Agenda item

Councillor Alon or-back introduced the report which considered the council motion as set out in paragraph 1.1 of the report.

The committee discussed the potential implications of the ‘vote leave’ result of the referendum including reports of racial tension in the borough. The Committee noted there were several areas of potential change which could have impact on the council and its partners, but that much was unknown at this stage.

Councillor Alon Or-bach moved a motion which was duly seconded that:

1.    The Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition issue a joint statement reassuring Barnet residents of all backgrounds of their welcome in the borough.

2.    The council work with the Mayor of London to ensure continued access to the single market and ensure London gets a seat on the negotiation table.

3.    That Policy and Resources Committee receive regular reports, as information becomes available to officers, on matters arising from the referendum such as the impact on Barnet, including budget, of government funding; regeneration products; what our lobbying position is; the impact of data from the European Union on Barnet pension funds; and the impact on prices, jobs and growth in Barnet.

With regard to recommendation three, Councillor Richard Cornelius agreed that regular monitoring at Policy and Resources would be helpful. He noted additional matters which Barnet would need to look at very carefully and develop a lobbying position including:

·         Influencing the development of new procurement directives to replace the European procurement directives

·         The EU social fund replacement, what will the new UK model look like and making sure that it does not adversely affect the outer London boroughs such as Barnet, Enfield and Harrow

·         The landfill directive and how it comes forward with waste charges

·         The continuing derogation of the Edmonton incinerator to make sure it can continue operating.

A vote was taken on each of the recommendations in Councillor Ross Houston’s motion.

On recommendation one being put to the vote, the votes were recorded as follows:

For:                 5

Against:         7

Abstain:         0

Recommendation one was therefore lost.

On recommendation two being put to the vote, the votes were recorded as follows:

For:                 5

Against:         7

Abstain:         0

Recommendation two was therefore lost.

On recommendation three being put to the vote, the committee unanimously agreed the recommendation and it was therefore carried.

Immediately following the vote, Councillor Alon Or-bach, supported by three other members, moved that recommendations one and two be referred up to the next meeting of Full Council. The Committee was advised by officers that the Constitution, Responsibility for Functions, paragraph 6.5 states that “a report may not be referred up unless it is key” and that as this did not apply for these recommendations a referral could not be made.

RESOLVED – That Policy and Resources Committee receives regular reports, as information becomes available to officers, on matters arising from the referendum such as the impact on Barnet, including budget, of government funding; regeneration products; what the council’s lobbying position is; the impact of data from the European Union on Barnet pension funds, and the impact on prices, jobs and growth in Barnet.

It was noted that the monitoring and update reports would include consideration of other relevant matters including those noted by Councillor Richard Cornelius.