The Full Council of Haringey was scheduled to meet on 24 November 2025, to discuss a range of issues including reports from various committees, motions on rented homes and rough sleeping, and questions to cabinet members.

Reports from Committees

The Full Council was scheduled to receive reports from the Audit Committee, the Licensing Committee, and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. A report from the Standards Committee was scheduled to follow.

Audit Committee Report

The Audit Committee report included a recommendation for the Full Council to note the treasury management activity undertaken during the financial year up to 30 June 2025, and that all activities were in line with the approved Treasury Management Strategy. The report noted that the council had adopted the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice, which requires the council to approve treasury management reports on a semi-annual and annual basis. The Audit Committee considered the Treasury Management Q1 Report 2025/26, and discussed topics such as an underspend on borrowing costs, and additional borrowing of £70 million.

Licensing Committee Report

The Licensing Committee report concerned a revised Statement of Licensing Policy 2026–2031. The Licensing Committee asked the Full Council to adopt the draft revised Statement of Licensing Policy 2026–2031, taking into account the EQiA (Equalities Impact Assessment). The report pack included the draft revised Statement of Licensing Policy, which sets out the council's approach to issuing licences for the sale of alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment. It also outlines the management of those licences, and the expectations the council has of licensees. The report pack noted that the Licensing Committee discussed the consultation response/outcome on the draft Statement of Licensing Policy, including issues such as counterterrorism, alcohol-related hospital admissions, and the Ask for Clive initiative.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Report

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee report concerned the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Protocol 2025. The Full Council was asked to note the updated Overview and Scrutiny Protocol. The report pack noted that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed to two changes to the Scrutiny Protocol, clarifying that a committee member from the largest opposition group is responsible for chairing the Budget Scrutiny process, and adding a new section to set out the formal role of Overview and Scrutiny in the scrutiny of local health services.

Questions to Cabinet Members

Councillors were scheduled to ask questions of the Cabinet, including:

• Councillor Barbara Blake was scheduled to ask Councillor Sarah Williams about the success of the regeneration of Broadwater Farm and other community-driven projects.
• Councillor Scott Emery was scheduled to ask Councillor Lucia das Neves about the steps taken to inform the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel about unread safeguarding emails.
• Councillor Anna Abela was scheduled to ask Councillor Seema Chandwani about how the council is supporting disadvantaged residents with their bills this winter.
• Councillor Pippa Connor was scheduled to ask Councillor Zena Brabazon what steps the council is taking to support councillors to ask the right proactive questions of safeguarding partners, in light of recent media reports of organised child sexual exploitation or grooming activity in the area, referencing the Jay Report into Rotherham and Baroness Casey's National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation.
• Councillor Matt White was scheduled to ask Councillor Ajda Ovat what the decision to keep open the Front Desk at Tottenham Police Station means for the residents of Tottenham.
• Councillor Luke Cawley-Harrison was scheduled to ask Councillor Dana Carlin about the annual and total cost of repaying debt from further EFS borrowing.
• Councillor Cathy Brennan was scheduled to ask Councillor Emily Arkell why libraries are so important to this administration.
• Councillor Ruairidh Paton was scheduled to ask Councillor Sarah Williams about a targeted plan showing the timeline for reducing the backlog for repairs and voids since the Council brought housing repairs back in-house in 2022.
• Councillor Anna Lawton was scheduled to ask Councillor Mike Hakata to highlight some of the benefits of Haringey's new 'Fixing Factory'.

Motions

Two motions were scheduled to be debated:

Motion E: Better Rented Homes for Haringey

Proposed by Councillor Dawn Barnes and seconded by Councillor Luke Cawley-Harrison, this Liberal Democrat group motion concerned rented homes in Haringey. The motion noted that:

• The Housing Act 2004 requires Homes of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) accommodating five or more people to be licensed.
• Haringey has an Additional HMO Licensing Scheme and an additional Selective Licensing Scheme in thirteen wards across the borough.
• Unlike Enfield or Barnet, Haringey does not inspect HMOs for safety before granting licences to landlords.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has led some landlords to pre-emptively increase rents, to exit the sector, or to switch to Nightly Paid Accommodation, which have been significant drivers in the recent increase in demand for housing support from Haringey.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives councils new powers and responsibilities to enforce higher standards in the private rented sector.
• Awaab's Law, which places new requirements on landlords to tackle damp and mould, came into force on 17th October 2025.
• The council currently makes use of the Private Rental Sector, including HMOs, to provide Temporary Accommodation to Haringey Residents.
• The council considers HMOs as licensed as soon as an application is submitted, and not only once the licence has been granted.
• A recent report in The Guardian claimed that Haringey Council has arranged for residents to be placed in rooms on shorthold tenancies in an HMO that had neither planning permission to be an HMO, nor been granted a licence as an HMO, and that the property had been subject to enforcement and court action by the council where the landlord was found guilty.
• The council is aware that the landlord of this HMO has a number of unlicensed HMOs across the borough, but has not taken enforcement action against these properties to date.
• According to the National Residential Landlords' Association, Haringey carried out just 21 Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspections of private rented properties from 2021 to 2023, and issued only 35 civil penalty notices, compared to Brent Council which carried out 3093 HHSRS inspections and issued 395 Improvement Notices.
• Councils have the power to step in and carry out repairs on private rented properties where the landlord has failed to do so, but Haringey Council has not issued a single Interim Management Order in at least the past five years.
• The council has made significant improvements in terms of compliance within its own property stock since the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) found that Haringey Council breached its consumer standards.

The council believes that:

• Decent housing is a fundamental human right.
• The council has a crucial role to play in ensuring the highest safety standards of housing across the borough.
• The council also has a duty to ensure that any property that Haringey either directly places residents in, or signposts tenants towards, is safe, fit for purpose, and properly licensed.
• Enforcement powers are only effective if landlords and tenants believe they will be used.
• Landlords who fail the fit and proper person test should not be eligible for any form of housing license within Haringey.

The council resolves to:

• End the practice of treating HMO licenses as if granted on application or allowing occupancy pending works, and instead only grant licenses and allow occupation once all licensing tests are met.
• Hold the highest standards for the fit and proper person test, including checks to ensure landlords successfully prosecuted by Haringey Council are flagged when applying the test.
• Alter the licensing scheme to ensure that the Council proactively inspects every HMO for compliance on a full cost recovery basis before a license is granted.
• Immediately review all properties that hold a HMO license or Selective License within Haringey to ensure they have the requisite planning permission, and where they do not, to immediately proceed to planning enforcement.
• Ensure that the council does not place residents in, make private rented sector offers to, or signpost residents towards, properties which lack the required planning permission, have not had licenses granted, or have not had and passed safety inspections or compliance checks.
• Ensure that every resident is contacting the Council for housing assistance, and every resident in private rented accommodation is given clear information about their new rights, the new, higher standards for landlords, how to spot an unlicensed property, and how to report any problems to the council.
• Increase the use of fines and rent-repayment orders to help cover the cost of increased enforcement activity and use existing Works in Default powers to step in and fix unsafe properties where the private landlord has failed to do so (with cost recovery).
• Inspect properties when safety concerns are reported and issue improvement notices within 14 days, making use of Interim Management Orders to collect rent directly and using this to fund repairs and council management costs if landlords fail to comply.
• Minimise the number of evictions and homes lost from the rental sector by advertising the options for the council to manage or purchase their property.
• Report progress on the above measures by publishing the figures relevant to this motion on a quarterly basis on a suitable page of the Council website, including these figures in the Housing Services Key Performance Indicators document, and providing an annual update thereafter to the Housing, Planning and Development Scrutiny Panel.

A Labour Group amendment to this motion was also included in the report pack.

Motion F: Ending Rough Sleeping in Haringey – Delivering a fairer borough for all

Proposed by Councillor Sarah Williams and seconded by Councillor Ibrahim Ali, this Labour Group motion concerned ending rough sleeping in Haringey.

The motion noted that:

• Homelessness and rough sleeping are some of the most challenging and complex social issues.
• The number of people rough sleeping hit a historic low in 2010, but since then numbers have spiralled.
• The current government has introduced several measures aimed at tackling rough sleeping and homelessness, including increased national funding, passing the Renters' Rights Act, abolishing the Vagrancy Act, and providing Haringey Council with almost £600,000.
• Under this Council in Haringey, rough sleeping has decreased 33% because of local measures taken, including launching the Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-2027, securing £4m in government funding to expand housing stock, implementing a rapid-access accommodation model, repurposing Osborne Grove to provide 37 units of accommodation, and opening a female-only crash pad.
• The 33% decrease in Haringey sits against a 20% increase nationally.
• Under this Council, 800 new council homes have been built, with 1,000 on track to be built by Christmas 2025, and 3,000 by 2031.
• Under this Council major action is being taken to help residents out of temporary accommodation, including a home-buying initiative, bringing in pension fund investment to fund more home-buying, incentives for private landlords to rent to families currently in temporary accommodation, and ending the outsourcing of housing repairs.

The council believes that:

• The current government shares our mission to end rough sleeping.
• In the UK in 2025 no one should be without a home.
• It is imperative we prevent residents from becoming homeless and provide the best possible support for those in crisis as well as good quality temporary accommodation.
• Commercial hotels are not suitable for families in need.

This Council resolves to:

• Set ambitious targets and milestones for our mission to end rough sleeping in Haringey.
• Continue to explore means that contribute to this strategic objective, including providing holistic wrap around support for the breadth of challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness.
• Celebrate the work of this Council and all officers and local and national partners involved in delivering the 33% decrease in rough sleeping since 2022.
• Write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to showcase the policies and strategy that have contributed to Haringey's measurable progress, and invite the Secretary of State or relevant minister to visit the borough to showcase some of these policies in action and further discuss how our local success might translate to the national picture.
• Recognise that our task is not complete until rough sleeping has been eradicated in Haringey.

A Liberal Democrat amendment to this motion was also included in the report pack.

Other Matters

The agenda also included standard items such as apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and approval of the minutes from previous meetings held on 21 July 2025 and 16 October 2025. There was also an opportunity for the Mayor to lay communications before the council. The Full Council was also scheduled to make appointments to outside bodies.