Agenda and minutes

Councillor Dall said that she was present at the Council meeting held on 17 July 2024. With this amendment, the Speaker MOVED, the Deputy Speaker SECONDED and it was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a true and accurate record.

None.

The Mayor welcomed Father Steve to the Council meeting. She said that Members wanted to celebrate with him, 40 years of his ordination; a celebration was held earlier in the year at St Mary the Virgin Church in Lewisham.

Over the years Father Steve had been a vital contributor, advisor and friend to this Council and she was grateful for having such a long serving member of Lewisham’s interfaith forum.

Father Steve had helped to organise many interfaith events and had been fundamental in encouraging a network of new faith leaders to work with Lewisham and local communities.

The Mayor thanked Father Steve for his years of service and wished him the very best as he entered retirement. She then presented him with a plaque in recognition of his service to Lewisham.

Father Steve thanked everybody and said that it had been a joy, a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this community and to work with so many people across the community.

The Mayor announced that she had appointed two Mayoral advisors for the coming year. Ben Lindsay OBE who would be focusing on youth justice and violence reduction, and Derek Johnson who would be helping to enhance the civic events programme.

The Mayor announced that the Community Awards scheme would be held on 9 October 2024. The award was for those who had acted above and beyond for their communities.

The Mayor said that the annual Business Awards was an opportunity for Lewisham to acknowledge the outstanding contributions the local businesses make throughout the borough. Over 1100 nominations had been received and the deadline for these nominations was 7 October.

The Mayor congratulated the athletes across the UK for their work as part of the Olympic and Paralympic teams held in Paris in the summer. In particular, she congratulated Lewisham residents Alex Yee who won gold for the men’s triathlon and a bronze medal for the triathlon mixed relay. Darrell Nieto who won a silver medal in the women’s 4x100 relay and to Andreas Bendaloni Sadex for a bronze medal in the synchronised 10 metre platform diving.

The Mayor announced the death of Joss Bell who was a great campaigner for Lewisham Hospital. She also campaigned for health services throughout the whole of the country. She was held in great esteem and would be missed.

There were no petitions.

Supplementary questions were asked and answered as follows: (paraphrased)

Supplementary to Question 2

The condemnation that was put out by Lewisham Council, will you now change it in any way after a year of murderous activity by the Israelis? will you change it, or will you take it down?

Mayor Dacres: This condemnation was made some time ago and I am horrified that there is still conflict and is, in fact, escalating. The government is calling for immediate ceasefire, de-escalation and a political solution which includes a two-state solution where Palestinians and Israelis can live in safety and peace. The role of this Council was to support our diverse communities, and this is something that Lewisham will continue to do.

Supplementary to Question 10.

How can councillors, appointed to the PIC, claim to be delivering on their fiduciary duty to the pensions membership while maintaining investment in a rogue state? Can councillors confirm that they consider this to be a fiscally sound area for their pensions to be invested.

Mayor Dacres:  Lewisham Pension funds were not invested in arms manufacturing in Lewisham. The Pension Investment Committee takes their responsibilities, and how employees’ pension funds are invested, very seriously. The Committee will be engaging with pension fund managers over the coming months to look at the overall portfolios and area in which funds are being invested.

Supplementary Question 25

I volunteer helping vulnerable people at the Corbett Community Library and to my knowledge we have not received support in our efforts to provide services that Lewisham are unable to deliver. Please could the Council provide our team with contacts and advice from, say, the housing department and simple things like paper and printer cartridges to help with photocopying costs?

Councillor De Ryk: Volunteers are very important, and people rely on places like the Corbett Library. She said that grants that had been given through the Household Support Fund and she referred to other programmes that had also received money. Lewisham provide financial support for Citizens Advice Bureau and she agreed to check whether the work undertaken at Corbett Community Library would qualify for some of this support. Councillor De Ryk thanked volunteers for their efforts and agreed to meet Ms Gainey to assess what kind of help Lewisham could provide.

Supplementary Question 28

Would the Council consider giving community libraries a flat rate amount annually to support core costs including photocopying, toners, as well as gas, electric and water bills.

Councillor Huynh:  Lewisham will endeavour to keep looking at different mechanisms to identify external funding for community libraries. He wanted to meet with volunteers to discuss funding and agreed to meet volunteers at Corbett Library. He thanked them for the work that they do for the community.

Supplementary Question 31

At the last Pensions Investment Committee a member of the Committee noted that 13.4% of the pension fund is managed by BlackRock. It was also noted that 0.2% of the pension fund was being tied to the defence sector, directly or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Supplementary questions were asked and answered as follows: (paraphrased)

Supplementary to Question 2

Councillor Bernards: Please elaborate on the role Discover Lewisham is playing in supporting businesses.

Councillor Powell: Many of our independent businesses are doing wonderful jobs in our community and Discover Lewisham has been an opportunity for this Council to connect with these businesses and highlight the work they have been doing.

Discover Lewisham has promoted local businesses and how they are flourishing. It has increased footfall for these businesses and involved local people in campaigns including filming and social media which helped people to connect more with our community.

An advert was placed in the Evening Standard explaining how Lewisham is a destination place where there are good independent businesses. This initiative is aimed at increasing the economy in Lewisham and encouraging employers to pay the living wage.  

Supplementary to Question 3

Councillor Davis: Could you talk about your meeting with the Minister, and whether he was receptive to any of the recommendations in our report?

Councillor Cooper: Set out in the report is the sustainability of the HRA models currently including an urgent £644,000,000 cash injection and the long-term rent settlements, the reforms of right to buy and a new long term decent and green homes programme. An urgent cash injection to restart home programmes was already being planned.

Since the meeting, there has been positive information on revisiting debt settlements set in 2012. Long term rent settlements have been discussed, and a reform of right to buy. The Minister has been advised that this needed to be a package otherwise it would not bring meaningful change or stability to HRA budgets or allow this Council to improve our stock to the standard needed, whilst building much needed homes.

Supplementary to Question 7

Councillor Anifowose: How did this Council celebrate East and Southeast Heritage Month in September?

Councillor Huynh: One of the biggest gatherings was at Deptford Lounge for the mid-autumn festival. Thousands of people celebrated particularly those from the Vietnamese/Chinese communities in Deptford. There were also film nights. There were library events for families, including origami and crafts. There were author events in local libraries including Cecile Pin who wrote Wandering Souls about a Vietnamese refugee family set in Catford. I hope this inaugural heritage month continues and grows in future years.

Supplementary to Question 12

Councillor Tam:  I want to place on record that I did not organise a demonstration at the Civic Suite before a Council meeting.

Will a perspex screen be installed if there are going to be protests in the future? Is this something that is being considered as part of security measures? What are the costs, and will it be discussed democratically before any such security measure are agreed?

Councillor De Ryk: I am aware that the possibility of installing perspex was discussed but do not know what happened following these discussions. Members would not want to do anything that materially affected residents’ ability to engage with this Council in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Councillor De Ryk MOVED, Councillor Rathbone SECONDED and the Council RESOLVED to:

(i)         approve the Treasury Management Outturn report for 2023/24 and the prudential and treasury indicators; and

(ii)        approve the Mid-year Treasury Management report 2024/25 including the prudential indicators, the revised Capital Programme 2024-28 and borrowing forecast in line with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

There were no motions.