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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX

Contact: Democratic Services  Email: Democratic.Services@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

19/21

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 369 KB

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on the following dates as accurate records:

 

(i)          25 January 2021

(ii)         8 February 2021

(iii)        8 March 2021

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on 25 January 2021 and 8 February 2021 were agreed as an accurate record.

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 March were agreed as accurate with the following amendments:

 

·       The minutes stated, on Page 66 in the agenda pack, that Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice was the Cabinet Member present for Homes; however, she was not the Cabinet Member at this time. It was therefore suggested that the wording “Cabinet Member for Homes” following her name was redacted.

·       The second correction is that the HRA stands for Housing Revenue Account, as opposed to Housing Resident Account as stated in the minutes, also on Page 66 in the agenda pack.  

 

20/21

Disclosure of Interests

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Pelling declared that he would leave the meeting for the item discussing Brick by Brick.

 

21/21

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 

22/21

Appointments of Interim Statutory Chief Officers pdf icon PDF 125 KB

To consider the report of the Chief Executive.

Minutes:

The Mayor invited the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali to move the recommendations in the report.

 

The Mayor invited Councillor Perry to second the recommendations in the report.

 

The recommendations were put to the vote and were unanimously carried.

The

RESOLVED: Council AGREED the recommendations in the report:

 

1.1  Appoint John Jones as the Council’s Interim Monitoring Officer from the date of this meeting pending recruitment to the Director of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer post on a permanent basis; and

 

1.2  Note the appointment of Richard Ennis as the Council’s interim statutory Section 151 Chief Finance Officer and Corporate Director of Resources on 2 September 2021.

 

The Mayor congratulated both John Jones and Richard Ennis on their appointments.

 

23/21

Announcements

To receive Announcements, if any, from the Mayor, the Leader, Head of Paid Service and Returning Officer.

Minutes:

The Mayor

 

The Mayor gave his announcements to the Members of Council.

 

The Mayor began his announcements by offering his thanks to Her Honour Judge Alice Robinson, who was the resident judge at Croydon Crown Court, and had been the Honorary Recorder of Croydon since 4 December 2017. On behalf of the Council, he wished her wll in her new role at Norwich Crown Court. The Mayor also welcomed the new Resident Judge at Croydon on behalf of all Members.

 

The Mayor went on to highlight his upcoming fundraising events. The Croydon mayor’s Dinner & Charity Launch on Thursday 14 October, which all Members were invited to. Also he was holding a Golf Day Fundraiser on Thursday 28 October and a Bollywood Dinner & Dance Fundraiser in November, and the Mayor will confirm the date of this to Members shortly.

 

The Leader

 

The Mayor invited the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali, to make her announcements.

 

The Leader confirmed that she had no announcements to make.

 

The Chief Executive

 

The Mayor invited the Chief Executive, Katherine Kerswell, to make her announcements.

 

The Chief Executive stated that later in the agenda Members would be voting to amend the Constitution to enable an Independent Chair of the General Purposes & Audit Committee to be appointed.  In anticipation of those changes being made, a meeting of the Appointments Committee was held on 17 August 2021 where a number of candidates for this role were shortlisted and subsequently interviewed.  Subject to Council agreeing the recommendations to amend the Constitution as set out in agenda item 12, the Appointments Committee has resolved that Olu Olasode be appointed as the Council’s first Independent Chair of the General Purposes & Audit Committee.

24/21

Croydon Question Time pdf icon PDF 115 KB

a)      Public Questions (30 minutes)

To receive questions from the public gallery and questions submitted by residents in advance of the meeting.

 

b)      Leader and Cabinet Member Questions (105 minutes)

To receive questions from Councillors.

Minutes:

The Mayor explained that Croydon Question Time would be taken in two parts.

 

The first part was public questions to the Leader and Cabinet, which was followed by questions from Members to the Leader and Cabinet. Wherever possible, the Cabinet Member provided an answer during the meeting, but if a question required detail that the Cabinet Member did not have with them then a written response would be published on the Council website within the following three weeks.

 

Public Questions

 

There were 30 minutes allocated to public questions, firstly from those who were in attendance and had emailed in their questions in advance.

 

The first question was from Kostandinos Dexiades.

 

“Why is the complaints system at Croydon council so convoluted, whenever I submit a complaint I am told that I have to go to ‘My Account’ on the councils website to get a reference number. Once I get a reference number and try to get back in touch with the council I then receive an automated response telling me that I need to go back to ‘My Account’ in order to get a reference number and the cycle goes on and on. Throughout this whole process the initial issue that I complained about has gotten even worse. When will Croydon improve its ability to deal with the complaints of its residents? And specifically what changes do you intend to make in order to fix this issue moving forwards?”

 

In his response the Cabinet Member for Resources and Financial Governance, Councillor Young apologised for the experience that Mr Dexiades had experienced and offered to write to him with a full explanation. However, Councillor Young did set out all the methods that people could use to make a complaint. However, complaints cannot be made through the “My Account” function as that is for services such as ordering new bins or paying for services.

 

In his supplementary question, Mr Dexiades stated that he had received an email from the council’s complaints department that told him to go into the “My Account” function.

 

In response, Councillor Young stated that he would look into this specific case and include it with his written reply that he mentioned earlier.

 

The next question was from Samir Dwesar.

 

“Croydon residents overwhelmingly rejected the status quo in last Thursday's

referendum thanks to a residents-led campaign. In every single Council ward

there was a majority for a Mayoral system. But there are dozens of examples

of many Labour Councillors insulting, degrading and demeaning the

supporters of the successful campaign. One councillor took to social media to

attack 'elderly people'. One attacked 'white people, middle class people and

residents' associations'. Do you think this is acceptable? And if not, what are

you going to do about it?”

 

In her response, the Leader Councillor Hamida Ali stated the debate earlier had discussed the borough wide support for a Mayoral system. However the question highlighted  some very serious allegations about the use of social media and all councillors needed to take  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/21

25/21

Member Petitions pdf icon PDF 276 KB

To receive notice of petitions presented by Members on behalf of local residents.

Minutes:

The following petition was presented by Councillor Pelling on behalf of residents:

 

c)     “Request for a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN, or Safe Street) by excluding through traffic along Woodplace Lane from/to Surrey.”

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammed Ali explained the criteria for such schemes and stated that he would ask officer to consider this route in any future funding from TfL subject to public consultation.

 

The following petition was presented by Councillor Mann  on behalf of residents:

 

 

a)    ‘Petition to Lower the Speed Limit to 20 mph on Crown Dale from the Students and Parents of the Norwood School and the St Josephs Federation.’

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammed Ali stated that it was an ambition to reduce the speed limit but it would require engagement with Lambeth Council and Transport for London. Officers had been asked to explore this further.

 

The following petition was presented by Councillor King on behalf of residents:

 

b)    ‘Please introduce a controlled parking scheme in the Gonville, Blakemore and Trafford Roads, Thomton Heath, CR7 so that residents can park close to their homes, children can cross roads safely, visibility for drivers is improved, and out of area commuters, recreational and commercial vehicles are not parked on a long-term basis. The recent introduction of a controlled parking zone in a nearby area has increased congestion on these roads and a controlled parking scheme is required to reduce this.’

 

In his response, Councillor Muhammed Ali explained that the council had a programme for proposed CPZs (Controlled Parking Zones) and he had asked officers to consider this petition and for them to report back to Councillor King with possible timescales.

 

26/21

Maiden Speeches

To hear maiden speeches from Councillors newly elected at the by election held on 6 May 2021. These will be heard in the following order:

 

(i)              Councillor Kola Agboola

(ii)             Councillor Jade Appleton

(iii)            Councillor Mike Bonello

(iv)           Councillor Ola Kolade

(v)            Councillor Louis Carserides

Minutes:

Councillor Kola Agboola, in delivering his maiden speech, stated that he was privileged and humbled to be representing New Addington which was a deprived area. He continued by saying that although New Addington had benefited from recent developments such as the Leisure Centre, Skate Park and new school he would be asking the council to embark on new projects with the local community. In ending he paid tribute to his predecessor Councillor Simon Hall.

 

Councillor Jade Appleton, in delivering her maiden speech thanked the electors of Park Hill and Whitgift for putting their trust in her to present them. She went on to thank her predecessor Councillor Vidhi Mohan for the fifteen years of service to the community. She continued by listing the great facilities, residents’ associations and community groups in the area and looked forward to working with them. Special mention was made of the residents’ associations who work hard to oppose inappropriate development in their areas. She was determined to work to ensure that the residents of Park Hill and Whitgift get the services that they deserve, and it was an honour to represent them.

 

Councillor Mike Bonello, in delivering his maiden speech stated that he was truly honoured to serve the people of Woodside and paid tribute to his predecessor Councillor Tony Newman and to his many years of service to Croydon. He continued by saying that he believed that all councillors in the chamber were there because they wanted to do their best for their communities and also paid tribute to council officers for the work that they did.

 

Councillor Ola Kolade, in delivering his maiden speech thanked the residents of Kenley for voting for him the represent them and went on the thank Councillor Steve O’Connell for his nineteen years of service. In addition, he thanked the other ward councillor, Councillor Jan Buttinger for her advice. Also thanked the trustees of Kenley Memorial Hall for asking him to joint their Board of Trustees and looked forward to working with them.

 

Councillor Kolade continued by listing a number of the community groups in Kenley who care for and support the community.

 

Councillor Louis Carserides, in delivering his maiden speech paid tribute to his predecessor, Councillor Jane Avis. He went to state that he was honoured to be able to serve the community that he grew up in and thanked the people of South Norwood for giving him the opportunity to represent them. He went on to highlight the groups within South Norwood which were set up by members of the community who have pride in their area.

 

In addition, he stated that he believed that it was important to make sure that the council works with the community to achieve the best outcomes particularly at a time of rising costs and wage stagnation. He then made a commitment that the views of the residents will be heard.

27/21

Council Debate Motions

To debate any motions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

Minutes:

The Mayor informed Members that he had been notified that both political groups had agreed to withdraw their Council Debate Motions for this meeting. On that basis the Mayor moved the meeting directly to agenda item 11.

 

28/21

Recommendations of Cabinet or Committees to Council for decision- Part One pdf icon PDF 269 KB

To consider the recommendation made by Cabinet or Committees since the last ordinary Council meeting relating to the following matter:

 

(i)            Members’ Code of Conduct – These reports are “to follow”.

 

Please note: This recommendation has been listed earlier in the agenda than the standard order outlined in Part 4A of the Constitution, as these recommendation needs to be considered prior to the subsequent item on the agenda, Revisions to the Council’s Constitution.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

(i)              Members’ Code of Conduct

 

The Mayor confirmed that this recommendation had been listed earlier in the agenda than the standard order outlined in Part 4A of the Constitution, as this recommendation needed to be considered prior to the subsequent item on the agenda, Revisions to the Council’s Constitution.

 

The Mayor also stated that he had been notified that, following the meeting of the Ethics Committee on 30 September 2021, both political groups were in support of a proposed amendment to the recommendations to Council agreed by the Ethics Committee.

 

The Mayor explained that the proper process for allowing such an amendment is described in paragraphs 3.50 to 3.56 of part 4A of the Council’s Constitution. This would require two councillors to ask for the recommendation from the Ethics Committee be deferred for debate.

 

The Mayor had been given notice by the two group whips that they wished to defer these recommendations for debate in order for the amendment to be agreed. He had also been informed that both political groups were happy to forego the additional speaking time that would ordinarily be allowed in the event of a deferral debate.

 

On that basis, The Mayor asked Councillor Fitzpatrick to move the recommendation contained in the Ethics Committee report, subject to the amendment that the Mayor had just read.

 

Councillor Fitzpatrick clarified the amendment and requested that Members should read it together with Appendix A, the Nolan Principles and Disclosure of Interests,  and stressed the importance of all Members attending the training sessions that were being arranged.

 

Councillor Creatura seconded the recommendation.

 

The recommendation was put to the vote and was unanimously carried.

 

RESOLVED: Council AGREED the recommendations in the report as below:

 

1.     Agree the adoption of the revised Code of Conduct and appendices A & B and

2.     To note Appendix C to enable Council Members to attend training sessions on the Code of Conduct and to raise comments and questions about Appendix C which will be considered by the Ethics Committee at its meeting on 17 November 2021.

 

29/21

Revisions to the Council's Constitution pdf icon PDF 242 KB

To consider the report regarding the proposed revisions to the Council's Constitution. (Report to follow)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Mayor invited the Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali to move the recommendations in the report.

 

The Mayor invited Councillor King to second the recommendations in the report.

 

 

RESOLVED: Council AGREED the recommendations in the report:

 

  1. Approve and make amendments to the Members’ Allowance Scheme as set out in Appendix 1 to this report.

 

  1. Approve the further changes to the Constitution as detailed in section 4 and set out more fully in Appendix 1.

 

30/21

Corporate Parenting Panel Annual Report pdf icon PDF 267 KB

To receive the annual report of Corporate Parenting Panel for 2020-2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Mayor asked Councillor Flemming, in her capacity as Chair of the Corporate Parenting Panel, to provide an introduction to the report.

 

In her introduction, Councillor Flemming thanked all the ichildren and young people and partners who were engaged in this work and special thanks to care leaver Ashleigh for her contribution. Councillor Flemming continued by highlighting the five areas that were concentrated on this year and reminded Members that this report was completed against the background of Covid -19.

 

In her question, Councillor Gatland also thanked those involved especially the children and young people who had showed great resilience and courage but stated that she was disappointed that the voice of the child was not reflected in the report. It would be good to hear this so that improvements could be made to councillors corporate parenting responsibilities. The Panel should continue to challenge where policies impact on children and young people in our care.

 

In closing Councillor Gatland thanked the foster carers on the panel.

 

In her response, Councillor Flemming offered an apology to Councillor Gatland for not thanking her for her support. She agreed with Councillor Gatland that the voice of the child was not as strong as previous reports and that it was partly due to the fact that face to face discussions were not possible this year.

31/21

Recommendations of Cabinet or Committees to Council for decision- Part Two pdf icon PDF 479 KB

To consider the recommendations made by Cabinet or Committees since the last ordinary Council meeting relating to the following matters:

 

(i)       Ongoing Review of Brick by Brick Croydon Ltd and the future of the company

(ii)      Libraries Consultation Phase 2 Results

(iii)     Temporary appointments to the roles of Assistant Chief Executive and Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education

(iv)    Recruitment and appointment of independent Chair of General Purposes and Audit Committee (GPAC)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CABINET HELD ON 12 JULY 2021

 

Ongoing Review of Brick by Brick Croydon Ltd and the future of the company

 

The Leader, Councillor Hamida Ali, informed Members that Cabinet rejected the proposal to sell the company but instead to build out the remaining sites that were already underway as this offered the greatest return on the council’s investment. As a result the number of sites had been reduced from 29 to 23 and those six sites which had not been started were now going to go straight to the market instead.

 

The Leader went on to confirm that external consultants and the Improvement and Assurance Panel had agreed with this course of action. Twenty one of the sites were near to completion. As a result 800 new homes will have been built in the borough with half of them genuinely affordable. Over 100 will be added to the council’s own housing stock.

 

Councillor King seconded the recommendation.

 

The recommendation was put to the vote and was carried.

 

RESOLVED: Council AGREED the recommendation in the report:

 

1.1  Council is asked to note the recommendations set out in Appendix 1, which were considered by Cabinet on 12th July 2021 and note that Council shall receive a verbal update in respect of the outcome.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CABINET HELD ON 16 AUGUST 2021

 

Libraries Consultation Phase 2 Results

 

Councillor Lewis informed Members that a full and detailed consultation had been carried out and he thanked the thousands of residents who had taken part. At the start of the process there had been a risk that some libraries would close but all the libraries will now remain open but with reduced opening hours.

 

Councillor Fitzpatrick seconded the recommendation.

 

The recommendation was put to the vote and was unanimously carried.

 

RESOLVED: Council AGREED the recommendations in the report:

:

1.2  Consider the outcome of the consultation and the consultation responses as set out in Appendix 5 [as listed as Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report] and the assessment of those responses.

 

1.3  Consider the equalities assessment at Appendix 6 [as listed as Appendix 2 to the Cabinet report] and the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) requirements under Section 149 of the Equalities Act 2010 as detailed in paragraph 10;

 

1.4  Consider the assessment regarding the Council’s ability to deliver a statutory library service in accordance with the requirements of Section 7 of the Libraries and Museums Act 1964 if the recommended option is agreed;

 

1.5  Having due regard to the contents of Appendices 5 and 6 [Appendices 1 and 2 in the Cabinet report] and the assessment referenced in 1.3.3, agree that it implement changes to the statutory Library service by reducing hours by an average of 21% across the borough as detailed in paragraphs 3.13 achieving £506,980 of savings.

 

1.6  Note that a delegation will be sought from Full Council regarding the implementation of the recommended option and further engagement with service users of the boroughs’ 13 Libraries regarding the implementation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31/21

32/21

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

Minutes:

This item was not required.

33/21

Recommendations of Cabinet or Committees to Council for decision - Part Two

The Part B agenda contains one restricted appendix to the Recommendations in relation to the “Ongoing Review of Brick by Brick Croydon Ltd and the future of the company”. The substantive report is listed in the Recommendations from Cabinet on 12 July 2021 at Item 14 in the Part A agenda.