Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Braund, Gadzama, Neil and Taylor OBE.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2017 be agreed as an accurate record.

The Mayor provided a brief update on the forthcoming Mayor’s Christmas Meal and thanked those present for their continued support.

There were no announcements from the Leader or the Chief Executive.

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 further question to the Cabinet Member.  A copy of the supplementary questions and responses will be included in the ‘public questions to Cabinet Members’ published document.

The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting

The responses to the written member ordinary priority questions were circulated prior to the meeting.  The Mayor then invited each of the members in turn to ask (if they wished) a further question to the Cabinet Member.  A copy of the supplementary questions and responses will be included in the ‘member ordinary priority questions to Cabinet Members’ published document.

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

The responses to the written member strategic theme priority questions were circulated prior to the meeting.  The Mayor then invited each of the members in turn to ask (if they wished) a further question to the Cabinet Member.  A copy of the supplementary questions and responses will be included in the ‘member strategic theme priority questions to Cabinet Members’ published document.

It was also noted that a copy of the member non priority questions and responses will be published after the meeting, in line with Constitutional requirements.

The Strategic Theme report on Corporate Capacity with a focus on Bridging the Gap was moved by Councillor Allison and seconded by Councillor Alambritis .

Councillor Crowe also spoke on the item.

RESOLVED:  That the Strategic Theme report be agreed.

The motion was moved by Councillor Williams and seconded by Councillor Dean.

The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 25 of Supplementary Agenda 4 was moved by Councillor Allison and seconded by Councillor Brunt.

The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 32, votes against: 19, abstentions: 4.

The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 32, votes against: 19, abstentions: 4.

RESOLVED:

This Council recognises that at a time of significant government cuts to council budgets and of constrained public spending which has seen local authorities lose at least 40% of their funding from central government, it is inevitable that there will be a reduction in local services as innovation alone cannot fill this massive gap in funding.  However it is more important than ever that local authorities should innovate to try to mitigate some of the impact of these government cuts. This is one way they can reduce costs and generate additional income whilst continuing to deliver quality frontline services at a price their residents can afford, although it is acknowledged that the scale of the government’s cuts mean that reductions to some services cannot be avoided without increased investment from central government.

This Council is therefore concerned that Merton should innovate successfully in order to save money or generate income and is proud that the recent Annual Residents survey found that a record number of residents said Merton was an efficient and well run council. Our successes in this regard include:

·         An innovative four borough waste contract with Conservative Kingston, Liberal Democrat Richmond and Labour Croydon to save Merton in the region of £48m over the lifetime of the contract

·         Successfully sharing our legal service and our regulatory services, along with a number of other services, in order to save money whilst also increasing resilience.

·         Successfully running a profit making company, CHAS, with dividends ploughed back into council services.

·         One of the most efficient library services in London with some of the highest usage levels and customer satisfaction.

·         Establishing a property company, Merantun, to maximise the councils’ assets to the benefit of council tax payers rather than big developers.

·         Contributing to around £1m in savings so far, with more to come, partly linked to implementing a new website that has moved around 200 different sets of transactions online, with up to 70% of service requests now through the website and connecting our website and call centre to back office systems so that we reduce manual handling of requests, customers’ requests get referred to the right operative quickly and they can receive better updates on progress.

However, there will always be examples where we could have achieved more and sooner had we had more resources (invest to save), more staff or more expertise and some such attempts have been challenging leading in some cases, although often temporarily, to reduced customer satisfaction and increased costs for council taxpayers in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7c

Councillor Dehaney presented the report which was received by the Council.

Councillor Munn presented the report which was received by the Council.

Councillor Philip Jones presented the report which was received by the Council.

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

Councillor Najeeb Latif presented the report which was received by the Council.

The motion was moved by Councillor Moulton and seconded by Councillor Holmes.

The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 26 of Supplementary Agenda 4 was moved by Councillor Macauley and seconded by Councillor Abigail Jones.

The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 33, votes against: 19, abstentions: 3.

The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 33, votes against: 19, abstentions: 3.

RESOLVED:

Following publication of the MOPAC/MPS Public Access Strategy on 1 November 2017, this Council condemns the government’s £1billion per year cut in funding for the Metropolitan Police which has led to the Mayor of London’s decision to close Wimbledon Police Station, which he has been forced into by this government’s year on year £1billion cuts - which dwarfs the Met’s £240million one off reserves, which represent just 2% of the Met’s budget, and which are already allocated for policing in London to provide a buffer, particularly in light of the current terror threat.

The motion was moved by Councillor Jeanes and seconded by Councillor Southgate.

Councillor Grocott also spoke on the motion.

The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 27 of Supplementary Agenda 4 was moved by Councillor Byers and seconded by Councillor Curtin.

The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 32, votes against: 23, abstentions: 0.

The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 32, votes against: 0, abstentions: 23.

RESOLVED:

This council acknowledges that there is a crisis in social care.  Government has slashed council funding by more than 40% since 2010, much of this agreed under the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, and as a result adult social care, which is the biggest single area of the council’s controllable spending, is inevitably facing significantly reduced budgets.  Added to this, although we very much welcome increasing numbers of older people living longer than ever, they often have more complex care needs in later life which require increased spending on more expensive care packages.  However, despite the significant financial challenges as a result of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat austerity agendas, this Council is encouraged that in the process of recommissioning home care, the approach of the administration has been benchmarked against Unison’s Ethical Care Charter www.savecarenow.org.uk/ethical-care-charter

This Council notes:

1.    The objective of the Charter is to establish a minimum baseline for the safety, quality and dignity of care by ensuring employment conditions for care workers that a) do not routinely short-change clients and b) ensure the recruitment and retention of a more stable workforce through more sustainable pay, conditions and training levels.

2.    Officers assess that the administration’s commissioning approach meets all but 2 of the minimum standards set out in the charter and has met both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the charter, with Stage 3 part achieved.

3.    The two areas that the administration is not currently able to meet due to a significant funding gap as a result of Conservative and Liberal Democrat cuts are:

·         Coverage by an occupational sick pay scheme (in excess of statutory entitlements) by the external homecare contractor

·         Payment of the London Living Wage by the external homecare contractor, which officers have estimated would increase the cost of the contract by £2.6m per annum, a potential cost to the council of £18m over the lifetime of the contract.

4.    There are significant problems nationwide in the recruitment and retention of care workers and the Conservative and Liberal Democrat governments have exacerbated this by cutting council’s funding.

This Council believes:

1.    Merton’s Cabinet agreed to implement a Minimum Income Guarantee based on the London Living Wage in 2013 and to pay all directly employed and agency staff at or above this rate and we should stick to that. The rate that external contractors pay their staff was also looked at when this decision was made and it was agreed at the time that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The motion was moved by Councillor Holden and seconded by Councillor Dean.

Councillor Sargeant also spoke on the motion.

The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 28 of Supplementary Agenda 4 was moved by Councillor Garrod and seconded by Councillor Macauley.

The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 32, votes against: 19, abstentions: 4.

The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 32, votes against: 19, abstentions: 4.

RESOLVED:

This Council recognises that the government has cut council budgets by over 40% since 2010 and that millions of pounds have had to be saved by local councils up and down the country, of all political flavour.  The level of cuts required in Merton would have affected front line services and forced the council to reduce essential services for our residents.  Merton Council therefore took an innovative approach to making the savings required by working with three of our neighbouring boroughs, Labour Croydon, Liberal Democrat Sutton and Conservative Kingston, to agree a joint contract with Veolia to save an estimated £48m over the lifetime of the contract whilst still delivering a comprehensive service vice to residents.  As with any significant change of this type, there have been initial difficulties in bedding down the new system across four boroughs and some residents are frustrated where local streets, parks and town centres have overflowing bins, fly tipping, graffiti, un-swept streets and missed rubbish collections.  Nonetheless, our missed refuse collections are still very low at 0.1%.

The results of the most recent Residents’ Survey, which showed street cleaning and litter as residents' top concern, and by the 6 month performance review of the new Veolia contract considered by the Sustainable Communities scrutiny panel earlier this month, which included a number of worrying findings:

·         Bin collection target just missed for each of the last 4 months but stands at 0.1%;Street litter target initially missed but  independent inspections for litter on Merton's roads have now found that the management of litter since Veolia began the contract is improving and for the last two months has been better than the standards previously maintained;

·         Increased detritus in the first four months which has since improved and for recent months the performance is better than last year;

·         Green sacks left uncollected after the street sweeping which Veolia have agreed to address.  Two additional mobile response crews are now operational to deal with this workload and we are seeing improvements already and are continuing to monitor the situation;

·         Some Bins not being emptied frequently enough, which are being addressed by the two additional mobile response crews;

·         Failure to remove fly tips within 24 hours due to an increase in the number of recorded instances.  However due to the innovative nature of the contract which is based on outcomes and not inputs, Veolia is still required to pick up these fly tips and we will be continuing to press them on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

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

The Conservative amendment as set out in agenda item 29 of Supplementary Agenda 3 was moved by Councillor Williams and seconded by Councillor Grocott.

The Monitoring Officer advised that, in accordance with Part 4A, paragraph 10.4 of the Constitution, a recorded vote would be taken.

The Conservative amendment was then put to a vote and was lost –

Votes in favour: Councillors Badenoch, Bowcott, Bull, Bush, Chirico, Crowe, Dean, Grocott, Holden, Holmes, Howard, Abdul Latif, Najeeb Latif, Brian Lewis-Lavender, Gilli Lewis-Lavender, Moulton, Simpson, West and Williams (19)

Votes against: Councillors Akyigyina, Alambritis, Allison, Anderson, Attawar, Brunt, Byers, Chung, Cooper-Marbiah, Cowper, Curtin, Dehaney, Draper, Foley, Fraser, Garrod, Hanna, Henry, Jeanes, Abigail Jones, Philip Jones, Judge, Kenny, Kirby, Macauley, Makin, McCabe, Munn, Neep, Pearce, Sargeant, Saunders, Skeete, Southgate, Stanford, Udeh and Whelton (37)

Not voting: (0)

The substantive motion was then put to a vote and was carried –

Votes in favour: Councillors Akyigyina, Alambritis, Allison, Anderson, Attawar, Brunt, Byers, Chung, Cooper-Marbiah, Cowper, Curtin, Dehaney, Draper, Foley, Fraser, Garrod, Hanna, Henry, Jeanes, Abigail Jones, Philip Jones, Judge, Kenny, Kirby, Macauley, Makin, McCabe, Munn, Neep, Pearce, Sargeant, Saunders, Skeete, Southgate, Stanford, Udeh and Whelton (37)

Votes against: (0)

Not voting: Councillors Badenoch, Bowcott, Bull, Bush, Chirico, Crowe, Dean, Grocott, Holden, Holmes, Howard, Abdul Latif, Najeeb Latif, Brian Lewis-Lavender, Gilli Lewis-Lavender, Moulton, Simpson, West and Williams (19)

RESOLVED:

1.    That the uprating changes for the 2018/19 council tax support scheme detailed in the report be agreed, in order to maintain low council tax charges for those on lower incomes and other vulnerable residents including not to implement restricting personal allowances for households with more than two children; and

2.    That Council adopts the new 2018/19 scheme.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Allison and formally seconded by Councillor Alambritis.

The Monitoring Officer advised that, in accordance with Part 4A, paragraph 10.4 of the Constitution, a recorded vote would be taken.

Votes in favour: Councillors Akyigyina, Alambritis, Allison, Anderson, Attawar, Badenoch, Bowcott, Brunt, Bull, Bush, Byers, Chirico, Chung, Cooper-Marbiah, Cowper, Crowe, Curtin, Dean, Dehaney, Draper, Foley, Fraser, Garrod, Grocott, Hanna, Henry, Holden, Holmes, Howard, Jeanes, Abigail Jones, Philip Jones, Judge, Kenny, Kirby, Abdul Latif, Najeeb Latif, Brian Lewis-Lavender, Gilli Lewis-Lavender, Macauley, Makin, McCabe, Moulton, Munn, Neep, Pearce, Sargeant, Saunders, Simpson, Skeete, Southgate, Stanford, Udeh, West, Whelton, and Williams (56)

Votes against: (0)

Not voting: (0)

RESOLVED:

A.           That Council approve the following Capital Schemes to be included in the Capital Programme:

B.        That in respect of capital expenditure incurred before 1 April 2008, Council revise  the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy  to read:

            “For capital expenditure incurred before 1 April 2008 or by Supported Capital Expenditure, the MRP policy will be the equal annual reduction of 2% of the outstanding debt at 1 April 2017 for the subsequent 50 years”

The remainder of the MRP Policy Statement will remain as approved by Council on 1 March 2017.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Allison and formally seconded by Councillor Alambritis.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed revisions made to the Council’s Contract Standing Orders, effective from 1 December 2017 and for the Council’s Constitution to be amended accordingly, as recommended by Standards and General Purpose Committee on 7 September 2017 be adopted.

Changes made are in response to the implementation of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 and to drive greater compliance overall with procurement governance and best practice.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Allison and formally seconded by Councillor Alambritis.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the designation of the Acacia Adventure Playground building as the polling place for polling district HD in Figges Marsh Ward be agreed, and the use of the Acacia Centre for polling district IE in Longthornton Ward be retained.

2.    That Dundonald Recreation Group Pavilion replace Dundonald Primary School as a polling place for polling district PA in Dundonald Ward.

3.    That Joseph Hood Primary School replaces Merton Adult College as a polling place for polling district SA in Cannon Hill Ward.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Draper and formally seconded by Councillor Garrod.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the amended Terms of Reference for the Joint Regulatory Services Committee (JRSC) as set out in Appendix 3 of the report be agreed; and

2.    That the Chair of the JRSC rotates on an annual basis between Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Allison and formally seconded by Councillor Alambritis.

RESOLVED:

1.         That a recruitment campaign be commenced for the post of Director of Children, Schools and Families in accordance with Section 6A (1) of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 as the current post holder will be leaving by April 2018.

B         That appointment to the post of Director of Children, Schools and Families within the current Merton Director salary range of £121,564.09 to £137,713.09 be approved.  As the Directors’ salaries exceed £100,000 per annum, under the Localism Act approval has to be sought from full Council.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Alambritis and formally seconded by Councillor Allison.

RESOLVED:

That changes to the memberships of committees approved under delegated authority since the last meeting of the Council be noted.

The report was formally moved by Councillor Alambritis and formally seconded by Councillor Allison.

RESOLVED:

1. That the following petitions be received in accordance with Part 4A, paragraph 18.1 of the Council’s Constitution:
   1. Councillor Abdul Latif – Petition on the Virgin Active Gym at Battle Close
   2. Councillor Brian Lewis-Lavender – Petition on the early opening hours of Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Playing Fields
2. That the responses to the petitions submitted at the meeting held on 13 September 2017 be noted.

Councillor Moulton announced that the Strategic Theme for the next ordinary meeting of the Council, being held on 7 February 2018, shall be Sustainable Communities.