Agenda item

Motions

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

Members are asked to note:

· The motions submitted for debate have been attached.

· Where a motion concerns an executive function, nothing passed can be actioned until approved by the Executive or an officer with the relevant delegated power.

(Agenda republished to include the motions submitted for debate on 16 November 2022)

Decision:

(1) The following Motion submitted by the Conservative Group, was declared LOST and not approved:

“Measures to tackle Flooding in Brent

In the past few years, flooding in Brent and other areas is getting more frequent and severe. Whilst this is partly due to climate change and global warming, it also reflects the massive level of regeneration, development and building on green and brown fields sites which is detrimental to the drainage of rainwater and it is felt future planning policy must reflect.

We are losing more green and open spaces which used to soak up the rain water. The Council’s policy of tarmacking footpaths also does not allow water to permeate in the ground. Just a little rain and we observe streams of water flowing on the roads and pavements.

We notice that flood water collects in low lying areas and does not recede for a few days after it rains which means that in the current situation more frequent and severe flooding will take place.

We appreciate that Brent alone cannot stop global warming and climate change and recognise that the borough has a Flood Risk management Strategy in place, however we can take further steps to mitigate the consequences and protect our residents’ lives and property.

As a result this Council calls on Cabinet to:

1) Reverse the policy of tarmacking the footways and replace with paving slabs and bricks which allows more water to soak in the ground, especially in known flood risk areas;

2) Reverse the policy of large scale developments which are reducing the green open spaces and making Brent a concrete jungle;

3) Implement a regular gully cleaning and leaf collection program, especially in the flood prone areas;

4) Implement a regular program of inspecting all drains and gullies in areas identified as flood risk and repair as necessary and the Council’s responsibility, including Brent’s brooks and rivers;

5) Introduce a policy that makes it’s illegal to concrete over the whole of a rear garden as this also impedes the draining of rainwater. We suggest a maximum of 20% of the rear garden can be paved or concreted over.

If Brent is serious about global warming and climate change and wants to protect its citizens now and for future, it's the least it can do.”

(2) The following Motion submitted by the Liberal Democrats Group was unanimously AGREED:

“Holding Housing Associations to Account

The Council notes:

Many Brent residents live in properties managed by Housing Associations. They may be Housing Association tenants, leaseholders or shared owners.

The number of residents who will live in properties managed by Housing Associations will continue to grow in the coming years, as more large tower blocks and Housing Association managed units are approved and built in our borough.

Housing Associations were originally set up as charitable, non-profit making organisations, with the aim to provide low cost housing for people.

In recent times, as Housing Associations have grown in number and as their stock has vastly increased, their original focus seems to have been lost as they now seem to be driven by profit and the desire to continuously increase their stock.

As Elected Members we are often made aware of issues within buildings managed by Housing Associations, whether in individual properties or in communal areas.

The communication between tenants and Housing Associations is poor, resulting in long periods of time passing before issues are identified and resolved.

There is a distinct lack of accountability when it comes to Housing Associations, and leaseholders, tenants, shared owners, often feel their concerns are ignored.

Ever increasing Service Charges continue to cause financial misery to many in our borough.

Frequently, Service Charge bills are not explained in detail to residents, as should be the case and scrutinising huge increases in bills is often complicated, meaning many experience financial hardship without fully understanding where their money is going.

Building repairs identified in individual homes and communal areas often take unacceptably long to rectify, despite residents paying vast Service Charges and most Housing Associations having considerable amounts in reserves, to deal with building defects and similar issues.

Essential building repairs are not prioritised, comprising the health and safety of residents, or causing real obstacles for people with disabilities or impairments.

Housing Associations rarely review the work of their contractors, resulting in issues reoccurring for no reason. In the long run this costs tenants more.

This Council believes:

1. Housing Associations must be held accountable and deliver for their tenants, some of whom are vulnerable and have specific housing and care needs.

2. That Housing Associations have both a legal and moral duty to ensure that their tenants’ needs are met and all issues are addressed in a timely manner.

3. There is often a distinct lack of communication between Housing Associations and their tenants, which fuels the frustration many feel.

4. It is difficult for tenants to make complaints when issues persist and are left unresolved as it is hard to know who within these bureaucratic organisations is responsible for different issues that arise.

This Council resolves to:

1. Exert our influence to demand better for residents who are currently experiencing issues with their Housing Association

2. Collate a directory of useful contact information of all Housing Associations who have stock in our borough, in order for Elected Members and Officers to be able to better support residents who have ongoing problems with their Housing Association.

3. Help signpost residents to their specific Housing Association officer who would be best placed to help resolve ongoing issues in their homes or communal spaces in their building.

4. Organise a roundtable with all Housing Associations who have stock in Brent in order for a frank and open conversation to take place between Elected Members and representatives from Housing Associations about ongoing issues within their stock.

5. Review our relationship with Housing Associations who have significant issues, particularly those who do not address buildingdefects withintheirexistingstock.

6. Support local people in holding their Housing Association to account by seeking to democratise the relationship between tenant and Housing Association through setting up Resident Associations where in public meetings issues can be raised and actions determined.”

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

“Our Home Our Vote

The Council notes:

§ The Elections Bill has passed Royal Assent. The Bill when enabled will introduce a number of measures which will impact electors and local authorities including mandatory photographic voter ID, overseas voting, and voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens.

§ Election officials say they have not had enough time to prepare for voter ID and are worried that thousands of people will be turned away from polling stations. Labour Party MPs have raised concerns regarding voter suppression, since six of the Government-accepted IDs are specifically targeted at older people, while almost none are aimed at younger people.

§ In Brent, 169,000 residents were born abroad, and across London over 12% of residents are from the European Union.

§ They live, work, study, make use of public services, and call London their home. Many of our foreign-born residents from EU and Commonwealth countries can vote in our local elections. However, approximately 377,000 Londoners that were born in non-EU and non-Commonwealth countries cannot vote in our elections.

§ Scotland and Wales implemented residence-based voting rights where all residents with lawful immigration status have the right to vote in local and devolved national elections.

§ A poll conducted by Number Cruncher showed that 63% of people agree that all residents with lawful status in the UK should have the right to vote in local elections in England and Northern Ireland.

The Council welcomes:

§ That 37% of Londoners are born outside of the UK and that the voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens with pre-settled and settled status who entered the UK before 2021 will be maintained.

§ That the London Assembly passed a motion in support of residence-based voting rights on the 11th of November 2021 and that various organisations in the democracy and immigration sector have signed a joint statement in support of the “Our Home Our Vote” campaign for residence-based voting rights.

The Council expresses concern that:

§ EU citizens who enter the UK from 2021 and are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, or by ‘bilateral treaties’ covering voting rights, will not have voting and candidacy rights in local elections from 2022. This will create an unequal situation where some EU citizens will have the right to vote where others will not.

§ Brent Council also expresses concerns that the democratic rights to vote in local or national elections will impact many minority groups once voter ID is implemented through the Election Act;

§ We fear this complexity in voting eligibility will cause confusion and will reduce voter turnout in London elections, undermining the effectiveness of projects such as London Voter Registration Week working to improve voter registration.

The Council will commit to:

§ Increasing its efforts to encourage eligible voters to register to vote in advance of future elections. For instance, but not limited to, including information about voter registration and eligibility in council tax letters, council social media communications and the Brent Magazine.

§ Brent Council will work closely with organisations and charities operating across our borough to ensure that the information about local election voting rights reaches as many EU citizens as possible that call Brent home.

§ Ask that the Leader of the Council write to Andrew Stephenson, Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities requesting that the right to vote be extended to all residents in local elections in England and Northern Ireland.”

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

“Backlog Britain: Waiting for Care

This Council notes:

All across the United Kingdom the country is facing backlogs across public services. In the past few weeks, we have seen that these delays can have tragic consequences – with a bottleneck in processing asylum applications, leading to deplorable conditions at Manston in Kent.

However, right now across the health sector, with staff leaving the industry in their droves and nurses balloting for a strike for the first time ever; we are seeing even greater delays to accessing healthcare:

§ There are some 6.7 million people waiting for routine hospital treatment the highest level since records began 15 years ago. Hospitals, meanwhile, are full of patients who cannot be discharged owing to a lack of care-home beds or community services to support them. This in turn means that nationally almost 700,000 people have waited more than 12 hours in A&E in the first seven months of 2022, with ambulances queuing outside hospital doors for hours.

§ The NHS is the Labour Party’s proudest achievement – a gift from Nye Bevan to the country which has lasted 74 years. The NHS is a source of national pride, but this year it is facing another balancing act, with spiralling demands for care; while thousands of positions are vacant. As a result, there are now 1 in 9 people in England on hospital waiting lists, with people dying while waiting for care.

§ The Health and Social Care Levy was put forward as a means to “fix” social care by providing sustainable funding to the sector. There have been no new announcements from government on what will replace the £13 billion it would have offered.

§ Figures from the NHS reveal that last month 7,953 people had to wait more than four hours for emergency care at A&Es in London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. In North West London, there are now 247,296 residents on the waiting list for care, up from 175,291 just a year ago and the highest number in London. There are 6,225 residents waiting over a year for routine operations.

§ At the same time many NHS trusts are supporting their staff through the cost of living crisis by food banks on site, providing salary advances and free school uniforms to the children of NHS staff.

§ The NHS Confederation has made an unprecedented intervention, highlighting in an open letter the link between fuel poverty and demand on NHS services, stating that Britain “is facing a humanitarian crisis. Many people could face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions.”

§ Further on 9^th November 2002 NHS Confederation stated that “ If social care reforms are delayed by another year, this will only serve to exacerbate the bottlenecks across local services and harm patients “

§ Around 1 in every 10 dentists in England quit last year, leaving 4 million people unable to access an NHS dentist with some parts of the country now described as ‘dentistry deserts’, because remaining NHS dentists aren’t taking on new patients. The British Dentistry Association, emergency teeth extractions are now the most common reason for children to go to hospital.

§ Data from the NHS reveals that in the past year, 23,434 GP appointments in the North West London Integrated Care System were held over a month late, as patients struggle to see a GP when they need one.

§ That there is a six to eight week wait to access the local Long Covid service based at Central Middlesex Hospital.

§ Public satisfaction with GP services has fallen from 77 per cent in 2010, to just 38 per cent now, the lowest level since the survey began in 1983. A BBC Panorama investigation in June found that unqualified staff at Operose Health practices, the UK’s largest GP chain, are seeing patients without the required clinical supervision and support.

This Council believes:

§ That Brent owes a huge debt of gratitude to health and social care staff that continue to tirelessly work for a health service that keeps us healthy and has saved lives across the pandemic. However, it also clear that successive governments over the last decade have presided over the deterioration of services, creating some of the backlogs we see today.

§ Public services are a public right, but residents in Brent are facing huge delays for the most basic care. The NHS and universal public services need a new deal, if the social contract that bonds citizens and governments, can continue.

§ We need a real plan to get waiting lists in hospitals, primary care and dentistry under control. At present there is a golden thread of delay, decay and dither leading back to the Conservatives. Previous governments have reduced waiting times in hospitals from 18 months to 18 weeks.

§ That if Brent residents cannot afford to heat their homes and cannot afford nutritious food, we will face a new public health emergency; increasing the strain on our local hospital admissions further.

§ Local government has shown that with the right funding, it has a part to play in promoting and protecting the health and well-being of the public, and supporting the NHS in alleviating the demand for services.

§ In Brent we are proud to have our own Brent Health Matters programme which has:

o Established a public health prevention team, recruited from our community with lived experiences of what makes Brent, Brent.

o Worked hand in glove with our multi-faith groups to reach a wide range of stakeholders across Brent, to address entrenched health inequalities.

o Been at the heart of a public health outreach campaign: coordinating diabetes screenings, organising pop-up Covid-19 vaccination sites; and working now with our community groups to increase vaccination uptake.

This Council resolves:

§ As part of the campaign to ensure that healthcare for Brent residents is properly funded, working alongside patient voice groups, to press the case for equitable NHS funding across the new North West London Integrated Care System (ICS).

§ To reinforce the Brent Health Matters programme, taking forward transformational projects to reverse the health inequalities the pandemic exposed. We will facilitate more outreach sessions across Brent’s communities, such as our diabetes prevention events and our mobile dentistry sessions.

§ To bolster our communications campaign across all channels, with a new multi-language information booklet setting out what support is available is available to residents struggling with the cost of living, energy and food poverty.

§ To provide ‘Warm Places’ a network of spaces where Brent residents can come together to stay warm and receive additional support and advice to alleviate poverty – helping to ease pressures on the NHS.

§ To support a national campaign as outlined by the NHS Confederation in support of the action that is so desperately required to address the dearth of adequate social care provision, including introducing a minimum wage for social care staff. Social care is about so much more than alleviating pressure on the NHS, but without action to address the lack of capacity in social care, the NHS will continue to experience huge delays in discharging medically fit patients from hospitals.

§ Request that the Leader of the Council write to our local MPs requesting that the backlog in healthcare services and health inequalities in Brent is raised in Parliament; and for those MPs to meet with interested councillors in facilitating discussions.”

Minutes:

Before moving on to consider the motions listed on the summons, the Mayor advised members that a total of 40 minutes had been set aside for the consideration of the four 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 he advised that the remaining time available would be rolled forward for consideration of the remaining motions.

16.1 1^st Motion (Conservative Group) – Measures to tackle flooding in Brent

The Mayor invited Councillor Kansagra to move the first motion which had been submitted on behalf of the Conservative Group. Councillor Kansagra began by providing context on what he felt to be the severity of flooding issues in Brent and increase in frequency. Whilst acknowledging climate change and global warming as factors it was, however, felt that the increasing level of development on green and brownfield sites was also having a detrimental impact on the drainage of rainwater. In addition, the Council’s policy of tarmacking footpaths was also felt to be making the position worse by increasing surface water run off as opposed allowing water to permeate into the ground naturally. Although it was recognised that the Council could not prevent global warming and climate change on their own, Councillor Kansagra felt that the suggested actions detailed within the motion would assist in mitigating the consequences of local flood events and protect resident’s lives and properties, which he hoped all members would support.

The Mayor thanked Councillor Kansagra for moving the motion, then invited other members to speak with the following contributions received.

Councillor Lorber, speaking in support of the motion, felt that further consideration was required in relation to the use of asphalt for the repair and replacement of footways, given its effectiveness and impact in terms of surface water pooling and run off. Reflecting on specific issues in his own ward, he highlighted the issues caused by uneven footway surfaces and pooling of surface water, which he felt not only increased flood risks but also caused potential hazards for elderly and disabled residents. In concluding his comments, Councillor Lorber also took the opportunity to highlight concerns regarding the potential environmental impacts of what he felt was overdevelopment being permitted in front and back gardens and other green spaces across Brent.

Councillor Krupa Sheth, in responding to the motion as Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action, started by welcoming the reference and acknowledgement within the motion to the impact of climate change. Highlighting the Council’s commitment towards tackling the climate emergency she highlighted how environmental issues remained a key consideration within policy and new development proposals, with bio-diversity, flooding and drainage assessments routinely included as part of the planning considerations for new developments. In highlighting what she felt was the governments poor record on environmental issues she also felt it important to recognise that many new developments within the borough were actually designed to enhance bio-diversity and provide ecological drainage solutions with the use of asphalt on footways also designed to provide a permeable solution. In addition, Councillor Krupa Sheth advised members of the regular meetings held with representatives of the main water companies operating in the borough and programme of regular gully cleaning that was in place to ensure water could flow freely through the drainage system to reduce the risk of flooding. For these reasons she advised the Labour Group would not be supporting the motion, also taking the opportunity to highlight that the concerns relating to back garden developments fell under Permitted Development regulations, with members from all groups encouraged to continue lobbying government for the funding required to ensure a greener future for Brent.

As there were no further contributions, the Mayor then invited Councillor Kansagra (as mover of the original motion) to exercise his right of reply.

In summing up, Councillor Kansagra advised that the Conservative Group in submitting the motion did not agree with the view expressed by the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action that adequate measures were in place to mitigate against the increased flooding risk arising from climate change and the scale of developments across the borough. As such, he felt the most responsible course of action moving forward would be for members to vote in support of the motion and additional mitigations being sought to address the flood risks identified and protect residents across the borough.

The Mayor thanked members for their contributions and then moved on to put the motion, as set out below, to a vote which was declared LOST and not therefore approved.

“Measures to tackle Flooding in Brent

We notice that flood water collects in low lying areas and does not recede for a few days after it rains which means that in the current situation more frequent and severe flooding will take place.

As a result this Council calls on Cabinet to:

1) Reverse the policy of tarmacking the footways and replace with paving slabs and bricks which allows more water to soak in the ground, especially in known flood risk areas;

2) Reverse the policy of large scale developments which are reducing the green open spaces and making Brent a concrete jungle;

3) Implement a regular gully cleaning and leaf collection program, especially in the flood prone areas;

If Brent is serious about global warming and climate change and wants to protect its citizens now and for future, it's the least it can do.”

16.2 2^nd Motion (Liberal Democrats Group) – Holding Housing Associations to Account

The Mayor invited Councillor Georgiou to move the second motion which had been submitted on behalf of the Liberal Democrats Group. Councillor Georgiou, in moving the motion, began by highlighting the high number of residents within Brent who lived in properties managed by Housing Associations as either tenants, leaseholders or shared owners, given the increasing levels of stock they managed. It was noted that Housing Associations had originally been set up as charitable non-profit making organisations that aimed to provide low cost housing options, however, in more recent times as they had become more profitable and increased their stock it was felt their ethos had shifted with many now appearing to be primarily driven by financial gain. Concern was expressed that this change did not appear to have been accompanied by any associated benefits for tenants with members having to deal with an increasing level of casework involving issues with properties managed by Housing Associations. These reflected increased service charges, poor customer service and lengthy wait times for building repairs leading to financial hardship and comprising the health and safety of residents or difficulties for those with disabilities or other access or mobility issues. As a result, Councillor Georgiou advised the motion was seeking support to address the lack of communication and accountability demonstrated by Housing Associations in dealing with their tenants and todemand better and ensure the necessary support was available for residents experiencing issues with their Associations.

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

Councillor Knight, as Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness & Renters Security, expressed her full support for the actions being sought in response to the motion recognising the necessity in the Council supporting tenants in seeking to uphold their rights and receive the level of service they deserved in order to ensure that Housing Associations were held to account and accepted their responsibility in remedying issues effectively. Referring to the recent case in Rochdale involving the tragic death of Awabb Ishak which had been linked to the failure of a housing landlord to address concerns raised in relation to the level of damp and mould in the families accommodation, Councillor Knight reassured members of the measures being taken by Brent as a responsible landlord to contact tenants who had raised concerns involving damp or mould in their properties in order to ensure the necessary action and support was being provided and to act on any lessons that could be learned as a result of the tragedy. In terms of Housing Associations it was noted that the Council unfortunately had no specific powers to force them to act with the Housing Ombudsman serving as the main source of redress. In her capacity as Cabinet Member, however Councillor Knight advised that she did meet regularly with the five biggest Housing Associations operating in the borough and, in urging all members on a cross party basis to support the motion, advised she would be willing to take forward any issues raised by other councillors on behalf of their constituents in relation to concerns or difficulties with their Housing Associations in an effort to ensure residents in the borough were able to access a decent quality of safe and secure housing.

Councillor Kansagra also spoke in support of the motion, highlighting that it was particularly important to understand and support residents in seeking to hold their Housing Associations to account and to ensure they were provided with a good standard of service, given the level of increasing level of properties they owned and managed across Brent. In reflecting on the difficulties experienced by many of his own constituents when dealing with Housing Association he felt it was important to ensure the Council was doing all within the powers available to support residents in ensuring the Housing Associations were meeting their responsibilities and needs of their tenants. On this basis he advised the Conservative Group would also be supporting the motion.

Councillor Matin, also spoke in support of the motion, again reflecting on issues highlighted by her constituents in relation to the stress and anxiety being created as a result of the lack of communication by Housing Associations and safety concerns created by long periods of time passing before issues were identified and resolved. Given the increasing level of property owned and managed by Housing Associations within the borough she was also keen to ensure support was provided for those residents in seeking to hold their Housing Associations to account particularly given the unresponsive nature of many providers, as evidence by the level of associated casework within her ward.

Councillor Miller also speaking in support of the motion, took the opportunity to highlight what he felt where the advantages in democratically run publicly managed social housing given the level of accountability available in seeking to address issues. Referring members to a previous scrutiny review on the same subject he pointed out that a number of similar concerns had also been identified in relation to the service being provided by Housing Associations, which supported the actions identified within the motion.

As no further members had indicated they wished to speak the Mayor then invited Councillor Georgiou to exercise his right to reply.

In exercising his right of reply Councillor Georgiou expressed his gratitude for the cross party support expressed towards the motion with a unified response, he felt, providing a strong message to Housing Associations about the need for accountability and the legal and moral duty on them to ensure that their tenants’ needs were being met and addressed in a timely manner.

Having thanked councillors for their contributions, the Mayor then put the motion to a vote which was unanimously declared CARRIED.

It was therefore RESOLVED to approve the following motion: