Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Costigan, Johnson, Sidhu and Jassal.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Sahota and Kim Nagpal.

Councillor Bains was in attendance virtually.

Councillors Shaw, Rice, Mahmood and Zissimos declared that they were members of the Victoria Hall Trust and therefore would not be speaking or voting on the motion relating to the Victoria Hall at the meeting.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2023.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2023 are agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

The Mayor made the following announcements:

·       Alderman Brian Callaghan had passed away. Brian was a Labour Alderman between 1974 and 1978.

·       Armed Forces Week was approaching. The Mayor would be holding a reception for staff members who were serving reservists or veterans, as well as holding the Council’s Armed Forces Day event on Saturday 24 June.

·       Members and residents were wished a happy pride month. The Mayor was proud that the LGBTQIA+ flag was flying above the Town Hall and confirmed he would be attending the London Pride March with the Council’s LGBTQ+ Staff Equality Group.

·       Windrush day was due to take place on 22 June. It was 75 years since the HMT Windrush docked at Tilbury Docks in Essex, and passengers from the Caribbean disembarked to start a new life in the UK. The Mayor would be attending an event in Soane’s Kitchen in Ealing to mark the occasion.

·       Members and residents were wished a happy Eid Al Adha and Tisha B’Av, for those that were observing these festivals.

There were no petitions from members of the public.

Councillor Conti presented a petition relating to the proposed removal of Metropolitan Open Land status from MOL 20 (Barclays Sports Grounds, St Augustine’s School and grounds, Ealing Reservoir, Fox Wood, Hanger Hill Park and Chatsworth Wood) and MOL 22 (Twyford Abbey).

Sian Philips has given notice that she wishes to ask the following question of Councillor Mahfouz:

How can families placed in out of borough "temporary " accommodation be denied a local connection and access to services (eas, and Ealing legal advice, green homes initiative and insulation, hardship payments etc) after paying you Council tax for 6 years?

Sian Philips asked Councillor Mahfouz:

How can families placed in out of borough "temporary " accommodation be denied a local connection and access to services (eas, and Ealing legal advice, green homes initiative and insulation, hardship payments etc) after paying you Council tax for 6 years?

Councillor Mahfouz responded:

It is very difficult to advise on this in a general sense and the individual circumstances of each case would govern what access to services individuals and families are eligible for. I am happy to meet with Sian outside of this meeting and discuss her circumstances in order to review any advice given to her and ensure it is correct.

Councillor Tighe asked Councillor Brett:

Can the portfolio holder provide an update on the council’s delivery plan on increasing the number of living wage employers in Ealing and a progress update on how we are delivering the real living wage?

Councillor Brett responded:

I am proud to announce that as of June 2023, there are at least 55 Accredited Living Wage employers situated in Ealing.

Our economic growth team have done an amazing job so far of working with teams across the council, from procurement to arts and culture, making important inroads to promote and encourage living wage accreditation.

The work that has been done so far by the team of officers at the council has been outstanding. We are continually communicating, engaging and networking with local businesses and find ourselves well on our way to hitting the ambitious target of 200 Living Wage employers in the next 3 years.

That work with local businesses and stakeholders has been essential in our journey so far and a big thank you has to go out to

·       University of West London (UWL)

·       West London College (WLC) Hub

·       Ealing’s three Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)

·       the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation

·       the Creative Enterprise Zone business networks

·       and every single business, organisation, and individual who has promoted or paid the living wage.

The council has made sure to lead from the front, as of July 2022, new council procurement policy was introduced, requiring all people employed on new Ealing contracts to be paid the real living wage.

I’d like to thank Cllr Martin for his role in chairing the High Streets Task Force, which has helped deliver business support programmes with the aim of supporting businesses to pay the living wage.

The council has successfully accessed UK Shared Prosperity Funding, helping to support Small and Medium sized businesses in a wide variety of sectors, from manufacturing and construction to hospitality and media, as they continue their economic recovery.

We’ve been enhancing the council’s inward investment programme ‘Good for Ealing’ with the goal of incentivising larger employers in the borough to act as exemplars and encourage their supply network of local SMEs and micro businesses to also become accredited living wage employers.

I was pleased to welcome many of them to the council just last week to celebrate our progress and continue conversations about the year to come. We also launched the council’s new ‘Ealing Living Wage Incentives Package’ to encourage more businesses in the borough to become accredited employers. It was so great to meet local business leaders on the day and hear first-hand about the benefits their employees and businesses have felt by paying the living wage.

When we pledged to deliver 10,000 jobs, we didn’t pledge to just deliver any old jobs for our residents, but good and well-paid jobs so that every resident in Ealing has the opportunity for a decent living income.

Councillor Zissimos asked Councillor Mason:

Please could the portfolio holder outline what the outstanding stages for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Councillor Ball moved and Councillor Malcolm seconded the opposition motion for debate.

Councillor Manro rose to state that the debate on this motion was premature as there was ongoing legal action, yet to be concluded, regarding the proposed development of the Town Hall and that the Council was still under contract with the developer to carry out the redevelopment. Therefore it would be inappropriate to hold this debate and for Council to give a view on this issue. Following the speech it was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED: That the Council move to the next item of business.

Councillor Knewstub moved, and Councillor Mason seconded, the Majority Group Motion for Debate.

Councillor Conti moved and Councillor Gallant seconded an amendment to the motion.

Councillors Hashani, Manro, Mahfouz, Busuttil, Baaklini, J Anand, Alexander, Anderson, Raza, Steed, Brett, Young, Kamaljit Kaur Nagpal, Rice, Haili, Stafford and Knewstub responded to the motion.

Councillor Knewstub summed up the motion and Councillor Conti summed up the amendment.

A vote was taken and the amendment FELL.

Three members requested a recorded vote be held on the motion.

RESOLVED: That Ealing Council

a. notes that:

 (i) Ealing has a proud history of embracing individuals seeking safety within our Borough

 (ii) there are significant problems with the UK asylum system that affect people in Ealing, including a record backlog of cases awaiting a decision, a de facto ban on working, and enforced poverty and homelessness;

(iii) the Nationality and Borders Act does not address these issues, and has instead created a two-tier system, punishing people seeking safety based on the journeys they make;

(iv) under these laws, people seeking safety will be criminalised and threatened with removal to Rwanda;

(v) people will be warehoused in large accommodation centres, segregated from communities and denied support;

(vi) many recognised refugees will receive a temporary and precarious status;

(vii) over 400 charities and faith groups have signed a national pledge to ‘Fight the ‘Anti-Refugee Laws’

b. believes that:

(i) everyone’s claim for asylum should be treated equally and fairly;

(ii) these are fundamentally ‘anti-refugee’ laws that undermine internationally recognised rights for people fleeing war and persecution to seek safety;

(iii) these measures will create ever-longer delays in the asylum process, lead to greater poverty and homelessness in Ealing and will undermine people’s ability to rebuild their lives;

(iv) people seeking safety should be housed as our neighbours and as a part of our communities;

(v) the UK needs an asylum system that empowers people seeking safety to rebuild their lives and enables communities to welcome them;

This council resolves to:

(i)     defend the right to seek safety from war and persecution in the UK and sign the national ‘Fight the Anti-Refugee Laws’ pledge;

(ii)   call on the UK Government to withdraw the UK-Rwanda agreement, repeal the Nationality and Borders Act, and work with Local Authorities and communities to build a refugee protection system that treats all people with dignity and compassion;

(iii)  Support Refugee Action’s ‘lift the ban’ campaign

(iv)  work with local organisations and people with lived experience of the asylum system to identify ways to mitigate the effects of these measures in Ealing

(v)   Join the network of cities and towns which promote the inclusion and welfare of people who are fleeing violence and persecution and become a recognised Borough of Sanctuary

Voting:

For: Councillors

Shaw, Mason, J Anand, Mahfouz, Manro, Donnelly, Kamaljit Kaur Nagpal, Blacker, Brett, Knewstub, R Wall, Kingston, Haili, Kelly, D Martin, Padda, Rice, M Ahmed, Mahmood, Gordon, Khan, Kohli, Kim Nagpal, Driscoll, P Anand, Mohan, Dheer, Kaur Dheer, Jammu,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

An amendment to the motion not for debate was moved, seconded and agreed.

RESOLVED: That Ealing Council notes that several London local authorities including Harrow, Barnet, Bexley and Tower Hamlets all have Freedom of Information disclosure logs.

Ealing Council reiterates it’s commitment to being ‘Open Transparent and inclusive’, and will continue to explore options to better allow residents to access information about their council, including potentially introducing its own Freedom of Information disclosure log.

RESOLVED: That the following appointments to Committees and Other Bodies be agreed:

1.     Councillor Tarept Sidhu to replace Councillor Zissimos on Scrutiny Panel 3

2.     Councillor Zissimos to replace Councillor Tarept Sidhu on Scrutiny Panel 2

3.     Councillor Hashani to replace Councillor Haili on Education Joint Committee

4.     Councillor Khan to replace Councillor Bains on SACRE

5.     Councillor Kingston to replace Councillor Bains on Scrutiny Panel 3

6.     Councillor Dhindsa to replace Councillor Bains on Health and Adult Services Standing Scrutiny Panel

7.     Councillor Kingston to replace Councillor Wesson on Audit Committee

8.     Councillor Baaklini to replace Councillor Dhindsa on Scrutiny Panel 3

9.     Councillor Young to replace Councillor Kumar on Mortlake Crematorium Board

10. Councillor Young to replace Councillor Kumar on South West Middlesex Crematorium Board

11. Cllr Charan Sharma to be appointed to the South West Middlesex Crematorium Board