Agenda and minutes

Please notify the Head of Democratic Services as soon as possible if you are unable to attend the virtual meeting.

An apology for absence had been received from Councillor Kerri Prince.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2020 (attached).

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2020 be agreed as a correct record.

The Head of Democratic Services will ask each Member in alphabetical order to declare that they are present and whether they have any declarations of interest in any matter before the Council.

 

Please wait to be called then:

a)    unmute your microphone on your PC / tablet etc (if you are joining the meeting by telephone only, then please either locate the mute button or remain as quiet as possible until called upon to speak),

b)    state your name and if you have any declarations of interest to make,

c)    then please remember to, once again, mute your microphone or telephone.

 

The Head of Democratic Services asked each Member in alphabetical order to declare that they were present and whether they had any declarations of interest in any matter before the Council.  Councillor Peter Curling declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 8.1 as his great uncle had been named on the plaque.  Councillor Curling remained in the meeting during the consideration thereof.

i)          Temporary Suspension of Council Procedure Rules for the Virtual Council Meeting Only

 

Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot moved, and Councillor Bianco seconded, the recommendation as set out on the Order of Business and it was:

 

RESOLVED: That, under Standing Order 26.1, the specific Standing Orders set out in the report be temporarily suspended for the purposes of holding this virtual Full Council meeting only, with immediate effect.

 

ii)         Urgent Implementation of Decisions

 

The recent urgent decisions taken were noted.

 

iii)        Amendment to the Council Constitution – Resident Services Scheme of Delegations

 

The Mayor had agreed that this item should be considered as an urgent item due to the requirement for a decision before the next meeting of the Full Council. 

 

Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot moved, and Councillor Bianco seconded, the recommendation as set out on the Order of Business.  Following debate (Councillor Duncan), it was:

 

RESOLVED:  That:

 

a)    the following new delegation in respect of planning functions be approved for inclusion in the Deputy Chief Executive and Corporate Director of Residents Services Scheme of Delegations (referred to in Part 3 of the Council's Constitution):

 

“All applications to which 42 day or 56 day prior approval constraints apply shall be delegated to the Head of Planning, Transportation and Regeneration, subject to the following conditions:

 

a.      Where a valid petition has been received and the officer recommendation is contrary to that requested by the petitioners, it shall be referred to the relevant planning committee for determination;

b.     Where there are 20 or more individual representations in support or objection received and the officer recommendation is contrary to that requested by the supporters or objectors it shall be referred to the relevant planning committee for determination.

c.      Where there is a petition received and the Head of Planning, Transportation and Regeneration is to make a delegated decision consistent with the petitioners’ views, this is done in consultation with the relevant Planning Committee Chairman and Labour lead (or in their absence the Vice-Chairman and nominated Labour committee member). Should there be disagreement by Members concerning the recommendation then it should (if time constraints allow) be referred to the relevant planning committee for decision.”

 

b)   the Head of Democratic Services, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be authorised to make any consequential changes required to the Residents Services Scheme of Delegations, so that the above delegation can take primary effect.

1.    To receive the Mayoral Announcements

 

2.    The Mayor will call upon the Leader of the Council to make a statement in order to update all Members of the Council regarding the Council’s ongoing response to the Covid19 pandemic.

The Mayor congratulated Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot MBE on receiving a knighthood and for his successful twenty years as the Leader of the Council. 

 

The Mayor advised that the number of events outside of the Mayor’s Parlour had been starting to increase, albeit socially distanced, and had seen her visit Hayes, West Drayton, Northwood, Eastcote and Uxbridge. 

 

To maintain engagement with all parts of the community, the Mayor had launched her YouTube channel (Mayor of Hillingdon) and would be uploading weekly vlogs.  She would also be hosting interactive events that would be livestreamed and encouraged those present to subscribe to her channel. 

 

Statement from the Leader of the Council

The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council to update all Members on the Council’s ongoing local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

The London Borough of Hillingdon had continued to deliver services to its residents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to receive the thanks of residents for the performance of staff in many areas of service delivery.  As stated at the last Council meeting, the Council’s ability to manage finance and business processes provided a firm base to enable the authority to deal with the pandemic at Council level and that continued to be the case. 

 

It was currently estimated that the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic to the Council would be £28.3m in the current financial year.  After deducting Government grants received and anticipated, the Council would have a financial pressure of £4.2m.  Whilst it was expected that the Council would receive further Government funding, the Council had put aside £9.1m in earmarked reserves to cover any shortfall.

 

Normal activity in the first three months of the financial year showed Hillingdon operating at £381k under budget with year end balances anticipated to be over £28m.  Accordingly, there would be no financial problems in the current year due to the Council’s level of balances and earmarked reserves.  Over the coming months, the Council would be reviewing its medium term financial forecast to plan appropriately for the coming years.  For the avoidance of doubt, the Leader of the Council did not anticipate any reduction in service delivery. 

 

The Leader of the Council updated Member on the number of deaths in Hillingdon since the start of the pandemic and, in due course, the Council would provide a suitable memorial for those residents that had passed away due to COVID-19. 

 

Many staff and residents had gone, and continued to go, the extra mile to provide services and assistance to Hillingdon residents and the Council would be formally recognising these unsung heroes, both residents and staff.  The Council’s Deputy Chief Executive, Jean Palmer, would be retiring in the coming months.  She had been the main driver of residents’ service delivery in Hillingdon for many years, but particularly in the past 6 months.  Accordingly, it was intended that she be awarded Freedom of the Borough following her retirement.

 

Whilst other regions of the country had been exceeding London with regard new COVID-19 cases and Hillingdon had been returning low numbers of new case compared to many other London boroughs, in recent weeks there had been an upward movement.  The Council and the community could not become complacent and everyone must continue to follow Government guidance.  Accordingly, the Council would continue to put the health and wellbeing of residents at the forefront of everything it did.

 

It was important that the authority continued to recognise the severity of the current situation and refrain from the traditional knock-about activities and campaigns.  All of the Council’s efforts should concentrate on dealing with COVID-19 and its consequences for all of Hillingdon’s residents. 

To consider making and modifying non-immediate Article 4 directions. (report attached)

Councillor Burrows moved, and Councillor Lavery seconded, the recommendation as set out on the Order of Business.  Following debate (Councillors Duncan and Morse) it was:

 

RESOLVED: That:

a)        The Head of Planning, Transportation and Regeneration be instructed to make and modify non-immediate Article 4 directions (with an intended implementation date of September 2021) to remove permitted development rights for new residential development in designated employment and industrial areas as set out in the report.

b)      The Head of Planning, Transportation and Regeneration be authorised to prepare the Article 4 direction and instructed to carry out all necessary consequential arrangements to give effect to the terms of Recommendation 1 which shall include publishing the making of the direction, notifying affected property owners/occupiers and the Secretary of State and seeking representations on the making of the direction.

To take questions submitted by Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11

7.4       QUESTION SUBMITTED BY COUNCILLOR SULLIVAN TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR HOUSING AND THE ENVIRONMENT - COUNCILLOR CORTHORNE

 

“Would the Cabinet Member update Members on the performance of the Waste and Recycling Team during the lockdown period and since restrictions have eased?”

 

Councillor Corthorne advised that, over the last few months, unlike many other authorities, Hillingdon had managed to maintain all weekly waste services despite a large increase in tonnages across the entire service. 

 

Garden and food waste had increased by 37% at the height of lockdown and both waste and recycling also increased by 12% and 11% respectively.  However, during the pandemic, the overall staff sickness level actually fell from that of the previous year.  This was down to two main factors: the commitment to the service by the Council’s frontline staff; and the introduction of minibus services to support the waste team and ensure that the Government’s social distancing guidelines were observed whilst undertaking duties.

 

This new method of working had been incredibly popular with Hillingdon residents and the waste team had received many cards of thanks left on waste bags, along with tins of biscuits and sweets.  The Council had received large numbers of letters and emails from residents expressing their thanks to the waste team and the crews had often been welcomed across the Borough with residents clapping their appreciation.  In Northwood, the residents of Elgood Avenue actually held a tea stand for all three of the waste collection teams to show their thanks for the continued support of their weekly services.

 

At Hillingdon’s New Year’s Green Lane site, the Council reopened a week before all other West London authorities and, with other partners such as traffic management, made sure that local residents could dispose of their waste as quickly and safely as possible.  Again, the Council received many compliments for this service and the way it was operated during lockdown.

 

Since restrictions had eased, the New Year’s Green Lane site had continued to experience a high level of demand.  Unlike its surrounding neighbours, Hillingdon had decided not to introduce a booking system at this site, making disposing of household waste as easy as possible for residents.  Trade income at this site had increased, new enquiries for trade collections were being received all the time and the Council’s commercial waste service had seen little cancellation.

 

Many residents had been working from home so the overall waste tonnage across all streams was still around 5% higher than normal.  However this increase was being managed within the Council’s normal resources.

 

Cotton face masks had been issued to all staff and ongoing washing of hands and cleaning of vehicles was enabling the services to continue to function.  There was no doubt that the Council was blessed with an extraordinary group of people delivering these services which were highly valued by residents, never more so than during the lockdown period.  Councillor Corthorne placed his thanks to them on record on behalf of everyone.

 

A two page spread had been included in Hillingdon People which set out the Council’s comprehensive recycling offer and promoted participation in food waste recycling to build on the success of the last few months.  Associated benefits included a reduction in landfill costs and harmful emissions consistent with Hillingdon’s emerging climate strategy. 

 

There was no supplementary question.

 

7.1       QUESTION SUBMITTED BY COUNCILLOR DUNCAN TO THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL - COUNCILLOR SIR RAY PUDDIFOOT:

 

“At the Council meeting of 4 July 2019 I asked the Leader of the Council why Hillingdon had bought Packet Boat House, a building with known dangerous defects that had been made known to the Leader and officers whilst under construction and before Council purchase. After the Council bought the building and used it to house first time buyers, all residents had to be moved out for safety reasons, whilst still having to pay their mortgages, and the Council was involved in legal action against the seller of the building.

 

“Will the Leader now update us and residents on the outcome of the legal action, what the current position is and how soon residents may be able to return to their homes?”

 

Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot reminded Members of the history of the site and the development.

 

Paradigm Housing Group had owned the site and had agreed the sale of the freehold of Packet Boat House and a 999 year lease on the associated parking area in a turnkey package that included white goods and carpeting for all of the flats for £10.3m.  Paradigm had been free to seek the highest possible receipt and, if Hillingdon had not acted to acquire this site, it would have been purchased by another London borough who then, as now, were seeking to move households to Hillingdon from inner London boroughs. 

 

The decision to purchase Packet Boat House as a complete ready to occupy unit had been taken by Cabinet in November 2015 and it had been anticipated that the sale would be legally completed by 31 March 2016.  In February 2016, Paradigm had informed the Council that they had received allegations about the quality of the building and that they were investigating these allegations and were appointing external consultants to verify that the building met development standards. 

 

As part of the Council’s due diligence investigations at this time, independent surveyors had been appointed to undertake a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors survey of the building.  This had identified issues which were more than minor snagging issues and full details of which had been shared with Paradigm.  An undertaking had been received from Paradigm’s Managing Director that they remained committed to ensuring that the contractor would undertake whatever works were needed to bring the building up to the required standard. 

 

In order to enable to Council to utilise £1½m of right to buy receipts, the contract for purchase had to be exchanged by 31 March 2016.  This was done but with a delayed completion date of September 2016. 

 

In July 2016, Paradigm had advised the Council that defect rectification was ahead of schedule.  However, at a site visit in August, Council officers expressed concern relating to the progress and quality. Paradigm advised that they had been having difficulties with the contractor but that they were confident that all works would be properly completed by 31 December.  They had engaged with other contractors who were on standby should the contractor fail to perform. 

 

Notwithstanding this, the Council had advised that it would not be held to the September date and extended the contract completion to 30 November.  The sale completed on 30 November 2016, supported by the following documentation: building control certification; practical completion certification; planning condition sign offs; Premier Housing 10 Year Social Housing warranties; Health and Safety files providing warranties for fixtures and fittings.

 

The independent surveyors engaged by the Council as part of the due diligence investigations had confirmed prior to completion that all critical matters had been satisfactorily completed.  Whilst identifying a few minor defects, for which a retention of £69k would be held, there was no reason why the purchase should not be completed. 

 

In December 2016, the Council identified some minor issues whilst undertaking a fire risk assessment which were competently dealt with in January 2017.  On site, the contactor that had been engaged identified that the fire doors had not been installed in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Paradigm had tried but failed to get this matter resolved.  For the absolute avoidance of doubt given the importance of this issue, the Council had all of the fire doors replaced and had been pursuing Paradigm for the costs. 

 

The first tenants had moved in during June 2017 and sales of the shared ownership of flats began at that time.  A year later, in June 2018, a routine repair to a leak under a bath in a flat uncovered further fire stopping issues.  Necessary corrective work and further investigative work had been agreed by the London Fire Brigade.  The Council had set up a 24 hour fire warden service whilst the investigation was being carried out. 

 

Between July and November, the flat was completely stripped back and further fire stopping and quality issues were found.  During this period, Paradigm had stated that they had no obligation to deal with these defects and, whilst that would be a matter for litigation, the safety of residents and property was the most important factor. 

 

Based on the new safety concerns, the Council had invited the Fire Brigade to attend a meeting and it was jointly agreed that the building should be decanted in December 2018 in order to ensure that the building was cleared of any substantial defects and remove all risk to residents. 

 

During the decamp period, the Council’s Housing officers had provided an excellent service to ensure that all tenants were looked after and fully informed of step by step actions being taken to ensure that they returned to a safe property.  Officers had also advised Paradigm Housing that they should undertake intrusive building surveys of any building built and managed by their Packet Boat project team during the period 2014 to 2017 to ensure that their residents were safe.

 

Whilst it was true to say that Council officers were aware of various issues with this building and took appropriate action at the time, it was not true to say that they were aware of a shoddy and dangerous build at the time of exchange of contracts in March 2016.  Responsibility for the issues of this building rested with Paradigm and the building contractor and not with Council staff. 

 

To summarise, the purchase of Packet Boat House had been approved as it was considered good value and intended to supplement affordable housing in the Borough and enhance the financial strength of the Council’s HRA.  The property had been purchased from Paradigm in good faith and all of the standard certification and warranties had been provided for the property.  Relevant surveys had also been undertaken.  Unfortunately, the Council had been mis-sold the property because, once residents moved in, it became apparent that things had been covered up and faults had been uncovered. 

 

All of the residents, tenants and home owners had been moved out for their safety so that remedial works could be undertaken.  Offers to buy back the shared ownership properties at a premium had been made to all of the home owners but only two had accepted the offer.  The alternate offer preferred and accepted by the majority was to continue to pay their mortgage and move to interim private accommodation paid for by the Council whilst remedial works were undertaken.  These works were well underway, although undoubtedly upset by the COVID-19 situation, and were programmed to be completed in November. 

 

As would be expected, the Council was taking full legal action against Paradigm Housing.  External legal services had been engaged in July 2018.  To date, the Council had been finalising the works packages and concluding the value of the claim to ensure that as much of the costs were recovered as possible.  The final claim papers had been issued to the Premier Insurance who provided the building insurance cover sold to the Council with the building on 8 August.  A response from the insurers was expected by the end of this month. 

 

The Council had set out in detail the full extent of its claim to Paradigm and the two parties had agreed to mediation which would take place on 27 October 2020.  The purpose of the mediation was to see whether agreement could be reached on a settlement without the need for expensive and protracted court proceedings.  However, if an acceptable agreement could not be reached, the Council would not hesitate to bring a significant claim against Paradigm in the courts to seek to recover all of its legal costs. 

 

It would be unadvisable to say anything further at this stage as the Council needed to be careful not to prejudice the mediation.  For the avoidance of doubt, the Council would not accept that its staff were negligent or at fault.  Whilst the Council was taking the appropriate action against Paradigm, the safety of residents was (and remained) the Council’s main concern.

 

By way of a supplementary question, Councillor Duncan noted that she had received information from an anonymous source about some of the defects which she had passed on to officers but which had not been pursued.  Moving forward, she asked for confirmation that the building would be made safe so that residents could return to their properties before Christmas.

 

Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot acknowledged that Councillor Duncan had received the tip offs and noted that these had been taken up with Paradigm who had denied that there was an issue.  Later on, Paradigm had accepted that there was an issue and advised that their contractor would put it right.  It was unclear how the Council was able to receive all of the certificates and warranties for the new build when it wasn’t up to standard. 

 

The safety of the residents was paramount and the works would not cost them anything.  Costs would need to be borne by Paradigm who had engaged a contractor who had failed to deliver.  The concern at this stage was in relation to Hillingdon’s residents but also other developments that this contactor had been involved in. 

 

The Leader of the Council confirmed that the Council hoped to have all of the residents back in their homes by December but this would only be done if the authority was absolutely certain that it was safe.

 

7.2       QUESTION SUBMITTED BY COUNCILLOR BRIDGES TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR EDUCATION, CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES - COUNCILLOR O’BRIEN:

 

“Could the Cabinet Member please provide an update on the position of school’s reopening this month?”

 

Councillor O’Brien advised that Hillingdon schools were once again open for business.  Thanks to support from the Council, all schools in Hillingdon had been open for pupils from 7 September 2020, including special schools.  Many schools had been in communication with parents prior to the summer break and throughout summer to offer support to all students to prepare them for returning to school.

 

To ensure that all returning pupils were as safe as possible, all schools had completed a risk assessment in line with Government guidelines and put in place a range of protective measures to prevent and control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  These interventions had included: distance markers provided by the Council outside school grounds; frequent cleaning regimes; revised timetabling of the school day to prevent different class groups from mixing; staggered start and finish times for year groups at some schools; and a phased return to ensure that new distancing and hygiene practices were embedded.

 

Travel arrangements to and from school had also been revised.  All schools were encouraging pupils and parents to walk, cycle or scoot to school where possible to avoid the need to travel on public transport.  Additional school route buses had been provided at peak times to alleviate the pressure on the local transport network.  This was now being monitored.

 

For children with additional needs, school transport arrangements had been checked and updated to ensure students could travel safely to and from school.  For some of their students with more complex needs, special schools had introduced a phased return to ensure that they were safe in their educational environment. 

 

Throughout lockdown, the Special Education Team had been holding fortnightly SEND forums with parents, carers and relevant organisations providing information and a point of communication.  This had worked well and would continue moving forwards. 

 

Student attendance at school was being monitored on a daily basis and remained strong at almost pre-COVID-19 levels.  During the pandemic, the Council had supported schools with timely information and advice and had provided a named contact officer for all schools.  The Council would continue to support schools and parents so that they could be confident that their children were in safe hands. 

 

The Council would continue to monitor the position closely but, in Hillingdon, schools were open for business.  Councillor O’Brien was very pleased with the positive comments that the Council had had from schools with regards the officers’ assistance programme and placed on record her thanks to all staff in the Council’s Education team who had, throughout the pandemic, been reactive, proactive and wholeheartedly active.  Hillingdon was lucky to have such a diligent and professional team who had ensured that young residents could return to learning safely.

 

There was no supplementary question.

 

7.3       QUESTION SUBMITTED BY COUNCILLOR EDWARDS TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR SOCIAL CARE, HEALTH AND WELLBEING - COUNCILLOR PALMER:

 

“Would the Cabinet Member please advise Council on the performance of our social care and domestic abuse services during the pandemic?”

 

Councillor Palmer paid tribute to the wonderful staff in the Council’s social care and domestic abuse services.  Both groups of staff had performed with outstanding commitment during this pandemic and were a credit to Hillingdon Council. 

 

In keeping with the issued guidance, the majority of adult social work staff had worked remotely from late March through to July.  However, a core group of social workers and managers had remained at the Civic Centre throughout to work alongside colleagues from other departments, including the Contact Centre and the Quality Assurance Team.  Whether social workers had been working remotely or office-based, service delivery had been maintained throughout.  This had been aided by consistently high levels of staff availability.

 

The Coronavirus Act 2020 had introduced the concept of Care Act easements which allowed local authorities to vary certain statutory duties to ensure essential service delivery.  Thanks to the dedication of its staff, the London Borough of Hillingdon had not needed to utilise these powers as Adult Social work had continued to provide its full range of statutory services throughout the pandemic, including: issuing Deprivation of Liberty orders; undertaking Safeguarding Adult enquiries; making representation to the Court of Protection; Mental Health Act assessments; arranging and reviewing care and support; and assisting with new ways of working in relation to hospital discharge.

 

Early in the pandemic, there had been a marked increase in care management referrals, primarily driven by residents requiring alternatives to day centre/social provision and/or changes to the availability of informal carers.  There were 48 registered care homes offering 1,486 beds available in Hillingdon; 1,337 of these were for older people and 149 of these were for people living with a learning disability and/or mental health problem.

 

To support hospital discharges (and also care homes) in managing infection control, 18 flats in a Council-owned extra care sheltered housing scheme had been made available for use as step-down for both people with and without a COVID-19 diagnosis from the beginning of April.  Additionally, a 9-bed Council-owned residential respite scheme had also been temporarily repurposed from April until the end of June for use as step-down for COVID-19 positive people.  Both facilities had supported people for whom it might not be appropriate for them to return to the care home setting they were in prior to a hospital admission.  To date, 31 residents had used these services.

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council had fully supported its providers and Hillingdon Social Care had been the first in London to reach out and offer practical and financial support to care providers who had sent in a number of compliments.  Additionally, Adult Social Care had continued to provide services throughout and had not needed to make use of any of the guidance which relaxed statutory requirements, and in turn reduce service levels, which was a credit to the Council’s senior management, the Director of Adult Social Care and the authority’s front line staff.

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council had continued to provide pro-active and rapid response support services to victims of domestic abuse to help keep them and their families safe from harm.  Commissioned, granted funded and other voluntary sector services had remained fully operational during the height of the lockdown period and the period that had followed.  This included the Hillingdon IDVA service, the Domestic Abuse MARAC for high risk cases and the Council's children's services Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub.  Helplines had remained fully open for victims, as had arrangements to make the homes of victims safer through the installation of safety measures.

 

There had been a notable increase in victims of domestic abuse reporting concerns during the period of lockdown.  The number of domestic abuse incidents reported to the Police had increased by approximately 14 additional incidents per month during the pandemic.  There had been:

·         an 8% increase in referrals to the Hillingdon Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy (IDVA) Service.  188 high risk domestic abuse referrals had been received in the period 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020;

·         a 15% increase in referrals to the Domestic Abuse Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC), with 151 referrals of high risk cases during the period 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020;

·         a 37% increase in Police MERLIN (safeguarding) reports relating to domestic abuse, with 737 referrals in the period 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020;

·         an additional 48 Council tenants requiring support and assistance with domestic abuse concerns (a rise of 117%) - 89 tenants had been supported in the period 1 April 2020 to August 2020, compared to 41 during the same period last year.

 

Councillor Palmer had been particularly proud of the way that Hillingdon officers had worked with the Police and other partners in commissioning a Crimestoppers communication campaign, the only borough in London to do so during this pandemic.  The initiative had been operational from 21 May to 2 July and involved some digital mediums and public space / outdoor advertising in popular areas.  The online material had been viewed 5,045,835 times and the total estimated reach of the outdoor campaign was 982,527 people.

 

This Council would never let up in its support for the victims of abhorrent domestic abuse and Councillor Palmer placed on record her thanks to Councillor Janet Gardner for her excellent work and commitment to the cause.  She also thanked Jackie Robertson and Jerry Campbell whose commitment to this cause played a huge role in keeping Hillingdon’s most vulnerable residents safe from harm. 

 

There was no supplementary question.

To consider Motions submitted by Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12

8.1       MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR SWEETING

 

Councillor Sweeting moved, and Councillor Mathers seconded, the following motion:

 

“That this Council recognises the sacrifice of all from this borough who died in the Great War and who are listed on the memorials and church plaques across the borough, by completing the Council's book of remembrance entitled "We Will Remember Them." This to be accomplished by including in that commemorative book those men who died in that war and whose names are listed on the plaque in St Martin's Church West Drayton. This to be achieved by way of an addendum to the book of remembrance which would then be printed and publicised.

 

“These local men, who fought and died for their country, have, up to now been forgotten by this Council as this plaque which records their names has been completely omitted from the only book published by Hillingdon Council to remember its war dead from the Great War.

 

“We, the living, can correct that and make true the words, "Lest We Forget."”

 

Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot moved, and Councillor Bianco seconded, the following amendment:

 

To add the following at the end of the Motion:

 

“Given the current Conservative Administration's enviable record of protecting and promoting heritage in Hillingdon, particularly military history, Council request that this matter be referred to the Cabinet to enable full and accurate facts to be considered and appropriate action taken.”

 

Following debate (Councillor Duncan), the amended motion was put to a vote and carried.  The substantive motion then read as follows:

 

“That this Council recognises the sacrifice of all from this borough who died in the Great War and who are listed on the memorials and church plaques across the borough, by completing the Council's book of remembrance entitled "We Will Remember Them." This to be accomplished by including in that commemorative book those men who died in that war and whose names are listed on the plaque in St Martin's Church West Drayton. This to be achieved by way of an addendum to the book of remembrance which would then be printed and publicised.

 

“These local men, who fought and died for their country, have, up to now been forgotten by this Council as this plaque which records their names has been completely omitted from the only book published by Hillingdon Council to remember its war dead from the Great War.

 

“We, the living, can correct that and make true the words, "Lest We Forget."

 

“Given the current Conservative Administration's enviable record of protecting and promoting heritage in Hillingdon, particularly military history, Council request that this matter be referred to the Cabinet to enable full and accurate facts to be considered and appropriate action taken.”

 

Councillor Mathers moved, and Councillor Curling seconded, the following amendment to the substantive motion:

 

To delete the following:

 

“Given the current Conservative Administration's enviable record of protecting and promoting heritage in Hillingdon, particularly military history,”

 

The amendment to the substantive motion was put to the vote and lost.  The substantive motion was therefore carried and it was:

 

RESOLVED:  That this Council recognises the sacrifice of all from this borough who died in the Great War and who are listed on the memorials and church plaques across the borough, by completing the Council's book of remembrance entitled "We Will Remember Them." This to be accomplished by including in that commemorative book those men who died in that war and whose names are listed on the plaque in St Martin's Church West Drayton. This to be achieved by way of an addendum to the book of remembrance which would then be printed and publicised.

 

These local men, who fought and died for their country, have, up to now been forgotten by this Council as this plaque which records their names has been completely omitted from the only book published by Hillingdon Council to remember its war dead from the Great War.

 

We, the living, can correct that and make true the words, "Lest We Forget."

 

Given the current Conservative Administration's enviable record of protecting and promoting heritage in Hillingdon, particularly military history, Council request that this matter be referred to the Cabinet to enable full and accurate facts to be considered and appropriate action taken.

 

8.2       MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR CURLING

 

Councillor Curling moved, and Councillor Dhillon seconded, the following motion:

 

“That this Council expresses its deep sorrow at the senseless killing of Tashan Daniel, who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack at Hillingdon Underground Station on 24 September 2019. Council notes that Tashan was a very talented young man, who was a keen athlete training regularly at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium with the aim of training for the Olympics. He was also a professional photographer, with a passion for football, athletics and photography.

 

“That this Council also notes that the Tashan Daniel campaign is running a petition on Change.org to get the Hillingdon Athletics Stadium renamed “The Tashan Daniel Athletics Stadium” in his memory and as a lasting tribute and memorial.

 

“Tashan was a much-loved young man, a much cherished friend to many and a well-respected member of the community, he was very much someone that Hillingdon should be very proud of. Council therefore agrees that the stadium should be renamed in in the memory of, and as a tribute to Tashan Daniel.”

 

Councillor Sir Ray Puddifoot moved, and Councillor Bianco seconded, the following amendment:

 

To delete the last sentence:

 

“Council therefore agrees that the stadium should be renamed in memory of, and as a tribute to Tashan Daniel”.

 

and replace with:

 

“Council therefore agrees that this matter is referred to the Leader of the Council to consider renaming the stadium or, in consultation with Tashan's family, taking action to ensure that something more positive is achieved in memory of Tashan, preferably by 22 September, which would have been Tashan's 21st birthday. Such action to include; supporting young aspiring athletes and achievers, combating knife crime and an appropriate memorial.”

 

Following debate (Councillors Eginton and Lakhmana), the amended motion was put to the vote and it was:

 

RESOLVED:  That this Council expresses its deep sorrow at the senseless killing of Tashan Daniel, who was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack at Hillingdon Underground Station on 24 September 2019. Council notes that Tashan was a very talented young man, who was a keen athlete training regularly at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium with the aim of training for the Olympics. He was also a professional photographer, with a passion for football, athletics and photography.

 

That this Council also notes that the Tashan Daniel campaign is running a petition on Change.org to get the Hillingdon Athletics Stadium renamed “The Tashan Daniel Athletics Stadium” in his memory and as a lasting tribute and memorial.

 

Tashan was a much-loved young man, a much cherished friend to many and a well-respected member of the community, he was very much someone that Hillingdon should be very proud of. Council therefore agrees that this matter is referred to the Leader of the Council to consider renaming the stadium or, in consultation with Tashan's family, taking action to ensure that something more positive is achieved in memory of Tashan, preferably by 22 September, which would have been Tashan's 21st birthday. Such action to include; supporting young aspiring athletes and achievers, combating knife crime and an appropriate memorial.