Transcript

My name is Anna Madden. Please take a seat. Good evening, Councillors. Before the commencement of business, I would like to start the Council meeting by calling on my Faith Leader, Ali Jafri, to say a few words. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for inviting me to this meeting. I must say that the efforts of all those who work for the benefit of others like you all are truly commendable. I would like to begin by reciting a verse from the Holy Quran, which talks about righteousness. This is from Chapter 2, verse 177. Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the East or the West. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in God, the last day, the angels, the books, and the prophets, who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, needy travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives, who establish their prayer, pay their alms' tax, keep the pledges they make, and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in the heat of the battle. It is they who are true in faith, and it is they who are mount full of God. We pray to God to let us recognize our Creator and guidance He has made available to us. We pray to God to help us in looking after ourselves and others around us. We pray to God that He grants us patience in difficult times like these. And we pray to God that He lets us make wise decisions in our gatherings. And finally, we pray to God to send blessings on the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his household. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Brother Ali Jaffrey, for that. Apologies have been received from Councillor Ambash, Anand, Kirk, Critchard, de la Sujo, Debris, Paul, and from Councillor Grimston for lateness. And Councillor Angela Graham. Are there any other apologies? And for Councillor Justin, Madam Mayor for lateness, and also for absence from Councillor Sweet. I was there. You beat me to it. And Councillor Sweet is there. Apologies or is there lateness? Apologies. Thank you. Moving on to item agenda number 1. The minutes of the meeting held on 24 July have been circulated. Are there any objections or objections to me signing the meeting as a correct record? Is it fully agreed? Thank you. Item number 2 is the mayor's announcements. So good evening again, leaders, Councillors, officers, and residents of Wandsworth. As mayor, this is my second full council meeting that I am chairing. And I still feel honoured and privileged to be sitting here amongst you all. As we know, today marks the last day of service for our outgoing chief executive, Mike Jackson. I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Jackson for his service to Wandsworth Council. Mr. Jackson has left us with lots of ambitions and goals to work towards to serve our local community. Thank you, Mike. The deputy mayor and I have been busy ambassadors for the council, meeting, greeting, and showing gratitude around the borough and amplifying the good works of the council. To reiterate, our council has always been a borough of sanctuary for refugees and is now accredited as such. Next year, we will also be accredited with the title London Borough of Culture. We have made a difference to many people's lives in the borough by opening up warm spaces, providing access for all, and supporting our libraries which play a key role in communities serving all. We have also recently opened up a family hub in Roehampton and much, much more. I thank officers and councillors for all their hard work. One of the most glorious things about living in Wandsworth is that we have neighbours with links from all over the world, people from across the globe who have made their homes in our borough, and we are all richer for it. These global connections mean that when tragedies happen in our world, we feel it here in Wandsworth. When innocent civilians are made to suffer, whether in the Middle East, Sudan, Pakistan or Congo, we feel it on the streets of Battersea, Patna and Tooting. We pray for a world where the bombs and guns fall silent and every member of the human family can live in peace and safety with the prospect of a bright future. As you all know, I am hosting a comedy night on the 21st of November in the Civic Suite in support of my charities. Please buy a ticket and I look forward to seeing councillors and officers there. By supporting the Mayors' Charities, we can enjoy and support the most vulnerable people in our community. On tonight's agenda, can members please note that a number of supplementary items have been circulated and these are required to be considered as a matter of urgency. The reasons are set out in full at the top of those items. Is that agreed? Please could I ask all speakers to keep to time and wind up your speeches when the red light comes on. When the red light comes on, you will have 30 seconds remaining to wind up. This is to allow as many councillors as possible to participate. This is the end of my announcements. Moving on to item number three. Are there any members who have any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests, or any non-registrable interests relevant to any matters to be considered at the meeting? None? Okay. Moving on to item agenda number four is a paper on the interim senior management arrangements. Are those recommendations agreed? I'd like to say congratulations to Mr Riley and Ms Popovic on their new roles. Moving on to item agenda number five. Members, please raise your hands to indicate if you have a petition to hand in. Once I have called your name, please announce the subject title of the petition and who you are presenting it to on behalf of. Please then come forward and hand your petition in to Mr Kelly. Are there any petitions? Councillor Hamilton. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I have two petitions. One on behalf of the residents of Ranmere Road, Ormey Road and Lakewood Road in Ballum, calling for continued action on theft in the area. The second is on behalf of hundreds of residents across a number of wards in Battersea, calling for the maintenance of the 25% single person council tax discount. Thank you. If you could bring it down, please. Councillor Corner. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I also have two petitions. The first is from 118 residents of Sleaford Street in Nine Elms, calling for the council to improve the area around Sleaford Street to include increasing bin capacity, enforcement of dog fouling laws, enforcement of parking regulations and a number of other measures. Secondly, I have a petition from 226 residents calling for the council to take action to end the very disruptive protest that's currently happening on Bourne Valley Wharf in Nine Elms. Thank you. Councillor Brooks. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I have a petition here signed by over 1,000 Putney residents asking the council to rethink and delay the works at Putney Bridge that are causing so much chaos until a quieter time. Thank you. Any other petitions? Thank you. Each of these petitions will be dealt with in accordance with the council's petition scheme. Moving on to item agenda number 6, which is the leaders' questions. Before we begin questions, may I remind all members that the overall period for members' questions to the leader and cabinet members is 45 minutes, with 20 minutes for leaders' questions and 25 minutes for cabinet member questions. However, if the leaders' questions overrun, this time is taken off the cabinet members' questions. Please may I also remind members that their questions have already been published and everyone has a copy, so please just put your question to the leader or cabinet member. There is no need to read the whole question out. If we could start question number 1. Councillor Richard Jones, please. Thank you. Question number 1 to the leader. I thank him for this question and I'd just like to add my welcome to Mr Riley, to Ms Popovici, to their interim roles. I think they're going to be fantastic and we're very grateful for their support at this time. It's a question about the Old Tech development. On Wimbledon Park, and we start by saying Wimbledon Park is an incredible place, beautiful views, landscape by Capability Brown, much loved by local residents, and just to confirm them again, Fleur Anderson, the local MP, and I were very disappointed by the decision to approve the development on Wimbledon Park. We've made it clear that that development on metropolitan open land sets a dangerous precedent and the interests of constituents here in Wandsworth should have been the priority. We actually provided Old Tech with an alternative way forward that they could expand the Championship and protect the environment, and we think it's a shame that that wasn't accepted. It's worth saying there has been some success in some elements of the negotiation. The positives are £10 million in funding for improvements to the existing public park, better public access to an additional 11 hectares of parkland, over 400 square metres of indoor community space, community access to those new grass courts, free tickets for school children, plus funding for arts and culture and active travel measures. However, our Planning Applications Committee was unanimous in rejecting this application and I think they made the right decision. But the final decision-makers in this case are the GLA. He raises the issue of judicial review. To initiate or to support a judicial review, it would need to be demonstrated that the decision-maker, in this case the GLA, had erred in law in making the decision. Having reviewed the decision-making process and having had officers review the hearing that came to the decision, it is considered that there would not be grounds for a successful judicial review in this case. The issue there is that, without due cause, it would be likely that the legal fees of both the Council and Old Tech would need to be covered by the Council. I'm afraid that could be more than £100,000 in this case. I just want to finish by reiterating our commitment to work with partners in Merton Council and at Old Tech to make sure this wonderful green space can be enjoyed by as many people as possible for decades to come. I want to thank the dedicated local residents and voluntary groups who have worked so hard to get out information about this scheme and to keep Wimbledon Park so special. Thank you. I thank the leader for his answer and, like him, we were incredibly disappointed with the decision of Jules Pipe to grant plan permission, in this case against the wishes of the local council, that 21,000 people who signed the Save Wimbledon Park petition, all are local councillors, are Assembly members and both are local MPs. The leader finished his written answer by saying that he'll continue to work with local people to oppose this. The Save Wimbledon Park campaign have reached out to him in light of the Deputy Mayor's decision and asked for a meeting. Just a very quick yes or no, will he meet with the Save Wimbledon Park campaign? Yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Standing order 11, paragraph A, small numerals 15. Sorry, I saw a supplementary question from the Councillor. Yes, Madam Mayor, that would be contrary to the standing orders. Madam Mayor, we discussed this in our pre-meeting and came to a view. Thank you for the question. I disagree, Madam Mayor. We didn't come to a resolution on this one. We said it was at the discretion of the Mayor. The standing order that counts to Richard Jones' quotes is quite right. He has a right to a second supplementary. Thank you. Thank you for that. We're going to be sticking with the Convention and the second supplementary is going to be asked from Councillor McCloy. Thank you. Because you seem to be just disregarding the standing order, so just a formal ruling would be helpful. I'm using my discretion. Thank you. Councillor McCloy, please answer your question. Okay. As you say, Wimbledon Park is really special. Our parks in this borough are beautiful and we're really lucky to have them, but they're more than just for looking at. Loads of our residents don't have gardens. For loads of our residents, this is the only green space they actually have access to. Can you give us some ideas about what you're going to do to make sure that as many residents as possible get to access the green spaces in Wandsworth? Thank you. Thank you for that supplementary. We love our parks and open spaces. They're absolutely key to what makes Wandsworth such a brilliant place to live. At Springfield Park in Tooting, we are opening the biggest public park in London for more than a decade. Phase 2 is nearing completion. You'll see a launch of that spring next year, which will fit very neatly with our borough of culture celebrations. We're also creating a new pocket park in Swaffield Road, and that will be the first of several more pocket parks we're adding across the borough. As well as adding brand new parks, Labour's restoring parks, which have fallen into disrepair under the previous administration. I'll give two examples. First, we're restoring the Pullamite Rockery and Cascades in Battersea Park. Investment from partners at the National Lottery will help us bring the history of the park back to life and future-proof the waterfalls for future generations. Second, we're bringing the Thessaly Oasis site back into use. Fantastic green space just by Cary Gardens. It's been gated and derelict for too long. We've had some great community engagement there, and look out for exciting announcements soon. We love and we nurture our parks and green spaces. Seven have been awarded the green flag accreditation. That's an increase of two under this administration's stewardship. We are proud of the health of our parks and green spaces, like Wimbledon Park. As Councillor McLeod says, we fundamentally want them to be enjoyed by everyone. I was delighted to be at the launch of Parkrun in Battersea Park on Saturday. It's a manifesto pledge fulfilled. It was wonderful to welcome hundreds of people to enjoy a free, fun run, making friends, improving their physical and mental health. I want to commend you, Councillor McLeod, for taking on the course on Saturday. Madam Mayor, whilst it's interesting to hear about Parkrun, is that a question that was asked about all England parks? I hope you had a great time. Thank you. Fantastic. Question No. 2. Thank you, Madam Mayor. On 19 September, I wrote to the Leader in wake of his Government's decision to withdraw winter fuel payments from the majority of pensioners who currently receive them. As a result of his Government's decision, only pensioners in receipt of means-tested benefits, like pension credit, will now continue to receive payments. This is likely to affect over 20,000 pensioners in Wandsworth who currently receive the payment. Madam Mayor, we came to an agreement that there wouldn't be a reading out of the whole question, that it would be summarised in one or two brief sentences. Thank you. Sorry, I'll continue. Whilst not all pensioners who are currently in receipt of that payment need it, there are many who are just above the cut-off of pension credit, which is income of just £218.25 a week for a single pensioner, or £332.95 for a cut-off. Councillor Richard Jones, I have this question in front of me. So does everybody. I'm sure the Leader has had a chance to read this question. We have agreed with the Whips today that questions will be summarised. I'm sorry, I understand that wasn't the agreement. Well, you can ask your Whips. He's right behind you. The agreement, Madam Mayor, was that we'd have an element of discretion in the first question. He literally just asked question No. 1. Well, in terms of discretion, we also said that we're not going to be reading a verbatim. Madam Mayor, the trouble is, when we abide by agreements, our rights under the Standing Orders are then taken away. This does make it really problematic to try and agree things and try to run these meetings in an orderly and fair way. Councillors, can I just say, I have mentioned before the question started that please just give me the summary. Please just summarise it. Both sides Whips have been told to summarise the questions. We do not have that long. We've got a lot of business to carry out. So let's just summarise it and let him give a full answer, because that's what we want to hear the answer. Thank you. Just so I understand, I can't read out the full question, but the Leader can read out the full answer. Just so I understand. I don't think he's reading out his full answer, though. He's actually reading out the answer and then adding stuff to it as well. Well, like how... I can make this easy, Madam Mayor. Like Councillor, I watched and listened to you read the whole question. I will watch and see if the Leader is doing the same thing now. Madam Mayor, I'm very disappointed about the opposition not sticking to the agreement, which is made in front of the officers here. If I may just say as well, the question number two is actually longer than the written answer, even if it was going to be read out. Councillor Hogg, can I please ask you to ask... Shall I just put the question, Madam Mayor? Sorry, you've already asked the question. Question number two to the Leader. Leader, please answer the question. Thank you. Wandsworth has the biggest and most generous cost of living support fund in London and supporting our residents through winter has always been a key priority of ours. In terms of support for pensioners and older people, we have fuel allowance payments through the Wandsworth Discretionary Social Fund, the Council's Winter Warmth Scheme, including provision of warm packs for vulnerable households. You can get information and advice through brilliant partner, Citizens Advice, Age UK and others. We've already had fantastic success with our new pension credit take-up campaigns. To date, fully 225 residents have claimed pension credit and that's generated more than £1 million in additional income so far for those residents. But we know that we can always do more, so I can assure residents that we will be bringing forward additional winter support for pensioners. The details are being worked up by Council officers and will be announced following the Chancellor's budget later this month. Today, councils all across the country are facing incredibly difficult decisions about their resources and priorities. So I'm very proud to say we are able to extend and expand our cost of living support for residents who are struggling with bills. Thank you. Is there a supplementary question? Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'll put my question, but I've just got to introduce it very quickly, because the leader's answer doesn't actually grapple with the question. So we're not calling for millionaires to keep receiving this payment. We agree that not all pensioners who currently receive the winter fuel payment need it. What we disagree with is the cut-off for the new scheme, which is pension credit, is just too low and just too crude in Wandsworth. I sounded the alarm back on the 19th September when I wrote to the leader. I had four requests that I won't go through now, but the fourth one was that he instruct his finance officers to urgently bring forward proposals for that cohort of pensioners who aren't millionaires. They don't qualify for pension credit, but they fall within the middle. The reason that's important is because the schemes that he's outlined in his written answer are good. We support them on a cross-party basis, but they're not targeted to these pensioners because they were in place before the chancellor made a decision. So my question is this. Being charitable, what I think is happening is that the administration is praying that the chancellor does something in her budget on the 30th that alleviates this whole mess. We say we hope she does too, but it's reckless not to make a contingency. Will he please write to the chancellor, outlining our concerns, and will he please sign Age UK's petition so the chancellor knows we have these concerns and she can bring into the budget compensatory measures to help these pensioners? Thank you. Leader, can you answer this question? I can. It's all very well saying write to the chancellor. We know that she is facing these incredibly difficult decisions because of the huge black hole that was left in our finances by your party. There are extraordinarily tough decisions ahead for government, and as I say, facing councils all across the country. Thousands of local families have been hit with an increase in mortgage rates directly caused by the disastrous, the reckless last budget which crashed the economy. And we remember the opposition leader's passionate support for Liz Truss, for leader. So I look forward to him telling us which of the particular reckless right-wingers on offer that he thinks we should go for this time. Is there any supplementary questions? The leader's got a ring to it. We'll go with that one. Sorry, I'm talking. Second supplementary? Yes, second supplementary, Madam Mayor. Now that I've reached, I'm proud to say, reached an age where I know a lot of people of old age pension age, I know some of them who could easily manage without the winter fuel payment and some who could not. Can the leader of the council tell us what is Wandsworth Council doing for all people, all residents struggling in the current phase of the cost of living crisis? Thank you. Over to the leader. I thank the councillor for that question. I think it is an important point, which I think Councillor Richard-Jones was trying to get at as well. Do you make help universal? Do you target it? Where are the cut-offs? It is very important. So I think it is right to wait until we see what happens in the budget before we put something in place that we then may have to tweak afterwards. But I would remind us, at fully £15 million, we have the most generous support fund in London. We're moving all council workers and contractors to a living wage. We're rewiring the whole voluntary sector so we can make our communities more resilient in the next recession, which I'm afraid will come. Family hubs, money hubs, crisis support payments. We are making sure no residents fall through the cracks at any age. Our cost of living package has so far delivered community spaces to keep warm and meet friends, free school uniforms, free gym and swim. Last year we fed 3,000 children each morning with magic breakfast and this year we've doubled the number of schools that are taking part in that scheme. Free laptops and digital upskilling with the excellent power to connect and a really important one, auto-enrolment of free school meals. So remember, we're doing this now, it's having a real impact. Our plan is popular and effective and Wandsworth Tories don't support it. You voted against us adding money to the cost of living fund and you voted against us spending the money that's in there. You refused to support our reforms to council tax reduction scheme when we made it fairer and more accessible for residents and you voted against our council tax freeze this year. And with a blizzard of constant abstaining, it's hard to tell whether Wandsworth Tories stand on most issues except to know that you will always be standing on the sidelines moaning about the rules and running people down. Residents are smart and they see right through it. You're all talk, you really, and we have seen how much you like to talk, you're all talk and no action. Moving on to question number three, Councillor Tiller. Thank you Madam Mayor. Right, watch and learn. Question number three to the leader. Thank you for that. Earlier this year, when this meeting began, earlier this year we were proud to launch our Alton Renewal Plan. This is a fully funded renewal plan for the Alton estate that will bring much needed investment to the area and a place-based approach to benefit all residents. It's been a pleasure to work with Councillor Tiller and the ward councillors on it. After two years of listening to local residents, community organisations and businesses, we've brought together a robust new delivery plan for the renewal of that estate. The proposal sees place-based delivery at its best where not only the residents see new homes guaranteed for local people, but also investments in better transport, community facilities, job shops, neighbourhoods and the environment. We know that transport connectivity is vital to ensure residents in that neighbourhood can access education and work and grow the local economy. So you asked and we delivered. As part of the Alton Renewal Plan, we have funded two free Roehampton bus services to help improve transport links between Roehampton and the rest of the borough. Number one, the Roehampton University bus now free for all residents. You can travel between Putney Bridge Station, Roehampton Vale Astor during term time every 20 minutes, Roehampton Transport Club, a free door-to-door accessible community minibus, thanks to our great partners at Wandsworth Community Transport, to help people who have difficulty using public transport to access local facilities. How is it going? The university bus alone has seen more than 1,000 more journeys each week compared to this time last year. And as a listening council, we're firmly committed to working in collaboration with new and existing partners to make sure this is the best place to live. So I want to thank the university, the community kitchen, our own regeneration team, the Over Sixties Club, and of course our three excellent ward councillors and local people for their engagement. [Applause] Thank you. Councillor Tiller. Yes, supplementary Madam Mayor. Will the Roehampton Community Transport Bus Service adjust its services according to usage, statistics and resident feedback? And also, what are the next initiatives in the Alton Renewal Plan? Thank you for that question, yes. It's a really important point, like we have to test and learn with initiatives like this. We have just put these minibuses at the service of the local community. Early results are necessarily mixed. One day trip they did was absolutely full, another one was absolutely empty. Obviously they need to iron that out. We were up at the social supermarket and we were figuring out 50 clients are booked in there over a couple of hours. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they had a minibus to take them and their children there and home? So we will continue to test and learn. And as I say, university buses going from strength to strength, a thousand more journeys a week there. That's really, really helping. But I think the one thing I'd pick out in terms of next steps... Madam Mayor, could we move on to the next question? We were so keen to get more questions done tonight. One thing I'd pick out... Sorry, Madam Mayor. We normally don't have this level of interruption while the leader is informing the council. It's not... It's an answer to a supplementary, not even the original statement. The next step in the ultimate renewal plan, which is what the council has asked for, which is what the public want to know about, was a fantastic launch of our brand new family hub at 166 Roehampton Lane. Hundreds of people joined us there for the communal dinner in the evening. I was very pleased during the day to award Lexie from Heathmere School the prize for the best poem at the Roehampton Poetry Competition as part of the celebrations. This follows the successful launch of our family hub at the Yvonne Carr Centre earlier in the year with a further family hub plan for Tooting next year. We are rebuilding Shore Start and Councillor Stock will have more to say about this in the debate later. This new facility reflects our ongoing efforts to work in partnership, to provide the expertise, the resources and the support necessary for families to thrive. In that hub, you can get mental health services... Madam Mayor, this is going to go on all night. We've got other questions to get through. If you have a question, just please raise your hand. ...English language lessons, digital skills, domestic abuse support and Wreckits Cube social supermarket. We talked a lot about cost of living measures earlier... He's just reading out a speech, Madam Mayor. I mean, come on, this is a little bit... He's a bit contemptuous of residence, Madam Mayor. He's just reading out a really tedious speech. Is this your opinion? We talked about cost of living measures earlier, Madam Mayor. I just finished with the heartening statistic that I was delighted to hear. Fully 29% of the entire Alton Estate have received one of our warm packs which can save them up to £200 a year. Madam Mayor, Madam Mayor. Councillor Humphries. Thank you, Madam Mayor. One thing... Sorry, sorry. There's also Councillor Sutters. Second supplementary, Madam Mayor. If I could pass it on to Councillor Sutters because I don't normally hear from Councillor Sutters, that would be nice. Is that OK? Councillor Sutters, please. Right, OK. I just wanted to bring it back to transport for a minute. I think it is good that you've improved transport in Roehampton because it's been pitiful for years. But I wanted to talk about the wider bus services, particularly the 424 which goes up to the telegraph on Putney Heath because it's not going there any more and those people are really stuck. And I'd like you to give some thought as to how we could help them. And it also ends, even when it is going, it ends very early in the evening. And if you're a woman, you really wouldn't want to be walking up those roads. Wildcroft Road is not a nice place at night. And if we look at this further, the 424 is actually the second worst bus service in the borough. So please would you take that seriously and help those people. 26% of all services in the borough are now running late and 14% of them five to 15 minutes late. You will also have heard that many buses are now stopping at Lytton Grove and I have seen countless people struggling up that hill. Whereas this is not necessarily relevant to Roehampton. It is the link by which people from Roehampton have to get another bus. So maybe we need to go a bit further. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Sutters. If I could ask the leader to answer. Thank you. So I thank Councillor Sutters for the question and can I just say from my own personal point of view how fantastic it is to see her back in the chamber and looking so well. [Applause] And could I thank everybody on both sides actually for your support. It has been wonderful and I am delighted to be back. And she raises a really important issue of bus frequency. We know we have got to keep the buses running. Our lowest income residents depend on them to get around. I know there are particular issues in Putney at the moment with traffic works, with the district line, with obviously Hammersmith Bridge being a long running issue. But we are absolutely committed to keeping those buses running earlier. I am very happy to look at the route she talks about. I would just say a few things we have been doing recently with the Putney MP and TFL to get better more reliable services through Putney and to Roehampton. As of the 21st of September, TFL have added a bus to the fleet for the 85. So that will take the buses serving the route from 12 up to 13 and that will hopefully enable the bus to meet its timetable of a service every 10 minutes. And TFL have added two buses to the fleet serving the 170 route, which will come into place in the 7th of October. And we will continue to campaign for that 170 bus to become a double-decker because we have actually got the statistics and what you say is absolutely borne out and in fact too many bus journeys are terminating before they get to their final destination in Putney and then all the way through to Roehampton. So we as a council have proved our investment. We have brought forward these two new bus services we are investing in and of course we will keep working closely with TFL to make permanent transport improvements in the west of the borough. Thank you, Councillor Hobbs. Question 4 to the leader. Sorry, I'm so sorry, but we've had the time for leaders' questions now finished. We are more than 5 minutes into, I have passed the 20 minutes, so that will be deducted from the cabinet members' questions. But surprisingly we got to question number 3 this time. Moving on to the next part of the meeting. The Whips have agreed on item 17. The motion on our commitment to save happy and healthy children will be taken next. Can I ask Councillor Stock and Councillor Echenola to second the motion in their names? Thank you. Seconded. Thank you very much. An amendment to the motion has also been circulated. May I ask Councillors Corner and Peter Graham to move and second their amendment? Madam Mayor, that can be circulated later on. Are you speaking for Councillor Corner? On the point of order, Madam Mayor, no such amendment has been circulated. We'll come to that in our speeches. Is there an amendment? Madam Mayor, we will come to that in our speeches. We'll come to that in our speeches. Okay, thank you. We're moving on to Councillor Stock. Thank you, Madam Mayor. On my last few visits here at the Town Hall, I've studied the fabric banner on display outside. It illustrates our pride in Wandsworth being a welcoming place, the value of our community and of working together so everyone is safe and supported. We have the same aspiration for our family hubs. So I was pleased to hear a parent say at our Hampton launch that the hub is a safe place where I know I will be welcomed and supported. As I said at the launch, when I first moved to Wandsworth, I lived next door to Battersea Arts Centre, which is Battersea's old Town Hall. On the walls there is the Battersea motto, not for me, not for you, but for us. And it's that sense of community that really drives me. Just like the fabric banner outside, our great borough is made up of many threads. In our community, the council is just one thread. We may well be a stronger strand, but we're still only a single strand. Our fantastic voluntary community and faith organisations are also individual threads, along with other partners including the NHS, schools, businesses, such as our new neighbour, Apple. Our social fabric is made up of these threads. The stronger the threads and the more numerous the strands that stretch across our neighbourhoods, the stronger our social fabric. The stronger the weave, the more resilient we all are and more able to weather the challenges we face. However, this network of connections has frayed, broken by 14 years of conservative austerity cuts and grown threadbare by the pandemic, particularly in our most disadvantaged places. This is the foundation that our neighbourhoods are built on, and these foundations need to be urgently fixed. This administration's Alton Renewal Plan recognised that. As a whole area improvement plan, it prioritised not just homes and transport, important as they are, but also community improvements such as the new family hub, play areas and a library to bind the place together. We must radically rethink how we work with communities. We need to acknowledge the nature and complexity of today's challenges, be a forward-looking, innovative council focused on delivering thriving futures for all families. This is what our family hubs seek to do. A place at the heart of the community where everyone is welcome, where children can play and build Lego bridges, but a combination of local government and community action build a thriving future for every child. Our hubs mark a shift towards prevention. Families have told us that it's sometimes difficult to know how and where to access support. Our one-stop shops bring a broader range of services to the neighbourhood's front door. Mental health support, domestic abuse, employment and housing advice, and much more. Just like Labour's Sure Start 20 years ago, outreach and community development are at the heart of our work. Our wider range of services are also matched by improved outreach. Our community family hub connectors are out within communities to go find families in need of support. Secondly, our hubs are delivering new and stronger partnerships. Working together with partners such as Racquet Cubed and Little Village in Roehampton, we are ensuring communities have the expertise and resources they need to reach their full potential. And thirdly, our hubs are guided by the principle of participation. The Labour Party has always been about people. Our founding purpose was to organise and empower working-class communities, not just to secure better pay, but to pursue the dignity of a powerful collective voice. Community power through which communities themselves can better shape their places and futures. Responding to rising levels of mistrust, our family hubs will deliver a more empowering and less paternalistic approach to participation in decision-making and the design of services. We are listening and collaborating with families so they shape the support they need to live safe, happy and healthy lives. As my Labour membership card says, by the strength of our common endeavour, we achieve more than we achieve alone. That is the golden thread that runs through our family hubs to deliver on our commitment to build a thriving future for every child in Wandsworth. Thank you Councillor Stark. If I could ask, call on Councillor Peter Graham. Thank you Madam Mayor. It has been quite a hundred days for our comrades opposite. At our last meeting they had a motion on their proud role in the Prime Minister's five missions to rebuild Britain. And tonight their motion practically begs us to ignore the Government and think of the children. Already, it is that bad already, they have gone from cheerleaders to denial in less time and it is taking Sue Gray to negotiate her severance. Where is the praise tonight for the return of Government to public service? I mean they were admittedly ambiguous on the Arsenal corporate box, designer clothes, Taylor Swift tickets, union favours and dodgy appointments. But can you really blame them? For fourteen years they sat there, expectant, hopeful, many of them even lacking a suit or a tie. They weren't in a fit state to ask questions, they were just waiting for Lord L.E. And so tonight we have a motion in which their love for the Labour Government dare not speak its name. And we are left with inanities like putting children at the heart of everything we do. Frankly children shouldn't be put anywhere near road resurfacing or rubbish collection or crematoriums or building control, let alone some other services. But to engage with the motion in that way is already to take it far more seriously than it deserves. Because the actions in this motion don't even begin to meet its utopian ambition. Apparently every child in the borough will become happy because of a couple of schemes in Roehampton and council sponsored exercise. Seriously? I mean the motion barely mentions schools or most of the work done by children's services. In fact there's a passing reference to good enough outstanding Ofsted ratings which only serves to remind that your Government is trying to abolish those categories and put parents back in the dark. But most telling is what's missing altogether. Nothing on safeguarding, nothing on violence or gangs, nothing on children in care, nothing on educational disadvantage, nothing on special educational needs, nothing on opportunity and nothing on success. Now as we had alluded to, Councillor Corner tried to table an amendment tonight, a very limited amendment, simply adding some facts about attainment in local schools. The Monitoring Officer ruled it out of order. This is so astonishing that I need to spell it out. The Council's official position is that children who are unsuccessful in life and get bad grades are happy and have a thriving future. That's your formal position in this motion as confirmed in writing by the Monitoring Officer. And because you believe that failure is as good as success and only because our amendment cannot be moved or so we were told. So no wonder you don't care about removing Ofsted ratings. In fact no wonder you've got it in for independent schools. And I am curious as to how the Deputy Leader feels about imposing VAT on Stretchman Clapham High School for Girls. I look forward to hearing in her speech. And I can assure her that although we may be state educated, a lot of us on this side, we won't hold her private education against her. So does she agree with taxing education? Do they? A tax that's unlawful in every EU state and unknown anywhere in the developed world. Thousands of children in Wandsworth would be right to think that Labour holds their school against them. In fact the questions tonight show that 53 Wandsworth pupils have already been forced to apply for a state place at a cost to a taxpayer of around half a million pounds. It's a case of never mind the consequences, feel the spite. Are you listening to children and families on that? Given your promise to listen? Of course not. Instead we have the leader of the council sitting there with his normal glazed expression. His mind ruminating once again on whatever it was he did to miss out on that seat in parliament. But he can cheer up because this is Wandsworth Labour and failure is officially fine. To be fair the monitoring officer was marginally more tactful. He said that success was not their main focus. It explains a lot but parents and residents may take their own view. Thank you Councillor Graham. Councillor Davies. Thank you. So committed to early intervention for the best start to life, committed to putting children at the heart of everything the council does. Listening to children, their parents and carers and making Wandsworth a great place to grow up, safety, healthy and with happiness. Yes we are agreed in this. Are you? So the fact is you need to meet the basic needs of the child. You need to support the most vulnerable first before you ever get to progress. To get to a point where people can thrive and that's what it's about. You know yes there is a long way to go. So children in the UK are at number 27 for happiness and wellbeing in the OECD countries. Not in part due to the policy of austerity and limiting opportunities for all and especially the most disadvantaged. Five sure start some points of information about a decade ago in Wandsworth and one o'clock clubs got the chop along with play spaces. Yeah an amazing place to grow up if you have the money for school uniforms, school dinners, trips, after school and holiday activities. But the children's departments are going at pace to fill in the gaps and extend provision creatively, effectively and with financial prudence. Talking about schools we know we hear it in the committee meetings about the focus on attainment, about the importance of think attendance and social workers in schools to allow children to be educated and do their very best. Play and activity for children is vital for healthy lifestyle and child development. So far we have seen free swim and gym and swimming lessons for families on universal credit and other young people. And then there's the two new libraries for all. We've seen an increase in the number of play sessions at children's centres and support and advice sessions for parents. And most recently we see the access for all and Wandsworth moves initiative. You mentioned SEND children, yeah children with SEND are being better supported with tailored buildings and the same specialised and experienced teams, yet importantly nearer the homes. So we've seen this with repurposing of Broadwater School, a SEND base at Grenard and now with St George's moving into a state of the art school in Nine Elms. And the Wands Councillors there must be proud. This school and community centre will bridge those communities with stellar facilities. It supports a school in a time of falling roles and the deal is sealed with the news that it's all to be paid for by developer money and not costing the council or the taxpayer a penny. So for the council there's a cost saving by drastically reducing vast amounts of money spent in private institutions out of London. Not good for us but not good for those families. Next, support for children and families who are surviving domestic abuse is evolving. Recognition that children suffer adverse trauma if they witness domestic abuse is newer and necessitates action. Trauma is reduced if dealt with speedily and effectively. The Children's Committee are privileged to listen and hear from a parent survivor of domestic abuse and how she and her son benefited from attending a new specialist peer support group. We've also, we know about how care leavers are being supported in our roles as corporate parents with baby boxes and a better sense of surety with the reduced council tax and a whole host of range of practical and financial resource. We know the long lasting benefits of Sure Start. For example, we know about the lower hospitalisations in teenagers who have been to Sure Start centres as toddlers. And with the London Borough of Culture to be hosted here next year, we will continue to see that very many nuanced interactions between culture, community health and wellbeing. The Children's Centre challenges the Youth Mayor and the Deputy in the Youth Council to let us know where we are going in the right direction and what more needs to be done. We're relishing hearing more about opportunities for children and young people across the whole borough. And we fully expect to work beyond the silos in this vast council and see opportunities for young people continue in all areas, planning, transport, parks, activities and more. And then we'll be able to safely say Wandsworth is a wonderful place to grow up. We do need to give children and young people the space they need to be creative, find themselves and be supported in this. And I urge you to support this motion to place children at the heart of everything we do and not trivialise by talking about incinerators. Thank you, Councillor Davies. If I could take it to Councillor Corner, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor, and I'd like to welcome the comments that Councillor Stott, Councillor Davies and Councillor Graham made in this very important debate. There's a lot in this motion that we agree with on this side of the chamber. For example, we welcome the opening of the Family Hub, which will bring great benefits to all of the families that it serves. We also welcome the progress being made on the Nine Elms School, which won't just be a school, but also a fantastic community hub serving the people of Nine Elms and beyond. It will make a great contribution to the community and sense of place there. Although at committee, the administration failed to get a majority on the Children's Committee in favour of the detailed plans for the schemes because the costs have already gone over by over £20 million. I don't accept Councillor Davies' comments that because that is hill money you can just spend it more carelessly. That money could have been spent on all manner of projects across the borough in a better way if we were able to keep those costs for that project under control. I'll let you come back after my speech. Councillor Davies. Thank you Madam Mayor. I was named then. Sorry, you can't afford a point of information. May I speak, Madam Mayor? Yes, you can. Councillor Davies. I was named there by saying that I was, what were your words Councillor Corner, careless? Councillor Corner, would you like to? Careless in the use of hill money and that is not at all the case. Okay, well people can make up their own mind. There's a lot that we also want to thank hard working officers for in the Children's Department for the tremendous progress they've made over recent years in improving the children's services and I think that the Ofsted reports that they received and the glowing comments that have been made within them speak to that. We've also on this side of the chamber supported a lot of the programmes that the council has brought forward to help the most disadvantaged in our communities. For example, the free school meals, expanding them to reach more and more disadvantaged children. Although I do think that the administration missed the trick by just not simply getting Lord Harley to pay for them. Councillor Stock also spoke about austerity, but actually over the last 14 years of Conservative government, children are in a better position to be high achievers than ever before. Take for example what's happened at Battersea Park School, now Harris Academy Battersea, where the number of children leaving with five A's dies to C's rose from 3% under the Labour government to 83% in 2017 under the Conservative government. Look at the international PISA rankings. In maths, just to take one subject as an example, in 2009 this country and its children were 25th in the world for maths in 2009. And then in 2022 they rose to 11th place, making us one of the leading countries in the world for maths education. So I don't think she can talk well about Labour's record in government on education. We do think that this motion has a lot of stuff we need support, but it isn't as ambitious as we would like for the young people of Wandsworth. For example, it only really talks about one initiative that they're bringing forward from the Children's Directorate. The others came from Environment and Housing. So we do have an amendment, much anticipated by everyone in this chamber, although perhaps not the monitoring officer, to make clear that this council wants our children to not just be safe, happy and healthy, but also successful. This amendment is not a piece of party political posturing. This amendment is something that everyone in this council has a duty to support because it talks about not being complacent and always making sure that we are doing the absolute best for children in every way we can. It highlights, for example, that despite the excellent work that's been going on in this borough over a number of years and two different administrations to support children, attainment did actually drop in 2022-23, and we're not saying that that's a huge issue at the moment, but it does show that we need to be laser focused on making sure that children can attain the best they can in compulsory education. We also think and know that there are significant attainment gaps amongst the most disadvantaged children in general, and that the administration has made many, many commitments in its manifesto in the area of children's services, but has yet to bring forward plans to achieve most of those within this council term. So we ask all members in this chamber tonight to carefully consider our amendment, to vote for it, to improve the motion and make it clear that we are supporting children to not just be safe, happy and healthy, but also as successful as they can be. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor corner. Madam Mayor, there's a couple of points. I'm here to help you. First of all, I just thought there might be some offer for training for opposition members in how to move amendments, because generally we have to see it in advance. Secondly, it hasn't been moved correctly. There's been no formal nominating. I'm going to move on to the amendment. Sorry, can you stop shouting across the chambers? I'm going to move on to Councillor Acunola, then I'm going to go back to the motion. Thank you. Madam Mayor, just before we move on to Councillor Acunola, could we just seek a point of clarification? Have all the Conservatives now become independents and joined Councillor Grimston, because Councillor Horner just said they're not political anymore? Could that just be clarified? Sorry, there is no point of clarification. Moving on to Councillor – sorry? I just heard my name. Just because you hear your name, it does not mean it gives you the chance to speak. No. No. She just – she – she was clarifying what you said. And so am I. No, you're not. Yes, I am. Moving on to Councillor Acunola. Point of personal explanation, Madam Mayor. Please sit down. How do you know? I would wish to raise a point of personal explanation in view of Councillor Cooper having ascribed something towards me. Is that acceptable? Please, please, Councillor Grimston. I would simply like to say that I rather resent the idea that just because I'm not in a political party means that I can't be political. Madam Mayor, can we – Councillor Acunola, sorry. Hello. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Well, I do hope that we are here today to reaffirm our commitment to the safety, happiness and health of our young people, because nothing really should be more important to this council than ensuring that our young people have the best possible start in Wandsworth to live a fruitful and prosperous future. Access for All. For us, it is not just a slogan. It's a promise to deliver meaningful access and change that benefits our children and families and ultimately our community as a whole. Echoing the former speakers, I'm proud of the school's record that this council now has, because good and outstanding for all our schools, it speaks for itself. But we really could only have achieved this with holistic partnership working with our teachers, the parents and our children's services, so I'll take this moment to say thank you to all of you. Many of us attended school in Wandsworth and maybe some like myself attended school in Roehampton. Growing up in Roehampton at a time when community and youth centres would be enclosed, the recreation centre was one of the only places that you could really go that was safe, the way you could enjoy physical activity and play, so it's right that it takes centre stage with our strategy, Wandsworth moves together. I urge the opposition to move with the rest of Wandsworth and support this motion. We're not just ticking boxes here, it's a strategy that will be making a real positive impact on the lives of children and families across the borough. I also know how important transformative projects like the Roehampton Hump for local people are and how pivotal our relationship with the voluntary sector will be in delivering it. Up until two years ago, Wandsworth had a very bad reputation with the voluntary sector, I wonder why. But we made it an election promise to support and cherish them because we recognised that they are the lifeblood of our community and there are simply things that we as local government are not poised to do. That's why we're working closely with our voluntary sector and building a network of support and expertise delivered with compassion that reaches every single person within our borough. At the beginning of October, the voluntary sector team convened a meeting with representatives from over 50 different organisations. The aim was to reinforce their confidence in our long-term commitment to the VCS as a partner with a comprehensive VCS strategy coming in the next couple of months. But in the meantime, the work starts now and has started now. The new Roehampton Family Hub is a perfect example of how partnership can flourish. The council provided the welcoming space and alongside Little Village, Racket's Cube, Citizens Advice, who are based there currently, we will be delivering critical services within that space. We look forward to welcoming Send in Mind shortly. Furthermore, following on from our borough of culture announcement for next year, we also have our heritage collection with a display on toys. So I urge you all to go and have a look at it, although I feel like some of them might be a bit old. The voluntary sector brings richness and diversity that only enhances what we can achieve together. And on the subject of working in harmony, it would be great if you would work in harmony with us. We have stopped stagnating funding towards the voluntary sector and stifling innovation. Your approach is ineffective. We will continue to listen to the voices of our residents, children and families. We will engage with our schools and teachers and parents because we know that they are crucial in designing our future. And that's why we have integrated these voices into every step of our Alton Renewal Plan, ensuring that the new facilities and housing developments work in harmony with the needs of the local people. Our commitment to children is unwavering and I hope this is on both sides of the chamber. We should continue together to deliver the best possible start in life for children, to put children at the heart of everything that we do and ensure that Wandsworth is a great place to grow up, live and work. So I encourage the opposition to please support our motion, a reflection of our vision for a brighter future for everyone in our borough. On a point of order, Madam Mayor, understanding Order 29A, Councillor Corner and I would like to move and second the amendment that he has circulated. However, this is precisely the amendment that earlier this afternoon we were told would not be permitted because it spoke of success, which was outside of the meaning of the administration's motion. So we hope to be able to move it, but we have been told that it's not in order precisely because the administration is not interested in success. Thank you, Councillor Akinola, for that speech. And well done. Now, would you like to move this motion? Yes, I'd like to propose the motion, the amendment. Two people talking at the same time, I cannot understand that. One at a time, please. Yes. Councillor Corner. I'd like to propose the amendment as circulated. If any members have not seen it, I have some more copies here. It's been circulated. I'd like to formally second, Madam Mayor. Can you confirm that you are overruling the monitoring officer's advice? Thank you for presenting me with the amendments in between the council meeting. And I've taken advice from the monitoring officer. I understand the monitoring officer provided this advice to the minority group ahead of the meeting as follows. The motion as drafted while references of stead ratings for school in the borough. This is background to the main focus, which is to ensure children lead safe, happy and healthy lives. Amendments as proposed in the monitoring officer's view introduces a new proposal. His advice, therefore, is that this amendment is contrary to the prohibition in standing order 29B. Therefore, I agree with the monitoring officer's advice and therefore rule the amendment to be out of order. Madam Mayor, I think it's very discourteous of Councillor Graham. You've made your ruling and it is time for him to respect this chamber and to sit down. I've had lots of talk from the sedentary position. I'm very sorry, but you've moved your amendment, it's not been accepted and now we need to move on. All those in favour of the substantive motion, please raise your hands in favour. On the substantive motion. All those against. Any abstentions? Thank you. Shall we collect the motions and give them back to the sender? It seems to have been useless in the end. Thank you for that, Councillor White. The motion is carried forward, 49, 4 and 1 abstention. Moving on to questions to the cabinet members. Just remember there was five minutes already taken off. Question 12 to the cabinet member. Thank you, Councillor Brooks, for the question. We are absolutely committed to making our roads safer. The upgrades to the junction just south of Putney Bridge will make this difficult junction easier and safer to use. It will be better for pedestrians and cyclists and there has been extensive modelling of the changes to ensure that it does not slow buses or other vehicle traffic. This scheme has been in planning for a very long time. I understand planning of it started back in 2019 and it has always had unanimous support. There has been a very high degree of planning with TFL that has gone into scheduling these works. Altering the plans now and the work underway would cause further disruption. Of course, we always want to minimise any disruption from residents and we are doing everything we can to get these works done as fast as we can. We have got as many workers out on site as it is actually safe to have there in that crowded environment and they are working long hours, Monday to Saturday. I want to thank our officers and all the workers on site for everything they are doing to progress these works. My door is always open and I will be happy to discuss with you or any of your colleagues any constructive suggestions that you have. That would be a much better approach than trying to make these junction works into a political football, which is what you have been doing to date with your petition. But we will get these works done as fast as we can, with the least disruption that we can. Thank you. Thank you for your answer. We would like that meeting and thank you for the offer. There are some issues in the written answer, however. The written answer states that the works were signed off and supported before. They were not signed off before the change in administration. As you know, Councillor Locker is never shy about expressing his views and he was still discussing them with TFL, whilst supporting the overall scheme. The answer sort of misses the point of the question. We do support the works, we support the improvements to cycling, safety and the bus flow. The issue is timing. These works should have happened in the summer, outside term time when things were quieter. Why won't you delay them until outside term time when these can be done with far less disruption and chaos? Thank you, Councillor Brooks. As I recall, last September at the Transport Committee there was unanimous support from all members, including all your members of the Transport Committee, to progress to the final detailed design and implementation. The implementation is now going ahead, following extensive further modelling and discussions with TFL, which required TFL to hire specialist signals, which are linked to TFL's urban control centre, so that the disruption to the traffic flowing through the junction while the works are ongoing can be minimised. It was not possible to start the works over the summer. It would be ridiculous to delay them now while we have the workers on site and the works are ongoing. This would simply cause more disruption to residents. As I've said, we are doing everything we can. We have made various changes to the layout to ensure that the works, the disruption caused to residents by the works are kept to a minimum. Of course, there is very extensive traffic in Putney, and I would like to remind the opposition that one of the reasons for this is the ongoing closure of Hammersmith Bridge, which I seem to recall did get closed a long time ago and has put increased pressure on Putney Bridge. I do recall that your Government did absolutely nothing to get Hammersmith Bridge reopened, so I'm not going to be taking any lectures from you about disruption in Putney. Thank you. I thank the Cabinet Member for her answer, but I wonder if she could tell us a little more about successful and punctual transport projects which she has delivered, which demonstrate that she does in fact care about the impact on people's lives across Wandsworth. Yes, thank you very much, Councillor Fraser. I think we'll all recall that we had to do essential safety works to Wandsworth Bridge last summer. Of course, it was a very big thing to close one of our major river crossings, but we had to close it because we had to make the bridge safe. Those works were delivered on time and on budget. I'm very proud of the other improvements that we are making to our streets. We've got more school streets than ever before, with over 50% of our primary schools now having a school street. These are there to encourage children to walk in sight to school and to keep our children safe. I'm very proud of the extra investment we're putting into our roads and pavements. It's absolutely shocking that under your administration, they were allowed to get worse every year. So a full 36% of our A roads and 31% of our pavements are in such a bad state that may need resurfacing. Our extra investment will stop the deterioration and greatly improve our pavements, making them safer and better for our residents. I'm proud when installing record numbers of bike hangers, yes, from a low base due to your failures to install them, as other London boroughs had been doing for years. So this is so that people can store their bikes safely. I'm glad we got started on the permanent improvement works on Old York Road, which will further improve that street for pedestrians and businesses. I could go on on the many improvements we're making for our roads across the borough, but I think I'll leave it at that for now. Thank you. Thank you. Question number 13. Question number 13 to the cabinet lead, please. Thank you for the question. I can't give you an exact update on the final figures because we just closed the consultation on Monday. The last time I got a steer on it was about three weeks ago. We had about 650 responses, then 800 responses in total have come in over 800 over the course of the consultation. I can give you some steers. It's no great surprise. The members of my committee will not be surprised to know that kind of landlords and managing agents and estate agents are a bit nervous about the scheme. But we actually have had like a really broad range of feedback from various different local organizations, national organizations. We've had supporting documents from councils that implemented similar licensing schemes on landlords. So I'm really excited to be able to share the final breakdown with everyone at the housing committee. For those of you that don't know, and I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but the landlord licensing scheme is designed to focus with a selective license on tooting area first and then a borough wide additional license. So yeah, that's kind of where things stand at the moment. Thank you. Supplementary. Councillor Ripley. Yes, please. Could the cabinet lead outline the top three issues that these licensing schemes will tackle for our private renters? Yeah, so the kind of the reason why we want to implement this is primarily around increasing support protections and a regulatory framework for private renters in Wandsworth. They make up 36 percent of the bar. It's an essential form of where people get home in the bar, so we want to make sure they're protected. The three things I think are most important about successful licensing scheme are that we increase our inspection rates and our capacity to do inspections like it's fine having a singing and dancing licensing scheme that doesn't do inspections. That for me is the number one priority. Second is so that tenants feel like they can get repairs done without reprisals from a landlord. So they have council support, they have the kind of institutional support of the council when they try and raise an issue that they might have with their landlord. We know that many tenants are scared of doing that because they think they'll be seen as a troubled tenant. And then the final thing is like taking legal action. We want more capacity, more resource to be able to challenge rogue landlords in the court. You know, Wandsworth has gone up and down in how successful it's been. Basically all the money from the licensing scheme goes back into the council's private rented sector team so we can expand, improve protections. So those are the three main things. There are some limitations, so one of the things from the feedback is that renters obviously are worried about increases in their rent. That's probably the biggest concern that renters have. The Labour Government's Renters Rights Bill, which is coming through Parliament at the moment, is trying to expand the capacity for tribunals for tenants to be able to challenge unfair rent increases. Now this just hasn't existed because when section 21 is there landlords can just get rid of tenants and take them to tribunal. It was never going to work in the first place. But with more protections for tenants and more secure tenancies that tribunal function will become really important. And so I want to use funding from the licensing scheme to see how we can support tenants. You know, outside of rent controls, which many of you know I personally support, outside of that, without that government legislation, supporting tribunals locally will be really, really important so people can challenge really unfair rent increases. Councillor of India. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Supplemental goods for the cabinet member. He will know that much of the groundwork for this work was laid down before May 22. So we presumably want to acknowledge that. But can I ask my supplementary, which is that in the report that he promises in the answer, will it take into account the possible impact on the reduction of PRS available for residents in the borough as a result of the licensing scheme? And will he also take the opportunity of looking at not only the licensing scheme's impact on the reduction, but also any other measures this council may take or the government may take because there is some much talk of the budget possibly having an impact on this sector. So will that be a composite report which deals with everything about the availability of PRS, which as the answer says, is a very significant part of borough's housing stock? I'm actually very excited to hear that you before May 2022 were interested in implementing a selective licence. Well, if you were going to introduce a selective licence, that is fantastic. I'm glad you'll be able to support the proposals when they come forward and not vote against my committee, which has happened. Because up until now, I've had lots of questions about that this is a bad scheme and this is going to reduce and that was from when Councillor Caddy was the head of the housing group. So that's music to my ears that you're on board, you're supporting the licensing scheme, I'll plaster that all over everything. The part about the evidence, really, really important. So like you say, the criticisms that we've seen so far of the scheme from landlords, estate agents and so on is that if you introduce regulation, we're all going to leave the market and sell out. And then that's going to cause a crisis for renters, right? That is the kind of stick that is held above the hand of anyone who wants to try and improve renters rights in Britain. And the evidence suggests that that doesn't happen when licensing is introduced. I think in Wandsworth, we're in a very, very, in many ways, our environment because of the nature of the house prices and the high rents means that's even more unlikely to happen, particularly given the rates in which a licensing fee is placed on. So in the consultation, lots of people say, Oh, 850 pounds, is that just going to be passed on to the tenant? Well, that's a five-year license, so that's about £3.27 a week placed on to a tenant, if it is placed on. And again, there's no evidence to suggest in any of the borrowers who have implemented it that it is actually directly placed on in that case. So the supply issue is really important. I would add to that that, you know, whenever we try and introduce any kind of regulation, there is always that kind of threat from industry that, you know, it's the same with the minimum wage. If you raise the minimum wage, all the businesses will close factories, but we do think the minimum wage is important. I see licensing in that same kind of vein, which is that these are quite basic bare minimum protections that I would expect any social democratic, progressive European country to have. Like most of our European contemporaries have much stronger protections for renters, so I think in Wandsworth, we should be safe. The only area that I'm nervous about whenever it comes to supply is temporary accommodation, private rents, because the values are just so out of kilter with what we can cover. So that's a supplier I'm more worried about, and that won't be affected by the licensing scheme. Thank you. Moving on to question number 14. Councilor Austin. Number 14, Madam Mayor, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I want to thank you for this question. You know, we've had this question a number of times at this committee, or a council meeting, and as well at committee, we had deputations as well. It's a really difficult topic because obviously, whenever we bring forward council housing proposals, it is kind of in the nature of development that objections come in because of fears around disruption, fears around loss of amenity. There are very successful council schemes that this administration brought forward like Gideon Road, for instance, that faced similar criticisms face similar opposition but have turned out to be very successful. So we have to get a balance between the kind of worries and anxieties of local residents, but also the you know the challenges that we face in administration when it comes to overcrowding when it comes to temporary accommodation. The thousand homes program is unique in that the local lettings plan means that these homes are built directly for the people that live in the estates affected and you mentioned the by election when we were knocking around on doors. We spoke to many people who either one didn't really know anything was happening because they weren't directly in the main area of the site. And then we're like oh great council housing. I'm overcrowded I'm on this waiting list, or two were a bit nervous about coming forward and speaking about it because of how politicized the issue had become. I've reflected on that, certainly, and I've hired more engagement officers because we were going above and beyond in terms of our engagement and holding four different, you know, public events and lots of, but it was that space in between, when we often there would be literature flying around where we wouldn't be able to control what, you know, possible misinformation was being distributed so we want to have a much more on the door, you know, meeting residents face to face, regular constant contact and that's what the engagement team is going to be implementing, and that is precisely out of that that that the reflections from the election which is lots of people saying to me on the doorstep things that I knew were not true but had ended up becoming kind of, you know, common common views on the estate so it's a it's a balancing act and you know you know my arguments as to why we're building council housing across the borough. Thank you, supplementary. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor I'm really glad that the cabinet members telling me that my majority in WPD is safe, even without the Ashburton estate, which is thankful, I'm very thankful for. If he is indeed listening to my residence then will he agree today to meet with myself, Chancellor sutters and residents to outline his new plans, and more crucially the timeline of those plans, because my residents are obviously worried and do deserve answers. Absolutely more than happy to meet with you. I can't tell you that I'm going to be able to give you what you want to hear. You know you know the kind of the position of the council which is to try and deliver council housing in a way that is fair and just and can also help improve the estates that we that we try and manage. Would the cabinet member agree with me that consultation is not referendum, and that when, while it's very important to listen to all sorts of views whenever there's an issue where there are competing requirements as is clearly the case and laid out in the cabinet members answer. Then it's actually the job of us as political leaders to take the decision we think is in the best interest of the community as a whole, even while recognizing that that might not be the decision that is popular with with certain groups of people, and that there's a massive difference between not listening to someone and not agreeing with them. But would you also agree with me though that at the heart of a lot of this is fears in people's minds that like the rest of our social stock, it's going to get sold off in five years, and can you give any idea as to what he and his colleagues are doing to lobby the current government for serious reform of right to buy. So these properties remain available for social rent into the future. Yeah, I have to say that's a, you know, you've you've summarized it really really well that planning and building houses building council houses, that is often like what we would call like a tragedy of the commons right whereby it's very difficult for within the planning system to manage to often, you know, address some of the more silent voices and some of the voices that we are entrusted with and also have a kind of duty to try and protect help improve their lives. I think you're right and I've said, I've said it in this chamber that the thousand homes program when we go out and consult isn't a yes no referendum, because otherwise, as we all know, we all know that would mean that often nothing would get built at all. And those on the those on the planning committee understand that the kind of big trade off and also the, there is a, there is a difficulty in balancing the kind of resident as they exist and the future resident you know the resident whose life is going to be changed and will become an important part of the community. Like I say on the thousand homes that often isn't even the case because it is for local people it is for so families who live in those areas can get access to the housing that they need. So I really appreciate you, you framed me in that way on right to buy I completely agree with you I've been an outspoken critic of right to buy for many years often in this chamber. I supported the southern recommendations that included the consistent rent settlement but also asked from the government in order to scrap right to buy particularly scrap right to buy for new build where councils are taking on these difficult schemes and, you know, taking on a kind of, you know, a difficult role in order to try and provide the much needed social housing that central government is asking for. That central government is asking of us, and having an end to right to buy on new build is really important. If that doesn't come forward. This is a kind of almost fluke of the system but the value, the market value, because of the quality of the council homes that we're building mean that even with the discount. It would be unlikely that right to buy would be able to kick in within a couple of years right so you know I recently visited Gerard house, you know there's a million pound views over Richmond Park, you know, those are fantastic council homes those are energy efficient they're large. So even with the discount. It's unlikely that right to buy would be able to privatize those homes quickly. But I do think you're right that national government really has to step in and I will continue to write continue to lobby continue to try and make sure that that that policy is specifically on on council new builders implemented. Thank you counselors. The time for cabinet questions cabinet member questions has now finished. If we move on to report number one items for decision. I move reception, I move reception of that report, and we'll ask the council whether they approve the recommendations in paragraph. One, the general fund capital program update paper number 24 dash 283 is a recommendation approved. All those in favor. Sorry against. Any abstentions. 28 four and 22 abstentions so the motion. The motion is carried. Item number 10 is matters of local or topical interest. We have received notice of two matters to consider this evening. Councillor hedges, you have up to three minutes to speak on the matter being raised by the conservative group, which is ongoing issues with the new waste collection service in the ballot mode and elsewhere in the borough, and the cabinet members denial of such problem. Councillor hedges if I could invite you to speak. Thank you, Madam Mayor, and over the past four months, residents in Balaam clap himself and across the bar have massively let down, let down by the Labor Administration's promise to deliver a cleaner bar, let down by the inadequacy of the food waste rollout consistent missed waste collections, or if any, cleansing of the roads afterwards. Roads are covered in litter are disgustingly filthy, where rotting food is too often seen on pavements with brown food waste bins left open and strewn across rubbish bags are piled up outside properties bins are overflowing rats running wild and the stench of decaying food lingers. Since June, I, like many of my Councillor colleagues, have been overwhelmed with emails and complaints about missed waste collections, especially food waste. In fact, I spent a lot of time during the summer escalating concerns to the Council and explaining to residents why the Council's fundamental. That they pay tax tax for was failing. Just a couple of examples, a resident on Ramsden road said, Can you please help with this madness with the rubbish collection. Our bins haven't been collected for two weeks, it's been reported over the phone and online but waste management haven't got a clue. I spoke to someone today and his response was, he wasn't briefed on the three collection crews resident on Calborne road, each and every week there are bags of uncollected recycling waste littering our streets for days after the scheduled collection day. I counted over 30 bags of uncollected waste on our street alone last Sunday, two days after they should have been collected. Again, this is a health hazard is unsightly and presents a trip hazard by blocking the pavements and parking spaces. Madam Mayor, the reason I was given for these failures was teething problems. Yet these failures persist. These are not teething problems it's a complete failure. As a member of the finance committee last week I witnessed the cabinet member for the environment, rating this the success of the food scheme. So far it's probably an eight or a nine out of 10 residents would say two or three out of 10. The Labour administration would like to think food waste was their idea. In fact, this was brought in by the Environment Act in 2021 by the Conservative government. Following this, it was Councillor Steffie Suttas who initiated the first food waste pilot in Southfields Ward. Madam Mayor, it's a shame the Conservatives didn't get the opportunity to take this initiative forward, as I'm certain it would have been a huge success and a definite 10 out of 10. The once brighter borough of Wandsworth that I moved to 17 years ago is now quite the opposite. Thank you. Thank you Councillor Hedges. Councillor Gesser, you have three minutes should you wish to respond. Yes, thank you very much. I am absolutely committed to sorting this out. I'm as concerned as anybody else about every single missed collection. As a cabinet member, as a resident, I don't like to see it. I'm concerned about problems of litter on the street as well, of course. I don't like to see any of these things. I stand by my rating though. We are on a journey, we are a long way on that journey, we still have a way to go. I'm absolutely committed to getting us to the best possible service for our residents. But you know, some of these problems we've inherited. Your last administration cut the street cleansing contract by £500,000. That's why it can't cope at the moment. I went to your finance committee to ask for more funding so that I can increase street cleansing again. We all know it's needed. You guys wouldn't vote for that. Your past administration took away a load of bins on the streets. We all know we need more bins. You've been asking for more bins, but you voted against that. You didn't vote, you abstained. You wouldn't support. We're making progress. Our flight tipping rate is down, but there's still a long way to go. I know that. I went to your committee to ask for funding for more enforcement officers so that we can really come down hard on these offenders. You wouldn't support that. We are absolutely committed to the brilliant basics here in Wandsworth. We are going to keep the weekly refuse collection and we are not going to increase the council tax. We all need to work together to help that. I went down to the Circo Depot on Monday with officers and spoke with them. Nobody's happy with the situation at the moment. It's not yet good enough. We've been talking together about how we're going to resolve these problems. We're going to be working with one or two underperforming crews. We're going to be reaching out to all our residents for communication so that it's absolutely clear what this new service is all about. We will improve this service. I am absolutely committed to that. Councillor Hedges, you said that you were overwhelmed about all the problems. In fact, on the Finance Committee you said, I've ruined your summer. Well, I was very concerned about that, so I went to check on the figures. You submitted 17 inquiries on waste, 11 inquiries on flight tipping over the whole summer. That's what, 28? Over the whole summer? That's three a week. Does that ruin your summer? I think that's what we're here for, isn't it, to serve our residents. We have to do the case work. We're learning. We're getting there. We're getting there. As you remember, at the last Council meeting, I invited all of you to work with me. Some of your colleagues did. I'm inviting you again to work with me. You have not reached out to me once over the summer. If you want to serve your residents, work with me. Work with the officers. You can take a leaf out of Councillor Rigby's book. How hard does she work? She's out at 6 a.m. somewhere. She's out talking to residents, talking to businesses. She's even designed a sticker for us to put on the flight tipping to warn people they will get fined. And they will get fined because we're coming down hard. So take a leaf out of Councillor Rigby's book. I thank her very much for all her work. I thank the officers for their work and I thank SERCA for their work. Let's all work together and we'll sort this out together. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Gasser. For the second matter of local or topical interest, could I ask Councillor Rigby to speak on the issue being raised by the Labour Group, which is Wandsworth Council's progress as a great employer and 130 years of Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council. Councillor Rigby. Thank you, Madam Mayor. On behalf of Wandsworth Labour Councillors, I send appreciation and thanks to the Battersea and Wandsworth TUC as we celebrate 130 years of protecting jobs and raising working conditions for the people of Wandsworth, from campaigns to improve bus safety, cleaning up our air, protecting the toxic gig economies through to protecting our rail ticket offices. The members of Battersea and Wandsworth TUC work tirelessly to challenge poor practices and create working environments where people are safe physically and psychologically and also fairly rewarded. When Labour was in opposition, one of these campaigns was to ask Wandsworth Council to adopt a policy that the re-tendering of existing contracts and the tendering of any new contracts, that tender would stipulate the staff employed under these contracts to work in the borough of Wandsworth would be paid at least the London living wage. In July 2018, I worked with the very much-missed Councillor Andy Gibbons to draw up a motion to ask members to vote on this. The former Conservative administration amended the motion so that it was literally a shadow of its former self. It had so many lines crossed through it, I couldn't tell what was left. All that remained was a non-committal self-congratulatory wish to record its thanks for any local employers, including contractors, who did pay the living wage, but there was zero compulsion to bring in change. It was a special moment that sadly Andy missed, when after Labour took control of Wandsworth Council, we undid those crossed-out words to make a proper commitment that staff delivering Council contracts are paid at least the living wage by April 2026, and if the previous administration had shown any amount of fairness, we'd have reached that milestone today, we'd be there, and we'd have improved quality of life for hundreds of families. The Council and contractors will now start to prepare for more change through Labour's new workers' rights bill, from ending fire and rehire practices to establishing day one rights for paternity. To return to Battersea and Wandsworth TUC, we thank them for continuing to highlight the inherent wrong in zero-hours contracts, and Wandsworth has more people on zero-hours contracts than any other in a London borough. Well, those days are going, and that's going to lift many people in Wandsworth out of poverty. We've also introduced our menopause policy. After years of failure to modernise workers' rights, we now have a Labour Council, a Labour London Mayor and a Labour Government, and together we're changing the world of work for good. Thank you, Councillor Rigby. Councillor Hogg, you have three minutes should you wish to respond. Thank you. I'd like to thank Councillor Rigby for that excellent contribution. I remember her passionate advocacy for the living wage, and councillors like her have kept this brilliant policy alive and now made it mainstream and made it a reality. Thank you. We do not sign contracts unless they have the living wage, so soon everyone doing long and hard day's work for the Council, whether on staff, whether they're doing it for a contractor, will be paid that fair day's wage, at least the living wage. Congratulations also to Battersea and Wandsworth TUC on 130 years of fighting for the people of Wandsworth, first set up as Battersea Trades and Labour Council by John Burns in 1894. No, I'm going to resist saying Councillor Belton was on. No, let's keep going. Battersea was at the forefront of a new and fairer way of doing local government. Through directly employed labour, the payment of fair wages and work projects for the unemployed. Burns went on to be the first working class member of the British cabinet, where he established the fair wages resolution, requiring outsourced workers to be paid the same as those employed by the Council. We're still working on that one, John, but we'll get there, I promise. Not everyone has agreed with these changes. Wandsworth Tories sold off Council homes in their droves when they took over the Council and outsourced as much of its services as they could. Not only did they oppose the introduction of the living wage, Wandsworth Tories opposed the introduction of the minimum wage. But now Wandsworth has returned to its roots, a Labour administration acting in the interests of working people. That's why we're building 1,000 Council homes, creating 1,000 apprenticeships, keeping Council tax low alongside the biggest cost of living response in London. But of course the world of work has changed and we're changing with it. We want to be a great employer, upgrading offices, our new staff values, a greater focus on equality, and now two days a year off for all staff to volunteer at local charities. You mentioned our menopause policy and next up is a policy around people with caring responsibilities as well. All of this achieved in partnership with our workplace trade unions. And thank you for mentioning Councillor Gibbons and keeping his legacy alive in this room also. This is a Council that's good for workers and good for business too. Our work match brokerage has supported 2,500 local residents into work and obviously we're very proud to welcome Apple and Penguin Random House and others and their large staff teams to the borough. Wandsworth has an incredibly productive and hardworking population and we will always stand up for their rights. Thank you, Councillor Hogg. The Whips have agreed that Item 18 will be taken next. Item 18 is the motion on vulnerable people losing their winter fuel payments. Can I ask Councillor Pritam to move and Councillor Crivelli to second the motion in their names. Moved. Thank you. If I could invite Councillor Pritam to start his speech. Thanks very much, Madam Mayor. Before turning to the motion, I'd like to follow on from Councillor Cooper's comments earlier. I'm still comparatively new to this, but my understanding is that the only Councillor in this Chamber who's supposed to be non-political is obviously you, as the Mayor. I'd like to begin by clarifying what our motion is not about. As Councillor Richard-Jones stated earlier, we are not calling for millionaires in Wandsworth to receive the winter fuel payment. That was, of course, the policy introduced by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. As a fiscal conservative, I believe there's a lot of merit in targeting benefits effectively. There is not, however, merit in this kind of sweeping, cat-handed decision introduced without any consultation whatsoever. The earnings threshold at which winter fuel payments will now be discontinued is just over £11,000 per year. We all know that in an area like Wandsworth, this does not go very far at all. The situation for people who fall just above this threshold will be further exacerbated by the fact that Ofgem is lifting the energy price cap. These people, who I believe the Council itself has recognised as being vulnerable, will doubtless have planned very carefully for the winter, and now their financial plans have been thrown off completely through no fault of their own. Mindful of the need to move quickly to address this issue, Councillor Richard Jones wrote to Councillor Hogg on 19 September, who I note is not in his place, with four completely reasonable and non-partisan requests. The first to write to the Chancellor, asking her to introduce compensatory measures. The second to launch an awareness campaign to alert pensioners to apply for pension credit if they're eligible, particularly highlighting the fact that that would make them eligible to still continue receiving the winter fuel payment. The third was to use the Council's relationship with local charities to assist pensioners who are struggling to claim pension credit. And the final request, which pertains to the motion tonight, was to instruct officers to work up options to provide support to those in need, including through use of the unspent balance of the cost of living reserve funds. Now, in his pretty typical thin-skinned and dismissive fashion, the leader of the Council did not respond to that letter, only acknowledging those requests in the response to the question tonight from Councillor Richard Jones, but doing absolutely nothing to address them in any meaningful sense whatsoever. And this is particularly concerning, given the fact that we don't have any data on who these people are. This is why we asked for that work to be done a month ago. And instead of heeding this request, the Council has wasted valuable time. As I assume, as Councillor Richard Jones pointed out earlier, they're just hoping for something to come up at the budget. But that's reckless, because if it doesn't turn up, that will give them less time to bring measures forward before the winter bites. Now, we've already heard Labour speakers tonight trot out their well-worn lines, devised by whoever it is that's running Number 10 these days, about there being a black hole. Now, putting to one side the frankly questionable nature of these claims, we need to focus on Wandsworth, and this motion is about what is happening here in Wandsworth. And in this borough, the Council has the ability to bring forward support measures for those who will be pushed into poverty by this Labour government. The reason it has this ability is because it inherited an enviable financial position following decades of sound Conservative management of the Council's finances. And in spite of their best efforts to trash that over the last two years, those funds are there, because we left them there. All we are asking for is for the Council to use the advantage afforded it by its reserves to help those who will really need it this winter. The Council has made a lot of its efforts to address the cost of living. Now that there's going to be a cost of living crisis that is going to impact a very specific group of people that the Council itself has recognised as vulnerable, there is simply no excuse not to act. My possible explanation is that this Labour administration is much more concerned with being unthinkingly loyal to the frankly mediocre government we have in Westminster than it is in protecting the people we were all sent to this town hall to serve. I would urge Labour members to put aside their partisan loyalty, just for one evening, and vote for the very moderate, very sensible measures that we're advocating in our motion. Anything other than a vote for this motion will tell everyone across the borough that when it really comes down to it, they care more about their own party than they do the residents of Wontworth. Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Ireland. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Pension credit is a valuable benefit, worth on average £2,700 a year, but it is not just a top-up for finances. It is a gateway to a range of grants and savings, such as housing benefit and council tax support. It also opens eligibility for social tariffs for energy and water, the warm home discount, cheaper broadband, free TV licences, free insulation and boiler grants, free dental care, contribution towards the cost of glasses and help with transport to hospital. And now also the winter fuel payment of £200 or £300 a year. These additional benefits mean that the total value unlocked by claiming pension could be around £10,000 per year. This is why increasing take-up of pension credit is a priority of this administration, in our aim to maximise the income of all low-income households across the borough. As of last month, we signed up an additional 225 households with financial benefits to them of £760,000 a year. According to policy and practice, this is worth £9 million over the lifetime of these claims. And so far, as a direct result of this campaign, these residents have received over £1 million in payments. Our third pension credit campaign is about to go live, using data from the Low Income Family Tracker and other sources to encourage eligible residents to submit claims by the Government's cut-off date of 21 December for the winter fuel payment this year. We are also running campaigns to increase take-up of attendance allowance, targeting pensioner households who have care needs, and to increase the take-up of social tariffs. We will continue to promote the Entitled To calculator, signposting residents to access unclaimed benefits. Last year, its use increased by 172%. We launched the Money Hub's outreach service and roadshows with voluntary sector partners to provide on-the-spot advice and support and longer-term casework support for residents with complex needs. In just 10 months, the Additional Financial Inclusion Officer has achieved an annual increase of £382,000 in benefits claimed by residents. I would like to thank Mrs Mary, Ms Wilson, Mr O'Sullivan, Mr Threadgold and their colleagues. Your work has been recognised by the Local Government Association and has transformed the lives of so many of our residents. You should be proud of the work you are doing. I know I am. The Council has done a huge amount to support vulnerable older residents, particularly those on low incomes. We established the biggest and most generous cost of living programme in London of £15 million. Working with our partners in the voluntary sector, the programme supports residents and businesses through the crisis and helps them to build resilience to financial shocks. The Council's winter warmth scheme provides warm packs for vulnerable households and fuel allowance payments through the Wandsworth Discretionary Social Fund. The minority party has questioned the continued need for the cost of living fund, suggesting we pause allocations. Anyone reading the cost of living support for residents impact report discussed at last week's Finance Committee will understand the need to continue with this essential work. We will continue to use the Household Support Fund to extend holiday food vouchers, provide school uniform grants, offer crisis payments and more. Given the minority party's record of abstaining or opposing many of the initiatives in the cost of living programme, it is bizarre that this motion is suggesting a cross-party approach. These initiatives have demonstrably improved the lives of our residents and supported them through the cost of living crisis created by their Government. Their Government, which destroyed the lives of so many through years of austerity, breaking the link between need and entitlement and forcing families to live in hardship. As stated in the cost of living paper discussed at last week's Finance Committee, in response to the Government's announcement on changes to eligibility for winter fuel payments, the Council is assessing options for further support. These will be finalised following announcements by the Chancellor at the Budget in two weeks, when we have all the information necessary to enable us to target our support, most effectively make the best use of resources available to us. In this, we are way ahead of the minority party and do not need their kind of help. The many vulnerable people in Wandsworth know from our record that we will continue to prioritise maximising their income and continue to support them through the winter and beyond. But they fear from the minority party's record that they are likely to attempt to dilute support to them. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Ireland. Councillor Crivelli. Madam Mayor, over the past few months and years, we have quite rightly discussed on a number of occasions in this Council Chamber the cost of living crisis, the impact that this has had on local families and how Wandsworth needs to respond to protect those residents who are vulnerable. I am quite sure that the vast majority of Wandsworth Councillors do not agree with the Government's proposed changes to the winter fuel allowance. We are all aware that winter fuel payments provide vital support for a number of pensioners struggling with energy costs. Figures from the House of Commons library show that over 8,000 pensioners in Putney alone could be hit by the Government's decision to withdraw these payments. This seems like an absurd decision at a time when the energy market is still volatile, with off-gem predicting that the cost of electricity and gas for a typical household will rise by 10%. On a number of occasions, both locally and nationally, we have heard Labour talk about pensioners who need to make the choice between heating and eating. This was even before there was any proposal to withdraw the winter fuel allowance. Consequently, it is not unrealistic to expect Wandsworth Council to look at bringing forward initiatives to protect pensioners who may be adversely affected by these changes. It is completely appropriate for the Council leadership to ask officers to work up options where we seek to provide financial assistance to those who may be negatively impacted by these changes. In fact, in the recent health overview and scrutiny committee on 18 September, the Cabinet member Councillor Henderson, referencing Wandsworth's reaction to the changes to the winter fuel allowance, stated, The Cabinet are looking at this very closely. We had a good discussion about that a week ago. This is a work in progress and you will hear more in the future. This makes Wandsworth's reluctance to come forward with initiatives to mitigate the impact of the winter fuel allowance, as suggested by my colleague Councillor Richard Jones, all the more incomprehensible. Furthermore, from a health and wellbeing point of view, the cuts to winter fuel allowance without proper mitigation have the potential to have a very negative impact. I am sure every member of this Council knows that inadequate heating can have serious health concerns for elderly individuals, particularly those with chronic health conditions or mobility issues. Cold homes increase the risk of respiratory problems, weakened immune systems and even hypothermia. We should be concerned that cutting the winter fuel payment may put further pressure on the NHS and social care systems in Wandsworth. As Jan Short, General Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said, The loss of the winter fuel allowance for the majority of older people clearly puts them at risk. Living in cold, damp homes heightens the risk of strokes, heart disease, respiratory conditions and generally harms the rest of the body. It therefore follows that the risk of overwhelming the NHS in winter is high and the cost of dealing with the consequences of the Government decision will be felt throughout the NHS and care sectors. The cut to the winter fuel allowance is even more concerning if we consider the report by the Institute for Health Equity that estimates that some 10% of excess winter deaths are directly attributed to fuel poverty and more than 20% attributed to cold homes. It is of course laudable that Wandsworth Council should be promoting the uptake of pension credits, as Councillor Ireland referenced. However, history suggests that this isn't going to be enough, particularly given the short space of time. The winter fuel allowance is usually being paid in November and December and there is an entrenched long-term problem of low uptake with pension credit. This makes it all the more imperative that Wandsworth acts to assist many older people who will miss out on the pension credit but are still on low incomes and are going to struggle to heat their homes to adequate levels as a result of the Government's proposals. Richmond Council is introducing a new winter fuel support payment to help those who will be worse off because of the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment. Hillingdon Council has announced using £2 million as part of its response to the cut in winter fuel payments, including establishing a pensioner support fund to help older residents. In our capacity as Wandsworth Councillors, we have a collective duty to protect vulnerable adults in our borough. We do need to bring forward financial initiatives as soon as possible, similar to other boroughs, to address the very negative impact this winter fuel allowance cut will have on our residents. I would urge members to support the motion. Thank you, Councillor Crivelli. Councillor Lawless. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Everyone deserves to be treated with care, dignity and respect. It should be the primary focus of the Council to support those in need. As a new Councillor, I wanted to see some of this work in action, so I spent a Friday night on shift with the team at our Joint Control Centre. It's more than just a CCTV room, I saw how diligently they deal with calls and I sat with them as they spoke to people on end-of-life care needing hospice advice, with Council tenants who had urgent inquiries, water outages, and saw first-hand the response to elderly residents who activate personal alarms in their homes. I joined the team on one of those call-outs, visiting an elderly person who had fallen at home, and I saw the exceptional care shown. Right through the Council, I know caring for vulnerable people is top of our list. We have the biggest and most generous cost-of-living fund in London, and supporting residents through difficult times has always been a priority. We've never veered away from that. And that is why work has already begun to ensure pensioners don't miss out on pension credit, and those in need get the right support. While the opposition send cut-and-paste Tory HQ letters, the work undertaken by this Labour administration and the Mayor of London, alongside our fantastic local MPs, our charities and organisations, has ensured hundreds of local pensioners sign up with a total financial benefit of almost a million pounds a year. Beyond their smoke and mirrors, let's remember the Conservative Party manifesto in 2017, which they all stood on. It pledged to means-test winter fuel payments. Kemi Badenoch, who some of them are supporting to be leader, has said it should be means-tested too. Have they written to her? Councillor Pridham and Crivelli mentioned energy prices, but it was their Government who refused to take action on the oil and gas giants when they were making billions of pounds in profits. If the opposition want to help, they could help amplify the work that is being done by the Council, the Mayor's Office and others to encourage pensioners to sign up. But instead, I worry they are putting party politics ahead of pensioners and are just looking for a scrap. The moral compass they've developed in recent weeks was absent through many years and decades while they were in power. 300,000 more pensioners were put in poverty by the last Conservative Government. There are Councillors here on our side who remember them opposing free travel for the elderly on London transport. When the Council cut grants to elderly services, an organiser of one of those outreach schemes which faced cuts said to one of our local newspapers that Wandsworth Tories were asking elderly people to choose between paying an entrance fee or heating their homes. Where were the letters on that? Where were the letters on the lunch clubs that were asked, the care homes that were sold off, the bedroom tax introduced by them and is still being paid for by 100 low-income pensioners across our borough. But I'll finish with the Meals on Wheels service which they scrapped. Dozens of vulnerable elderly residents who relied on and needed that daily hot meal. Some of those who lost their daily hot meal when it was cut were blind and unable themselves to open a door, cook or even use a microwave. Where were the letters they sent on that? Their moral compass was deactivated over those years. The only paper trail we have from them are speeches and votes in favour of cuts. And I will not be voting against the motion. I will be voting against the motion. Cheers. Thank you, Councillor Lawless. Councillor Racine. Thank you, Madam Mayor. For once, a little magnanimity is called for in this side of the Chamber. The Labour Party has taught us a lesson, of sorts, on what can be achieved in government. In one sense, at least, it's fair to say they've comprehensively outdone us. They haven't taken a global pandemic or the drawn-out process of extricating from a complex political union or a war at the heart of Europe. For the impression to be cemented in the public consciousness of a government that is hopelessly out of touch and desperately out of its depth. No, they've achieved this entirely off their own backs. And in record time, too. One hundred days of ineptitude during which they've hemorrhaged poll leads and council seats faster than it takes to say yes, please to a Taylor Swift freebie. One can forgive their questionable taste in music. Less forgivable are their questionable priorities. Let's not forget, taking away energy bill support worth up to £300 from 10 million pensioners was the first major action of the new Labour government. 14 years out of power, nearly a decade and a half to come up with a bold vision with which to lead and inspire the nation. This was the definitive statement of Keir Starmer's Labour government. I fear it's going to be a long five years. There is indeed a bold and principled case for reform in the universal benefits system. As one of my heroes, the American economist Thomas Sowell, argued, there are no solutions, only trade-offs. No one can make a policy that helps everyone and hurts no one. But strip in winter fuel payments from 82% of pensioners living below or just above the poverty line, which includes more than 1 million disabled pensioners, to fund pay increases for the most highly paid workers in the public sector is neither bold nor principled. It is wilfully reckless and morally perverse. Economically, it shows the same old flawed logic that always afflicts Labour in power, that somehow it's possible for the government to suspend the law of unintended consequences. Already, the supposed savings to be made by the changes to winter fuel payments are being decimated by the rise in pension credit claims that the policy has triggered. People who weren't claiming pension credit before are now being forced to do so in order to access the winter fuel payments on which they so depend. However, not only will they still get winter fuel payments, if they're lucky, they'll be getting the extra benefit payments that come with pension credit that they weren't getting before. So instead of saving 1.4 billion, the government is now facing increased administrative costs and higher benefit payouts. More bureaucracy, higher taxes. A hell of a lot of pain for negligible economic gain. Socialism on steroids. On every conceivable level, morally and economically, this policy is all kinds of wrong. For years, Labour had the chance to make its case for government. It could have made the intellectual argument for hard but necessary choices before the general election. There would have been an integrity to that. Instead, it only really ever had one plan for government and one plan only to say as little as possible, blame the Tories and portray itself as the compassionate alternative. To millions of the poorest pensioners across the country, that compassionate alternative is starting to sound like a sick joke. The cynic in me can't help but wonder if, like the scribes in the Hebrew temple flaunting their charity, professing of compassion was mainly just for show. The idealist in me, however, hopes that I'm wrong. And in the interests of proving that I'm wrong, I'm going to run a little thought experiment in which I'd like the members opposite to participate. If this policy had not been introduced by a Labour government, but a Tory one, where would you all be standing? I'd bet my mortgage on all of you opposing it with a damn sight more vigour and zeal than you are currently supporting the policy of your own government. In fact, I'm pretty sure that deep down in all your hearts, you feel deeply uneasy about this policy and just wish it would go away. But it won't. It is real and it's happening. A Labour government is doing this. But there is something you can do about it. You can pull out all the stops to ensure that there is meaningful and comprehensive targeted support for the most vulnerable pensioners in this borough by voting in favour of our motion. If the members opposite aren't willing to support our motion, then it's difficult to interpret that as anything other than a wholehearted endorsement of the government's policy in its current form and a casual complacency about its deeply damaging effects. This is an opportunity to do the right thing, not just talk about it. One suspensioners and all of our residents will remember the choice you made. Thank you, Councillor. Moving on to the vote. All those in favour of the motion, please raise your hands. Those against. Any abstentions? Thank you. The motion has been lost. Those against was 26. All those in favour was 21 and one abstention. We now turn to Executive Report Number 2. I move reception of the report. Thank you. Item Number 13 is from the Planning Applications Committee Report Number 3, Councillor Belton. Councillor Belton will move reception of Report Number 3. Fantastic. Are we all agreed for information? I left the speechless. So paragraphs 1 to 6 from pages 17 are for information. Agreed. Thank you. Item 14 is from the Health and Wellbeing Board Report Number 4, Councillor Henderson. Will you be moving the report? Madam, you do it much better than I do. Thank you. Paragraphs 1 to 9 from page 19 are for information. Agreed? Agreed. Thank you. Item 15 is from the General Purpose Committee Report Number 5, Councillor Osborne. It's Report Number 5, paragraphs 1 and 2, which are both for information, Madam Mayor. Agreed. Thank you. Item 16 is a Proposed Amendments to Committee Membership Paper Number 24-296. Is the recommendation approved? Thank you, councillors. That concludes the business of the meeting for this evening. Thank you. [BLANK_AUDIO]