Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th July 2023.

RESOLVED – 

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th July 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

In relation to item 6, Councillor Olszewski for reasons of transparency declared the non-pecuniary interest that he held a non-paid role as a trustee on the board of Electrical Safety First, which was a charity working to bring about a better understanding of the importance of fire safety.

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.

Waiver of Procedure Rules

·        Referring to item 6, the Mayor proposed and Members agreed to hear from the following external speakers as recommended by the Housing Scrutiny Committee:  the London Fire Brigade Borough Commander and the current and past resident Co-Chairs of the Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel. It was also agreed that one hour be allowed for the consideration of item 6 and that the Acting Leader sum up at the end of the item.

·       In order to allow the meeting to proceed as agreed above, Members also agreed the waiver of procedure rules that had been circulated earlier that day. 

Mayor’s Charity

The Mayor congratulated and thanked Councillor Lloyd Hatton, Councillor Tommy Gale, Ellie Lewis from Young Camden Foundation and Andrew Morris from the Mayor’s Office who had taken part in the Big Half Race and helped to  raise over £1500 for the Young Camden Foundation.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Fulbrook, Gould, Greenwood and Slater. Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Ali, Tiwari and Umeadi. 

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.

Two deputations were heard in relation to item 13, which was the first motion on the agenda. The first deputation was from Professor Philippe Sands KC and then the Council heard a deputation from Patricia Leman.

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

A deputation was then heard from Peter Wright, Chair of Holborn District Management Committee in relation to item 6 on the agenda. 

The Cabinet Member for Better Homes responded to the deputation during the consideration of item 6.

The Mayor thanked the deputees for attending and addressing the meeting.

Reference from the Housing Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Atolagbe, Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Committee introduced the reference from the committee and welcomed the opportunity for the whole Council to discuss the report.     

Councillor Callaghan, Acting Leader of the Council, spoke about the Council’s commitment to Council Housing Safety, working with Camden’s communities, District Management Committee and Tenant and Resident associations. Adding that the Council took the findings of the regulator very seriously and would continue to prioritise housing safety work in a climate of under investment from the government.      

The Council then heard from:-

·        Ryan Heng, a past Co-Chair of the Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel who spoke about the commitment to fire safety in the borough and the reports that the panel had considered addressing the issue in Camden housing. 

·        Gul Begum, the current Co-Chair of the Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel, remarked on the work of the panel with the Council to raise fire safety awareness and the work on a fire safety charter.  

·        David George, London Fire Brigade Borough Commander, spoke about  how the report to the last Housing Scrutiny Committee had set out in clear terms what had been done to address the issues that had been raised by the regulator. This included the collaborative work the Council had undertaken regarding the charging of electric scooters, the work with Adult Social Care to support vulnerable tenants and developing a framework that the Borough Commander was confident would make Camden safe for all its residents.        

Members of the Council then commented as follows:

·        Why had critical action not been taken sooner to comply with the requirements of the regulator? There had been a longstanding failure to take action that had left residents exposed to harm.

·        There had not been effective scrutiny by the Council. The request for a dedicated Council meeting to address the issues had not been agreed and had left a reduced time at this meeting for a detailed discussion of the issues and reduced the time for the themed debate.

·        All Councillors should have the opportunity to discuss the issues and discuss the issues raised by the regulator. The Housing Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations were welcomed and it was hoped that it would lead to changes.

·        Why had the Fire Safety and Compliance Panel failed to identify the long term systemic failures identified by the regulators? There had been a failure to scrutinise the issues, address the points raised by the regulator, spend funding effectively and an absence of an action plan by the Council.

·        Fire safety advice about Lithium batteries and the dangers of leaving them in communal spaces had been made available and ward Councillors had been grateful for the work of the Fire Safety and Compliance Panel to promote safer practices.

·        A lot of time had passed since 2013 and the advice of the regulator. A life had been lost and there was still no fire safety action plan. The Housing Scrutiny Committee should look at why only Camden and Haringey had been the only boroughs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care 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 Wright introduced the report and the Council then heard from the following speakers:-

Krystal Donaldson, Service Manager and Katie Clayton, Technical Clinical Lead from the Hive, spoke about the one stop shop model of the services provided at the HIVE for young people aged 16 to 24years old. A range of accessible services were provided in a flexible environment of co-production that ensured that young people were at the heart of decisions being made. The HIVE worked collectively in partnership with the NHS and were part of Mind the Gap. A large focus of the work was aimed at the reduction of social isolation and connecting people, with most of their work based around social inclusion and dealing with the issues caused by loneliness. The HIVE was a welcoming environment where people could walk in off the street and be welcomed.

Alice Langley, Managing Director and Nil Sunar, Peer Coach from Camden and Islington NHS Trust, spoke about being a peer support worker. How the role was based on lived experience, knowledge of using mental health services and using personal experience to support others. Nil had benefitted from multi-agency work and as a peer support worker was excited to help others and build on the work that had taken place.    

Sarah Anderson from the Listening Space, a registered charity, spoke about the work of the charity and how they helped to support those that had fallen through the gaps in statutory mental health services. Of those attempting suicide who were seen in Accident and Emergency, only 5% of them would be admitted as in-patients and the others would be discharged to the care of their GPs and receive treatment comprised of medication and or talking therapies. There was a 6 week waiting list for talking therapies. There was a gap in the service for people with personality disorders, addiction issues or who were at high risk of suicide. Working with the NHS the Listening Space had provided a free listening service that had been able to respond to NHS referrals within 24hrs with a first appointment within a week. One of the three Listening Place sites in London was based in Camden and Sarah explained the structure of amazing professionals and volunteers that had dealt with on average 150 mental health appointments each day. There was close working with the NHS and Sarah was grateful to have met Alice Langley at this meeting because it  would provide more opportunities for joint working.    

Kate Dallas, Camden Services Manager and Alicia Rubin, Peer Mentor/Service User from Change Grow Live (CGL), spoke about their work as an integrated drug and alcohol service, that worked with Camden residents aged 18 years and over, either individually or in family groups. The clinical team provided a range of psycho social interventions, with mindful emotional support for the links between trauma and substance misuse. Kate explained the importance of working in partnership to meet the needs of service users and how CGL with the probation and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

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

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

·        Councillor Chung asked the Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment about Article 4 Directions, that prevent developers building in large gardens and protect green spaces and whether the Cabinet Member agreed that they should be used to help protect green spaces in the borough. Councillor Beales responded that, Permitted Development (PD) Rights allowed residents to build low level ancillary buildings in their private gardens and that these rights had existed for some time.  PD Rights did not allow residential properties or high rise structures to be built in gardens and planning measures were in place in Camden to protect green and open spaces. PD Rights were limited and only small structures connected to the use of a property would be approved, so there was no current need for Article 4 Directions. Cases would be kept under review and each application given due consideration and if Article 4 Directions were required, they would be used. Councillor Chung commented that it was good to hear that Article 4 Directions would be used if necessary. Councillor Beales added that the misuse of PD would not be allowed and that Camden had a long history of using powers under Article 4 to reject and resist unsuitable development.   

·        Councillor Lenga asked the Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden about the three occasions when there had been flooding in South Hampstead, about holding Thames Water to account and why the borough had not been included as a priority area in Thames Water’s 25 year flood prevention plan. How would it be ensured that Camden would be included in the plan and receive the much needed investment to address flooding in the area? Councillor Harrison responded that South Camden required substantial investment to protect it from flooding in the future. Camden had commissioned an independent report earlier in the year that had identified shortcomings in the capacity of the Thames Water network, that including the need for upgrades to prevent flooding in the future. The Council had responded to the Thames Water consultation stating that Camden should be a priority area. Councillor Harrison said that there would be continued lobbying of Thames Water to mitigate the risk of flooding in South Hampstead in the future.

·        Councillor Mulholland asked the Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living about fair tax declaration practices and if the Council would sign up to a declaration that would champion the positive role that tax plays in society? A quarter of London Boroughs had signed up to the declaration, would Camden follow suit? Councillor Olszewski responded by welcoming the promotion of fair tax practices and stating that there would need to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Borough Solicitor

No nominations were made.  

Report of the Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture

Consideration was given to a report of the Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture, who introduced the report.

Members made a number of comments, after which it was

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Consideration was given to the following motion, notice of which was given by Councillor Wright and which was seconded by Councillor De Ayala Parker:-

This Council notes:

Camden Council has declared a Climate Emergency and is committed to implementing an ambitious Climate Action Plan. But meanwhile global destruction of ecosystems continues. These global issues require global solutions but current global environmental laws and governance are clearly inadequate.

In June 2021, an international legal working group, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation, adopted a definition of ecocide as an international crime, to serve as an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The definition has received broad support, including from the UN Secretary General and the European Parliament.

The inclusion of ecocide in the Rome Statute would add a new crime to international criminal law, the first since 1945, building on the existing crime of severe damage to the environment during armed conflict, reflecting that today, most severe environmental damage occurs during times of peace, and is currently outside ICC jurisdiction.

This Council resolves:

·       To recognise the definition of the crime of ecocide as “…unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”.

·       To support the concept of ecocide as defined above and calls for the introduction of the crime of ecocide into international law as an amendment to the Rome Statute.

There were no amendments moved in response to the motion.

There was a short debate,  the motion was then put to the vote and CARRIED.

RESOLVED –

This Council notes:

Camden Council has declared a Climate Emergency and is committed to implementing an ambitious Climate Action Plan. But meanwhile global destruction of ecosystems continues. These global issues require global solutions but current global environmental laws and governance are clearly inadequate.

In June 2021, an international legal working group, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation, adopted a definition of ecocide as an international crime, to serve as an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The definition has received broad support, including from the UN Secretary General and the European Parliament.

The inclusion of ecocide in the Rome Statute would add a new crime to international criminal law, the first since 1945, building on the existing crime of severe damage to the environment during armed conflict, reflecting that today, most severe environmental damage occurs during times of peace, and is currently outside ICC jurisdiction.

This Council resolves:

·       To recognise the definition of the crime of ecocide as “…unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”.

·       To support the concept of ecocide as defined above and calls for the introduction of the crime of ecocide into international law as an amendment to the Rome Statute.

Motions 2 and 3 were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

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.