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Agenda and minutes

Venue: This meeting will be held remotely; to view the meeting, please click here

Contact: Democratic Services  Email: Democratic.Services@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1/21

Disclosure of Interests

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

 

2/21

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 

3/21

Announcements

To receive Announcements, if any, from the Mayor, the Leader, Head of Paid Service and Returning Officer.

Minutes:

Madame Mayor

 

Madam Mayor, Councillor Maddie Henson, wished everyone present a happy New Year. Since the Council had last met, she had been working on three new fundraisers. One of which being Lighten up you Lockdown. This would be a one-hour session to teach techniques for coping with stress, finishing with a 10-15 minute hypnotherapy session. She said hypnotherapy helped her and her husband greatly during the early stages of giving birth. Secondly, as her last event as Mayor, she would be organising free online taster sessions working with Musical Bumps and Legacy. This was aimed at families with young children and urged anyone to pass contact details of a group who may be interested in taking part.

 

In relation to Covid guidance, Madame Mayor urged everyone to obey the lockdown rules. A turning of the tide was beginning to be seen against the terrible pandemic, however still, too many people were becoming ill and tragically losing their life. She encouraged everyone to stay safe for the sake of their family, friends and neighbours and to stay at home.

 

The Leader of the Council

 

The Leader of the Council echoed the reminder that everyone should follow the national lockdown restrictions. Infection rates were gradually seen to be reducing in London, but still remained high. There had recently been Members of the Council who had fallen ill during this time and she wished them a full and speedy recovery.

 

The Leader of the Council,Councillor Hamida Ali, reported a positive and constructive first meeting with Tony McArdle, Chair of the Improvement Panel introduced by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). She stated that Tony McArdle expected the Panel to be confirmed and formally announced by government shortly and they were preparing for their work with the council; the first piece of work being to review the council’s submission request for a capitalisation direction. The Panel’s terms of reference would be confirmed shortly, however it would function as non-statutory and advisory to the Secretary of State to provide assurance on Croydon’s capacity to deliver.

4/21

Croydon Question Time pdf icon PDF 120 KB

a)    Public Questions (30 minutes)

To receive questions from the public gallery and questions submitted by residents in advance of the meeting.

 

b)    Leader and Cabinet Member Questions (105 minutes)

To receive questions from Councillors.

Minutes:

Public Questions

 

Madam Mayor explained that Croydon Question Time would commence with 30 minutes of public questions to the Leader and Cabinet Members. In accordance with advice from the Government and Public Health England, it was not possible to hold public meetings in the Town Hall. As a result, members of the public were unable to ask questions from the public gallery in the Council Chamber. Questions had been received by email up until 12 noon on Friday 22 January 2021. Public questions that were received of a purely factual or of a detailed nature would be given a written response within three weeks of the meeting.

 

Madam Mayor noted that there was a public question received from Jane Tucker relating to the reduction of social care packages, which could not be answered during this meeting due to Councillor Campbell’s absence. Jane Tucker would be sent a full written response and the answer would be published on the council website.

 

Madam Mayor noted that there were a number of questions in relation to libraries which were currently subject to ongoing consultation and ensured residents that those questions would be fed into the consultation.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from H. Lindsay:

 

“The total number of visits to Croydon libraries in 2015/16 was 1,951,000 and by 2019/20 had fallen to 1,465,000 a decrease of approximately 25% over the whole of Croydon. For Sanderstead library, the visits were 35,230 in 2015/16 and 35,222 in 2019/20, the only Croydon library with no decrease whatsoever.

 

Why is this factor being ignored?”

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration, Councillor Oliver Lewis, thanked H. Lindsay for his question and stated that they were currently in a statutory libraries consultation and he encouraged anyone with an interest in the matter to participate. In answer to the question, he said that factor was not being ignored and the number of visits to the libraries was a factor taken into account during the consultation. The figures for Sanderstead library in 2019/20 reflected an additional day of opening in June and July 2019 and additional visits could also be attributed due to Selsdon Library being closed for a period of refurbishment. Even accounting for the additional visits, visits to Sanderstead Library remained consistently low. He noted there were many other factors, as well as number of visits that were taken into account during the consultation.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from J. N. Gibbons:

 

“The library has space for other than the current activities and, is therefore capable, without extensive work of absorbing Library Plan proposals.

 

Why has this not been factored in?”

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration stated that they were looking at the potential of the community running libraries at zero cost to the council. He encouraged communities to submit any plans or ideas for absorbing additional council services or activities into library buildings.

 

Madam Mayor read a question from M. Leach:

 

"Sanderstead library is on the Local List of buildings and structures  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4/21

5/21

Governance Review Implementation pdf icon PDF 149 KB

For Members to receive a report on the implementation of the Governance Review.

Minutes:

Councillor Clive Fraser introduced and outlined the report which recommended to delay the introduction of three previously agreed recommendations of the Governance Review until May 2021. He explained this was due to financial and resourcing constraints the council currently faced, whilst considering the additional resourcing required to implement the changes. Some elements would be scaled back and Council was being asked to delay amending the Constitution to establish Cabinet Member Advisory Committees (CMACs); the definition of Key Decisions; and the procedure for Council rules. These would be delayed until the 2021/22 municipal year, subject to appropriate resources and capacity being available in the Council budget 2021/22. He updated Council that there would be four meetings of each CMAC per municipal year and it was hoped that they would commence within the first two months following Annual Council 2021. Councillor Clive Fraser moved the recommendations of the report.

 

Councillor Jason Perry, the Leader of the Opposition, told Council that a huge amount of effort had been given to the working of the Governance Review, and as a follow up, the implementation working group to formulate the new arrangements. He stated that it was disappointing that the Administration’s mismanagement of the finances had led to delays of the proposals. Councillor Jason Perry seconded the recommendations, but stated this was in the spirit of the continuation of cross-party cooperation to be fostered through the later stages of the implementation of the CMACs.

 

Councillor Sean Fitzsimons, the lead member of scrutiny, expressed his disappointment in the delays of the implementation of the Governance Review recommendations. It was clear from the events of last year that the governance of the council required improvements. The reasons for the delay were laid out in the report and he accepted the assurances given. He further expressed his concern over the wording ‘when resources allow’ and described the phrasing as a weak commitment to deliver and he would like more certainty to be recorded and agreed.  He hoped that the necessary resources to implement the recommendations would be included in the 2021/22 budget and a section be included to cover recommendations in addition to the number listed by Councillor Clive Fraser. He called for an implementation timetable to be published as he felt that many backbenchers would like to see the recommendations implemented, in particular those relating to access to information which had been the crux to a number of problems for councillors.

 

In response, Councillor Clive Fraser stated that some of the issues faced by council were caused by insufficient scrutiny and challenge to officers from Members, which was highlighted in the report from the auditors. The governance review was part of the improvement journey for the council, as described in recommendation 1.2, and the delays needed to be viewed in the context of the council’s financial situation. Once the council had a clearer understanding of their status going forward, there would be a better idea on the timelines and detail of the Governance Review implementation and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/21

6/21

Council Debate Motions

To debate any motions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

Minutes:

The Mayor read out the first Council Debate Motion on behalf of the Administration:

 

“This Council recognises that Croydon’s system for local governance must always reflect the need for strong democratic engagement and accountability. This Council commits to consider a resolution, based on a detailed report to be presented to Council at an ECM, to hold a referendum on the council’s governance model in Autumn 2021, so that residents can decide the best model for Croydon. A directly elected mayoral model will be an option in this referendum, alongside the Leader and Cabinet model. In the event that the residents of Croydon vote for a change from the council’s current governance model the resulting election can take place at the next local elections scheduled for May 2022.”

 

Madam Mayor invited Councillor Hamida Ali to propose the motion.

 

Councillor Hamida Ali stated that in October 2020, the new Administration committed to being resident focussed, open and transparent whilst working on the changes the organisation required to stabilise the council’s finances and governance. The aim was to create a culture of transparency and accountability with value for money at the heart. In the spirit of those commitments, the Administration welcomed the debate on the best system of governance; whether the rules on which political administration in control was determined by the largest political group or by an individual determined by a popular vote. The date of this vote would be based on when public health grounds would allow, and should be considered as they were in the context of the country currently remaining in its third period of lockdown with no scheduled exit date.

 

It was noted that he Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government, Luke Hall MP, wrote to the organisation regarding a new relaxation of regulations and encouraged, rather than directed, to hold a referendum in May 2021. Following this later that week, the Prime Minister described the timings of relaxation as an open question, and as a result, the Minister of State for Constitution and Devolution, Chloe Smith MP, notified political parties that canvassing nor leafletting were permitted during lockdown. The judgement of the Administration was that holding elections in May 2021 was far from certain and the focus of the organisation was to stabilise its financial position by balancing the budget and removing the Section 114 Notice, which would enable them to facilitate and fund this debate and to hold the referendum in the Autumn 2021. She hoped that residents would understand the reasoning for this position and informed Members that there would be an Extraordinary Council Meeting  to debate the strengths and shortcomings of each option. Councillor Hamida Ali moved the motion.

 

Councillor David Wood seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.

 

Councillor Jason Cummings stated that this motion was not about giving the people of Croydon what the record breaking petition deserved. Labour ignored the call by 1000’s of residents asking for a vote on a democratically elected mayor at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6/21

7/21

Recommendations of Cabinet or Committees to Council for decision pdf icon PDF 186 KB

To consider the recommendations made by Cabinet or Committees since the last ordinary Council meeting relating to the following matters:

 

       i.          Education Estates Strategy; and

      ii.          General Fund Capital Programme 2020-2024

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Education Estates Strategy

 

Madam Mayor invited Councillor Alisa Flemming to move the recommendation referred from Cabinet on 18 January 2021 relating to the Education Estates Strategy. Councillor Alisa Flemming moved the motion and Councillor Shafi Khan seconded.

 

Madam Mayor moved the vote and Council unanimously agreed the recommendation in the report.

 

General Fund Capital Programme 2020-2024

 

Madam Mayor invited Councillor Stuart King to move the recommendation referred from Cabinet on 18 January 2021 relating to the General Fund Capital Programme 2020-2024. Councillor Stuart King moved the motion and Councillor Callton Young seconded.

 

Madam Mayor moved the vote and Council agreed the recommendation in the report.

 

8/21

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

Minutes:

This item was not required.