Agenda and minutes

To appoint a relief Chairman.

Motion moved by the Lord Mayor and seconded by Councillor Tim Mitchell that Councillor Judith Warner be elected as Relief Chairman.

Motion put, and on a show of hands, declared CARRIED.

To sign the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council meeting held on 9 November 2016.

The Minutes of the proceedings at the Council meeting held on Wednesday 9 November 2016 were, with the assent of the Members present, signed by the Lord Mayor as a true record of the proceedings.

(a)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Sunday 16^th October he attended the London Mayors’ Association Annual Civic Service at Westminster Abbey followed by a reception in Westminster School.

(b)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Tuesday 18 October he attended a reception to meet the 2016 UK Olympians at the Canadian High Commission followed by the ‘Heroes Return’ celebration of the great achievements of Team GB and Paralympic GB at Trafalgar Square with the Mayor of London.

(c)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Sunday 23^rd October he attended the Annual Trafalgar Day Parade and Wreath Laying Ceremony at Trafalgar Square followed by a reception at Wellington Barracks.

(d)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Monday 31^st October he attended the Westminster Carer Awards.

(e)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Tuesday 1 November he attended the Ceremonial Arrival of the President of the Republic of Colombia at Horse Guards Parade on the occasion of the State Visit followed by the State Banquet hosted by HM The Queen and the Reception and Banquet hosted by The City of London Corporation on 2 November.

(f)         The Lord Mayor to report that on Sunday 6^th November he attended the City of Westminster Tea Dance for Older Residents in Westminster at Grosvenor House.

(g)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Sunday 12^th November he and other members of the Council attended the Annual Service of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.  He also attended the Paddington Service of Remembrance at the Lancaster Gate War Memorial later that day.

(h)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Tuesday 15^th November he departed for a Civic Visit to Oslo for the annual cutting down ceremony of the Oslo Christmas Tree to London.

(i)         The Lord Mayor to report that on Thursday 24^th November he hosted the first of his Receptions for Ward Councillors and their nominated Residents.

(j)         The Lord Mayor to report that on Monday 28^th November he attended the Memorial            Service for Major Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster KG, CB,      CVO, OBE, TD, CD, DL.

(k)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Thursday 1st December he hosted a reception prior to officiating at the Lighting-Up Ceremony of the Oslo Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square.

(l)         The Lord Mayor to report that on Friday 2^nd December he attended the ActiveWestminster Annual Awards Ceremony at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

(m)       The Lord Mayor to report that on Thursday 8^th December he attended the Unveiling Ceremony of the War Memorial Sculpture dedicated to Westminster City Council Staff who fell in the Great War (1914-1918) at Kingsgate Walk.

(n)        The Lord Mayor to report that on Thursday 8^th December he attended HM The Queen’s Evening Reception for the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace.

(o)        The Lord Mayor to report that during December he attended a number of Ward and Community based Christmas/festive lights switch-on ceremonies.

(p)        The Lord Mayor  ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

3.1       The Lord Mayor informed the Council of the death of former Councillor Patricia Kirwan who served as Councillor for Lancaster Gate ward from 1982 to 1989.

3.2       The Lord Mayor advised that Councillor Jan Prendergast presented a gift of a limited edition charger to mark the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen becoming the longest reigning English Monarch.

3.3       The Lord Mayor informed the Council that additional training sessions on the Members Code of Conduct would be held on 6 February 2017 and 13 February 2017.

4.1 There were none.

(a)      To elect a new Leader of the Council.  The appointment to be effective      from the arising of the meeting.

(b)      To consider a Vote of Thanks to the outgoing Leader of the Council.

5.1       It was MOVED by Councillor Tim Mitchell and SECONDED by Councillor Christabel Flight that Councillor Nickie Aiken be elected Leader of the Council.

            Motion put and on a show of hands, declared CARRIED.

5.2       Councillor Nickie Aiken replied and in doing so MOVED the vote of thanks to the former Leader Councillor Baroness Couttie. Councillor Tim Mitchell formally seconded the vote of thanks which on a show of hands was declared CARRIED.

            RESOLVED:

That the Council place on record its appreciation of the service rendered by Baroness Councillor Philippa Couttie as Leader of the Council for the period from 7 March 2012 to 25 January 2017 and noted the many achievements of the City Council during this period.

The Council thanked Baroness Councillor Philippa Couttie for all hard work, effort and leadership in ensuring Westminster was at the forefront in ensuring innovation and high standards in local government aimed at benefitting the residents and businesses in the city.

During Baroness Councillor Philippa Couttie’s leadership the City Council achieved a record 87% rate from residents who were satisfied with how the Council was run. This was 19 points higher than the national average.

Her efforts ensured that Westminster had been independently ranked first place by the Social Mobility Commission in 2016 – reflecting work and opportunities offered by the Council in early years, education and employment in the local area.

Baroness Councillor Philippa Couttie was also crucial in establishing the West End Partnership, bringing together senior public service and private sector leaders, academic experts and residents representatives to act as a catalyst and delivery mechanism to enable the West End to accommodate growth, whilst at the same time strengthen its unique cultural character, amenity and openness.

During her Leaderership Baroness Councillor Philippa Couttie had also recently ensured that Westminster had been leading on environmental issues facing the capital. The £2.1m Marylebone Low Emissions Zone was established through an innovative public private partnership scheme led by residents, businesses and the council. Funding was secured through winning £1m of funding from the Mayor of London that was matched by local businesses.

These and her many other achievements were instrumental in her being made a Life Peer.

6.1 There were none.

Members other than Cabinet Members are invited to ask questions, if selected by the Lord Mayor, of the Leader or any members of the Cabinet or Committee Chairmen.

7.1       The questions, supplementary questions and replies are included in the recording on the Council’s website.

(a)      Councillor Peter Cuthbertson – Crime Prevention in Westminster

(b)      Councillor David Boothroyd – Secular Democracy

(a)          Crime Prevention in Westminster

Councillor Peter Cuthbertson spoke and Councillor Nickie Aiken replied.

(b)          Secular Democracy

Councillor David Boothroyd spoke and Councillor Nickie Aiken replied.

9.1       There were no urgent matters.

To note the report of the Chief Executive (To follow).

RESOLVED:

1)            That the new names of the Cabinet Members proposed to be appointed and the wards they represent be noted; and

2)            That the terms of reference of the Leader of the Council be endorsed.

To consider items chosen for debate from the attached Future Policy Plan.

The meeting debated the item chosen for debate from the Future Policy Plan by the Majority Party – Sports and Leisure Services. The debate would be referred to the relevant Executive Director for consideration when next reporting on the subject.

(a)      Health & Social Care in Westminster and the NWL STP

To be moved by Councillor Barrie Taylor and seconded by Councillor Adam Hug:

This Council notes the current critical state of health and social care services for Westminster residents and the respective Authorities plans to deal with ‘Winter Pressures’ and proposals aimed at tackling:

·       Accident and Emergency / Mental Health waiting times / admissions and home discharges

·       The £35m social care deficit identified in the NW London STP

This council believes there is a clear need for improved government investment in NHS and Adult Social care funding in Westminster.  For its part, Westminster Council resolves to assist the process by focusing on issues within its own remit :

·        Take steps to lobby government to provide extra funding in the upcoming budget, in order to tackle the immense shortfall in social care - as identified by the STP

·        Introduce a dedicated year-on-year increase in Adult Social Care spend for Westminster residents, using the government’s Social Care Precept rules and ask Officers to include funding proposals in the budget report to Cabinet (20.2.17).

·        Dedicate CIL and Section 106 funds, particularly from health and social care development sites, to help develop the infrastructure for health and social care integration in Westminster and officers report thereon to the relevant Cabinet Member.

·        Press the government to provide Imperial Trust with up front capital at this stage - to be realised by future sales of NHS property locally (e.g. Samaritan Hospital)

·        Promote the development of Health and Wellbeing Centres, the retention of local GP practices and NHS plans to improve levels of GPs primary care services

·        Support Tri-borough partners Hammersmith and Fulham in their concerns about downgrading of A&E provision in West London.

·        In conjunction with the NHS & local Care Agencies, introduce & publish an Annual Winter Pressures each September to explain actions to overcome yearly pressures

·        Review consultation procedures for Westminster only residents to submit views and opinions on all NHS and Social care plans

·        In view of the arbitrary midyear cuts to Public Health budgets, to ensure Public Health proposals are open to public accountability in Westminster.

12.1    Both the Majority and Minority Parties had selected for debate the Notice of Motion – Adult Social Care which was moved by Councillor Barrie Taylor and seconded by Councillor Adam Hug.

            Councillor Rachael Robathan moved and it was seconded by Councillor Heather Acton that notice of motion be amended as follows:

That the Notice of Motion to be moved by Councillor Barrie Taylor and seconded by        Councillor Adam Hug be amended by the deletion of the words struck through and the addition of the words underlined, as set out below:

            This Council notes the significant pressures facing health and social care services for Westminster residents and endorses the Authorities plans to address these as set out in Westminster's Health & Wellbeing Strategy as part of the STP for NW London. It notes the

            This Council notes the current critical state of health and social care services for Westminster residents and the respective Authorities plans to deal with “Winter Pressures” and proposals aimed at tackling:

·           Accident and Emergency / Mental Health waiting times / admissions and home discharges

·           The £35m social care deficit identified in the NW London STP

            This council believes there is a clear need for improved government investment in NHS and Adult Social care funding in Westminster. For its part, Westminster Council resolves to assist the process by focusing on issues within its own remit:

·           Take steps to lobby government to provide extra funding in the upcoming budget, in order to tackle the immense shortfall in social care - as identified by the STP.

·           Use the social care precept, if approved by the Council on 1 March 2017, introduced by the government, to benefit spending on Adult Social Care for Westminster vulnerable residents.

Introduce a dedicated year-on-year increase in Adult Social Care spend for Westminster residents, using the government’s Social Care Precept rules and ask Officers to include funding proposals in the budget report to Cabinet (20.2.17).

·           Dedicate CIL and Section 106 funds, particularly from health and social care development sites, to help develop the infrastructure for health and social care integration in Westminster and asks officers to report thereon to the relevant Cabinet Member.

·           Press the government to provide Imperial Trust with up front capital at this stage - to be realised by future sales of NHS property locally (e.g. Samaritan Hospital)

·           Promote the development of Health and Wellbeing Centres, the retention of local GP     practices and NHS plans to improve levels of GPs primary care services

Support Tri-borough partners Hammersmith and Fulham in their concerns about             downgrading of A&E provision in West London.

In conjunction with the NHS and local Care Agencies, introduce & publish an Annual Winter             Pressures each September to explain actions to overcome yearly pressures.

·           Ensure all consultations on health and care involve as many groups, communities and individuals as possible in Westminster, as was done for the Health & Wellbeing Strategy, to allow people to understand how changes will affect their own services.

·           Review consultation procedures for Westminster only  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To receive, consider and debate, if chosen, the following reports which contain a recommendation to the Council for decision.

Cabinet/Committee                                        Date

Cabinet (Council Tax Base and                        12 December 2016

Treasury Management)

General Purposes (Constitutional Issues)         18 January (to follow)

Cabinet Report – Paragraph 1 – Council Tax Discounts (including Council Tax Local Reduction Scheme) and Council Ta Base Report.

Councillor Boothroyd moved, and it was seconded by Councillor Hug, that paragraph 1, recommendation (ii) of the Cabinet report be deleted and replaced with “That the Council Tax on houses which have been empty for two years or more be charged at a rate of 150% of the normal Council Tax.

The Lord Mayor put the amendment to the vote and on a show of hands declared the amendment LOST.

The Lord Mayor then put the recommendations in paragraph 1 of the Cabinet report to the vote and on a show of hands declared the recommendations ADOPTED.

Cabinet report – Paragraph 2 – Treasury Management Mid-Year review

RESOLVED: That the recommendations in paragraph 2 be adopted.

General Purposes Committee – Constitutional Issues

RESOLVED: That the recommendations be adopted.