Apologies were received from Councillors Agatha Akyigyina and Marsie Skeete.

No pecuniary declarations of interests were made.

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

The Mayor announced the sad news on the passing of Mr Charles Ocansey, last year’s Mayor’s consort, and husband of Cllr Agatha Akyigyina.  The Mayor on behalf of the Council asked that their condolences be sent to Councillor Akyigyina.  

The Mayor provided the Council with a brief update on his recent Mayoral duties including discussing that to date between him and the Deputy Mayor they had attended over 80 engagements within the Borough. He also informed that it was his intention to visit all the schools within the Borough during this term as the Mayor.

The Mayor invited Councillor Stephen Alambritis and Oonagh Moulton to say a few words on the death the former Councillor and Mayor Joyce Paton.

The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting.

The responses to the written public questions were circulated prior to the meeting. The Mayor then invited each of the questioners in turn to ask (if they wished) a supplementary question to the appropriate Cabinet Member.

A copy of the supplementary questions and the responses would be included within the ‘Public questions to Cabinet Members’ published document.

The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting

The responses to the Members’ ordinary priority questions were circulated prior to the meeting. The Mayor then invited each of those Councillors in turn to ask (if they wished) a further supplementary question to the Cabinet Member.

A copy of the supplementary questions and the responses would be included within the ‘Councillors' ordinary priority questions’ to cabinet members published document.

The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting.

The responses to the Members’ strategic theme priority questions were circulated prior to the meeting. The Mayor then invited each of those Councillors in turn to ask (if they wished) a further supplementary question to the Cabinet Member.

A copy of the supplementary questions and the responses would be included within

the ‘Strategic theme: Councillors' questions to Cabinet Members’ published

document.

The report was moved by Councillor Nick Draper and seconded by

Councillor Stephen Alambritis

Councillor Charlie Chirico also spoke on this item

RESOLVED:

That the report is agreed

Councillor James HoImes presented the report, which was received by the Council.

The motion was moved by Councillor Michael Bull and seconded by Councillor Linda Taylor

The Labour amendment, as set out in item 23 was moved by Councillor Ross Garrod and seconded by Councillor Judy Saunders.

Councillor Mary Jane Jeanes also spoke on the item.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 33, and votes against 21 with 4 abstention.

The substantive resolution was agreed.

RESOLVED:

Council notes that under the previous Conservative administration official government data showed that Merton was the dirtiest borough in London.  Since 2010 however, the government’s figures show that litter and detritus on Merton’s streets has reduced significantly due to a more targeted approach. 

However, this Council recognises that whilst satisfaction with street cleaning is consistently high, people littering the borough’s streets is clearly a top concern for some residents, according to the latest Annual Residents’ Survey. With council tax now receding as a concern due to the council’s five year council tax freeze, over a third of residents now cite litter and dirt in the streets as their primary concern, which is a 10% increase over the last 2 years and the highest level for a decade where council tax and crime were consistently the biggest concerns.

This Council therefore welcomes the council’s zero tolerance approach to litter and the Love Your Street campaign which is a comprehensive programme of initiatives and includes various clean up events arranged in the borough – both by the council and other community organisations and representatives - including as part of the recent Community Clear Up Day 2015, and pays tribute to the on going efforts of local campaigning groups, including Sustainable Merton and Merton Matters, who – together with many other local residents – are working in partnership with the council in addressing the problem of people dropping litter in the borough.

This Council notes that:

•        The council’s zero tolerance approach to litter has included using specialist environmental enforcement officers to fine people who drop litter and cigarette butts in our town centres.  Whilst in 2009/10 just 139 fixed penalty notices for littering were issued by the council this has risen to over 4,000 fixed penalty notices issued in 2014/15 to people who drop litter in our streets, with the service extended to parks and green spaces during the busy summer months; 

•        The council has invested in more productive and efficient street cleaning equipment including the new Glutton machines being operated across the borough and is introducing an improved approach to mechanical sweeping across the borough, particularly in cleansing hot spot areas;

•        The budget for a Sunday street cleaning service in Merton’s town centres has not been reduced despite the significant cuts to the council’s funding from central government;

•        The overall number of street cleaners employed in Merton has reduced from 112 in 2010 to 103 today, as a result of the council adopting a more efficient way of working as part of the LEAN  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The motion was moved by Councillor Michael Latif and seconded by Councillor Charlie Chirico

The Labour amendment, as set out in item 24 was moved by Councillor Tobin Byers and seconded by Councillor Katy Neep.

Councillor Mary Jane Jeanes also spoke on the item.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 37, and votes against 0 with 21 abstention.

The substantive resolution was agreed.

RESOLVED:

This Council shares public concern about travellers illegally occupying public green spaces and other public and private areas in the Borough.

Council thanks officers, the police and the courts on their recent work to move on travellers illegally camping on some of our parks and open spaces.

However, it is frequently the case that travellers evicted by the Council from one site then simply move on to occupy another site in the vicinity and current legislation means that the council’s hands are often tied, unable to move people on without undertaking time consuming and costly welfare checks and legal processes. This has been going on for many months in and around Merton, usually at the expense of public funds where it is public land being occupied, although there have also been encroachments on private land where the landowner is responsible and the legal requirements for removal are less exacting.

The process of undertaking travellers’ needs assessments and applying for court orders, as required by law, is not only costly and time consuming for the authorities concerned but also causes a good deal of inconvenience and anxiety to the local residents, although this is not something that can be avoided given the current legal framework.

Council congratulates officers on the speed and efficiency with which they have returned affected parks to cleanliness, but notes that subsequent cleaning up and cost effective and appropriate securing of the sites after the travellers’ eviction is only achieved by spending further tax payers’ money and must be weighed up against the many other services the council is required to provide from an ever reducing funding pot.

The council has a statutory duty to assess the welfare needs of Travellers in its area, and in particular the welfare needs of Traveller children and young people.  Evictions cannot be progressed until this process has been undertaken and any welfare needs assessed. However council notes that officers are carrying out a review of the welfare assessment procedure to identify whether there are ways of speeding up this process whilst continuing to abide by the legal requirements.

In addition, by their very nature, our parks and open spaces need to remain open and accessible to residents.  Whilst the council uses a number of methods to seek to prevent illegal encampments on our parks and open spaces, this is difficult to achieve without stopping residents from accessing their local parks.  The council therefore seeks to achieve a balance between actively discouraging illegal encampments and maintaining access for residents, in the knowledge that it is not possible  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The motion was moved by Councillor Janice Howard and seconded by Councillor Michael Bull

The Labour amendment, as set out in item 25 was moved by Councillor Abigail Jones and seconded by Councillor Imran Uddin.

Councillor Mary Jane Jeanes also spoke on the item.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 37, and votes against 0 with 21 abstention.

The substantive resolution was agreed.

RESOLVED:

Council notes that Merton’s housing stock was transferred to a Housing Association under the previous Conservative administration.  Circle Housing Merton Priory (CHMP) are independent of the council and they have full ownership of 9,000 former council homes. 

On taking over the properties, Circle made a series of promises to residents in terms of the service they would offer as a landlord.

Unlike the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the Council does not have any regulatory powers over CHMP.  Under the terms of the stock transfer agreement, CHMP is formally accountable to the council solely in the specific area of whether they deliver on the promises in the offer document at the time of the transfer and whether they keep to their side of the transfer agreement.

Nonetheless, this council believes it has a moral duty to do all it in its power to stand up for CHMP tenants, leaseholders and freeholders, notwithstanding the limited powers the council has in this regard. This is why in September last year the council succeeded in ensuring CHMP signed up to the 10 Commitments. These commitments include: “Circle Housing Merton Priory will continue to maintain the homes of residents across the three neighbourhoods throughout the planning process until regeneration starts, including ensuring a high quality responsive repairs service.”

Council believes that stronger controls on Housing Associations are needed and that government should give local authorities robust powers to intervene where local Housing Associations are not performing or where they do not offer value for money for residents.

This Council notes with concern that it is now more than 9 months since an independent investigation was commissioned into the whistle blowing allegations of corruption and mismanagement within Circle Housing Merton Priory’s (CHMP) repairs and maintenance service which looked at a sample of 25 properties.

Following pressure from residents, the Wimbledon Guardian and from local Councillors who called for an independent audit, Council welcomes CHMP’s admission that their repairs contractor, Keepmoat Property Services, has been overcharging for works and their announcement that they are now undertaking a wider investigation to assess the scale of overcharging and to identify ways of improving the system to stop contractors from overcharging.

However, despite the severity of the allegations and the number of people potentially affected, the initial audit report of 25 properties is still yet to be released to residents and councillors and no firm timetable for publication has been forthcoming. There has been no update on when the full audit is expected to be completed and when it will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The report was moved by Councillor Andrew Judge and seconded by Councillor Mark Allison

Councillor Suzanne Grocott also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That Council approves a new Capital Scheme “Rediscover Mitcham” totalling £507,290 funded by Section 106 contributions as detailed below.

The report was moved by Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah and seconded by Councillor Mark Allison.

Councillor Gilli Lewis- Lavender also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That Council:

1.     agrees to commence a recruitment campaign for a new Director of Public Health as the current postholder is due to retire

2.     approves an appointment to the post of Director of Public Health on a salary range that potentially will reach or exceed £100,000

The report was moved by Councillor Peter Southgate and seconded by Councillor Peter McCabe.

Councillor Oonagh Moulton also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That Council notes the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report.

The report was moved by Councillor Mark Allison and seconded by Councillor Stephen Alambritis.

Councillor David Williams also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That Council

1.     notes the Members’ declaration of interest form and guidance.

2.     agrees that the form and guidance, contained within the report, should be updated to include declaration of trade union membership.

3.     agrees that the form and guidance should be updated to include declaration of third party organisations in the borough where a Councillor or Co-opted Member holds a position of management or control.

4.     agrees to ensure all councillors be guided by the Monitoring Officer on the new requirements that come into effect on 1st September 2015.

The report was moved by Councillor Peter McCabe and seconded by Councillor Stephen Alambritis.

Councillor David Williams also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That Council

1.     agrees to appoint Suresh Patel and Derek Prior as independent persons for the purposes of Chapter 7 of the Localism Act. The independent persons will be invited to attend meetings of the Standards Committee in that capacity

2.     agrees that the appointments be made for a period of three years from 12 July 2015.

The report was moved by Councillor Mark Allison and seconded by Councillor Stephen Alambritis.

Councillor David Williams also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That Council authorise the changes to the council’s constitution (set out below) in order to comply with the requirements of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Constitution – Part 4H Officer Employment Procedure Rules

Paragraph 7.1, replace:

“No disciplinary action may be taken in respect of the Head of Paid Service, the Chief Finance Officer or the Monitoring Officer except in accordance with a recommendation in a report made by a Designated Independent Person i.e. as set out in the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2001”

With:

“No disciplinary action to dismiss may be taken in respect of the Head of Paid Service, the Chief Finance Officer or the Monitoring Officer except after having taken into account any advice, views or recommendations of a Panel, the conclusions of any investigation and any recommendations of the relevant officer i.e. as set out in the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015”

The report was moved by Councillor Stephen Alambritis and seconded by Councillor Mark Allison.

RESOLVED

That Council

1.     notes the changes to the membership of Committees that were approved under delegated powers since the last meeting of the Council.

2.     notes that the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission rejected the request for the use of Special urgency (Rule 15) in relation to a delegated key decision.

The report was moved by Councillor Stephen Alambritis and seconded by Councillor Mark Allison.

RESOLVED

That Council

1.     notes the update on the petition received at the last meeting,

2.     accepts receipt of a petition presented by Councillor David Dean called ‘a petition to ask officers for re-appraisal of Burstow Road/ Kingston Road/ Lower Downs Road/ Cycle track junction.’

That the Strategic Theme for the next ordinary meeting of the Council to be held on 9 September 2015 shall be Children and Young People.