Agenda and decisions

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 23^rd January 2019 be approved as a correct record subject to amendments.

No to road closures that increase traffic on Church St

To: Hackney Council We're calling on Hackney Council to scrap road closures put forward under its Walford Road Scheme and consider other solutions that would have less harmful impacts on Stoke Newington Church Street and neighbouring roads.

Why is this important?

 Hackney Council now admits its proposed road closures in the Walford Rd area could increase traffic on Stoke Newington Church Street by up to 21.8% (2,080 extra vehicles per day). That’s far higher than the 5-7% "worst case" scenario stated in their consultation. Church St is a lovely road at the centre of the N16 community where people live, work and go to school. It already suffers from heavy traffic; many homes there are illegally polluted. The street is home to two schools, both of which have worrying levels of pollution, and it's home to nurseries. In places the buildings are higher than the street is wide, so pollution can get trapped. The pavements are narrow and, in addition to worsening air quality and adding to congestion, extra vehicles could lead to more accidents. The road simply can’t cope with more traffic.

Regent Estate Freeholders’ Service Charge Deputation

Freeholders of Brownlow Road who are being incorrectly charged for works to tenants’ properties want this sorted out.  Freeholders would like the council to refund the last ten years of service charges during which time they have been charging us for things which we should not be paying for.

The deputation will be introduced by Councillor Harvey Odze

The deputation spokesperson is Mr Tony Burton

7.1  Question from Alastair Binnie-Lubbock to the Chair of the Pensions Committee

Reports from firms like MSCI show you can divest from the top 200 oil, coal and gas companies whilst maintaining the same, or better returns. Why would Hackney choose to continue investment in these companies that aggravate climate change, commit human rights abuses worldwide and put profits before people?

7.2  Question from Trish Roberts to the Chair of the Pensions Committee

"Hackney committed to decarbonising 50% of its fossil fuel investments in 2016. In light of the UNFCCC report on 12 years of action left to prevent the worst climate change, Labour Green New deal, councils passing climate emergency motions and Southwark, Lambeth and Islington Council divesting, when will Hackney divest?"

7.3  Question from Beatrix Pitel to the Chair of the Pensions Committee

What is the rationale for decarbonising but not divesting from fossil fuels 50% of your investments?

7.4  Question from Dr Heather Mendrick to the Lead Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources

Following recent reports in our local press regarding allegations of bullying, discrimination, intimidation and victimisation in the Hackney Call Centre, what is being done to address these allegations and ensure justice is served, including attempts to resolve outstanding issues quickly?

7.5   Question from Christopher Sills to the Lead Member for Finance and Housing Needs

Too many people become homeless in Hackney and are sleeping rough. Would you consider helping them solve their problems by allowing them to use public buildings  as accommodation addresses and where lack of English is part of the problem encourage them to learn English

 8.1  Question from Cllr Klein to the Councillor Selman

In the year November 2017 to November 2018 the Council collected £414,758 late night levy from licensees selling alcohol between midnight and 06:00. Of this more than quarter of a million pounds came from four wards, with more than 60% of this being collected from Licensees in Hoxton East and Shoreditch. More than £300,000 of this total remained unspent at the end of the year, whilst only £56,068 was spent on Council Enforcement Officer Patrols.

In light of these facts what is going to be done to ensure that the vast majority of this surplus as well as ongoing income will be spent on enhanced Police and Council Enforcement Officer Patrols in order to protect residents and licensees in those areas and to enhance the experience of Hackney for all concerned?

8.2  Question from Cllr Odze to the Cabinet member for Housing  Services:

Why has it taken nearly 3 years for the Stamford Hill Neighbourhood Panel to receive an answer, that including the job description in a Communal Repairs Report is not possible because of the difficulties in redacting personal data, is this yet another example of the Council wasting money on software systems that are not fit for purpose?

8.3   Question from Cllr Odze to the Deputy Mayor Demirci:

What is the Council doing to ensure that the service it provides to vulnerable residents over the age of 55, who come under the remit of it's Housing with Care scheme, is par excellence, specifically, including the additional cost of the retrofit of proper controls over and above what would have been the cost if they had been in place originally, to ensure that the service is taken out of special measures and gains an outstanding rating from the CQC?

8.4  Question from Cllr Stops to Deputy Mayor Demirci

Deputy Mayor Demirci will know that so far we have only seen the concept drawings of the 10 million pounds Highway scheme in Hackney Central announced by Transport for London in November 2017. Can she share with us how the council is involving residents in developing this scheme in line with our manifesto commitment in May 2018?

8.5  Question from Cllr Moema to Cabinet Member for Energy Sustainability and Community Services

In the light of the International Panel on Climate Change report indicating we only have until 2030 to act to avoid the worst climate change, could the Cabinet Member for sustainability update us on the council’s progress to meet its manifesto commitments on climate?

8.6  Question from Cllr Sharman to the Mayor

In light of the suggestion that deprivation would be removed as a factor in distributing local authority funding, can the Mayor tell us what the likely implications are for Hackney of the emerging Fair Funding proposals?

8.7  Question from Cllr Adejare to Cabinet Member for Family, Early Years and Play

What progress is being made on our manifesto promises of being a child friendly borough, so that every child  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

RESOLVED, that Council considered the report and AGREED the following recommendations (as set out in the report):

1.    To bring forward into 2019/20 the Council’s projected General Fund balances of £15.0m and to note the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) balances of £10.2m.

2.    To agree for approval the directorate estimates and estimates for the General Finance Account items set out in Table 1, below.

3.    To note that the budget is a financial exposition of the priorities set out within the Corporate Plan.

4.    To note that in line with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2003, the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources, is of the view that:

The General Fund balances of £15.0m and the level of reserves, particularly in relation to capital, are adequate to meet the Council’s financial needs for 2019/20 and that considering the economic uncertainty they should not fall below this level. This view takes account of the reserves included in the Council’s latest audited Accounts as at 31 March 2018, the movements of those reserves since that date – which have been tracked through the Overall Financial Position (OFP) Reports, and the latest OFP projections. Note also, that the projections in the HRA to maintain the balance at £10.2m by 31 March 2018 are also considered to be adequate at this point in time but will need to continue to be reviewed in the light of the challenges facing the HRA.

The General Fund estimates are sufficiently robust to set a balanced budget for 2019/20. This takes into account the adequacy of the level of balances and reserves outlined above and the assurance gained from the comparisons of the 2018/19 budget with the projected spend identified in the December 2018 OFP. The overall level of the corporate contingency has been set at £2m.

5.  To approve the proposed General Fund fees and charges as set out in Appendix 8 for implementation from 1st April 2019.

6.  To continue the policy requiring the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources to seek to mitigate the impact of significant changes to either resources, such as Top Up Grant changes, or expenditure requirements.

7.  To note the summary of the HRA Budget and Rent setting report agreed by Cabinet on 21^st January 2019.

8.  To authorise the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources to implement any virements required to allocate provision for demand and growth pressures set out in this report subject to the appropriate evidence base being provided.

9.  To approve:

  The allocation of resources to the 2019/20 Non-Housing capital schemes referred to in Paragraph 24 and Appendix 7.

  The allocation of resources to the 2019/20 Housing indicative capital programme referred to in Paragraph 24 and Appendix 7, including the HRA approvals previously agreed by Cabinet on January 21st 2019.

10.  To note that the new capital expenditure proposals match uncommitted resources for the year 2019/20.

11.  To agree the prudential indicators for Capital Expenditure and the Capital Financing Requirement, the Authorised  ...  view the full decision text for item 10.

RESOLVED that Council noted the Annual Report of the Audit Committee as set out in Appendix 1.

RESOLVED, that Council AGREED the Pay Policy Statement.

Support the Abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’

This motion calls on the Council to lobby the Government to scrap Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, known as ‘no fault’ evictions, as part of a wider Better Renting campaign to improve awareness and standards in the Private Rented Sector. Section 21 enabled private-sector landlords to evict their tenants with two months’ notice, without the need to give a reason.

Most of England’s 11 million renters are on tenancies with fixed terms of six months or a year. There are nearly 34,000 privately renting households in Hackney -- all at risk from their tenancies ending through Section 21 notices.

The Hackney Labour 2018 -- 2022 Building a Fairer, Safer and more Sustainable Hackney, included a pledge to support Hackney’s private renters by improving information about their rights, as well as campaign for further powers to regulate the sector. This is being achieved through the Council’s Better Renting campaign.

Research^[1] published by the campaign group Generation Rent shows that Section 21 evictions are now the single biggest cause of homelessness in England.

In Hackney, the number of homeless applications has increased significantly in the current year, as have the numbers placed in temporary accommodation and who are rough sleeping.

The loss of private rented accommodation is a leading cause of homelessness in Hackney, driving residents to seek support from the Council, including through Temporary Accommodation. The number of residents now in Temporary Accommodation is 3,100, costing the Council £13 million per year.

In 2017, the Scottish government made tenancies indefinite and banned no-fault evictions under the terms of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. Landlords can still regain possession of their property, but must make a justifiable and evidenced case through the courts according to grounds that are set out in law.

This motion calls on the Council to note and agree that:

?  mass homelessness is a national disgrace, and removing its leading causes should be a priority for the Government;

?  ‘no fault’ evictions, where tenants can be forced to leave their home for no good reason, is a disgrace;

?  alongside the good work of the Council in tackling homelessness and raising awareness of the rights of private tenants through the Better Renting campaign, the Government abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions would help to make renting more secure for all tenants in the private rented sector.

This motion calls on the Mayor to write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, asking them to abolish Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

This motion calls on the Mayor to support Generation Rent’s Unfair Evictions Campaign, and work with them and the Mayoral Adviser for Private Renting & Housing Affordability through the Better Renting campaign.

Proposer:  Councillor Sem Moema

Seconder: Councillor Caroline Woodley

RESOLVED that the motion be DEFERRED until the next appropriate Council meeting in order to allow enough time for a full debate.

RESOLVED that Council reviewed the draft schedule of meetings and if there are any comments, members are asked to contact governance services direct.