

Councillor Chris Best reported on Lewisham’s bid to become a Borough of

Culture and introduced the Horniman Walrus mascot to the Council. She

confirmed a photo opportunity involving all members of the Council had been

held prior to the start of the meeting.

Councillor Helen Klier

The Chair reported on a recent domestic accident involving Councillor Helen

Klier which would require a hospital stay of at least a month. The Council

joined in wishing her a speedy recovery.

Councillor Jamie Milne

The Chair congratulated Councillor Jamie Milne and his wife on the addition of

a new baby boy to their family.

Councillor Stella Jeffrey presented a petition bearing 461 names on behalf of

Stephanie Nsom. The petition asked that the Hither Green Streetscape

Improvements be given greater priority when the Mayor considers the LIP

Programme on October 4.

Councillor Olurotimi Ogunbadewa presented a petition bearing 20 names. The

petition asked that fly-tipping on the service road to the rear of 470-500

Bromley Road, Downham, BR1 be addressed by remedial measures.

Councillor John Coughlin presented a petition bearing about 350 names. The

petition asked that parking restrictions be imposed outside the shops on

Brookbank Road and the surrounding roads.

4 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.

5 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.

The Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Kevin Bonavia, moved that

the recommendations be approved and this was seconded by the Chair of the

Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Maja Hilton. Following a

contribution from Councillor Hall, 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 agreed;

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

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

(5) the 2016/17 audited Statement of Accounts (including Main accounts, Group accounts and Pension Fund accounts) be approved.

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alan Smith moved that the recommendations

be approved and this was seconded by the Chair of the Sustainable

Development Select Committee, Councillor Liam Curran, and it was:

RESOLVED that

(1)  the delegation of further functions to the London Councils Transport and

Environment Committee be authorised as set out at paragraph 4.6; and

(2) a Memorandum of Participation be entered into to give effect to the

matters referred to at paragraph 4.6 and authority be delegated to the

Head of Law to approve the final terms of the Memorandum of Participation

which will give effect to the proposed variation to the London Councils

Transport and Environment Committee Governing Agreement.

The Chair of the Audit Panel, Councillor Johnathan Slater, moved that the

recommendations be approved and this was seconded by Councillor Jim

Mallory and it was:

RESOLVED that Carole Murray be appointed as an independent member of

the Audit Panel.

The motion was moved by Councillor Bonavia and seconded by Councillor

Stamirowski. Following a contribution from Councillor Bell, the motion was

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

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

This council notes that:

•           NJC basic pay has fallen by 21% since 2010 in real terms

•           NJC workers had a three-year pay freeze from 2010-2012

•           Local terms and conditions of many NJC employees have also been

            cut,

•           impacting on their overall earnings

•           NJC pay is the lowest in the public sector

•           Job evaluated pay structures are being squeezed and distorted by

            bottom loaded

•           NJC pay settlements needed to reflect the increased National Living

•           Wage and the Foundation Living Wage

•           There are growing equal and fair pay risks resulting from this situation

This council therefore supports the NJC pay claim for 2018, submitted by

UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers and calls

for the immediate end of public sector pay restraint. NJC pay cannot be

allowed to fall further behind other parts of the public sector. This council also

welcomes the joint review of the NJC pay spine to remedy the turbulence

caused by bottom-loaded pay settlements.

This council also notes the drastic ongoing cuts to local government funding

and calls on the Government to provide additional funding to fund a decent

pay rise for NJC employees and the pay spine review.

This council therefore resolves to:

• Call immediately on the LGA to make urgent representations to Government

to fund the NJC claim and the pay spine review and notify us of their action in

this regard

• Write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting the NJC pay claim

and seeking additional funding to fund a decent pay rise and the pay spine

review

• Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay

claim and the pay spine review.

The motion was moved by Councillor Kennedy and seconded by Councillor

De Ryk. Following contributions from Councillors Smith, Curran and Coughlin,

the motion was put to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“This council notes that the consultation report published by TFL on the 31st

July 2017 shows continued strong public support for the extension of the line

south from the Elephant and Castle.

We are however disappointed that the proposals have been reduced to a four

stop extension only going as far as Lewisham Railway Station Interchange

and thousands of residents in our borough are missing out on the benefits the

new line would bring.

We firmly believe this is a missed opportunity and that the best option remains

the extension to Hayes and the case for a reduced scheme has not been

made. We also note the support from residents living in the London Borough

of Bromley for the extension to reach their borough.

We call on the Mayor of London and TFL to keep the proposals to extend the

line past Lewisham Railway Station Interchange firmly on the table and work

towards securing the funding to deliver the whole scheme in its entirety in one

phase.

This council agrees to write to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, the Deputy

Mayor for Transport, Valerie Shawcross, Mike Brown the Transport

Commissioner and all members of the Transport for London Board setting out

clearly our full support for the original proposal to take the extension all the

way to Hayes in one phase and our disappointment at any reduction of these

proposals.”

The motion was moved by Councillor Jeffrey and seconded by Councillor

Moore. Following a contribution from Councillor Kennedy, the motion was put  

to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“This council notes that it has been 12 months since the fire at Shepherds

Court in Shepherds Bush which destroyed the homes and possessions of a

number of families living in the tower block. The fire was caused by a faulty

Indesit tumble dryer which was subject to a safety notice issued by the parent

company Whirlpool. There are on average three fires a day in the UK

involving tumble dryers.

In 2010 Santosh Muthiah died from the effects of smoke inhalation after

saving his family from a fire caused by a faulty Beko fridge freezer.

In 2011 Mina Elmufatish and five of her children died in a fire at their home in

Neasden caused by a Whirlpool chest freezer.

This council is extremely concerned that following the review of the UK

product recall system announced in November 2014 and the working group

reporting to Her Majesty's Government in February 2016.  Nearly three years

after the review was commissioned no substantial changes have been made

to the recall system.

We are further concerned that the review did not address the manufacturing

standards for white goods and believe this is something that needs to be

urgently addressed.

This council agrees to write to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, the

Mayor of London the Rt Hon Sadiq Khan, Dr Fiona Twycross AM, Chair

LFEPA, and the London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton QFSM. Making it

clear that we fully support the London Fire Brigade's 'Total Recalls' campaign

and that we believe the recommendations of the working group which

reported in February 2016 must be acted upon urgently including a single

register for product recalls in the UK and this should be set up and held

centrally on Gov.UK.

Finally we call on Her Majesty's Government to put its full weight behind calls

to improve international safety standards for the manufacture of white goods.”