Agenda and minutes

The Chair of Council, Councillor Jacq Paschoud  declared a personal interest

in Item 8 as the current representative.

Councillor John Paschoud declared a personal interest in Item 8 as the

spouse of the Current representative.

Councillors Mark Ingleby, Peter Bernhards and Carline Kalu declared a

personal interest in Item 7 as Board Members of Lewisham Homes.

Councillor Alan Hall declared a personal interest in Item 8 as a member of the

Brent Knoll and Watergate Trust.

Councillor Carl Handley declared a personal interest in Item 8 as a Governor

at Watergate School.

Councillor James-J Walsh declared a personal interest in Item 13 as a

member of the Co-operative Party.

Councillor Olurotimi Ogunbadewa declared a personal interest in Item 7 as a

Board Member of Phoenix Community Housing.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on July 18 be confirmed and

signed as a correct record,

Councillor Liam Curran presented two petitions against three proposed

developments on Hillcrest Estate, namely Bluebell Close, Vigilant Close and

the Gateway Site.

The first handwritten petition was signed by 133 local residents and the

second online petition bore 722 signatures.

The petitions called upon the Council to both refuse planning permission and

list the estates ancient woodland and veteran trees as part of the Great North

Wood to ensure these natural assets remain for the benefit of current and

future generations.

Obituaries

The Chair reported the deaths of former Councillors Solomon Brown and

Gurbahksh Garcha.

She remembered both as respectable men and recalled she had first met

Solomon Brown on the Community Health Council 25 years ago. She

recounted the service he had given as a Councillor and Deputy Mayor and

with the Lewisham Disability Coalition. She praised him as a lovely person

and true gentleman.

The Chair said she had first met Gurbahksh Garcha in Forest Hill 30 years

ago. She reflected fondly on his personal impact as a man of peace who

strove to make the world a better place in spite of some great personal

adversity.

The Mayor next added his tribute to Solomon Brown a former representative of Hither Green the precursor to the Lewisham Central Ward he had served. He welcomed his son and widow to the meeting and recalled details of his personal story which he had learned of.

The Mayor also welcomed the widow, son, and grandson of Gurbahksh

Garcha to the meeting. The Mayor knew him as a true gentleman and role

model and counted him as a good friend who had supported his campaigns

and who remained community minded even after his 20 years service on the

Council.

Sir Steve Bullock DL stated both Solomon Brown and Gurbahksh Garcha

joined the Council as mature individuals bringing a wealth of wisdom and

experience to the Council and serving the community in many different ways.

Sir Steve recalled his first year as Mayor and how he had persuaded

Hurbahksh Garcha to be a reluctant but incredibly supportive member of his

Cabinet in very challenging times. He remembered him as a friend but also as

a loving father and grandfather.

Councillor Mallory said it was Councillor Adefiranye, who was unable to be

present at the meeting, who had provided him with the news of both deaths.

In his time as Leader of the Council he had known both men. He regarded

Solomon Brown as mild mannered and unassuming who carried out his duties

as Councillor and Deputy Mayor with great dignity. He thought of Gurbahksh

Garcha as a kind, tolerant and principled individual who had an impact on

youth services during the transition of ILEA to the Boroughs and through his

dedication and long term commitment to the Rockbourne Youth Club. On a

personal level he remained as a golf partner until the end of his life.

Councillor Sheikh concluded the tributes by sharing her warm personal relationship with Gurbahksh Garcha and that they shared a common heritage.

All present observed a one minute silence in memory of Solomon Brown and Gurbahksh Garcha.

4 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.

36 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.

The Mayor moved that the recommendation shown below be approved and

this was seconded by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Chris Best. Following

contributions from Councillors Coral Howard and Liz Johnston-Franklin, there

was a reply by the Mayor and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that

(a) The Basic Allowance for Councillors should be increased by the headline

National Joint Council (NJC) 2018 local government pay settlement of 2%

with effect from the beginning of the 2018-19 municipal year;

(b) The freeze on members’ basic allowances should be ended and these

allowances increased during the next four municipal years by the headline

figure in the NJC local government pay settlements;

(c) Where Cabinet portfolios are shared between members, both should

receive half the remuneration of a Cabinet member;

(d) The Scheme should continue to make provision for payment of a

dependants’ carer’s allowance and that in special circumstances (eg for care

of a severely disabled person) the Council should reimburse a higher cost

where this can be justified;

(e) The Mayor and councillors should be entitled to claim for travel outside

the borough and subsistence allowances outside Greater London at the same

rates as those prescribed for staff of the authority; and

(f) The date of implementation of recommendations should be the

commencement of the 2018-2019 municipal year.

Councillor Joan Millbank moved that the recommendation be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Alex Feis-Bryce and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that Cllr Jacqueline Paschoud be reappointed as its

representative on the Trust Board of the Brent Knoll and Watergate Co-

operative Trust for a further 5 year term of office.

Councillor Chris Barnham moved that the recommendation be approved and

this was seconded by Councillor Luke Sorba and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be received and the action taken

be endorsed.

The Chair moved that the recommendation be approved and this was

seconded by the Vice-Chair and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that that the actions taken by the Chair of Council be noted.

The motion was moved by Councillor Janet Daby MP and seconded by

Councillor Brenda Dacres. Following contributions from Councillors Colin

Elliott and Joan Millbank, the motion was then put to the vote and declared

to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“The Windrush scandal is a British political scandal concerning people born

British subjects, who came to the United Kingdom (UK) between 1948 and

1973. They were predominately from Caribbean countries, and have become

known as the Windrush Generation.

Many of the Windrush Generation were denied their British citizenship and

legal rights, wrongly detained, and threatened with deportation. There are

many who were wrongly deported from the UK, or denied the right to return

from vacation or family bereavements by the Home Office. To date, the Home

office has failed to provide the exact number of people whom this has

affected.

The ramifications of those who were suddenly told that they were not British

Citizens, despite being British before entrance into the UK has been

devastating. They have lost their jobs, homes, pensions, and financial

security. They have been denied benefits and medical care to which they

were and are fully entitled to. The denial of medical care has led to deaths.

Many of those arrived on these shores as invited British subjects have lost

their dignity, been marginalised, felt ashamed and embarrassed, and have

had the lives ripped apart.  Many of those affected through the Windrush

Scandal have been older vulnerable people, as well as their dependants.

Furthermore, an unknown number of long-term UK residents were wrongly

refused re-entry to the UK, and a larger number were threatened with

immediate deportation by the Home Office.

In one month alone, the UK Government received a total of 13,000 calls to a

specialist unit set up within the Department of the Home Office, in the

aftermath of the extreme scale of those affected. The Home Office has since

disclosed that more than 850 people now have documentation to affirm their

British Citizenship following an appointment with their dedicated team.

However, the total number affected at home and abroad are still unknown.

This motion pledges that Lewisham Council publicly opposes the

mistreatment and criminalisation of Windrush individuals and families; and

resolves:

•           In continuing to actively campaign for an end to all ‘hostile environment’

policy measures, calls upon the Mayor of Lewisham alongside the 3 local

Lewisham MPs to demand that the Government enables the Windrush

Generation to acquire British citizenship at no cost, and with proactive

assistance throughout the process, which is not time limited. To note that the

‘hostile environment’ is not restricted to the Windrush generation, and that the

campaign be extended to include post-1973 spouses and children that

followed to join their pre-1973 family member.

•           To proactively advertise the open consultation of the Windrush

Compensation Scheme, through which victims of the Windrush Scandal will

be able to claim compensation.

•           To call upon the Government to fully and financially support advice

agencies in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

The motion was moved by Councillor Liz Johnston-Franklin and seconded by

Councillor Luke Sorba. 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 the Conservative Government has failed young people by

overseeing unprecedented and cruel cuts to youth services across the

country.

• Overall spending on youth services in England has fallen by £737m

(62%) since 2010.

• Youth work as a profession has been eroded and undermined through

funding cuts and market reforms. This has resulted in a reduction in the

number of JNC programmes, the number of providers employing JNC

qualified workers and the number of students enrolling in

undergraduate programmes.

• Between 2012 and 2016, 600 youth centres closed down and 3,500

youth workers lost their jobs.

• Cuts to youth services have devastated the lives of young people by

damaging community cohesion, making it harder to stay in formal

education, and having a negative impact on their health and wellbeing. 

• 83% of youth workers say the cuts have had an effect on crime and

anti-social behaviour.

• Youth work is a distinct educational process offering young people safe

spaces to explore their identity, experience decision-making, increase

their confidence, develop interpersonal skills and think through the

consequences of their actions. This leads to better informed choices,

changes in activity and improved outcomes for young people.

This Council believes:

• Youth services should be made statutory, recognising the important

role universal youth work plays in supporting young people to realise

            their potential.

• Each local authority should set up a local youth services partnership

with young people, parents, professionals and councillors, to ensure

that provision is tailored to the needs of each community.

• It should be the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Digital

Culture Media and Sport to promote and secure youth services in each

local authority across the country.

• There should be a mandated national body with dedicated ring fenced

funding to oversee youth service provision across England. 

This Council resolves to:

• Ask our 3 Constituency MP’s to support and campaign for fully funded

statutory youth services.

• Make a submission to the Labour Party’s ‘Building a Statutory Youth

Service’ consultation before the deadline on Monday 12 November

2018.

The motion was moved by Councillor James-J Walsh and seconded by

Councillor Amanda De Ryk. Following a contribution from Councillors Coral

Howard, the motion was then put to the vote and declared to be unanimously

carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

This council notes

Though slavery was abolished in the UK in 1833, there are more slaves today

than ever before in human history. Figures from the International Labour

Organisation (ILO) suggest that there are more than 40 million people in

modern slavery across the world, with nearly 25 million held in forced labour.

There were 3805 victims of modern slavery identified in the UK in 2016. A

rising number but still well below the 10,000 and 13,000 potential victims

estimated by the Home Office.

Modern Slavery is happening nationwide. Traffickers and slave masters use

whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force

individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment. This can

include sexual and criminal exploitation.

*This council believes*

 That action needs to be taken to raise awareness of modern slavery and the

fact that it is happening all over the UK.

That the current support for victims is not sufficient and needs to go beyond

the 45 days they are currently given by the government.

That councils have an important role to play in ensuring their contracts and

supplies don’t contribute to modern day slavery and exploitation.

*This council resolves to ask the Mayor & Cabinet*

To consider adopting the Co-operative Party’s Charter against Modern

Slavery to ensure our procurement practices don’t support slavery.

*The Charter*

London Borough of Lewisham Council will:

1. Train its corporate procurement team to understand modern slavery

through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) online

course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.

2. Require its contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015,

wherever it applies, with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-

compliance.

3. Challenge any abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely upon

the potential contractor practising modern slavery.

4. Highlight to its suppliers that contracted workers are free to join a trade

union and are not to be treated unfairly for belonging to one.

5. Publicise its whistle-blowing system for staff to blow the whistle on any

suspected examples of modern slavery.

6. Require its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy which

enables their staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern

slavery.

7. Review its contractual spending regularly to identify any potential issues

with modern slavery.

8. Highlight for its suppliers any risks identified concerning modern slavery

and refer them to the relevant agencies to be addressed.

9. Refer for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral

mechanism any of its contractors identified as a cause for concern regarding

modern slavery.

10. Report publicly on the implementation of this policy annually

The motion was moved by Councillor Stephen Penfold and seconded by

Councillor Octavia Holland. Following contributions from Councillors Jim

Mallory, Mark Ingleby, James Rathbone and Liam Curran, 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:

It is now two years since the Brexit vote and the Government still has no

satisfactory Brexit plan. The Government seems paralysed between the

position of the EU, “Remain” MP’s and “Hard Brexit” MP’s. Since the June

2016 Referendum (“the Referendum”) we have gone from the top of the G7

for economic growth to the bottom.

 The Labour Party in Lewisham, and our current mayor, campaigned

extensively for Remain locally during the Referendum campaign.

Whilst the UK narrowly voted to leave the EU in the Referendum,

approximately 70% of voters in the London Borough of Lewisham voted to

remain.

This Council believes:

If the UK leaves the European Union, our country will be permanently poorer,

have diminished influence in the world and the greatest burden will fall on the

poorest and youngest in society.

For communities up and down the country, jobs and businesses are under

threat and it is absolutely right for local authorities to be making a stand on

their behalf

Any form of Brexit will damage the NHS; the Nuffield Trust projects the

economic impact will translate into an annual £2.4bn shortfall in funding, but

the economic impact is not the only area on which we need to be focusing.

Since the referendum there has been a marked increase in hostile behaviour

towards immigrants and an unpleasant and dangerous increase in nationalism

and xenophobic attitudes in this country.

That  Councils already struggling  as a result of the “austerity” policies of this 

government and the constituents they represent, will be hit hardest by the

detrimental economic effects of Brexit.

The terms of Brexit were not clear in the 2016 referendum, and we have seen

no meaningful progress.

Further, the only way for the current impasse in which the government finds

itself to be resolved is by a referendum.

This Council resolves:

•           To write to the Government urging it to put the terms of any Brexit deal

to the people of the UK by way of a referendum with an option to remain full

members of the EU.

The Council notes that Lewisham Labour Group will:

•           In the event of a referendum being called it will campaign for a

“Remain” vote and will write to the Labour Party NEC asking that the Labour

Party nationally campaign for a “Remain” vote.

The Chair advised Council that she had used her discretion under Part 4,

Section C, Paragraph 25.3 of the Constitution to allow this additional urgent

item having being satisfied that the issue arose after the publication of the

agenda and that it could not wait until the next ordinary meeting in November.

The motion was then moved by Councillor John Paschoud and seconded by

Councillor Pauline Morrison. The motion was then put to the vote and

declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“We understand that Arriva Rail London and TfL are planning to close ticket

offices in a number of stations.

The proposed closure of ticket offices at Anerley, Honor Oak Park, Penge

West, Rotherhithe, and Surrey Quays is likely to particularly impact many

residents of Lewisham; but some of our residents are likely to use stations

across the whole of the Overground network for daily journeys, including all

51 where this cut to service is proposed.

Lewisham Council believes these are damaging and detrimental cuts and that

there is still a clear need for staffed ticket offices at stations. Industry research

shows that a clear majority of passengers still prefer to buy from the ticket

office rather than from a ticket machine.

Replacing staffed ticket offices with ticket machines, or mobile staff expected

to sell tickets on platforms, will undoubtedly limit the quality and range of

services available to passengers.

If these changes go ahead we believe that residents of Lewisham:

• would not be able to access all the tickets and services needed from a ticket

machine;

• would find it harder to obtain advice on tickets and fares without a staffed

office;

• would be concerned that there were insufficient numbers of ticket machines

(due to them being in high demand or faulty);

• would experience more delays and concourse congestion;

• those who are disabled, elderly and vulnerable may be less confident using

a ticket machine and could end up overspending or being deterred from

travelling; and

• that by leaving stations understaffed and sometimes unstaffed it will make it

harder to provide a safe and secure environment — especially with CCTV left

unmonitored.

We call upon the GLA and TFL to reconsider these proposals and continue to

provide the best possible and safest Overground service to the people of

Lewisham and London.”