Agenda and decisions

Members are invited to consider the guidance which accompanies this agenda and make declarations as appropriate.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2022 be agreed as a true and accurate record of proceedings.

At July’s Full Council meeting, Councillor Garbett asked about the plans  for 55 Morning Lane following the end of the Option Agreement. In this deputation we will focus on a different aspect of planning for the site: the need for transparency, openness and accountability. After a failed and poorly-constructed Option Agreement there has been a breakdown of trust between Hackney Council and local residents about the future of the site. Essential to addressing this is to be open about what has happened up to now.

We demand that our Council make public: the un-redacted Option Agreement, any checks that were done on Hackney Walk before entering into an agreement with them, and all the pre-application exchanges between the Council and Hackney Walk. As well as rebuilding trust, this will enable residents to engage fully with the process and to hold our Council to account.

We also demand that our Council make public and discuss at the Full Council meeting the reports that informed the Option Agreement including any viability studies or other reasoning that contributed to the decision to set a target of 20% affordable housing on the site.

Deputation leader:  Heather Mendick   

Councillor introduction:  Cllr Clare Joseph

The deadline for questions from members of the public is 12 noon, four clear working days before the meeting (Wednesday, 19 October). If you wish to submit a question you can do so by emailing governance@hackney.gov.uk or via the Council’s website.

A supplementary agenda setting out any public questions received after the publication of the main agenda will be circulated shortly after this deadline.

6.1  From Debbie Anyo (AFRUCA Safeguarding Children) to the Mayoral Adviser for Housing Needs and Homelessness

What is the Council doing to address the growing cases of housing needs in families with no recourse to public funds, the impact on children in these families and temporary accommodation outside the borough.

6.2  From Ms Lewis to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport

Recently Hackney Central has been targeted by graffiti such that the Narrow Way is now a disgrace. This is particularly evident on the shop shutters when they are down. Shouldn't the Council take responsibility for cleaning our civic centre and not leave it to individual shop owners?

6.3   From Larry Keegan to the Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation

How can the Council justify leaving a community flat on Warburton Estate empty, especially with 3 community halls in walking distance available for TRA meetings? Apart from the loss of revenue, it deprives a family of a home.

6.4  From Fozia Bham to the Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation

Why has it been so problematic for long standing tenants to add  their name to the housing register for a larger property? The cyber-attack happened 2 years ago and the Council keeps giving conflicting information.

6.5  From Zaynab Aswat to the Cabinet Member for Families, Parks and Leisure

There has been a remarkable increase in the number of phone thefts and assaults surrounding Springfield Park and surrounding roads up to Clapton. What plans are in place to increase security and prevent these crimes reoccurring on a daily basis?

6.6  From Oscar Heron to the Mayor

What assistance is available for low-income residents involved in the arts who have been affected by section 21? What measures are the Council taking to prevent homelessness, eviction and help with private letting because of  affordability assessments?

6.7  From Alan Roberts to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport

Why has the Cabinet Member failed to respond to questions relating to LTNs and take on board public opinion not in favour of them?

6.8  From Nick de Bunsen to the Cabinet Member for Environment

Please explain the Council's persistent failure to address the longstanding road traffic issues on Lordship Park/Manor Road which have only been made worse by the introduction of the Stoke Newington LTN, and outline your action plan to tackle them.

6.9  From Catherine Cannon to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport

Given the climate emergency and Hackney Borough Council’s stated aim to reduce their emissions, will the Council consider committing to serving fully plant-based fare at any future catered meetings and events  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

7.1 From Cllr Binnie-Lubbock to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport

Residents are worried about the felling of mature trees on Council land, which does not need to go through usual planning processes, even in a conservation area. Has an assessment been made on the possible impact to Hackney's mature tree targets as a result of this, also including the recent heatwave and vandalism?

7.2 From Cllr  Suso-Runge to the Cabinet Member for Finance, Insourcing and Customer Service

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Government’s unfunded tax cuts as part of their recent ‘mini-budget’ could result in £18bn of cuts to public services in the coming financial year. What assessment has the Council made of the potential impact of these cuts on the people of Hackney?

7.3 From Cllr Garbett to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport

Will the CO2 emissions from the Edmonton incinerator be included in the Climate Action Plan (CAP) and the 2030 net-zero target?

7.4  From Cllr Gordon to the Cabinet Member for Families, Parks and Leisure

Hackney's poverty strategy calculates that 48% of our children are living in poverty after the cost of housing is taken into account. What is the Council doing to mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis on children already experiencing poverty or in danger of falling into poverty?

7.5  From Cllr Binnie-Lubbock to the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care

Are there residents with children who have school lunch arrears; if so, how many and what debt collection methods are used in those situations?

7.6  From Cllr Wrout to the Mayor

Can the Mayor provide an update on the Council’s recovery of its systems since the criminal cyberattack on the borough in October 2020?

7.7  From Cllr Samatar to the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care, Voluntary Sector and Culture

How is the Council supporting staff in the Libraries Service through the ongoing restructuring of the service, and what improvements can residents expect from the service under the new structure?

7.8  From Cllr Turbet-Delof  to the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care, Voluntary Sector and Culture

There are an estimated 1.6 million people on mental health NHS services waiting lists. The announced government cuts not only affect those already living on the brink of poverty, hardship and destitution, it also affects their emotional well-being, undoubtedly increasing the already existing waiting list. What steps is the Council taking to ensure that the mental health of residents across the borough is safeguarded and is a priority of this administration?

Report of the Group Director Climate, Homes and Economy. Enclosed.

RESOLVED: To note the contents of the report

10a  Long Covid

 Hackney Council notes:

·  As of 1 May this year, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that two million people living in private households in the UK – or 3.1% of the population – reported they were still experiencing Covid symptoms more than four weeks after their first suspected coronavirus infection.

·  About two in five of those with long Covid, or 826,000 people, noted that infection was at least a year ago while one in five, or 376,000 people, said it was at least two years ago. In addition, 71% of those with Long Covid said their symptoms had a negative impact on their day-to-day activities, with 20% saying their ability to undertake such activities had been “limited a lot”.

·  As a proportion of the UK population, the prevalence of self-reported long Covid was greatest in people aged 35 to 69 years, females, people living in more deprived areas, those working in social care, teaching and education or health care, and those with another activity-limiting health condition or disability,” the ONS added.

·  At present it is not clear what causes Long Covid, but it can be the result of the initial infection sending some people's immune systems into overdrive, meaning they attack not just the virus but their own organs.

·  NICE (National Institute for Health & Care Excellence) describes Long Covid as “signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute Covid-19”. This definition includes both ongoing symptomatic Covid-19 and post Covid-19 syndrome. Therefore, according to this definition, Long Covid starts from four weeks onwards.

·  Long Covid symptoms are plentiful, and more are being seen as related to Covid 19 infection.

·  At a local level Hackney Council celebrates the Post Covid Specialist Assessment Clinic and The Covid Rehabilitation (CoRe) service provided by Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, including the work of respiratory consultants Professor Karalasingam Rajakulasingam and Dr Santino Capocci.

·  Hackney Council will continue to highlight the needs and support our school children experiencing long Covid symptoms and issue guidance when available from the government to schools and educational settings on the many pupils living with Long Covid, and support for them.

Hackney Council therefore resolves to:

·  Working with our health partner organisations to ensure that support for those experiencing Long Covid is a central part of the next City and Hackney Long Term Conditions Strategy.

·  Recommend to the Head of the Paid Service that the Council's employment policies and procedures be reviewed to ensure that those with Long Covid symptoms are supported.

·  Consider the key recommendations of the Long Covid publication by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus.

Proposed by: Cllr Anna Lynch  Seconded by: Cllr Anya Sizer

RESOLVED:

 To note:

·  As of 1 May this year, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that two million people living in private households in the UK – or 3.1% of the population – reported they were still experiencing Covid symptoms more than four weeks after their first suspected coronavirus infection.

·  About two in five of those with long Covid, or 826,000 people, noted that infection was at least a year ago while one in five, or 376,000 people, said it was at least two years ago. In addition, 71% of those with Long Covid said their symptoms had a negative impact on their day-to-day activities, with 20% saying their ability to undertake such activities had been “limited a lot”.

·  As a proportion of the UK population, the prevalence of self-reported long Covid was greatest in people aged 35 to 69 years, females, people living in more deprived areas, those working in social care, teaching and education or health care, and those with another activity-limiting health condition or disability,” the ONS added.

·  At present it is not clear what causes Long Covid, but it can be the result of the initial infection sending some people's immune systems into overdrive, meaning they attack not just the virus but their own organs.

·  NICE (National Institute for Health & Care Excellence) describes Long Covid as “signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute Covid-19”. This definition includes both ongoing symptomatic Covid-19 and post Covid-19 syndrome. Therefore, according to this definition, Long Covid starts from four weeks onwards.

·  Long Covid symptoms are plentiful, and more are being seen as related to Covid 19 infection.

·  At a local level Hackney Council celebrates the Post Covid Specialist Assessment Clinic and The Covid Rehabilitation (CoRe) service provided by Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, including the work of respiratory consultants Professor Karalasingam Rajakulasingam and Dr Santino Capocci.

·  Hackney Council will continue to highlight the needs and support our school children experiencing long Covid symptoms and issue guidance when available from the government to schools and educational settings on the many pupils living with Long Covid, and support for them.

To:

·  Working with our health partner organisations to ensure that support for those experiencing Long Covid is a central part of the next City and Hackney Long Term Conditions Strategy.

·  Recommend to the Head of the Paid Service that the Council's employment policies and procedures be reviewed to ensure that those with Long Covid symptoms are supported.

·  Consider the key recommendations of the Long Covid publication by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus.

Proposed by: Cllr Anna Lynch  Seconded by: Cllr Anya Sizer

Fair Votes

Hackney Council notes:

·  Research has found that electoral systems impact participation in politics, for example there is a positive correlation between Proportional Representation (PR) and women elected to legislatures.

·  Under PR, MPs and Parliaments better reflect the age, gender and protected characteristics of local communities and the nation.

·  The introduction of PR for local elections in Scotland has led to an increase in turnout, which was 44.8% at the last elections, held in 2022. In contrast turnout in Hackney in 2022 was 34.29% (this varies by ward with the lowest turnout in Hoxton at 24%).

·  The Labour Party in government successfully implemented Proportional Representation to a number of elections, introducing PR into the London Assembly, in devolved government for Scotland and Wales and the Supplementary vote for the Mayoral elections.

·  The Labour Party’s conference in 2022 passed a motion calling on the Party to make a commitment to introduce a Proportional Representation electoral system for general elections.

·  370 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) – about 60% of the total number – have now formally passed policy in favour of PR.

·  The Green Party has long supported a fairer voting system and PR for national and local elections to ensure seats in parliament better reflect the share of votes cast, as well as supporting extending the right to vote to those aged 16 and up.

·  With the Welsh Senedd reviewing legislation on Single Transferable Vote for local councils, England looks likely to be the only part of the UK without any form of PR at the local level.

·  According to polling, the majority of voters in the United Kingdom support the use of PR for elections in the United Kingdom.

·  The last Labour Government put together the Jenkins Commission, which recommended the adoption of the AV+ voting system. This system is similar to how we vote for the London Assembly, giving voters local representatives and regional list members.

·  PR would end minority rule. In 2019, 43.6% of the vote produced a government with 56.2% of the seats and 100% of the power. PR also prevents ‘wrong winner’ elections such as occurred in 1951 and February 1974.

·  The current Conservative government, elected by less than 30% of the electorate under the First Past the Post voting system, led by a Prime Minister selected by just 81,326 Conservative Party members, is enacting an extreme policy platform that was not in its manifesto and does not therefore have any democratic mandate.

·  In June 2022, Unison, Prospect and the University and College Union (UCU) voted to embrace more proportional general elections. The list of trade unions that back electoral reform is long and growing; it currently includes Unite the Union, Fire Brigades Union and Musicians’ Union.

Hackney Council recognises that:

·  That there are many reasons people are disillusioned with politics and that disproportionate electoral systems could have contributed to dangerous levels of distrust and disillusionment with our democratic process along with other factors such as politicians and institutions failing to focus on issues that  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10b

RESOLVED:

To note that:

·  Research has found that electoral systems impact participation in politics for example there is a positive correlation between proportional representation (PR) and women elected to legislatures.

·  The introduction of PR for local elections in Scotland has led to an increase in turnout, which was 44.8% at the last elections, held in 2022. In contrast turnout in Hackney in 2022 was 34.29% (this varies by ward with the lowest turnout in Hoxton at 24%).

·  The Labour Party in government successfully implemented Proportional Representation to a number of elections, introducing PR into the London Assembly, in devolved government for Scotland and Wales and the Supplementary vote for the Mayoral elections.

·  The Labour Party’s conference in 2022 passed a motion calling on the Party to make a commitment to introduce a Proportional Representation electoral system for general elections.

·  370 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) – about 60% of the total number – have now formally passed policy in favour of PR.

·  The Green Party has long supported a fairer voting system and PR for national and local elections to ensure seats in parliament better reflect the share of votes cast, as well as supporting extending the right to vote to those aged 16 and up.

·  With the Welsh Senedd reviewing legislation on Single Transferable Vote for local councils, England looks likely to be the only part of the UK without any form of PR at the local level.

·  According to polling, the majority of voters in the United Kingdom support the use of PR for elections in the United Kingdom.

·  The last Labour Government put together the Jenkins Commission, which recommended the adoption of the AV+ voting system. This system is similar to how we vote for the London Assembly, giving voters local representatives and regional list members.

·  PR would end minority rule. In 2019, 43.6% of the vote produced a government with 56.2% of the seats and 100% of the power. PR also prevents ‘wrong winner’ elections such as occurred in 1951 and February 1974.

·  The current Conservative government, elected by less than 30% of the electorate under the First Past the Post voting system, led by a Prime Minister selected by just 81,326 Conservative Party members, is enacting an extreme policy platform that was not in its manifesto and does not therefore have any democratic mandate.

·  In June 2022, Unison, Prospect and the University and College Union (UCU) voted to embrace more proportional general elections. The list of trade unions that back electoral reform is long and growing, it currently includes Unison, Unite the Union, Fire Brigades Union and Musicians’ Union.

To recognise that:

·  That there are many reasons people are disillusioned with politics and that disproportionate electoral systems could have contributed to dangerous levels of distrust and disillusionment with our democratic process along with other factors such as politicians and institutions failing to focus on issues that matter most to people’s daily lives.

·  That it is essential that faith is restored in our democratic system and that  ...  view the full decision text for item 10b