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 to include motions on 17 November 2021)

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

 

Granville New Homes Independent Inquiry

 

“This Council notes with grave concern the issues raised by the Ridge Report on the Granville New Homes build by Brent Council.

 

This matter was briefly discussed at the Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Audit and Standards Advisory Committee.  Because of time constraints, the matter has not been fully aired. There still remains very large and serious questions the Administration needs to answer, for example:

 

·                When and who commissioned the Ridge Report?

 

·                When did the serious defects in the structure of the construction come to light?

 

·                What was the Building Contractors and Councils Building Control Department’s involvement during construction and issue of Completion Certificate?

 

There are various estimates circulating as to the amount of money required to remedy the defects. One source reports that £18.4 million will be required. This amount is larger than the Council potentially lost by investment in Icelandic Banks.

 

This Council therefore agrees to request that the Cabinet commissions an independent inquiry into the matter.”

 

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

 

All other members present at the meeting voted against the above motion.

 

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

 

The Big Issue Campaign – Stop mass homelessness

 

“This Council notes:

 

Thatthousands offamilies arefacing evictionsand repossessionsas measuresto protectresidents put in place during Covid-19, end; Universal Credit is reduced; the furlough scheme ends; and electricity, gasand the cost of living rises at pace.

 

This Council believes that:

 

Now is not the time to unravel the interventions that the government has introduced to protectpeople during this unprecedented period.

 

Unless urgent action is taken by this government, the UK will face a homelessness crisisthis winter, on ashameful scale.

 

Over the last year, nearly 6,000 residents approached Brent Council because they feared being made homeless. While our officer’s work tirelessly to offer assistance to as many residents as possible, the sheer scale of demand sadly outstrips supply. The pandemic has shown that mass homelessness is a political choice – the government averted it once with the Everybody In initiative and they can do so again; simply by making additional funding available to this Council.

 

This Councilresolves to:

 

1.         Support the Big Issue’s plan to Stop Mass Homelessness and call on the Lead Member for Housing & Welfare Reform to write to the relevant Secretaries of State asking them to keep people in their homes and in sustainable jobs. They could do this by committing to pay off £360m in rent arrears; suspend no fault evictions until a Renters’ Reform Act is passed; make permanent the £20 Universal Credit uplift; improve access to Discretionary Housing Payment; unfreeze Local Housing Allowance; improve support for financial literacy education and invest to create new green jobs.

 

2.         Express its support for a Wellbeing of Future Generations Act requiring public bodies to consider how decisions made now affect future needs, and tackle persistent problems such as poverty, homelessness, health inequalities and climate change.

 

3.         Call on the Lead Member for Housing & Welfare Reform to Commission a report to be heard at the appropriate committee outlining options to amend the decision-making process to ensure that the impact of Council decisions on future generations are properly considered.

 

4.         Tackle the root problem head on, by forging ahead with our ambitious programme to build 1700 council homes by 2028 and to maximise affordable housing options through the council’s own company I4B, pan-London Capital Letters scheme and by working with trusted developers across the borough.”

 

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

 

All other members present at the meeting voted in favour of the above motion.

 

(3)      The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED unanimously:

 

Towards greener energy

 

“This Council notes:

 

In July 2019, Brent Council declared a climate and ecological emergency and committed to do all in its gift to strive for carbon neutrality by 2030. This target is borough-wide, not just council-only emissions, because of how urgent this issue is – and therefore more ambitious goals are required. We are one of only 12 councils in London who have adopted this 2030 target. 

 

This council has recently joined the UK100, a network of radical local authorities that wish to do more to confront the climate emergency and call on government for urgent action.

 

Brent Council has cut its emissions by 63.7% since this Labour Administration took control – this exceeds the government’s targets and our own ambitious goals.

 

This Council further recognises:

 

§     the efforts that this Council has made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy;

 

§     the surge in wholesale gas and electricity prices to almost five times the level of a year ago has resulted in suppliers defaulting and putting pressure on household bills;

 

§     that currently, very large financial setup and running costs are involved in selling locally generated renewable electricity back to local customers, making it near impossible for local renewable electricity generators to get a foothold in the market,

 

§     that making these financial costs proportionate to the scale of a renewable electricity supplier’s operation would create significant opportunities for local companies and community groups to be providers of locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people, businesses and organisations;

 

§     that revenues received by such local companies or community groups that chose to become local renewable electricity providers could be used to help improve the local economy, local services and help reduce local greenhouse gas emissions; and

 

§     the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, recommended that a Right to Local Supply for local energy suppliers be established to address this.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

§     Support the Local Electricity Bill, currently supported by a cross-party group of 266 MPs. If made law, this would establish a Right to Local Supply and promote local renewable electricity supply by making the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate to the size of the supply company.

 

§     Turbo-charge the transition to renewable energy in the Council, by bringing forward a report to outline options to fully switch to sustainable energy sources significantly in advance of our 2030 target.

 

§     To support residents with grant funding for projects to confront the climate & ecological emergency through the Brent Together Towards Zero Grant and the recently launched Carbon offset fund, called for by this chamber.”

Before moving on to consider the motions listed on the summons, the Mayor advised members that a total of 30 minutes had been set aside for the consideration of the three 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.

 

17.11^st Motion (Conservative Group) – Granville New Homes Independent Inquiry

 

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, highlighted the Conservative Groups concern regarding the issues outlined within the Ridge Report on the Granville New Homes Block development.  Referring to the potential cost in addressing the issues and defects identified he also highlighted the wider inconvenience caused by the delays in undertaking these works for residents living in the blocks.  Whilst recognising the issues had been subject to consideration at the Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Audit and Standards Advisory Committee it was not felt this had provided sufficient opportunity to fully explore the matters needing to be considered with a number of concerns still to be addressed.  Concerns were also expressed at the delay in members being advised of the report and issues in relation to the blocks, with the Conservative Group therefore calling on the Council to request that Cabinet commission an independent inquiry into the matter.

 

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

 

Councillor McLennan, in responding to the motion, began by recognising the impact on residents within the blocks and highlighting the Council’s commitment towards addressing the issues and works identified in order to ensure the provision of a building that was safe, secure and fit for purpose.  In outlining the background and history to the construction and ownership of the blocks, she highlighted that approval of the original development had been subject to planning permission granted by Planning Committee in 2008 when Councillor Kansagra had been chair.  Commenting on the background to the Ridge Report, Councillor McLennan advised this had been commissioned once the extent of the works required to rectify the original construction defects had become clear in order to enable a full assessment of the options and costs of the works required.  Confirmation was provided regarding the consultation and engagement with those residents affected, who members were advised had been fully supportive of the approach now agreed by Cabinet to rectify the defects and undertake the works required.

 

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 felt it was important to clarify that as Chair of the Planning Committee his remit had been to consider the planning application rather than assess the construction of the blocks.  He therefore urged members to support the call for an independent inquiry in order to establish what had gone wrong and how these issues could be addressed moving forward.

 

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

 

“This Council notes with grave concern the issues raised by the Ridge Report on the Granville New Homes build by Brent Council.

 

This matter was briefly discussed at the Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Audit and Standards Advisory Committee.  Because of time constraints, the matter has not been fully aired. There still remains very large and serious questions the Administration needs to answer, for example:

 

·             When and who commissioned the Ridge Report?

 

·             When did the serious defects in the structure of the construction come to light?

 

·             What was the Building Contractors and Councils Building Control Department’s involvement during construction and issue of Completion Certificate?

 

There are various estimates circulating as to the amount of money required to remedy the defects. One source reports that £18.4 million will be required. This amount is larger than the Council potentially lost by investment in Icelandic Banks.

 

This Council therefore agrees to request that the Cabinet commissions an independent inquiry into the matter”.

 

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

 

All other members present at the meeting voted against the above motion.

 

17.22^nd Motion (Labour Group) – The Big Issue Campaign – Stop Mass Homelessness

 

The Mayor then invited Councillor Johnson to move the second motion which had been submitted on behalf of the Labour Group.  Councillor Johnson in moving the motion began by highlighting the number of families who were either classified as homeless or threatened with homelessness, which had been further impacted as a result of the pandemic and changes introduced to the welfare system.  Given the importance of access to safe and secure housing in terms of residents health and wellbeing, employment and education opportunities he advised the motion was seeking support from the Government as part of a Big Issue campaign to prevent any further increase in homelessness by taking action to address issues such as rent arrears; suspend no fault evictions; make permanent the Universal Credit uplift; improve access to Discretionary Housing Payment; unfreeze Local Housing Allowance; improve support for financial literacy education and investing to create new green jobs.  Referring to the action already taken by the Government during the pandemic through the “Everybody In”initiative the motion was seeking to lobby for continued support from Government in order to protect those most at risk.

 

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

 

Councillor Kansagra whilst broadly supportive of the motion felt care need to be taken in use of phrases such as “mass homelessness” which were felt to be unhelpful as a means of highlighting the issue or securing support.

 

Councillor McLennan then spoke in support of the motion and in addressing the comments made by Councillor Kansagra regarding the scale of the issue, highlighted the large number of people presenting at the Civic Centre and Community Hubs on a daily basis due to homelessness or the threat of it.  The problem, she felt, had been made even worse by the detrimental impact of the changes and removal in Universal Credit uplift introduced by the Government as part of its welfare reforms.  Whilst the Council, through delivery of its Council House building programme and initiatives designed to increase the supply of Affordable Housing, was actively seeking to prevent homelessness and provide support for those most in need or at risk of homelessness Councillor McLennan felt these actions needed to be matched by Government and therefore urged all members to support the motion.

 

Councillor Donnelly-Jackson also spoke in support of the motion, reinforcing the importance in having access to safe, secure homes and the challenges faced by the local authority in providing the level of support required due to the lack of funding from central government and wider challenges within the planning system.  As a result of her own personal experience, Councillor Donnelly-Jackson felt the comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in speaking on the motion had highlighted a lack of empathy towards those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and again urged all members to support the motion.

 

As a final comment, Councillor Thakkar also highlighted the importance in all members acknowledging the reality and magnitude of the current issues relating to homelessness needing to be addressed and expressed her support the motion.

 

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

 

In summing up, Councillor Johnson queried the approach being taken by Central Government in response to the issues highlighted within the motion and in terms of their support for those most vulnerable members of society, especially given the positive impact of the “Everyone In” initiative.  In commending the approach being taken by the Council in terms of the support provided for its most vulnerable residents he hoped all members would support the motion and urge the Government to reconsider their approach in order to address the housing crisis and prevent issues in relation to homelessness being made even worse.

 

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

 

“This Council notes:

 

Thatthousands offamilies arefacing evictionsand repossessionsas measuresto protectresidents put in place during Covid-19, end; Universal Credit is reduced; the furlough scheme ends; and electricity, gasand the cost of living rises at pace.

 

This Council believes that:

 

Now is not the time to unravel the interventions that the government has introduced to protectpeople during this unprecedented period.

 

Unless urgent action is taken by this government, the UK will face a homelessness crisisthis winter, on ashameful scale.

 

Over the last year, nearly 6,000 residents approached Brent Council because they feared being made homeless. While our officer’s work tirelessly to offer assistance to as many residents as possible, the sheer scale of demand sadly outstrips supply. The pandemic has shown that mass homelessness is a political choice – the government averted it once with the Everybody In initiative and they can do so again; simply by making additional funding available to this Council.

 

This Councilresolves to:

 

1.          Support the Big Issue’s plan to Stop Mass Homelessness and call on the Lead Member for Housing & Welfare Reform to write to the relevant Secretaries of State asking them to keep people in their homes and in sustainable jobs. They could do this by committing to pay off £360m in rent arrears; suspend no fault evictions until a Renters’ Reform Act is passed; make permanent the £20 Universal Credit uplift; improve access to Discretionary Housing Payment; unfreeze Local Housing Allowance; improve support for financial literacy education and invest to create new green jobs.

 

2.          Express its support for a Wellbeing of Future Generations Act requiring public bodies to consider how decisions made now affect future needs, and tackle persistent problems such as poverty, homelessness, health inequalities and climate change.

 

3.               Call on the Lead Member for Housing & Welfare Reform to Commission a report to be heard at the appropriate committee outlining options to amend the decision-making process to ensure that the impact of Council decisions on future generations are properly considered.

 

4.               Tackle the root problem head on, by forging ahead with our ambitious programme to build 1700 council homes by 2028 and to maximise affordable housing options through the council’s own company I4B, pan-London Capital Letters scheme and by working with trusted developers across the borough.”

 

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

 

17.3 3^rd Motion (Labour Group) – Towards Greener Energy

 

The Mayor then invited Councillor Dixon to move the final motion which had been submitted on behalf of the Labour Group.  In moving the motion Councillor Dixon was pleased to be able to draw members’ attention to the successes achieved by the Council since declaring a climate emergency being delivered through the Climate Emergency Strategy.  This included the efforts being made to actively work towards carbon neutrality and promoting more renewable and greener forms of energy, which had been recognised within the motion, along with the levels of community engagement and support from local residents in seeking to create more sustainable and responsible lifestyles.  As a result Councillor Dixon advised the motion was seeking the support of all councillors in terms of the Council’s continued approach and in seeking to secure local and more greener and renewable forms of energy.

 

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

 

Councillor Krupa Sheth, as Lead Member for Environment, thanked Councillor Dixon for moving the motion and again highlighted the important role being played by the Council in terms of leading the drive towards new zero and also in terms of seeking to promote more sustainable and local renewable sources of energy.  This was felt to be even more relevant given the recent surge in energy prices and pressures being created on household bills.  Given the challenges identified in terms of addressing the current energy crisis, the support being sought through the motion for introduction of a Local Electricity Bill, including establishing and promoting the right to local supply was welcomed as a means of reducing reliance on the main energy suppliers and providing a boost to the local economy and residents as potential customers.

 

Councillor Maurice also spoke on the motion and whilst supportive felt there was a need to be aware of the technical challenges involved in both establishing and providing access to local energy supplies.

 

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

 

In summing up, Councillor Dixon reassured members about the level of technical expertise and advice available in order to promote the development of local energy supplies, with the motion designed to support the Council’s positive focus on activity being undertaken across the borough and to maintain the momentum in moving towards the provision of more sustainable renewable and greener energy in Brent.

 

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

 

“This Council notes:

 

In July 2019, Brent Council declared a climate and ecological emergency and committed to do all in its gift to strive for carbon neutrality by 2030. This target is borough-wide, not just council-only emissions, because of how urgent this issue is – and therefore more ambitious goals are required. We are one of only 12 councils in London who have adopted this 2030 target. 

 

This council has recently joined the UK100, a network of radical local authorities that wish to do more to confront the climate emergency and call on government for urgent action.

 

Brent Council has cut its emissions by 63.7% since this Labour Administration took control – this exceeds the government’s targets and our own ambitious goals.

 

This Council further recognises:

 

·             the efforts that this Council has made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy;

 

·             the surge in wholesale gas and electricity prices to almost five times the level of a year ago has resulted in suppliers defaulting and putting pressure on household bills;

 

·             that currently, very large financial setup and running costs are involved in selling locally generated renewable electricity back to local customers, making it near impossible for local renewable electricity generators to get a foothold in the market,

 

·             that making these financial costs proportionate to the scale of a renewable electricity supplier’s operation would create significant opportunities for local companies and community groups to be providers of locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people, businesses and organisations;

 

·             that revenues received by such local companies or community groups that chose to become local renewable electricity providers could be used to help improve the local economy, local services and help reduce local greenhouse gas emissions; and

 

·             the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, recommended that a Right to Local Supply for local energy suppliers be established to address this.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

·             Support the Local Electricity Bill, currently supported by a cross-party group of 266 MPs. If made law, this would establish a Right to Local Supply and promote local renewable electricity supply by making the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate to the size of the supply company.

 

·             Turbo-charge the transition to renewable energy in the Council, by bringing forward a report to outline options to fully switch to sustainable energy sources significantly in advance of our 2030 target.

 

·             To support residents with grant funding for projects to confront the climate & ecological emergency through the Brent Together Towards Zero Grant and the recently launched Carbon offset fund, called for by this chamber.”