Venue: Council chamber – Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden SM4 5DX.
Items
No. | Item |
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1. | Apologies for absence
Minutes: Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Brunt, Crowe and Draper; and apologies for absence were received from Councillors Curtin and Skeete. |
2. | Declarations of Pecuniary Interest
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest made. |
3. | Minutes of the previous meeting PDF 118 KB
Minutes: RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2019 are agreed as an accurate record. |
4. | Announcements by the Mayor, Leader of the Council and Chief Executive
Minutes: The Mayor provided a brief update on her activities since the last meeting and encouraged Members to attend the forthcoming events for the Mayor’s charities. There were no announcements from the Leader or the Chief Executive. |
5. | Public questions to cabinet members PDF 140 KB
The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting. Minutes: The responses to the written public questions were circulated prior to the meeting. The Mayor then invited each of the questioners in turn to ask (if they wished) a further question to the Cabinet Member. A copy of the supplementary questions and responses will be included in the ‘public questions to Cabinet Members’ published document. |
6. | Councillors’ ordinary priority questions to cabinet members PDF 81 KB
The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting Minutes: The responses to the written member ordinary priority questions were circulated prior to the meeting. The Mayor then invited each of the members in turn to ask (if they wished) a further question to the Cabinet Member. A copy of the supplementary questions and responses will be included in the ‘member ordinary priority questions to Cabinet Members’ published document. |
7. | Strategic theme: Councillors’ questions to cabinet members PDF 211 KB
The questions and written responses will be circulated at the meeting. Minutes: The responses to the written member strategic theme priority questions were circulated prior to the meeting. The Mayor then invited each of the members in turn to ask (if they wished) a further question to the Cabinet Member. A copy of the supplementary questions and responses will be included in the ‘member strategic theme priority questions to Cabinet Members’ published document. It was also noted that a copy of the remaining Member questions and responses will be published after the meeting, in line with Constitutional requirements. |
7a | Strategic Theme: Main Report PDF 1 MB
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Strategic Theme report on Sustainable Communities with a focus on enforcement was moved by Councillor Whelton and formally seconded by Councillor Byers. Councillors Andrew Howard and Quilliam also spoke on the item. RESOLVED: That the Strategic Theme report is agreed. |
7b | Strategic theme: motions PDF 31 KB
Minutes: The motion was moved by Councillor Dean and seconded by Councillor Crowe. The Liberal Democrat amendment as set out in agenda item 20 was moved by Councillor Quilliam and seconded by Councillor Gould. The Liberal Democrat amendment was put to a vote and fell – votes in favour: 26, votes against: 30, abstentions: 0. The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 21 was moved by Councillor Cooper-Marbiah and seconded by Councillor Kenny. The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 31, votes against: 26, abstentions: 0. The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 31, votes against: 26, abstentions: 0. RESOLVED: Council notes that, since the parks service contract was negotiated by the Labour administration, the new provider has been able to enforce the pay to play system for the use of council owned tennis courts. This is helping to provide resources for local parks, which have been under financial pressure as a result of Government austerity cuts. Council further notes that these charges represent good value compared to local private tennis courts and are in line with charges applied by neighbouring councils. Council also notes that the borough’s park service contributes to making Merton a great place for families and continues to be highly valued by local residents, with the most recent annual residents’ survey of 2019 showing 77% of residents think the borough’s parks, playgrounds and open spaces are good, up 2% since 2017. Council therefore requests Cabinet to: – Provide use of all LBM owned courts for a small charge to enable the administration to maintain a parks service that most residents say is good; – Instruct Merton Council Officers to prepare a report on establishing an annual pass scheme, similar to ones already operating successfully in other London boroughs, with a view to introducing a similar scheme in Merton in 12 months’ time. |
7c | Strategic theme: motions PDF 48 KB
Minutes: The motion was moved by Councillor Holden and seconded by Councillor Gretton. The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 22 was moved by Councillor Byers and seconded by Councillor Irons. Councillor Fairclough spoke on the item. The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 34, votes against: 23, abstentions: 0. The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 34, votes against: 23, abstentions: 0. RESOLVED: This council recognises that there have been recent successes in enforcement, particularly the court injunction that has prevented Travellers from occupying council land in the borough. However, this council recognises that Merton Council has failed to publicise the enforcement of the refuse collection and street cleaning contract with Veolia since April 2017. Commenting on this issue Stephen Hammond MP said: “On a nearly daily basis I am contacted by constituents regarding Veolia’s performance. These complaints touch on all elements of the council and Veolia’s duty to deal with waste, and cover street litter, overflowing public bins, fly tipping, uncollected private bins and litter covering the streets after bin collection. Merton Council should be scrutinised for the poor procurement of this contract and the full costs of it be made transparent. The council has a history of poor contract management, this must improve, and a clear plan for such should be subject to scrutiny.” Siobhan McDonagh MP recently stated to the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel: “There has been a significant problem with refuse collection and street sweeping services in Mitcham. There are large numbers of sites which are fly tipped on a regular basis and there appears to be little management of the street sweeping service. The need for a reconsideration of the street sweeping element of the waste contract is clear. It is my understanding that streets are only swept if they are below a certain standard. It is completely unclear, however, what this standard is and how this standard is determined.” Council notes that in procuring the contract with Veolia there were three broad objectives:
Council notes that the contract has performed relatively well against the first two objectives; savings in excess of £1m a year are being realised, which can help reduce cuts to services, and the borough’s recycling rate has jumped from 37% to 45% since October 2018. However, council recognises that against the third performance has been disappointing, and although large parts of the borough receive a good service, there are some significant parts being let down by the level of service currently received, particularly on street cleansing in the east. This council therefore:
Supporting documents: |
7d | Strategic theme: motions PDF 39 KB
Minutes: The motion was moved by Councillor Fairclough and seconded by Councillor McGrath. Councillors Barlow and Byers spoke on the item. The motion was then put to a vote and was carried unanimously. RESOLVED: This Council notes that:
This Council resolves to request that Cabinet:
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8. | Report of the Raynes Park Community Forum 13 June 2019 PDF 77 KB
Minutes: Councillor Fairclough presented the report which was received by the Council. |
9. | Report of the Wimbledon Community Forum 19 June 2019 PDF 42 KB
Minutes: Councillor Holmes presented the report which was received by the Council. |
10. | Notice of motion: Liberal Democrat motion PDF 48 KB
Minutes: The motion was moved by Councillor Kohler and seconded by Councillor Gould. Councillor Southgate spoke on the item. The Conservative amendment as set out in agenda item 23 was moved by Councillor McLean and seconded by Councillor Simpson. The Conservative amendment was put to a vote and fell – votes in favour: 16, votes against: 38, abstentions: 3. The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 24 was moved by Councillor Macauley and seconded by Councillor Pritchard. In accordance with Council Procedure Rules, Councillor McLean made a Person Explanation relating to the number of new police officers to be allocated to the Metropolitan Police, as quoted at the Overview and Scrutiny Commission. The Mayor noted the point of clarification. The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 31, votes against: 23, abstentions: 3. The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 31, votes against: 16, abstentions: 10. RESOLVED: Council notes:
Council believes:
Council resolves:
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11. | Notice of motion: Labour motion PDF 45 KB
Minutes: The motion was moved by Councillor Attawar and seconded by Councillor Mundy. The Liberal Democrat amendment as set out in agenda item 25 was moved by Councillor Bailey and seconded by Councillor Quilliam. Councillor McGrath spoke on the item. The Liberal Democrat amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 41, votes against: 16, abstentions: 0. The Conservative amendment as set out in agenda item 26 was moved by Councillor Ormrod and seconded by Councillor Moulton. The Conservative amendment was put to a vote and was lost – votes in favour: 16, votes against: 31, abstentions: 10 The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 41, votes against: 0, abstentions: 16. RESOLVED: This Council notes:
Council further notes:
This Council resolves:
Supporting documents: |
The Mayor advised that the order of the agenda would be altered to consider item 15 first, then items 13, 14, 12 and then the remaining items in order. For ease of reference, the minutes appear in the order in which they appeared in the agenda. | |
12. | Approval of Merton’s Local Development Scheme 2019-2022 PDF 100 KB
Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Whelton and seconded by Councillor Mundy and Councillor Latif spoke on the item. The report was put to a vote and was agreed. RESOLVED:
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13. | Children and Young People’s Plan PDF 77 KB
Additional documents: Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Braund and seconded by Councillor Stringer and Councillors Ormrod and Gould spoke on the item. The report was put to a vote and was agreed. RESOLVED:
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14. | Dock-less Bikes Bye-Law PDF 176 KB
Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Whelton and seconded by Councillor Alambritis and Councillor Holden spoke on the item. The report was put to a vote and was agreed. RESOLVED:
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15. | Preparing the Council for the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union PDF 190 KB
Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Allison and seconded by Councillor Alambritis and Councillors McLean and Kohler spoke on the item. The report was put to a vote and was agreed. RESOLVED:
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16. | Appointment of Monitoring Officer PDF 57 KB
Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Allison and seconded by Councillor Alambritis and Councillor McLean spoke on the item. The report was put to a vote and was agreed. RESOLVED:
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17. | Changes to membership of committees and related matters PDF 55 KB
Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Alambritis and seconded by Councillor Allison and Councillor Simpson spoke on the item. The report was put to a vote and was agreed. RESOLVED:
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18. | Petitions PDF 57 KB
Minutes: The report was moved by Councillor Alambritis and seconded by Councillor Allison. RESOLVED That Council
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19. | Business for the next ordinary meeting of the Council
Minutes: That the Strategic Theme for the next ordinary meeting of the Council, being held on 20 November 2019, shall be Children, Schools and Families with a focus on Schools. |