To debate any Motions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.
Minutes:
The Mayor began the item with the first debate motion, submitted by the majority party, which read as follows:
“This council commends the borough's library staff for their hard work and dedication in difficult times, as Carillion fell apart. This council believes that the decision by the previous administration to privatise the library service in Croydon was a catastrophic one and welcomes the decision of this administration to bring the service back in house.”
Councillor Godfrey, moving the motion, stated that the Council had taken swift action on the borough’s libraries after the liquidation of Carillion, which had marked the end of a negative experience with privatisation. It was stated that the privatisation of Croydon’s libraries was an example of the previous administration’s regressive policies towards promoting culture in Croydon. The key task now was to rebuild the libraries, which had been allowed to run down under Carillion. The rebuilding of the South Norwood library was a showcase of how every library in Croydon should be. Libraries played a crucial role in residents’ lives and served the needs of the community – particularly young people, and it was stated that it was wrong that Croydon had the largest youth population in London but no full-time youth library worker post. The Council would make libraries vibrant spaces and encourage staff forums to support this.
Councillor Avis seconded the motion and reserved her right to speak.
Councillor Helen Pollard stated that libraries were a great resource for residents and provided access to services and benefits, as well providing a space for community cohesion and learning support. The context for the outsourcing of services to Carillion, it was stated, was the economic mismanagement of the Labour government which required the Council to look at providing the service in a more affordable way. The process went through a proper tendering process and the outcome was reducing the library costs to the Council whilst increasing the number of users in the borough. Since the new administration had come to power in 2014 there had been little change in the Council’s library policy – and it was claimed little had been done to improve Library services in that time, and thus the motion was just opportunistic politics.
Councillor Tim Pollard stated that when the tendering process was being undertaken for library services, Carillion were a strong company and no one could know they would eventually collapse. Furthermore, the previous Labour government had tendered billions of pounds worth of government contracts to Carillion through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). It was stated that the previous Labour administration had a history of outsourced services collapsing due to liquidation of the contractors.
Councillor Avis, seconding the motion, stated that the previous administration had, at the beginning of austerity measures in 2010, immediately announced the closure of six libraries in Croydon. In response, Croydon residents showed their appreciation for libraries by protesting, petitioning and holding public meetings. This was followed by cuts to opening hours for existing libraries, and then the outsourcing to Carillion. By contrast, the new administration had recently announced the opening of a new library in South Norwood and taken the borough’s library staff back in house and immediately increased their wages to the London Living Wage.
The motion was put to the vote and carried.
The Mayor then moved the item to the second debate motion, submitted by the opposition, which read as follows:
“At public meetings all over the borough residents tell us that the current Council administration is losing the battle against fly tipping. The current administration made dealing with this an election pledge in 2014 but have failed.
This Council believes a much more rigorous approach to enforcement is needed, coupled with teams of officers proactively logging fly tips using GPS-equipped vehicles for follow-up teams to rapidly remove. Enforcement should extend to private land with officers taking a pragmatic approach to clearing land other than the highway. The mobile reporting teams should also monitor and report other environmental issues such as graffiti.
This Council believes that the current administration's fly tipping and environmental contract management is far too passive and a firmer grip is needed on all environmental services providers. It is wrong to sit back and wait for residents to report issues before addressing them. This Council therefore agrees to prioritise funding pro-active ‘Clean Up Croydon’ teams in its 2018/19 budge.”
Councillor Clancy, moving the motion, stated the Croydon was the third worst borough for reported fly tips in London. The number of large tips reported in the borough almost doubled and this was a significant strain on Council budgets. What was needed was to take the fight to the fly tippers with a more pro-active and visible approach. It was proposed that bulky waste collection be made a free service and powers should be used to enforce private landowners to deal with fly tipping on their property. The proposed pro-active policies would ensure that Croydon’s streets would be cleaner.
Councillor Creatura seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.
Councillor Collins stated that fly tips had gone down and the new street cleaning vehicles recently acquired included three-way GPS cameras installed. The number of enforcement officers had gone up significantly under the current administration and this had seen a large rise in the number of prosecutions for fly-tipping. The contract managers were increasing the standards of the service whilst saving money. It was stated that fly tipping was a national issue and needed a national awareness raising campaign to combat successfully.
Councillor Canning stated that the wording of the motion implied that the current administration had not done anything about fly tipping. Councillor Canning then listed the number of actions taken which included:
· A rise in the rate of 48-hour clean ups
· Making it easier for residents to report fly tips
· Over 300 street champions recruited
· Increase in enforcement officers and CCTV and covert surveillance in fly tipping hot spots.
· Investment in street cleaning and stronger contract negotiation for the new waste contract.
Councillor Creatura, seconding the motion, stated that it provided a pro-active vision for tackling fly-tipping. The current administration was failing on this issue, with the Evening Standard rating Croydon as one of the worst boroughs for fly-tipping in 2017. Fly tips had increased in Croydon by 64% and the borough had one of the highest clean-up costs in London. It was stated that the contract was getting out of control and residents were complaining across the borough of dirtier streets.
The motion was put to the vote and fell.