Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.  Members are reminded that the provisions of paragraph 9.3 of Part 5, Chapter 1 of the Constitution in relation to Council Tax arrears applies to agenda item 9 “Budget Framework 2016/17”.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2015 were confirmed as correct.

The Assembly received and noted the minutes of the JNC Appointments Panel held on 15 December 2015.

The Assembly noted with deep regret that Honorary Alderman Fred Jones had passed away on 19 January 2016.

Mr Jones had served as a Borough Councillor for 43 years until his retirement in May 2006 and was the Borough Mayor during the 1990/91 municipal year.  Mr Jones had held several senior positions during his time as a Councillor and had been bestowed the Borough’s highest award when becoming an Honorary Alderman in 2006.

Mr Jones was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2012 for his services to the community in the Borough.

A number of members paid tribute to Mr Jones’ commitment to the Borough, through his work as an elected representative and through his presidency of Barking Music and Drama for 23 years.

The Assembly stood for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

The Leader will present his statement.

The Leader of the Council presented a verbal statement updating the Assembly on a range of matters which included:

·  The publication of the independent Growth Commission, an independent report. The report, titled “No-one left behind: in pursuit of growth for the benefit of everyone” was a landmark report for the Borough.  All Members would be given an opportunity to examine its proposals over the coming weeks.

·  Sadiq Khan MP and Labour Candidate for the Mayor of London, had visited the Borough with a keen interest in high quality housing for rent, the A13 Tunnel Campaign, the opportunity for growth in the Borough and the Shared Ownership Scheme, the first of its kind in the Country.

·  Shared Ownership Scheme, of which a public consultation was due to be launched shortly.  This was in response to cuts by Central Government, including the Housing and Planning Bill.  The proposals would come before Cabinet in March.

·  Lisa Nandy MP, had visited the Borough to discuss plans for a Council-run energy services company.

·  The Borough was being recognised as a key area within London, for example the Leader had been asked to lead a review of the role of London Councils in supporting the Labour Party and was the Chair of an Area review of Further Education colleges for nine Boroughs.  Senior treasury officials had also visited the Borough and were excited at the agenda the Borough was setting.

·  Finally, the Leader emphasised how proud he was of the Gender Equality Charter, which was due to be launched next month.

The Labour Group Secretary will announce any nominations to fill vacant positions on Council committees or other bodies.

The Assembly resolved to appoint Councillor White to the Pensions Panel.

The Assembly received the BAD Youth Forum’s 14^th Annual report, introduced by Erik Stein, Group Manager for Youth Services who was accompanied by Rao Khan, Pelumi Oyewo, Mariya Zhecheva, VaisalyGnanapandithan, Memoona Fatima, Sumayyah Rahman and Elise Kapferer from the Forum.

The Forum was made up of 60 young people who were elected from schools and youth groups in the Borough in January 2015.  Amongst the initiatives undertaken by the Forum during the year were the election of the first ever Young Mayor, Angelica Olawepo, and the creation of sub-groups to consider the following issues:

Anti-bullying Sub Group – The sub group chose to focus on bullying as 95% of the Forum as experienced bullying at some point in their lives and they wanted to raise awareness.  Members of the Sub Group became anti-bullying ambassadors following training which was run by Kidscape, an anti-bullying charity.  Members attended an anti-bullying event where they learnt news skills and went on to develop a workshop for young people.  The workshop, was delivered to four of the 10 Secondary Schools in the Borough, with over 70 young people participating.  The Sub Group also helped out at a local homeless shelter to demonstrate their commitment to the whole community.

Healthy Living Sub Group – The Sub Group was commissioned by public health to create a project that raises awareness of rising levels of obesity amongst young people. The Sub Group undertook a work shop on healthy eating with information about how to eat healthily on a budget and all participants were provided with a healthy meal from a menu developed by the sub group. The Sub Group also carried out inspections on different health facilities within the Borough and developed a report following each visit.  The reports were largely positive however some barriers to young people were identified, particularly in relation to affordable, quality sport facilities.

Other key aspects highlighted during the presentation included:

Young Inspectors – The Young Inspectors undertook 58 pharmacy inspections across 17 pharmacies, the largest amount undertaken in one year.  It was noted that since the work of the Young Inspectors had started, teenage pregnancy rates in the Borough had dropped.  The Young Inspectors also undertook inspections at leisure centres and undertook test purchases with Trading Standards.

Consultations – The Forum participated in nine consultations during the year and assisted the Police in developing a questionnaire aimed at young people.  The questionnaire received over 1900 responses.

Young Mayor – The first Young Mayor had attended several events during the year and held a charity fun day which raised hundreds of pounds for charity.

A new Forum had been elected in January, with five more members.  A new Young Mayor had also been elected for 2016, Pelumi Oyewo, who spoke to the Assembly setting out her aspirations for the year.

A number of Councillors paid tribute to the hard work of the Forum during the year, particularly for their work in addressing bullying  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

Assembly received this report presented by Councillor Twomey, Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services, which set out the:

·  Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2016/17 to 2020/21;

·  Proposed General Fund budget for 2016/17;

·  Proposed level of Council Tax for 2016/17;

·  Funding reductions to 2019/20

·  Financial outlook for 2017/18 onwards;

·  Draft capital investment programme 2016/17 to 20/21

The Cabinet Member announced that the key messages from this budget included:

·  The budget had been developed against a backdrop of significant pressures on the Councils budget on top of the savings which had already been made.

·  There were still many challenges ahead however through lobbying and innovation, the Council would prevail.

·  The Government had responded to a request from local authorities asking for a four year settlement figure, which gave the Council a buffer.

At the invitation of the Chair to speak, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) stated that the budget presented had been subject to significant review at both Member and Officer level.  Balances remained at the minimum recommended level of £15m.  Therefore overall, the CFO stated that he was comfortable that the proposed budget was sufficiently robust and sustainable to be recommended to Members.

Following questions from Members, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services advised that:

·  In relation to care costs, particularly for residents who had moved from a private residence which was being offset against cost, the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and health would provide a detailed response.

·  The provision of Lollipop persons with in the Borough was a deferred saving for 2016/17.  As part of the savings proposal, the Council would speak to schools and local businesses to obtain sponsorship to continue funding the service.  Talks were currently ongoing.  In response to this, Councillor McCarthy asked that it be noted he was waiting for a full reply on the matter from Councillor Twomey.

·  The budget for the Growth Commission had been agreed at £0.5m, however the entire budget had not been used.

·  The East London Waste Authority levy was not providing the best deal for the Council, however the contact was very strict.

·  No redundancies of Council staff had been made.  The Council had recently announced a voluntary redundancy scheme for staff.  The transfer of the one of collection fund surplus of £2.5m to the corporate redundancy reserve would be sufficient.

Councillor Twomey was then invited by the Chair to sum up and in doing so, Councillor Twomey moved the vote, which was seconded by Councillor Rodwell.

In accordance with paragraph 10.3.2 of part 2, Chapter 3 of the Council Constitution, the budget was put to a recorded vote and was agreed as follows:

For:   Councillors Ahammad, Alasia, Ashraf, Aziz, Bright, Butt, Carpenter, Chand, Channer, Choudhury, Fergus, Freeborn, Geddes, Ghani, Gill, Haroon, Hughes, Jamu, Jones, Keller, McCarthy, Miah, Miles, Mullane, Oluwole, Quadri, Rai, Ramsay, C Rice, L Rice, Rodwell, D Smith, L Smith, Tarry, Turner, Twomey, Wade, L Waker, P Waker, Worby and Young. (41)

Against: None (0)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services introduced a report setting out the Council’s Treasury Management Annual Strategy Statement (TMSS) for 2016/2017.

Assembly noted that the overall TMSS included details of the proposed borrowing limit for the year and a range of other aspects aimed at ensuring the Council had prudent and robust arrangements in place to meet all of its financial commitments and responsibilities, in line with the requirements of Section 15(1) of the Local Government Act 2003.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services drew Assembly’s attention to the proposed strategy changes from the 2015/16 document which included duration of risk, counterparty risk, short term borrowing and Lloyds Banking Group.

In response to questions, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services advised that there was uncertainty ahead of all Councils following the announcement of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Note the current treasury position for 2016/17 and prospects for interest rates, as referred to in section 6 of the report;

(ii)  Approve the Council’s Borrowing Strategy, Debt Rescheduling Strategy and Policy on borrowing in advance of need for 2016/17 as referred to in section 9 of the report;

(iii)  Approve the Annual Investment Strategy and Creditworthiness Policy for 2016/17 outlining the investments that the Council may use for the prudent management of its investment balances, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report;

(iv)  Approve the Authorised Borrowing Limit of £800m for 2016/17, representing the statutory limit determined by the Council pursuant to section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003, as set out in Appendix 4 of the report;

(v)  Approve the Treasury Management Indicators and Prudential Indicators for 2016/17, as set out in Appendix 4;

(vi)  Approve the Minimum Revenue Policy Statement for 2016/17, representing the Council’s policy on repayment of debt, as set out in Appendix 5 of the report;

(vii)  Maintain the authority delegated to the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to proportionally amend the counterparty lending limits agreed within the Treasury Management Strategy Statement to take into account the increase in cash from the European Investment Bank but also the subsequent decrease in cash balances as payments are made to the Special Purpose Vehicle; and

(viii)  Next review the delegated responsibility in (vii) above as part of the 2015/16 Treasury Management Outturn Report to the Assembly.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services introduced a report to Assembly on the Pay Policy Statement 2016/17.

In presenting the report, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services drew the Assembly’s attention to the following areas:

·  If approved, the Local Living Wage rate would be increased to £9.40 per hour (from £9.20) with effect from 1 January 2016.

·  Appendix A to the report contained details of the new structure in place at the Council.

·  The recently announced voluntary redundancy scheme would remain open until 30 May 2016 to ensure fairness and transparency.

·  With regard to pay ratios, the Chief Executive’s median salary rate was attributable to the retention of in-house services such as catering and cleaning.

·  Through the pay policy, the Council would be protecting its services and frontline staff.

The Assembly resolved to approve the Pay Policy Statement for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham for 2016/17 as set out at Appendix A to the report, for publication on the Council’s website with effect from 1 April 2016.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services presented a report on amendments to the Council Constitution.

The Cabinet Member advised that the Contract Rules governed and controlled the procurement of goods, services and works by the Council and sat alongside the Financial Rules. Changes were required due to changes in Public Procurement law and therefore required the Constitution to be updated in order to comply with current legislation.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services drew Assembly’s attention to other key updates which included:

·  the revision of the Officer Scheme of Delegation to reflect the new senior management structure;

·  the inclusion of provisions and rules for webcasting of Council meetings, which was due to begin later this year;

·  proposed revisions to the deadline for Questions With Notice and the tightening of arrangements for the submission of Questions With Notice and Motions With Notice;

·  the inclusion of wording to reflect the requirements of the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 in respect of the publication of executive decisions taken by officers under delegated authority; and

·  the inclusion of new requirements relating to Members’ Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Councillor Mullane requested that it be noted in the minutes that she had raised issues regarding contracts and blacklisting of contractors and had further questions on which she required further clarification.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Note and approve the proposed revisions to the Contract Rules, as detailed in Appendix A to this report;

(ii)  Approve the delegation of responsibility for appointing Parent Governor representatives from the Assembly to the Corporate Director of Children’s Services and note the other changes to the Officer Scheme of Delegation which reflect the current senior management structure, as detailed in Appendix C to the report;

(iii)  Approve the changes to the Protocol on Filming, Webcasting, Photography and the Use of Social Media at Council Meetings, as detailed in Appendix D to the report;

(iv)  Agree that the deadline for the submission of Questions With Notice be brought forward from midday Friday to midday Wednesday of the week before an Assembly meeting;

(v)  Agree that the processes for submitting Questions With Notice and Motions With Notice at the Assembly be amended and that, in future, any questions and/or motions are submitted either directly by the proposing Councillor or via the Group Secretary;

(vi)  Note the wording inserted in Part 2, Chapter 16 which reflects the Council’s adherence to The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 in respect of the publication of details of all executive decisions taken by officers;

(vii)  Agree that Councillors be required to be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in accordance with the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and note the inclusion of wording to that effect in the Councillors’ Code of Conduct; and

(viii)  Note that the Monitoring Officer shall make all necessary procedural and/or incidental amendments to the Contract Rules and the Constitution in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

Motion 1 - Daesh

Moved by Councillor Ashraf and Seconded by Councillor Alasia:

“This Council notes that:

·  The ‘Prevent’ Duty’, which is part of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 states that we and other local authorities have a duty to support people who are vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism or supporting extremism.

·  The group which operates in Syria and Iraq refers to itself as ‘the Islamic State’, and is also known as ISIS and ISIL in the UK.

·  In the Middle East and in several countries including Canada, France, Australia and increasingly in the UK, the Arabic term ‘Daesh’ is used instead.

·  The term Daesh has negative connotations, meaning one who crushes something underfoot or one who sows discord.

This Council believes that:

·  The organisation that refers to itself as ‘the Islamic State’ is not Islamic, nor is it a state.

·  Referring to this group as ‘the Islamic State’ helps to legitimise its poisonous propaganda campaign which is enticing vulnerable people to travel to Syria to join their group.

·  This is contrary to the Prevent duty and the work undertaken by this Council in the development and implementation of a Prevent Strategy.

This Council therefore resolves to:

·  Refer to this evil organisation as Daesh instead of Islamic State or ISIS / ISIL in all Prevent literature; and calls on other local authorities to officially use the term Daesh.”

Members spoke in support of the motion and expressed their concerns that young and vulnerable people were being targeted by the organisation.  The change was welcomed by Members and it was hoped the media would follow the Councils lead.

The motion was put to the vote by way of a show of hands and carried.

Standing orders were suspended at this juncture to allow the meeting to continue beyond 9.00pm.

Motion 2 - Trade Union Bill

Moved by Councillor Ogungbose and Seconded by Councillor McCarthy

“This Council is alarmed at the way in which the Conservative Government’s Trade Union Bill seeks to tear up the collaboration between employers and trade union members, and the potential impact this will have on the Council, as well as many other workplaces across our borough.

In its current form, the Bill is nothing short of an ideologically driven attack on the fundamental rights and freedoms of workers. It is also deliberately designed to dramatically reduce the funding to the main Party in opposition to the Government.

This Council recognises the positive contribution that trade unions and trade union members make in our workplace. We value their commitment to the delivery of good quality public services in Barking and Dagenham, especially in these challenging economic times for local authorities.

The Bill proposes a number of divisive measures that threaten workplace democracy. These include: very high thresholds for industrial ballots and even higher thresholds in certain public services; permitting the use of agency labour to substitute for striking workers; reductions in trade union facility time; a requirement for union members to ‘opt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Question 1

From Councillor Mullane

“Can the Cabinet Member for Environment update me on the action being undertaken in regard to the former Bull Pub site in Village Ward? We are aware as Ward Councillors that site visits have been undertaken by the Enforcement team with us and actions are ongoing. We wish to go on public record to thank Jonathan Tye for his help so far. The Licensed Landlord scheme has an action outstanding and the illegal car wash is being dealt with along with the issue of dumped rubbish. As Ward Councillors, we have found this to be a prominent concern in our ward and indeed Dagenham as a whole.”

Response

Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement, advised that it was a very complicated case where the council had undertaken investigations into who had the liability for the different activities on site.  Enforcement action had been taken against the Freeholder by the Council. 

Question 2

From Councillor Mullane

“Will the Cabinet members for housing and regeneration share the Village Ward Councillors concerns about communal letter boxes in our flatted estates?

On three blocks constituents have had their ID stolen. Furthermore the boxes are so small, if they go away, the post stacks and then it’s obvious to potential criminals their flats are empty. On the Leys Estate because of a GLA grant needed for the development, the Ward Councillors are not satisfied that the Council are proceeding with communal boxes provided by Secure by design, which we are told is the choice of the Mayor and that the GLA insist on them.”

Response

Councillor Geddes, Cabinet Member for Regeneration agreed with Councillor Mullane that the letter boxes were poorly designed however the Leys Estate development was partly funded by grants from the GLA, and this came with some requirements one of which was that the Council must get a secure by design certification.  The secure by design officer from the Metropolitan Police, insisted on the installation of ‘through the wall’ letter boxes and would not issue the certification if the Council deviated from this.

Supplementary Question

Councillor Mullane asked of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration would consider writing to the GLA to express the Councils concerns.

Councillor Geddes advised that he would make representation on the concerns raised by Councillor Mullane.

Question 3

From Councillor Chand

“Following the recent front page news in the Dagenham Post regarding the RingGo parking system, could the relevant portfolio holder agree with a growing number of residents that the system is not fit for purpose and that it is now a good time to grant a one hour free parking period to local parking schemes.”

  Response

Councillor Butt, Cabinet Member for Crime and Enforcement advised that RingGo was a successful system used across the country.  The use of RingGo had increased month on month in the Borough while the use of cash had dropped.  A new parking strategy was currently being developed and would look at options on whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.