Agenda and minutes

To appoint a relief Chairman.

1.1          It was moved by the Lord Mayor and seconded by Councillor Paul Swaddle that Councillor Christabel Flight be elected as Relief Chairman.

1.2      Motion put and declared CARRIED.

To sign the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council meeting held on 22 September 2021.

2.1      RESOLVED: The minutes of the proceedings at the Council meeting held on Wednesday 22 September 2021 were, with the assent of the Members present, signed by the Lord Mayor as a true record of the proceedings.

1.            The Lord Mayor to report that, on Thursday September 23^rd he attended a Pride in the City Reception at Guildhall.

2.            The Lord Mayor to report that, on Friday September 24^th, he attended the War Widows Founders Day Service at Wellington Barracks.

3.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Sunday September 26^th, he attended the London Pearly Kings and Queens Society Harvest Festival Service and Reception at St Mary Le Bow Church.

4.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Thursday September 30^th, he attended the Francis Holland ‘Old School House’ Grand Opening at The Old School House.

5.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Friday October 1st, he made Silver Sunday care home visits at various locations across the City.

6.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Sunday October 3^rd, he attended the Silver Sunday Morning Programme at Hyde Park Barracks, Paddington Recreation Ground and the Beethoven Centre.

7.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Thursday October 7^th, he attended a Service of Thanksgiving for Canon Jane Sinclair at Westminster Abbeyand the Burlington Gardens Completion Celebration at Burlington Gardens.

8.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Saturday October 9^th, he attended a reception to mark the 59th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Uganda at the InterContinental and a Westminster Dragoons Reunion Dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club.

9.          The Lord Mayor to report that, on Monday October 11^th, he attended the Edward Wilson School Tree Planting Event (Queen’s Green Canopy Project) at Edward Wilson Primary School.

10.      The Lord Mayor to report that, on Tuesday October 12^th, he attended the Royal British Legion Centenary Service and Reception at Westminster Abbey.

11.      The Lord Mayor to report that, on Sunday October 17^th, he attended the London Mayors’ Association Civic Service at Westminster Abbey.

12.      The Lord Mayor to report that, on Monday October 25^th, he attended the Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Chamber of Commerce Launch at the Terrace Pavilion, House of Commons.

13.      The Lord Mayor to report that, on Friday October 29^th, he attended the Honorary Stewards' Evensong and Reception at Westminster Abbey & Westminster School.

14.      The Lord Mayor to report that on Tuesday November 2^nd, he attended 'Shongram' Screening at the Everyman Cinema Maida Vale.

3.1      The Lord Mayor referred to these as set out on the agenda.

3.2      The Lord Mayor read a statement of condolence on behalf of the City Council in memory of David Weeks, Councillor for Pimlico Wards from 1974 to 1998 and Leader of the Council from 1991 to 1993, following which the Council observed a minute’s silence.

4.1      There were no declarations.

With the approval of the chairman of the meeting, the Leader of the Council may make a statement on an urgent matter and the Leader of the Opposition will have an equivalent right of reply.

5.1      There were no statements on urgent matters

6.1      There were no petitions or deputations received.

The Lord Mayor will call Members who have indicated that they wish to ask a question after the Leader of the Opposition has asked his questions.

7.1      The questions, supplementary questions and replies are included as a recording on the Council’s website.

Councillor Lindsey Hall – Cycle lanes in Westminster and ULEZ expansion in St John's Wood; the impact on local residents & businesses

Councillor Liza Begum – Housing Deprivation

8.1      Cycle lanes in Westminster and the Ultra-Low Emission Zone expansion in St John’s Wood; the impact on local residents and businesses

           Councillor Lindsey Hall spoke and Councillor James Spencer replied.

           Housing Deprivation

           Councillor Liza Begum spoke and Councillor David Harvey replied.

To consider items for debate from the attached Future Policy Plan

9.1      The meeting debated the items chosen for debate from the Future Policy Plan by the Majority Party.

           City Management

9.2      The Majority Party selected item number 105 on the Future Policy Plan, City Management. The debate would be referred to the relevant Executive Director for consideration when reporting on the subject.

           Growth and Economic Development

9.3      The Majority Party selected item number 48 on the Future Policy Plan, Growth and Economic Development. The debate would be referred to the relevant Executive Director for consideration when reporting on the subject.

To receive, consider and debate, if chosen, the following report which contains a recommendation to the Council for approval and adoption.

RESOLVED:

10.1    That the Council adopted the revised Gambling Policy, attached to the report as Appendix 1, in accordance with section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) and agreed it would come into effect on the 31 January 2022.

To receive, consider and debate, if chosen, the following report which contains a recommendation to the Council for decision.

RESOLVED:

11.1    That the Council approved the dates of full Council Meetings, as follows: 18 May 2022 (Annual), 22 June 2022, 21 September 2022, 9 November 2022, 25 January 2023, 8 March 2023 and 17 May 2023 (Annual); and

11.2    That the Programme of other formal Meetings set out in Appendix A be approved.

To be moved by Councillor Pancho Lewis and seconded by Councillor Geoff Barraclough:

This Council notes that in 2019 a Climate Emergency was declared committing the Council to achieving net zero emissions by 2030 with a City-wide goal of 2040.

This Council notes that following the Climate Emergency declaration a draft Climate Action Plan was published outlining how the Council intends to achieve its net zero goals.

This Council believes climate action will not happen unless local communities are at the heart of the decision-making process. Genuine public engagement needs to go deeper than what Westminster has delivered so far, giving more opportunity and time for communities to learn, discuss and make recommendations.

This Council believes the built environment in Westminster has a crucial part to play in addressing the climate crisis. City Plan Policy 36 aims for net zero Carbon on major developments, but most developments in Westminster are classed as minor schemes.

The Council resolves that major policy and spending decisions made by the Council should undergo a ‘Net Zero Test’ to inform the decision-making process and understand their carbon and environmental impact.

The Council resolves to establish a Westminster Climate Assembly that is fully resourced and run by a professional organisation specialising in deliberative engagement and using random stratified sampling to ensure representation according to local demographics. WCC should commit to implementing the solutions proposed wherever possible.

The Council resolves to examine the development of a local climate bond, a crowdfunded financing instrument that would allow Westminster residents to invest in local green projects and enable the Council to diversify its funding sources.

The Council resolves to strengthen its draft Environmental Supplementary Planning Document to include requiring energy assessments for net zero on major schemes (both residential and non-residential); measures to encourage developers to achieve reductions on Part L in minor developments; scrapping policies in favour of onsite parking and setting a presumption in favour of new developments being genuinely car-free; and making it easier for developers to connect new homes to community heating projects.

The Council resolves to set out plans to speed up retrofitting of social housing stock in Westminster, with a particular focus on addressing the 39% of Council homes which currently have single-glazed windows and on transitioning heating and hot water systems to clean sources.

12.1    The Minority Party had selected for debate the notice of motion as set out on the agenda. The notice of motion was moved by Councillor Pancho Lewis and seconded by Councillor Geoff Barraclough.

12.2    Councillor Rachael Robathan moved and it was seconded by Councillor Heather Acton that the notice of motion be amended, as follows:

           This Council notes that in 2019 a Climate Emergency was declared committing the Council to achieving net zero emissions by 2030 with a City-wide goal of 2040.

This Council notes the publication of Westminster’s Climate Emergency Action Plan: Zero Carbon City 2040 in November 2021. that following the Climate Emergency declaration a draft Climate Action Plan was published outlining how the Council intends to achieve its net zero goals.

The Council notes the activity already undertaken in support of its Climate Emergency goals. Most notably the installation of over 1,000 electric vehicle charging points, the facilitation of the micro-distribution hub at Park Lane Car Park and a 60% reduction in the carbon footprint of the council’s equity holdings. Work has also already started to retrofit council-owned homes and buildings with 100 social homes to be retrofitted by March 2022. Action to date has seen an 11% reduction in the council’s own total carbon emissions over the past two years.

This Council recognises that meaningful climate action requires collective action and partnership working and further notes the commitment to establish a Climate and Air Quality Alliance to foster a strong participatory approach. This approach will allow for ongoing engagement throughout the lifetime of the plan and drive impactful collaboration across the city by embedding climate conversations into everything we do and communicating flexibly with our diverse communities. believes climate action will not happen unless local communities are at the heart of the decision-making process. Genuine public engagement needs to go deeper than what Westminster has delivered so far, giving more opportunity and time for communities to learn, discuss and make recommendations.

This Council notes the five priorities set out in the Climate Emergency Action Plan, which target the sources of emissions in the city and respond to the ambitions of our communities and stakeholders. These priorities are:

· efficient buildings

· clean and affordable energy

· reduced consumption and waste

· sustainable travel and transport; and

· a green and resilient city. believes the built environment in Westminster has a crucial part to play in addressing the climate crisis. City Plan Policy 36 aims for net zero Carbon on major developments, but most developments in Westminster are classed as minor schemes.

The Council welcomes the actions set out in the Climate Emergency Action Plan to achieve the goals the Council has committed to. Most notably the development of a Sustainable City Charter to coordinate environmental commitments from major businesses in the city, the impending adoption of the Environmental Supplementary Planning Document to help drive sustainability improvements in new developments, expanding food waste collection across the city in 2022 and electrifying the whole of the council’s waste fleet.

The Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.