The Mayor invited Reverent Andrew Wakefield to the lead the Council in the official prayer to mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becoming our longest reigning monarch.

Councillors Stephen Alambritis, Oonagh Moulton and Peter Southgate all spoke on this historic event.

No apologies were made.

No pecuniary declarations of interests were made.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

The Mayor provided the Council with a brief update on his recent Mayoral duties including that unfortunately the Mayor’s summer Cricket event in Mitcham had to be cancelled due to bad weather, but it would be rescheduled in 2016. The Mayor also promoted the ‘Silver Sunday’ afternoon tea event being held on 4 October 2015.

The Leader addressed the Council and read out a cross party statement on the refugee crisis. A copy of the statement is attached as Appendix A to the minutes.

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 will 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 will 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 will be included within the ‘Strategic theme: Councillors' questions to Cabinet Members’ published document.

The report was moved by Councillor Maxi Martin and seconded by

Councillor Martin Whelton.

Councillor Charlie Chirico also spoke on this item.

RESOLVED

That the Strategic Theme report is agreed.

The motion was moved by Councillor James Holmes and seconded by Councillor Linda Taylor.

The Labour amendment, as set out in agenda item 16 was moved by Councillor Ross Garrod and seconded by Councillor Judy Saunders.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 39, and votes against 20 with 1 abstention.

The substantive resolution was then agreed.

RESOLVED

This Council recognises, given the urgent and projected demand for more secondary school places in Merton, that there is still not a suitable site agreed with the Department for Education (DFE) who are responsible, via the Education Funding (EFA) Agency, for identifying such a site. Furthermore, even if the process can shortly be concluded, Council is concerned about the time it has taken for the EFA to identify a site for a new secondary free school in the borough that fully meets the needs of parents and pupils across the whole of Mertonbut acknowledges the unavoidable difficulties facing the EFA.

The search for suitable sites for a new secondary school commenced in 2012 but it was immediately clear from the results of the Capita Simmonds report which the council commissioned that unfortunately there are very few sites in the borough that are suitable for a school, given the lack of significant land availability, the requirements for sufficient space and outside play areasand the government funding available for building new schools. The government’s EFA have now undertaken their own site search and have confirmed the difficulty in finding a suitable site in Merton.  Nonetheless, the council has assisted the EFA in identifying a potential site in South Wimbledon which is the administration’s preferred option although it cannot currently be named for reasons of commercial confidentiality.   This Council acknowledges that:

•          If, due to lack of a suitable site and insufficient funding from central government,  a viable secondary school site cannot be identified by the government’s EFA within the timescale required to meet future need then this administration will work with the government’s EFA and with Harris where appropriate to reassess the current secondary school strategy and look at the various contingency plans in place for such an eventuality, including looking at alternative options for secondary school expansion which are cost effective and value for money and which meet our statutory responsibilities so we do not  run the serious risk of not having enough provision in place, with inadequate  funding from the Department for Education for the construction of a new school potentially requiring us to look at more cost effective and value for money options.

•          Notwithstanding the difficulty in finding a site, this administration has focused on finding a good quality provider with a track record of achievement in the borough  by writing to the Regional Schools Commissioner expressing a clear preference for a provider with a track record of offering good quality education to young people in Merton over an untested provider, Chapel Street, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8c

Councillor Michael Bull presented the report, which was received by the Council.

The motion was moved by Councillor Daniel Holden and seconded by Councillor David Dean. It was noted as part of moving the motion a minor oral amendment (as published in advance of the meeting) was made.

The Labour amendment, as set out in agenda item 17 was moved by Councillor Andrew Judge and seconded by Councillor Tobin Byers.

Councillor Mary Jane Jeanes also spoke on the item.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 36, and votes against 20 with 4 abstentions.

The substantive resolution was then agreed.

RESOLVED

This council notes the importance of good quality public transport systems to support Merton’s economy.  Tens of thousands of Merton residents use tube, train and bus services to get to work each day and investment in transport is key to the sustainable economic growth of our borough.  Council therefore welcomes the plans for Crossrail 2, with a proposed key station in Wimbledon.

Council acknowledges that the construction period will inevitably cause some disruption to the town centre and welcomes the consultation with local people on how this is managed which is planned by Crossrail.

Wimbledon is the economic hub of the borough, with half of Merton’s jobs and nearly all the borough’s office based employment.  It is therefore imperative that the construction is phased in such a way that the existing businesses in the town centre are retained and that the impact on local people and businesses is minimised as far as possible.

This Council regrets the Mayor of London’s loss of control over industrial relations at Transport for London, for which he is responsible, and condemns the considerable inconvenience caused to residents in Merton by the series of Tube and rail strikes that took place over the summer as a result of his failure. Unnecessary strike action that could have been averted by the Mayor by all four unions representing tube workers, namely ASLEF (representing mainly train drivers), TSSA (representing mainly ticket office staff), Unite and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) has caused huge travel disruption for the thousands of Merton residents who rely daily on services such as the Northern and District lines to commute into central London from our borough.  This council condemns the Mayor of London for his inability to address the safety concerns of Tube workers and notes that that despite being elected on a pledge to "deal once and for all with endless Tube strikes" in the capital, strikes have actually increased under his administration. This Council pays tribute to all those people in Merton affected by the strikes, including many council employees, for their resilience and determination to get to work using alternative methods of travel. This Council remains concerned however about the significant cost to the local economy of the Mayor’s failure to manage industrial relations and recognises the considerable frustration felt not only by commuters but also by the borough’s businesses as a result of lost revenue.

This Council also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

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

RESOLVED

That the Council notes the taking of an urgent key decision and the waiving of the Call-in procedure.

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

RESOLVED

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

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 Abdul Latif called ‘On the noise nuisance from the Garden Shed Public House’

That the Strategic Theme for the next ordinary meeting of the Council to be held on 18 November 2015 shall be Safer and Stronger with a focus on Policing.