Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 26^th April and 17^th May 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meetings held on 26^th April and 17^th May 2023 be approved and signed as correct records.

There were no declarations of interest.

Broadcasting of the meeting

The Mayor announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and would remain available for viewing for twelve months, after which it could be made available upon request. Anyone addressing the meeting was deemed to be consenting to having their contributions recorded and broadcast, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.

Incident in Brent

The Mayor spoke about the incident in Brent over the weekend in which a young person had lost their life and sent the Council’s condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

Former Councillor Peter Brooke

The Mayor announced that former councillor Lord Peter Brooke had passed away in May.  Councillor Spinella paid tribute to Lord Brooke.

Former Councillor Bubbles Polya

The Mayor announced that former councillor Myra Polya, known as Bubbles,had recently passed away.  Councillors Slater, Chung and Spinella paid tribute to Mrs Polya.

Former Councillor Barbara Hughes

The Mayor announced that former councillor Barbara Hughes had passed away over the weekend.  Councillors Callaghan, Simpson, Chung and Spinella paid tribute to Mrs Hughes.

The Council then stood to observe one minute’s silence in memory of Lord Peter Brooke, Bubbles Polya and Barbara Hughes.

Councillor Adam Harrison

The Mayor congratulated Councillor Harrison on his recent marriage.

South Hampstead By-Election

The Chief Executive announced that Councillor Tommy Gale was elected at the South Hampstead by-election held on 1^st June 2023.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beales, Burrage, Hardwick, McNamara, Revah, Tiwari and Vincent.

Requests to address the Council or to present a petition on a matter in which the authority has functions or which affects the area of the authority must be made in writing to the clerk named on the front of this agenda by 12 noon three working days before the meeting.

A deputation was heard from Redmond Szell in relation to obstacles and obstructions on pavements and highways, as set out in the deputation statement contained in the supplementary agenda.

Members then asked questions of the deputee and the Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden responded to the deputation.

A deputation was heard from young people from the Doorstep Project in relation to digital exclusion in temporary accommodation, as set out in the deputation statement contained in the supplementary agenda.

Members then asked questions of the deputees and the Leader of the Council responded to the deputation.

The Cabinet Member for Young People and Cohesion will introduce the topic.

There will then be contributions from experts and community representatives, followed by questions and discussion.

Finally, the Cabinet Member will sum up.

Councillor Francis, Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture, introduced the report and the Council then heard from the following speakers:-

Majid Abdul, Senior Youth Worker, and Aya Elgool, Youth MP, spoke about the Guardianship Project on Regents Park Estate, which was a community led initiative to provide safeguarding for children and young people in the area.  The core principles were that it was resident led, champions and guardians were from the community and it had youth work values.  It was collaborative, and planning, funding and responsibility was shared between the Council and voluntary sector organisations who had equal roles.  They set out the content of the three phases of the Project, including the establishment of the Community Kitchen and the holding of the Guardians Conference.  Aya Elgool talked about the videos produced by the Community Champions and Guardians, which were going to be used to train residents of the Regents Park Estate about contextual safeguarding to help them safely respond to incidents in the area.  Young guardians would also provide focus group training to local businesses and other organisations to help them understand the signs that there might be a safeguarding issue, and further training was planned later in the year.

Lucy Southern, Evolve Service Manager, commented that the Young People Growing Up in Camden survey had indicated that most young people felt safe in Camden but young women felt less safe than young men.  Young women’s safety had also been discussed at the last takeover event and at the Youth Council shout out event, where young women had shared their experiences of how feeling unsafe had affected them.  In June 2023 the Detached Youth Team had held its first Young Citizens’ Assembly, with a focus on young women’s safety.  Over 50 young women had attended and external speakers had shared their lived experiences of sexism, misogyny and violence against women and girls.  Workshops had allowed participants to share their experiences and explore what actions were needed to make Camden a safer space for young women and girls.  There had been exploration around role models and people young women could turn to, and the feedback reflected the value of the exercise and the desire of the participants to become change makers.  The young women wanted more knowledge and information about what to do if they did not feel safe and there was also discussion about how to enable young men to discuss the issues and become allies.  The second assembly was to be held in Autumn and the young women who had taken part in the first event would be part of co-designing this.

Mark Abolaji, Sports Development Co-ordinator at the Queens Crescent Community Centre, spoke about the value of sport in providing social, psychological and physical safety for young people and the impact of sport development on young people.  The Dome offered sports sessions every day, Monday to Friday, and the Community Shield tournament brought local organisations together as one. Sport enabled young people to appreciate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Leader of the Council will make a statement, followed by responses from the Leaders of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Groups and then the Leader to sum up.  There will then be questions from Members to the Leader and Cabinet Members.

(There are no pages for this part of the agenda.)

Councillor Gould, the Leader of the Council, made a statement to those present.  Councillor Simon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, and Councillor Spinella, Leader of the Conservative Group, made statements in response and then Councillor Gould made some final remarks.

The Leader and Cabinet Members then took questions from Members as follows:-

·         Councillor Parkinson asked the Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden whether he agreed that something needed to be done to permanently address the number of traffic collisions taking place in Church Row.  Councillor Harrison responded that he would look at the data, review the situation and consider the impact of any road safety measures on neighbouring roads, and would write to Councillor Parkinson in due course.  In response to a supplementary question, he undertook to also look at the pedestrian crossings on Finchley Road and Frognal Lane, and to continue liaising with Transport for London on the safety of these uncontrolled crossings.

·         Councillor Jirira asked the Leader of the Council why the Council had gone back on its promises with regards to the West Kentish Town Estate.  Councillor Gould responded that this was not the case and that the Council was working very closely with residents on fulfilling those promises in order to invest in new council housing.  In response to a supplementary question regarding front doors, play areas and re-housing and the length of time the work was taking, the Leader commented that this was a long term phased development and the intention was that residents would only have to move once.  Some had already moved.  Children and young people were currently being consulted about the re-location of play areas.

·         Councillor Gale asked the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living about how the Council could best support teenagers struggling with the cost of living crisis and how it could ensure that those who needed support the most could be reached.  Councillor Olszewski remarked that there were a range of things being done to help young people and families, including the £1.3m Family Fund that the Cabinet had recently agreed and the taking forward of the Women’s Forum recommendations.  Maintaining the provision of school holiday vouchers would also benefit thousands of children.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

Consideration was given to a report of the Borough Solicitor.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

Consideration was given to a report of the Borough Solicitor.

RESOLVED –

(i)            THAT Councillor Nanouche Umeadi be appointed to replace Councillor Shah Miah on the Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee and that Councillor Tommy Gale be appointed a substitute member of the committee;

(ii)          THAT Councillor Tommy Gale be appointed to replace Councillor Nanouche Umeadi on the Housing Scrutiny Committee;

(iii)         THAT Councillor Tommy Gale be appointed to replace Councillor Samata Khatoon on the Planning Committee.

(iv)         THAT Councillor Nina de Ayala Parker be appointed to replace Councillor Sylvia McNamara on Licensing Panel C and that Councillor Sylvia McNamara be appointed to replace Councillor Nina de Ayala Parker on Licensing Panel E.

Reference from the Licensing Committee

Consideration was given to a report and reference from the Licensing Committee, which were introduced by the Chair of that committee.

Following brief comments from Members and a summing up by Councillor Simpson, it was

RESOLVED –

THAT the Statement of Gambling Policy 2023-26 be approved and adopted.

Reference from the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of People and Inclusion and to a reference from the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee, which were introduced by the Chair of that committee.

RESOLVED –

THAT the amendment to the pay policy statement shown in tracked changes and attached as Appendix 1 of the report be agreed.

Reference from the Standards Committee

Consideration was given to a report and reference from the Standards Committee, which were introduced by the Chair of that committee.

RESOLVED –

(i)            THAT the amendments as highlighted in the track-changed protocol at Appendix A of the report be approved; and

(ii)          THAT authority be delegated to the Borough Solicitor to make all necessary changes to the Constitution.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Voluntary Sector, Equalities and Cohesion and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living

Consideration was given to a report of the Cabinet Member for Voluntary Sector, Equalities and Cohesion and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living, which was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Voluntary Sector, Equalities and Cohesion.

Following a comment from a Member, it was

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

This item was not considered due to lack of time.

During this part of the meeting any Member may make a contribution of up to two minutes primarily on any matter which affects their ward.

(There are no pages for this part of the agenda.)

This item was not considered due to lack of time.

There was no urgent business.