Agenda and minutes

Full Council - Wednesday, 24th July, 2024 6.30 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street W8 7NX. View directions

Contact: Douglas Campbell  Governance Manager

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 100 KB

The minutes of the meeting of Annual Council held on 22 May 2024 are submitted for confirmation.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Annual Council held on 22 May 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Any member of the Council who has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting is reminded to disclose the interest to the meeting and to leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

 

Members are also reminded that if they have any other significant interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting, which they feel should be declared in the public interest, such interests should be declared to the meeting. In such circumstances Members should consider whether their continued participation, in the matter relating to the interest, would be reasonable in the circumstances, particularly if the interest may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests, or whether they should leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

Minutes:

No Members made any declaration of interest.

3.

Special Announcements by the Mayor

Minutes:

The Mayor made the following announcements.

 

(i)         The Mayor stated that because this was the first time Members had met as a full Council since the seventh anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy and a short video clip with excerpts from Testimony Week would be shown before the Leader’s speech.

 

(ii)        Dominic Hurley, a long-serving member of the parking services team, passed away on 8 July 2024. Councillor Kemahli, Lead Member for Planning and Public Realm, spoke about Dominic's work for the Council and offered the Council's condolences to his family.

 

(iii)      The King had awarded honours to the following residents or people who worked in Kensington and Chelsea:

 

Knighthood – Professor James Ferguson

 

CBE - Professor Washinton Ochieng, Professor Jonathan Weber. and Professor Ian Walmsley.

 

OBE - Darren Brown, Professor Jane Davies, Professor Anthony Gordon, Gary Lashko, David Rollinson, and Mark Simms

 

BEM - Bobbette Blake and Sellathurai Chandrakumar

4.

Chief Executive's Communications

(i)       Apologies for Absence

 

(ii)     Other Communications

Minutes:

Councillors Stéphanie Petite and Kim Taylor-Smith submitted apologies for their absence.

5.

Public Speaking pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Up to one hour has been set aside for Council to hear from people living, working, or studying in the Borough who have registered in advance to address this meeting.

 

Minutes:

(i)         Disengagement among young people

 

Ms Akeera Belfort-George asked about the Council's plans to overcome youth disengagement from youth clubs, youth services and employment opportunities.

 

Councillor Catherine Faulks, Lead Member for Family and Children’s Services, thanked Ms Belfort-George and the other young people for their questions. She explained that she had led a review of youth services to make them more inclusive and responsive and that the consultation had identified six key priorities, such as more activities for young women, more support for skills and employment, and more sessions for SEND. She announced that the Council had approved a new youth strategy, which would invest £940,000 annually for the next five years. Councillor Faulks added that by working with Young K&C and other partners, she hoped to secure £750,000 in funding for youth services over the next five years. She said that the Council sought to bring together different agencies, such as libraries, leisure centres, schools, and community groups, to offer a better youth service for young people.

 

Councillor Toby Benton, Opposition Group spokesperson, also thanked Ms Belfort-George for her question and suggested that the Council's approach was top-down and, based on his own experiences as a resident of Golborne Ward, bodies like the Youth Council were not attractive to most young people. He suggested that the Council should support young people in creating their own organisations from the ground up and involve those who were disengaged and disillusioned with local government. Councillor Benton also criticised the lack of public spaces and community centres for young people. He questioned the validity and transparency of the Council's consultations with young people, for example, the Youth Violence and Exploitation Plan, as it was unclear which young people the Council had consulted. He concluded that the Council should invest in public services for youth rather than in private profit.

 

(ii)        Promoting healthy living

 

Ms Akeera Belfort-George, on behalf of Ms Sidrah Salihu, asked about the Council's plans to promote accessible healthy living for young people, especially given that sports are given less prominence in schools, gym subscriptions are expensive, and GPs are very busy.

 

Councillor Josh Rendall, Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, responded. He thanked Ms Salihu for the question and affirmed that youth engagement in healthy lifestyles was important. He mentioned some services the Council's public health team commissioned, such as school nurses, the Healthy Schools program, Change for Life service, and integrated lifestyle service. He added that the Council was open to feedback and suggestions from the youth council and others and invited Akeera to get involved in the Change for Life neighbourhood program in various wards.

 

Councillor Portia Thaxter, Opposition Group spokesperson, also thanked Ms Salihu for her question and stated that promoting healthy living among youth was crucial for the future. She suggested ways the Council could do this, such as public health campaigns, community sports programs, investment in public spaces, partnership with schools, subsidised gym membership, health and education programs and accessible health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Petitions

Presentation of petitions (if any).

Minutes:

No councillors presented any petitions.

7.

Statement by the Leader of the Council and Response by the Leader of the Minority Party (Standing Item)

Minutes:

The Mayor invited Full Council to watch a video clip with contributions from Shahrokh Adhlani, Sandra Ruiz, and Hanan Wahabi as part of Grenfell Testimony Week.

The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council to address the meeting. Councillor Campbell then rose to speak:

Mr Mayor, we have much to talk about and process this evening, but it would be wrong of me to address Full Council tonight without first updating colleagues on the horrific events in the north of the borough on Sunday evening. A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in broad daylight in one of our own parks. To say this is shocking would be a huge understatement.

First and foremost, my thoughts are with the family of the boy –it is difficult to imagine what they must be going through right now. Police are still investigating what happened and, of course, the big question of why such a senseless killing has happened and why at a place where families should have been safe and enjoying themselves. Mr Mayor, I visited Emslie Horniman Park first thing Monday morning and met with the police and the local MP, and our teams have been in contact with local Councillors. I spoke with residents. The level of concern is palpable. People are in a state of shock and anger. I have seen the media coverage, with people describing the panic and fear as they ran for cover.

The event on Sunday was billed as a family fun day – which is exactly what it should have been. To end in such tragic and violent circumstances is something that cannot be ignored. Nor can the concerns of Londoners. Like many boroughs across London, it feels like we are starting to see a worrying new normal, where crime now involves guns. The Mayor of London, the Met Police, and those now in Government need to act and act quickly. Real leadership is required in this city and on this issue above all else – as tragic events like this demonstrate in the worst possible terms the consequences of allowing gun and knife crime to continue creeping into our society, in this city.

Sarah will be speaking about our own approach tonight and in the coming days. This will include community engagement on the ground, and we have teamed-up with police to conduct enhanced patrols in the area. We will both continue to fight for more police on our streets in this borough. We both believe a deterrent can only be effective if it is visible.

Mr Mayor, at this point, let me turn to other items on the agenda. But first, thank you to our younger speakers – as ever, the topics you raise and the way you speak about them is inspiring, and we truly hope you are the next generation of politicians.

Mr Mayor, tragic events always need our full attention, whether it was something that happened this week or over seven years ago. I always felt it to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Order of Business

The Mayor to announce the order of business for the remainder of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

The Mayor confirmed that the order of business would be as printed on the agenda.

9.

Adoption of Local Plan pdf icon PDF 267 KB

All appendices are now available online but please contact [email protected] if you have any issues accessing them.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Kemahli moved, and Councillor Hammond seconded the report’s reception.

 

Councillor Kemahli introduced the report, in which he thanked officers for their work, and he made the following points:

 

       The Local Plan was a significant document that aimed to make the borough safer, greener, fairer and more affordable.

 

       It was designed in partnership with residents, businesses, and groups, and it reflected consultation responses, resident engagement, and open debate.

 

       The Local Plan included a new policy to ensure new and higher standards of fire safety for all developments, as well as policies to regulate basement developments, allow more mansards, and liberalise the use of double glazing and solar panels on listed buildings – a proposal now accepted by English Heritage.

 

       To address housing needs, the Local Plan identified development opportunities at Kensal and Earl’s Court, which have been vacant for too long.

 

       The Local Plan was based on the principle that new homes increase supply to meet demand and lower prices, improving the borough's quality of life and prosperity.

 

       While the Local Plan was a good plan, it was also a symptom of a more considerable issues in the planning system, which was too complex and slow and needed to be reformed.

 

       Councillor Kemahli was confident that the Local Plan would be adopted and improved by the pro-housing majority group, who would work hard to deliver as many homes as possible.

 

Councillors Adourian, Bennett, Cyron, Dent Coad, Faulks, Hammond, Husband, Lari, Mackover, Thalassites, Wade, and Yankson also spoke.

 

It was RESOLVED that the Local Plan be adopted.

 

After the Group Whips had indicated they did not want to propose that the meeting  continue beyond 9.30pm, the Mayor announced he would take items 10, 11, 12, and 16.

10.

Reports from the Leadership Team

10a

Recommendations from Leadership Team pdf icon PDF 74 KB

(i)         Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2027/28 KD1008885

(ii)        Treasury Management Outturn Report KD1009677 – appendices available online or from [email protected]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Campbell moved, and Councillor Thalassites seconded the reception of the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Annual Treasury Outturn reports.

 

Council RESOLVED:

 

(i)         That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2025/26 to 2028/29 be approved, and

 

(ii)        That the Annual Treasury Outturn Report 2023/24 be noted.

 

10b

Decisions taken under Urgency Provisions pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Campbell moved, and Councillor Thalassites seconded the reception of the Urgent Decisions report.

 

Council RESOLVED that the report be noted.

 

11.

Reports from Council-Side Committees

11a

Audit and Transparency Committee Annual Report pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Hargreaves moved, and Councillor Yankson seconded the reception of the Audit and Transparency Committee's Annual Report 2023/24.

 

Councillor Hargreaves informed Members of the report, which covered the various aspects of the Committee's work. He praised the finance team for preparing the annual accounts on time and for their excellent quality. He also thanked the external and internal auditors, the Chief Executive, the governance team, and the committee members, including the independent ones. Councillor Hargreaves highlighted the work done on the external audit, the internal audit, and the risk register and noted the complexity of these areas.

 

Councillor Simmons also spoke and drew Members’ attention to the latest of four reports on Grenfell spending that the Committee had received. She commented that that while there was some assurance from a governance perspective, these reports did not provide the answers and assurances residents have been requesting and she would pursue this through the current year.

 

Council RESOLVED that the Audit and Transparency Committee's Annual Report 2023/24 be noted.

 

11b

Administration Committee - Constitutional Changes pdf icon PDF 349 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Thalassites moved, and Councillor Addenbrooke seconded the report's reception.

 

Council RESOLVED that the changes to the Constitution set out in the report be approved.

 

12.

Matters Referred to Full Council from Overview and Scrutiny or Select Committees

This report will be published on or after 18 July 2024.

 

12a

Annual Report from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 77 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Weale moved, and Councillor Hudd seconded the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2023/24's reception.

 

Councillor Weale thanked the Scrutiny officers, the former select committee chairs, the co-opted members, and the Councillors who led or supported the extra work on mental health and budget scrutiny. She praised the Committee’s work on both the operational and the strategic aspects of its role. Councillor Weale drew Members' attention to the Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee with Westminster City Council on the crucial issue of NHS mental health care. She expressed the Overview & Scrutiny Committee's enthusiasm for the year ahead and its commitment to strong scrutiny.

 

Councillor Simmons, chair of the Housing and Communities Select Committee, spoke about the importance of resident and public participation in scrutiny, and about opportunities to develop and improve this for the committee she chairs. She noted positive impact of external scrutiny, and called for the same regard to be given by officers and members for Council scrutiny.

 

Councillor Benton also spoke.

 

Council RESOLVED that the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2023/24 be noted.

 

13.

Questions asked of Lead Members pdf icon PDF 51 KB

Minutes:

Given the late time, the Mayor directed that the Lead Members provide written responses to Councillors Jedut and Thaxter.

14.

Matters of Local Concern raised under Standing Order 11

Councillors may draw to the Council’s attention Ward or other ‘live’ issues that are primarily local in nature. Each Councillor raising such an issue under this Standing Order may speak for not more than two minutes, however they will receive no response at the meeting. No more than three Majority Group Councillors and one Minority Party or ungrouped Councillor may raise issues in this way per meeting. Councillors wishing to raise such matters must register their intent with the Head of Governance & Mayoralty prior to the meeting and such registration will be on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. The relevant Lead Member or Executive Director will be expected to respond to the Councillor raising this issue within six weeks.

Minutes:

Given the lateness of the hour, the Mayor did not take this item.

15.

Motions for Main Debate

The motions will contain the initial wording from when the item was first published with any proposed altered wording attached.

15a

Motion: Antisocial behaviour by some delivery drivers pdf icon PDF 44 KB

 

More and more residents are making use of the services provided by Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats and other gig economy platforms. However, this has come with significant side effects on our local high streets and nuisances to our residents.

 

We see delivery drivers/riders often cycling on pavements on one-way streets such as Earl’s Court Road, behave anti-socially when drivers are gathering outside restaurants and blocking the pavements forcing our residents onto busy roads. They are also not contributing to RBKC even though their business makes significant use of our parking infrastructure.

 

We therefore call on the Lead Member for Local Economy & Employment to reach out and sit down with the major gig economy delivery companies to discuss and create a borough plan to tackle those issues raised by our residents.

 

Moved by: Councillor Tim Verboven

Seconded by: Councillor Linda Wade

Additional documents:

Minutes:

This item was deferred.

 

15b

Motion: Bring parking services in-house pdf icon PDF 47 KB

NSL Ltd, the parking enforcement contractor for the Council, employ more than a hundred civil enforcement officers in the borough. They bring in millions of pounds in revenue every year, and this money is used to fund the Council’s other services.

 

Recently, these civil enforcement officers went on strike for 19 days due to poor pay, costing the council around a million pounds. The contractor, NSL Ltd, did not receive any penalty for not providing the service the Council pays them to, and the council has no way to recover this loss in revenue from the company. Whilst the pay dispute has been resolved, we must prepare to mitigate the chance of future occurrences.

 

The most effective way to do this would be to bring them back in house. Each civil enforcement officer brings into the council around five times what they earn, and this revenue comes entirely from their hard work – what benefit is it to the council to allow a contractor to skim profits from their labour? These enforcement officers provide a vital service to our borough, NSL Ltd allowed them to become some of the worst paid in London, and when they asked for fairer pay, they let a strike drag on, costing the council money. Bringing them inhouse will mean they are treated fairly and share the benefits of working directly for RBKC.

 

We would also be able to encourage locals to apply for this type of job when vacancies arise, which aligns with the Local Jobs for Local People policy that the council adopted in 2018.

 

Therefore, to overcome this we call upon the Council’s Leadership Team to:

 

      i.         Plan to bring the parking enforcement contract in house and employ the civil enforcement officers directly after the expiration of the contract with NSL, giving them the security and the benefits of working directly for the local authority.

 

     ii.         Renew the current contract with NSL for one year only, while working on preparing a new contract with the existing civil enforcement officers.

 

The civil enforcement officers provide an important service to the Council and our residents; therefore we call upon the Council to adopt this motion.

 

Moved by: Councillor Mohammed Bakhtiar

Seconded by: Councillor Sina Lari

Minutes:

This item was deferred.

 

15c

Motion: Producing an AI Framework

This Council notes the fast progress with artificial intelligence in the local government sector over the past 18 months. Many councils are now piloting and deploying artificial intelligence to transform services. For example, building predictive models and analysing photographic submissions to trigger enforcement action.

 

Councillors welcome the work already underway by officers, with LOTI and London Councils colleagues, to raise awareness of how artificial intelligence can help meet new challenges.

 

But we know that whilst artificial intelligence is a rapidly developing technology - and there are undoubtedly major benefits that may be unlocked by its use - it won’t be without risk to integrate new kit into service delivery.

 

That is why we call on the Lead Member to produce an “AI framework”, in order to ensure there are clear and accessible standards associated with the use of artificial intelligence in K&C. This should cover governance and procurement, as well as how to assess individual use cases.

 

Furthermore, we call on the Lead Member to investigate potential use cases - so that a framework can come to life and to improve and transform services.

 

Moved by: Councillor Janet Evans

Seconded by: Councillor Aarien Areti

 

Minutes:

This item was deferred.

 

15d

Motion: Call for Council to support a ceasefire in Gaza pdf icon PDF 52 KB

At the time of writing there have been 16,000 deaths in Gaza including nearly 6,000 children. The United Nations has described the situation now as a graveyard for children. A group of United Nations experts expressed concerns the situation in Gaza has reached a “catastrophic tipping point.”

 

The UN relief agency for Palestinians says on average one child is killed and two are injured every 10 minutes during the war. Save The Children confirmed the number of children killed in Gaza in the first 3 weeks of the conflict by the Israeli government surpasses numbers killed in all conflicts since 2019. As the UN Secretary General said, “no party to an armed conflict is above international law.”

 

There is still a dire need for food, water, medicine, fuel, and essential supplies in Gaza. Two million Gazans are struggling to find drinking water. Operations and amputations are being conducted without anaesthesia.

 

The call for an immediate ceasefire is not only echoed by the UN General Assembly, UNRWA, World Health Organisation, War on Want, Amnesty International, Christian Aid and over 600 NGO's from across the world. Pope Frances and the Archbishop of Canterbury have called for similar.

 

At a domestic political level, the Mayors of London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire alongside the Scottish First Minister and Shadow First Minister have demanded an immediate ceasefire. So have over 100 MPs including nearly 20 Labour Shadow Front Bench members alongside the trade union movement and hundreds of Councillors.

 

There are very strong feelings in support of a ceasefire nationally with 76% in favour and amongst Kensington and Chelsea residents which is second after Westminster only in having the highest number of Arab residents London borough

 

We therefore call on the Council publicly to back an immediate ceasefire in the region by all parties and the unconditional release of all hostages. We call on the Council to ask the Council Leader to:

 

(1) Write to the Prime Minister:

 

a)    asking him to support the upholding of international law, with appropriate investigation and accountability for breaches including the use of white phosphorus and war crimes;

b)    publicly back an immediate ceasefire

c)    asking him to support the unfettered humanitarian access to Gaza to alleviate the unacceptable levels of human suffering in the region;

d)    asking him to intervene and ask the Israeli government to stop escalation of violence from illegal settlers in the West Bank who are driving Palestinians from their homes; and

e)    asking him to endorse a serious and concerted reinvigoration of international efforts for a two-state solution.

 

(2) Build on existing efforts to raise awareness of and challenge all forms of racism including antisemitism, islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.'

 

Mover: Councillor Dr Mona Ahmed

Seconder: Councillor Emma Dent Coad

Minutes:

This item was deferred.

 

16.

Appointments to Committees and Outside Organisations pdf icon PDF 45 KB

Minutes:

The following appointment was agreed:

 

Councillor David Lindsay, member of the Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education

17.

Any Other Oral or Written Items Which the Mayor Considers Urgent

[Each written report on the public part of the Agenda as detailed above:

(i)    was made available for public inspection from the date of the Agenda;

(ii)   incorporates a list of the background papers which (i) disclose any facts or matters on which that report, or any important part of it, is based; and (ii) have been relied upon to a material extent in preparing it. (Relevant documents which contain confidential or exempt information are not listed.); and

(iii)   may, with the consent of the Mayor and subject to specified reasons, be supported at the meeting by way of oral statement or further written report in the event of special circumstances arising after the despatch of the Agenda.]

Exclusion of the Press and Public

There are no matters scheduled to be discussed at this meeting that would appear to disclose confidential or exempt information under the provisions Schedule 12A of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

Should any such matters arise during the course of discussion of the above items or should the Mayor agree to discuss any other such matters on the grounds of urgency, the Council will wish to resolve to exclude the press and public by virtue of the private nature of the business to be transacted.  

 

Minutes:

The meeting dealt with no other matters.