Agenda and minutes

Assembly noted this report introduced by the Chief Executive, Graham Farrant.

At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Reason reported to Assembly that the London Charter for Elected Member Development had first been awarded to the Council in 2009.  She went on to say that an external team had re-assessed the Council in July 2012 and one of the members of that team, Councillor Catherine West, Leader of Islington Council, was in the Chamber to present the Charter Certificate.

Councillor Reason thanked the Members and officers who had been interviewed during the assessment and those officers who had maintained the Member handbooks, development programmes, reports and Member learning strategy, all of which had been rigorously examined by the Assessors.

Councillor Reason went on to say that:

·  the Council is committed to Member Development,

·  we had been the first council in London to be awarded the Charter and were the first to be re-assessed,

·  training and briefings were provided to Members on a vast range of subjects to equip them to be effective councillors,

·  Members were supported to meet subject experts and colleagues from other authorities,

·  the 32 new Members elected to the Council in May 2010 were testament to the value of the Member Development Programme as by putting their training into practice they have become effective community leaders and great contributors to the Council,

·  Members lead Member Development in identifying the required training and how it is delivered,

·  the training is evaluated to ensure continuous improvement.

Councillor Reason further thanked the Member Development Group – Councillors N Gill, Keller, Rai, Letchford, Ogungbose, IS Jamu and Carpetner – for their hard work and input.

Through the Chair, Councillor Reason welcomed Councillor Catherine West to formally present the Charter Certificate.

Councillor West stated that she was pleased and privileged to have been invited to present Barking and Dagenham with the Certificate in recognition of having been re-awarded the Charter for Member Development.  She and her co-assessors had spent the 25 July at the council and had enjoyed meeting Members and officers. She particularly noted the strength of the Democratic Services team.

She went on to say that in a period of time where Councillor Development has never been so important it was enlightening to see that Barking and Dagenham Council had become the first council in London to be successfully re-accredited against the Charter standard.  Across England 206 (62%) councils had made the commitment, or achieved the Charter, and Barking and Dagenham Council continued to be part of this growing number. 

Councillor West said that the Charter recognised the investment and value that the Council places in member development.  The authority recognised that development of all Councillors was critical to the successful achievement and delivery of strategic priorities on behalf of the people represented and served in the community.  The development and support that Barking and Dagenham Council provided for all Councillors would become even more important in order to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the Localism Agenda.

She  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Assembly received and noted the terms of a petition presented by the Lead Petitioner, Mr John Far, requesting that the Council stop proposals to implement controlled parking zones (CPZs) within Ripple Road and Harrow Road.

Mr Far thanked Assembly and said that the residents of Ripple and Harrow Roads were against the CPZ that was proposed to be implemented in that area.  He went on to say that following receipt of a letter from the Council advising that the consensus had been to implement a CPZ, he had been round to a great majority of the residents and only one in Ripple Road and two in Harrow Road had said they were in favour of a CPZ.  He concluded from this that the Council had mis-represented the facts that residents had requested the CPZ.

He further stated that the implementation of a CPZ would:

·  deter customers from coming to shops and businesses in the area;

·  cause difficulties for residents attending the medical centre;

·  cause hardship for residents if they had to pay to park outside their houses.

At the invitation of the Chair, Mr Kashif Syed spoke in support of the petition, saying that there had been no problems at any time regarding parking.  He also raised concerns as to the cost of permits, explaining that residents had originally been advised that the cost would be about £25 but that now a charge would be imposed depending on the car engine size.  He said he had personally spoken to residents in Ripple Road and that they did not want the CPZ to be implemented.

Assembly received the response to the petition introduced by the Divisional Director of Environmental Services (DDES), Robin Payne, who explained the consultation process and stated that two consultations had been carried out – one in Ripple Road and one in Harrow and adjacent roads.

The DDES referred the Assembly to the consultation tables set out in the report and in particular that 68.29% of the responses from Ripple Road and 60% of the responses from Harrow Road had voted in favour of a CPZ.

Following the commencement in June 2012 of the formal Traffic Management Order stage, and following concerns raised that Ripple and Harrow Roads would be included in it,  the decision was taken not to seal the Order but to conduct further consultation.

In debating the matter Members questioned:

v  the suggestion by the petitioners that there had been no traffic issues in Ripple Road, given how long that road is, and

v  the proposed change to the cost of a parking permit.

Mr Far, the Lead Petitioner, responded to the first point stating that Ripple Road was almost all business orientated.

As to the second point, the DDES advised that when this matter went out for consultation in 2011 a permit would have cost in the region of £22.50.  However, the Fees and Charges Report of February 2012 had introduced a new charging scheme based on engine size, under which a permit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Assembly received and noted the terms of a petition presented by Mrs Nadira Begum, requesting the Council to arrange further warden patrols and security cameras on the streets of the Thamesview Estate.

Mrs Begum informed Assembly that she represented the residents of the Thamesview Estate and that:

·  over the last few months they had had concerns as to the safety in their homes

·  they were on constant alert, fearing to leave their homes unattended

·  homes had been broken into at times when parents leave their homes to collect their children from school.

Mrs Begum confirmed that she had been working with officers from the Council, particularly, Katherine Gilcreest the Anti-Social Behaviour Team Manager, and asked Assembly to help the residents increase safety in their homes by increasing patrols and fitting CCTV.

Assembly received the response to the petition presented by the Corporate Director for Adult and Community Services, Anne Bristow (CDACS), who confirmed the concerns raised an that Mrs Begum had kindly worked with the Council to address them.

The CDACS went on to say that the police had identified a pattern to the burglaries in July this year and that an action plan had been put in place across the partnership.

As a result of a Crime Prevention Road Show (CPRS) in Abbey Ward in July 2012, officers had been put in touch with Mrs Begum, following which a CPRS was arranged for the Thamesview Estate in August 2012, which approximately 100 residents attended.  A further CPRS is planned for the end of October 2012.

The CDACS advised that burglaries had decreased but that officer recommendation is not to proceed with additional CCTV as there are five around Bastable Avenue and it was felt that this was not deemed to be an appropriate response to burglaries.  Additional police patrols and the action plan focus on prevention and these measures are currently delivering the reduction in burglaries.

Councillor Channer – Thames Ward Member – was pleased to note the positive response to the Road Shows in getting information out to residents.  She commended Katherine Gilcreest for her pro-active approach and thanked Mrs Begum for her efforts in bringing the petition to the Assembly.

The CDACS added her thanks to Mrs Begum and concluded that working together with residents and the police makes the community powerful.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Crime, Justice and Communities, Councillor Alexander, advised Assembly that she had had a positive meeting with the Lead Petitioner and that a further meeting had been planned.  She too commended the team work of the Council, the residents and the police.

Assembly:

(i)  noted the action taken to respond to the concerns raised in the petition and the substantial decrease in burglary offences resulting from this work; and

(ii)  agreed that all reasonable steps to respond to this petition are being taken.

Assembly received and noted this report presented by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Smith, which set out details of Cabinet Members and their revised portfolios.

Assembly agreed the following appointments:

Councillor Saeed to the Personnel Board; and

Councillor Kangethe as the Deputy Chair of the Standards Committee.

Assembly received this report introduced by the Chief Executive, Graham Farrant.

Assembly:

(i)  agreed to the appointment of Jonathan Bunt, Divisional Director of Finance, as the Council’s Statutory Section 151 Officer until further notice;

(ii)  noted that a further report will be presented to Assembly to confirm the position of the Section 151 Officer in the light of proposals under any future shared management arrangements with Thurrock, and

(iii)  agreed that pending the outcome of (ii) above the Chief Executive be authorised to review and amend the Council Constitution, in particular the Scheme of Delegation.

Assembly received this report introduced by the Chief Executive, Graham Farrant.

Assembly agreed:

(i)  the appointment of the Chief Executive and the Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services, in addition to the Portfolio Holder for Customer Services as the three Council Board Representatives on the Elevate East London LLP Board, and

(ii)  that the Council Board Representatives be authorised to appoint alternate representatives as and when required, to ensure full Council representation at Board meetings, in accordance with the Elevate Partnership deed.

Motion – The improvement of facilities at Barking Station for elderly and disabled people.

Moved by Councillor Rai and seconded by Councillor Geddes:

“There are insufficient facilities for elderly and disabled people at Barking Station. Although there is one lift leading to one platform, to access the other platforms is a very long and uphill struggle for passengers with luggage.  Barking & Dagenham Council is asked to start a dialogue with Transport for London and British Rail to install escalators at all platforms at the Barking Station as soon as possible.”

In seconding the motion Councillor Geddes stated that it was very poor indeed for such a busy station to be neglected for as long as it has.  It is not step free and suffers from congestion.  He noted that there was a problem with a delay to the C2C contract but hoped Assembly would support the motion.

In accordance with the provisions of the Council Constitution, the Chair exercised his discretion in allowing Councillor Tarry to move the following amendment, which was seconded by Councillor Hussain:

“Barking Station is the busiest transport hub in our Borough, served by C2C, London Overground, and two tube line services. Despite this, there are significant accessibility issues for older and disabled people – particularly wheelchair users, and families with pushchairs at Barking Station. Although there is one lift leading to one platform, to access the other platforms is a very long and uphill struggle for these passengers. 

Barking and Dagenham Council is asked to start a dialogue with C2C (National Express), and Transport for London to install step-free access at all platforms at Barking Station as soon as possible. This is in the context of year-on-year fares rises (again, in January 2012 these will average 6.2%), which hit the passengers of Barking and Dagenham hard financially.

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council is, therefore, called upon to work with key community stakeholders including every-day commuters, disabled travel rights campaigners Transport for All, London Assembly Members, MPs, and community transport campaigners Together for Transport, to mount a sustained campaign to install more step-free access at Barking Station and to oppose the planned Government and TfL fares increases.”

In moving the amendment Councillor Tarry stated that he supported Councillor Rai's motion but felt that this amendment tightened the motion.

Members spoke in support of both the motion and the amendment.

Councillor McCarthy noted Councillor Rai's membership of the Public Transport Liaison Group.  He referred to the visit in the recent past of the then Transport Secretary to Barking Station and advised Assembly that a master plan was in place.  However, it had been delayed because of the West Coast Line issues and the Coalition Government's transport policy.  He stated that C2C was responsible for the station but considered that its franchise should have been removed, and whoever took over the franchise must put in the capital required. 

Councillor McCarthy, as Ward Member for Eastbrook where Dagenham East Station is situated, said that as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.