Agenda item

To debate the motions submitted in accordance with Standing Order 41.

Members are asked to note that the motions submitted have now been republished with the agenda.

Agenda republished on 7 July 2021

(1)      The following motion submitted by the Conservative Group was declared lost:

Protect Our Environment

This Council notes the concerns of Brent Residents Against Asphalt Pavements, namely:

a.      The basis for the Council’s policy adopted in May 2016 to replace paving slabs by asphalt when footways are being renewed; and 

b.      The implementation and apparent further evolution of the policy up to the present time.

This Council believes that:

·                The programme is atheistically ugly.

·                The programme is environmentally harmful.

The programme is costly in comparison to replacing and repairing existing slab and or block paving.

·                The Residents were not and are not properly consulted and their views are ignored.

This Council therefore calls on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet to halt the roll out of this programme forthwith and revert to repair and replace the pavement like for like.

Councillors Georgiou, Kansagra and Maurice voted in favour of the above motion.  All other members present at the meeting voted against the motion.

(2)      The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was approved:

The road to recovery

This Council recognises how deeply the pandemic has impacted on the lives and livelihoods of the people of Brent.

This Council acknowledges the toll taken on all residents, not least those already enduing, pre-COVID19, the enormous difficulties of poverty and deprivation.

This Council commends the huge civic effort that enabled the speedy and sustained provision of essential support to those prevented by various lockdown restrictions from meeting their own needs.

This Council applauds communities that have come together in these difficult times, and commends key workers that have given so much of themselves in keeping vital services running.

This Council notes:

·                The implementation of the invaluable Resident Support Fund through which thousands of households could access desperately needed financial assistance

·                The delivery of the Covid-19 Winter Grant Scheme supporting families in need over the winter period

·                The provision of nearly £100m for local business impacted by Covid-19

·                Its ability to help meet the third highest level of demand in England for self-employment support packages

·                The enhancement of Brent Start and Brent Works to ensure that Brent’s workforce remains connected to nearby employment opportunities

·                The outstanding help and support provided to high numbers of clinically extremely vulnerable residents

·                The public health partnerships that have enabled the large scale and ongoing roll out of vaccinations

This Council commits itself to continue building on these successes and embraces the fact that there remains much to be done on this borough’s road to recovery.

To that end, this Council is determined to:

·                Deliver on its Climate and Ecological Emergency pledge to become a carbon neutral borough.

·                Launch the Business Support Fund and Additional Grant Scheme, providing local enterprise with access to a wide range of financial and advisory resources.

·                Collaborate locally to provide affordable and creative co-working space in response to people’s new working patterns.

Councillors Kansagra and Maurice abstained from voting on the above motion.

Before moving on to consider the motions listed on the summons, the Mayor advised members that a total of 20 minutes had been set aside for the consideration of the two motions submitted for debate, based on an initial allocation of 10 minutes per motion. Should the time taken to consider the first motion be less than 10 minutes she advised that the remaining time available would be rolled forward for consideration of the remaining motion.

1^st Motion (Conservative Group) – Protect Our Environment

The Mayor invited Councillor Kansagra to move the first motion which had been submitted on behalf of the Conservative Group.  Councillor Kansagra, in moving the motion, began by highlighting the detrimental impact which he felt hard landscaping, in particular asphalt paving, was having on water run-off and flooding in the borough.  Referring to a number of concerns raised by the recently established alliance Brent Residents against Asphalt Pavements in an email to the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, he supported the request made for a detailed review to be undertaken of the current policy and the return in its place of like for like repair and renewal of pavements.

The Mayor then invited other members to speak on the motion, with the following contributions received.

Councillor Long, speaking against the motion, advised she did not support the view that asphalt paving increased flooding and instead highlighted what she felt to be the benefits of asphalt pavements in terms of them providing an easier, safer and more cost effective method of maintenance, repair and renewal than existing slab or block paving.  For these reasons she advised that she would not be supporting the motion.

Councillor Georgiou, speaking in support of the motion, highlighted his concerns regarding the sustainability and environmental impact of the policy, which he felt not only served to increase the Council’s carbon footprint but also directly contradicted the Council’s Climate Emergency Strategy.  He also highlighted the extent of local residents opposition to the policy and concerns which had been raised by Brent Residents against Asphalt Pavements.

As a further contribution Councillor Mashari, as Chair of the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee, took the opportunity to confirm that a detailed response had been requested by the Committee on the email from Brent Residents against Asphalt Pavements in order to address the issues raised.

Councillor Kelcher, also speaking against the motion, outlined what he also felt to be the safety benefits from the use of asphalt rather than more traditional slab and block paving along with its more cost effective maintenance and repair.  He also highlighted that not all local residents were objecting to the policy with many he had engaged with expressing their support.

As no further members had indicated that they wished to speak the Mayor invited Councillor Kansagra to exercise his right of reply.

In summing up, Councillor Kansagra advised that given the concerns raised by local residents regarding consultation on the policy and programme he would be seeking a formal response on the issues raised in the email from Brent Residents against Asphalt Pavements, which he was keen to ensure was also circulated to all members.

The Mayor then put the motion, as set out below, to a vote by show of hands which was declared LOST.

Protect Our Environment

This Council notes the concerns of Brent Residents against Asphalt Pavements, namely:

a.     The basis for the Council’s policy adopted in May 2016 to replace paving slabs by asphalt when footways are being renewed; and 

b.     The implementation and apparent further evolution of the policy up to the present time.

This Council believes that:

·             The programme is atheistically ugly.

·             The programme is environmentally harmful.

The programme is costly in comparison to replacing and repairing existing slab and or block paving.

·             The Residents were not and are not properly consulted and their views are ignored.

This Council therefore calls on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet to halt the roll out of this programme forthwith and revert to repair and replace the pavement like for like.”

Councillors Georgiou, Kansagra and Maurice voted in favour of the above motion.

2^nd Motion (Labour Group) – The Road to Recovery

The Mayor then invited Councillor Afzal to move the second motion which had been submitted on behalf of the Labour Group.  Councillor Afzal in moving the motion began by highlighting the efforts undertaken across the Council, its partners and local communities who had come together to ensure the provision of essential support to those most in need during the pandemic.  In commending the motion to members, he was keen to ensure that a commitment was secured to continue building on these successes and embrace change during the borough’s road to recovery, in spite of what he felt were the inadequacies of the support being provided by central government to deal with the pandemic and its ongoing impact.

The Mayor then invited other members to speak on the motion, with the following contributions received.

Councillor Maurice began by also highlighting what he felt was the need to recognise not only the efforts of key workers in ensuring key services were sustained throughout the pandemic but also the Government for the support they had provided in seeking to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, as well as on the mass vaccination rollout.  Concerns were, however, raised in relation to the limited support which he felt had been provided for the self-employed.  Moving on to then focus on the borough’s pandemic recovery programme, he urged the Council to consider car users when working towards its climate goals, and was keen to ensure that funding for business support was maintained.

As a further contribution, Councillor Kansagra, whilst commending the level of support provided by the Council in response to the pandemic felt there was also a need to recognise the level of financial support which had been provided by the Government to assist in the response.

Councillor Tatler, Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, then spoke in support of the motion and reassured members that the Council was committed to a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic. In particular, she highlighted the work underway to ensure Brent’s high streets remained vibrant, ensure the provision of affordable workspaces and ensure local businesses had access to basic digital skills.

Councillor McLennan, Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Resources, also spoke in support of the motion by highlighting the difficulty local authorities had in accessing the necessary levels of funding to support the response being led locally during the pandemic.  She highlighted the promise by the Government to provide “whatever it took” in terms of funding and subsequent difficulties faced by the Council to ensure this commitment was met along with the challenges created as a result of the lack of a long term financial settlement for local government.  Despite these issues, however, she felt the motion captured the huge civic efforts made to respond to the pandemic and ensure the necessary tangible support was provided locally for residents and business within the borough as part of the recovery programme.

As no further members had indicated that they wished to speak the Mayor invited Councillor Afzal to exercise his right of reply.

In summing up, Councillor Afzal highlighted the extent of the recovery that would be required as a result of the pandemic and the United Kingdom having one of the highest covid related death rates in the world.  He felt the motion recognised the work of the Council, community and voluntary groups and key workers who had stepped up to support residents, which it was felt the Government had failed to do so.  He ended by recognising the efforts made by all staff across the Council to support this response whilst also ensuring the continued delivery of essential services and for which he felt the Council had rightly been recognised as Council of the Year.

The Mayor then put the motion, as set out below, to a vote by show of hands which was declared CARRIED.

“This Council recognises how deeply the pandemic has impacted on the lives and livelihoods of the people of Brent.

This Council acknowledges the toll taken on all residents, not least those already enduing, pre-COVID19, the enormous difficulties of poverty and deprivation.

This Council commends the huge civic effort that enabled the speedy and sustained provision of essential support to those prevented by various lockdown restrictions from meeting their own needs.

This Council applauds communities that have come together in these difficult times, and commends key workers that have given so much of themselves in keeping vital services running.

This Council notes:

·             The implementation of the invaluable Resident Support Fund through which thousands of households could access desperately needed financial assistance;

·             The delivery of the Covid-19 Winter Grant Scheme supporting families in need over the winter period;

·             The provision of nearly £100m for local business impacted by Covid-19;

·             Its ability to help meet the third highest level of demand in England for self-employment support packages;

·             The enhancement of Brent Start and Brent Works to ensure that Brent’s workforce remains connected to nearby employment opportunities;

·             The outstanding help and support provided to high numbers of clinically extremely vulnerable residents;

·             The public health partnerships that have enabled the large scale and ongoing roll out of vaccinations;

This Council commits itself to continue building on these successes and embraces the fact that there remains much to be done on this borough’s road to recovery.

To that end, this Council is determined to:

·             Deliver on its Climate and Ecological Emergency pledge to become a carbon neutral borough.

·             Launch the Business Support Fund and Additional Grant Scheme, providing local enterprise with access to a wide range of financial and advisory resources.

·             Collaborate locally to provide affordable and creative co-working space in response to people’s new working patterns.”

Councillors Kansagra and Maurice abstained from voting on the above motion.