Agenda item
TO CONSIDER MOTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
The motions submitted by Councillors for debate at this meeting are set out in the attached report.
Decision:
12.2 The Council’s Constitution
Councillor Joshua Peck moved, and Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda. More than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the motion in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The motion was put to a recorded vote and was agreed with 35 for, nil against and 14 abstentions, as set out in the resolution below.
DECISION
This Council notes:
· That the power to amend the Council’s Constitution is reserved to Full Council.
· That a number of constitutional issues have arisen since the introduction of the Mayoral Model in Tower Hamlets.
This Council resolves:
· To add the Employment Strategy, Enterprise Strategy, Waste Strategy and Parks Strategy to the list of strategies reserved to Full Council.
· To require the appointment of local authority school governors to be approved by the General Purposes Committee
· To make the consideration of amendments to the Council's constitution a responsibility of the General Purposes Committee
· That engagement of Chief Officers, to permanent positions or interim positions of over three months, will be through the normal recruitment process overseen by the HR Committee
· To rename the Chair of Council, the Speaker of Council and designate the Speaker the Borough's First Citizen.
· To affirm the order of precedence for civic events in the Council’s Constitution, with the Borough's First Citizen representing the Council at Civic Ceremonial functions in the Borough including:
Visits of the Royal Family and dignitaries
Civic receptions, luncheons and dinners
Funeral or memorial services
Religious services
Prize givings
And events outside the Borough including:
Lord Mayor of London’s events
Invitations from other First Citizens to their Borough.
London Mayor’s Association Events
This would not preclude the attendance and involvement of the Mayor and/or other Councillors.
(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)
12.3 Recording of Council Meetings
Councillor Tim Archer moved, and Councillor David Snowdon seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
More than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the motion in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The motion was put to a recorded vote and was agreed with 27 for, nil against and 21 abstentions.
DECISION
This Council notes:
· it already has the ability to record meetings of the full Council without incurring additional cost
· that it is the decision of full Council as to whether meetings can be recorded; but
· that officers have advised that the quality of video and audio recordings using the existing equipment may be poor.
This Council believes:
· that the recording of full meetings of the Council would act as a strong incentive to ensure proper conduct of members as well as members of the public present
· recordings of full meetings of the Council could be a useful resource to settling disagreements arising from these meetings.
This Council agrees:
· that for a trial period of 3 months all meetings of the full council be audio recorded and stored.
· that at the end of the trial period the quality of the recordings be reviewed and in the light of this a decision be made on whether to record future meetings, and if so whether to publish the recordingson the website.
(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)
12.7 Supporting the Trade Unions in their campaign to defend the Local Government Pension Scheme
Councillor Anna Lynch moved, and Councillor Bill Turner seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Councillor David Snowdon moved, and Councillor Tim Archer seconded, a tabled amendment.
The amendment was put to the vote and was defeated.
The motion as printed in the agenda was then put to the vote and was agreed.
DECISION
The Council notes:
· That all unions involved in the LGPS have agreed to ballot for industrial action as part of an unprecedented alliance of Public Sector Unions that could see 3 million workers striking together in November to defend the LGPS.
The Council further notes:
· That local branches of the Trade Unions are actively campaigning together for the purpose of:
- returning a ‘yes vote’ in their respective ballots;
- publicising the negative and unfair impact of what this government is proposing in relation to public sector pensions;
- challenging misinformation disseminated by this government about the unaffordability of the LGPS.
This Council resolves to:
· Pledge our support to the Trade Unions in their campaign to defend the LGPS and we agree to join demonstrations and picket lines in Tower Hamlets in support of industrial action.
· Make a public statement of support in relation to this.
(Action by: Chris Naylor, Corporate Director, Resources)
12.8 Questions to the Mayor at Council meetings
Councillor Peter Golds and Councillor Tim Archer altered the wording of their motion in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.8.1. Following debate on the motion as amended, this was put to the vote and was agreed as set out in the resolution below.
DECISION
This Council notes that the Mayor has reserved all decision making to himself and that no Council member has any delegated authority.
This includes Councillors who are designated Cabinet Members but, as has been confirmed by officers, have no authority to make any decision.
Therefore it follows that questions by Councillors regarding Council policy and decisions taken by Mayor should be answered by the Mayor himself, whilst ensuring that the Mayor is not restrained in his right to address the meeting.
The Council therefore resolves to amend Standing Order 12.2 to achieve this end and to read:
12.2 Questions on Notice at Full Council. Subject to rule 12.3, at an Ordinary or Extraordinary meeting of the Council a Member may ask the Chair, the Mayor or the Chair of any Committee or Sub Committee a question about any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the borough. Questions at an Extraordinary Council meeting must relate to a matter on that agenda.
Questions relating to Executive functions and decisions taken by the Mayor will be put to and should be answered by the person responsible for those decisions, namely the Mayor, unless he delegates such a decision to another member who will therefore be responsible for answering the question.
In the absence of the Mayor the Deputy Mayor will answer questions directed to the Mayor.
(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)
12.9 Former Jewish Maternity Hospital
Councillor Judith Gardiner moved, and Councillor Helal Uddin seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Following debate, the motion was put to the vote and agreed as the resolution set out below.
DECISION
This Council notes:
· That the former Jewish Maternity Hospital, known affectionately as ‘Mother Levy’s’, was the only Jewish Maternity hospital in England and located in four separate buildings in Underwood Road.
· That the buildings form part of the few remaining examples of the built evidence of the Jewish East End and as such are of important historical significance.
· That Peabody Housing Trust are legally entitled to apply to demolish the site and have applied for a ‘prior notice of demolition’ on the site, with the view to applying for permission to build a five storey block of 33 flats rent, shared ownership and sale on the open market.
· That Peabody has a duty to optimise the amount of housing they provide but also to protect the Borough’s heritage.
This Council further notes:
· An online petition which has been signed by over 400 people including local councillors opposing the demolition.
· That several notable individuals such as the Director of Jewish Heritage UK, Chairs of the East London History Society and Jewish East End Celebration Society and local Councillors have written to the Chief Executive of Peabody asking him to at least spare the cottages and convert them to family homes.
This Council resolves:
· To call on the Mayor to urgently negotiate with Peabody Homes to prevent the demolition.
· To call on Peabody to reconsider their designs to spare the cottages or part of the façade to preserve the heritage of the buildings.
(Action by: Jackie Odunoye, Interim Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)
12.10 East End Homes
Councillor Dr Emma Jones and Councillor Tim Archer altered the wording of their motion in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.8.1. Following debate on the motion as amended, this was put to the vote and agreed as set out in the resolution below.
DECISION
This Council notes that
1. A Council-organised meeting was held between East End Homes residents, councillors and representatives of East End Homes on 11th April 2011. A representative of EEH was also in attendance.
2. The minutes of this meeting clearly show that each estate felt that improvements in resident involvement and representation on EEH’s board were needed urgently.
3. The St George’s estate has currently undergoing extensive construction work and it is important during this time that the estate is democratically represented.
4. Currently the EEH management board does not have a representative elected by St George’s estate residents.
This Council believes that:-
1. RSLs have a responsibility to ensure democratically elected representation for tenants, leaseholders and freeholders on estate management boards.
2. The election of resident representatives to the Main Board of EeH is documented in the Memorandum & Articles of Association of the Company and is integral to the Council’s original intention in establishing EeH as a stock transfer organisation.
This Council resolves to:
1. Urge EeH in the strongest possible terms to hold elections in each local estate area for resident representatives to the Main Board within six months.
(Action by: Jackie Odunoye, Interim Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)
12.13 Social Care
Councillor Rachael Saunders moved, and Councillor Lesley Pavitt seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury moved, and Councillor Kabir Ahmed seconded, an amendment – “That the first line of paragraph 2 following ‘This Council notes’ be amended to read: ‘That the Council agreed to take …’ (remainder as printed) and the first line of paragraph 4 following ‘This Council believes’ be amended to read: ‘That the Council having agreed the savings proposals …’ (remainder as printed).”
More than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the amendment in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The amendment was put to a recorded vote and was defeated with 14 for, 26 against and 8 abstentions.
The substantive motion was then put to the vote. More than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The substantive motion was put to a recorded vote and was agreed with 27 for, nil against and 21 abstentions, as shown in the resolution below.
DECISION
This Council notes:
1. That we are in a time of significant change in how social care is provided in Tower Hamlets, with reablement and personalisation changing how people relate to services.
2. That the Independent Mayor chose to take a significant proportion of the Tory led government’s cuts from domiciliary care - £2,731,000 through reducing demand for domiciliary care through reablement and cutting the in house domiciliary care service and £1,390,000 through re-commissioning.
This Council believes:
1. That whilst there are steps that can be taken to make legitimate savings – block contracts rather than expensive spot purchasing, and increasing the independence of some service users through intensive early support, there are significant concerns.
2. The move to reablement must be driven by what is best for vulnerable people, not cost cutting.
3. That the in house service was widely recognised as an excellent service and that any contracted care that replaces it must be commissioned on the basis of the same high standards.
4. That the Independent Mayor, having put forward his savings proposals, had a responsibility to keep them on track – delays in making savings mean further unplanned cuts to vital services.
5. That the people of Tower Hamlets deserve an explanation for why the domiciliary care contracts were delayed. This cost circa £800,000 – money that will now have to be cut from elsewhere.
6. That since October 2009 all new long term packages of home care support have been commissioned from external suppliers.
7. That, as a part of the budget process, the Independent Mayor rowed back on his original proposal to end all in house provision of domiciliary care other than reablement.
8. That some long term service users of in house domiciliary care packages are now being moved on to contracted out care providers at their annual reviews, and some are not, and are being permitted to stay in house.
This Council resolves:
1. To call on the Independent Mayor for transparency on how decisions are made on which long term service users retain in house provision, and which move to contracted provision.
2. To call on the Independent Mayor for a halt on moving people away from in house provision until councillors and the public have had full public transparency and debate.
3. To continue to speak up for those local people who receiving less than the best quality of care.
4. To call on the Independent Mayor for answers on the £800,000 of unnecessary cuts.
(Action by: Stephen Cody, Interim Corporate Director, Adults’ Health and Wellbeing)
12.21 Affordable Rent
Councillor
Helal Uddin
moved, and Councillor Judith Gardiner seconded, the motion as
printed in the agenda.
The motion as printed in the agenda was put to the vote and was agreed.
DECISION
This Council notes:
1. According to its own Housing Strategy, Tower Hamlets faces an “immense” set of housing challenges including almost 10,000 overcrowded households living in its social rented housing. The chronic shortage of affordable housing in Tower Hamlets is a crisis for the health, economic prospects and wellbeing of its citizens.
2. Under Labour control, the Council responded to this crisis by consistently building more affordable homes than any other London borough.
3. The Tory-led coalition government has made huge cuts to the affordable housing budget. To make up the shortfall, most new state subsidised homes will be signi?cantly more expensive and less secure than traditional social rented homes - up to 80% of market rents and with tenancies as short as two years. This new tenure is called “Affordable Rent”.
4. As well as most new homes being “Affordable Rent”, the government has also given its approval for housing associations to “convert” existing social-rented homes to the new Affordable Rent level when they become vacant, further reducing the number of genuinely affordable homes for those who need them.
This Council believes:
1. “Affordable Rent” is yet another example of the Tory party’s obsession with decimating our stock of social housing - this time by racking up rents to make sure that the people who need social housing most are the ones who miss out.
2. Tower Hamlets Council’s number one housing priority must be to build more homes that its residents can afford and want to live in. It must do this in the context of an economic recession that has sti?ed the housebuilding industry, and a government and a Mayor that are strongly opposed to the ideals of the welfare state.
3. There are opportunities to tweak “Affordable Rent” to make it more workable for a particular area. For example, family-sized properties could be charged at 50% of market rents if a housing association can charge higher rents on smaller properties. Alternatively, the Council could contribute some land in return for lower rents once the homes are build.
4. There are other ways to build social housing, e.g. through section 106 agreements. However, these are unlikely to deliver the volume of new homes that we need.
This Council Resolves:
1. To call on the Mayor to publish a clear and transparent policy covering the following:
a. maximum permitted
rent levels for each size of property in each ward of Tower
Hamlets
b. how the Council
will evaluate each proposal for “Affordable Rent” homes
in Tower Hamlets
c. to oppose housing
associations “converting” existing social rented homes
to Affordable Rent, and in what circumstances
2. To call on the Mayor to make a commitment only to support bids for HCA funding that deliver homes those on our Housing Waiting List can afford to rent and which keep the number of re-lets at these higher rent levels to an absolute minimum;
3. To call on the Mayor to remove from Tower Hamlets Council’s list of Preferred Partners for future development, any housing association submitting a bid for HCA funding which would result in either new homes or re-lets costing 70 per cent or more of a market rents;
4. To call on the Mayor to instruct officers not to agree to any amendment to the legal Transfer Agreement between the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and a stock transfer RSL enabling the later to let former council homes at non-social rent levels;
5. To call on the Mayor to report back to Full Council on the outcome of this year’s bidding round for HCA funding, within three months of any decisions being announced.
(Action by: Jackie Odunoye, Interim Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)
Motions 12.1; 12.4; 12.5; 12.6; 12.11; 12.12; 12.14; 12.15; 12.16; 12.17; 12.18; 12.19; 12.20; 12.22 and 12.23 were not considered due to the time limit being reached. Tabled amendments to motions 12.1 and 12.4 were not moved, accordingly.
Minutes:
Change to Order of Business
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman moved, and Councillor Joshua Peck seconded, a procedural motion – “That under procedural Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to allow motions 12.2, 12.13 and 12.21 to be considered as next business.”
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
12.2 The Council’s Constitution
Councillor Joshua Peck MOVED, and Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda.
At this point more than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the motion in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The motion was therefore put to a recorded vote and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the motion (35 Councillors)
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rajib Ahmed
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul Islam
Councillor Ann Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Dr Emma Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Anna Lynch
Councillor Mohammed Abdul Mukit MBE
Councillor Ahmed Omer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury (The Chair of Council)
Against the motion (nil Councillors)
Abstained (14 Councillors)
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shelina Aktar
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Abdul Asad
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Councillor Maium Miah
The motion was accordingly agreed and it was:-
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
· That the power to amend the Council’s Constitution is reserved to Full Council.
· That a number of constitutional issues have arisen since the introduction of the Mayoral Model in Tower Hamlets.
This Council resolves:
· To add the Employment Strategy, Enterprise Strategy, Waste Strategy and Parks Strategy to the list of strategies reserved to Full Council.
· To require the appointment of local authority school governors to be approved by the General Purposes Committee
· To make the consideration of amendments to the Council's constitution a responsibility of the General Purposes Committee
· That engagement of Chief Officers, to permanent positions or interim positions of over three months, will be through the normal recruitment process overseen by the HR Committee
· To rename the Chair of Council, the Speaker of Council and designate the Speaker the Borough's First Citizen.
· To affirm the order of precedence for civic events in the Council’s Constitution, with the Borough's First Citizen representing the Council at Civic Ceremonial functions in the Borough including:
Visits of the Royal Family and dignitaries
Civic receptions, luncheons and dinners
Funeral or memorial services
Religious services
Prize givings
And events outside the Borough including:
Lord Mayor of London’s events
Invitations from other First Citizens to their Borough.
London Mayor’s Association Events
This would not preclude the attendance and involvement of the Mayor and/or other Councillors.
Change to Order of Business
Councillor Tim Archer MOVED, and Councillor Craig Aston SECONDED, a procedural motion – “That under procedural Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to allow motion 12.3 to be considered as next business.”
More than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the procedural motion in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. A recorded vote was therefore taken and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the motion (34 Councillors)
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rajib Ahmed
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul Islam
Councillor Ann Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Dr Emma Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Anna Lynch
Councillor Mohammed Abdul Mukit, MBE
Councillor Ahmed Omer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury (The Chair of Council)
Against the motion (3 Councillors)
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Abstained (12 Councillors)
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shelina Aktar
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Abdul Asad
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Maium Miah
The procedural motion was accordingly agreed.
12.3 Recording of Council Meetings
Councillor Tim Archer MOVED, and Councillor David Snowdon SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Following debate, more than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the motion in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The motion was therefore put to a recorded vote and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the motion (27 Councillors)
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rajib Ahmed
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul Islam
Councillor Ann Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Anna Lynch
Councillor Mohammed Abdul Mukit, MBE
Councillor Ahmed Omer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury (The Chair of Council)
Against the motion (nil Councillors)
Abstained (21 Councillors)
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Abdul Asad
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Dr Emma Jones
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Councillor Maium Miah
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
The motion was therefore agreed. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
· it already has the ability to record meetings of the full Council without incurring additional cost
· that it is the decision of full Council as to whether meetings can be recorded; but
· that officers have advised that the quality of video and audio recordings using the existing equipment may be poor.
This Council believes:
· that the recording of full meetings of the Council would act as a strong incentive to ensure proper conduct of members as well as members of the public present
· recordings of full meetings of the Council could be a useful resource to settling disagreements arising from these meetings.
This Council agrees:
· that for a trial period of 3 months all meetings of the full council be audio recorded and stored.
· that at the end of the trial period the quality of the recordings be reviewed and in the light of this a decision be made on whether to record future meetings, and if so whether to publish the recordingson the website.
Extension of time limit for the meeting
Councillor Rachael Saunders MOVED, and Councillor Lesley Pavitt SECONDED, a procedural motion – “That under Procedure Rule 15.11.7 the meeting continue for a further 10 minutes, or until motion 12.13 has been considered, whichever is the sooner.” The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
12.13 Social Care
Councillor Rachael Saunders MOVED, and Councillor Lesley Pavitt SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury MOVED, and Councillor Kabir Ahmed SECONDED, an amendment – “That the first line of paragraph 2 following ‘This Council notes’ be amended to read: ‘That the Council agreed to take …’ (remainder as printed) and the first line of paragraph 4 following ‘This Council believes’ be amended to read: ‘That the Council having agreed the savings proposals …’ (remainder as printed).”
Following debate, more than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote on the amendment in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. A recorded vote was therefore taken and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the amendment (14 Councillors)
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shelina Aktar
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Abdul Asad
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Councillor Maium Miah
Against the amendment (26 Councillors)
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rajib Ahmed
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul islam
Councillor Anne Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Mohammed Abdul Mukit, MBE
Councillor Ahmed Ohmer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury (The Chair of Council)
Abstained (8 Councillors)
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor Dr Emma Jones
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
The amendment was accordingly defeated.
On the substantive motion being put to the vote, more than 10 Members rose from their seats to request a recorded vote in accordance with Procedural Rule 17.4. The substantive motion was therefore put to a recorded vote and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the motion (27 Councillors)
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rajib Ahmed
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul Islam
Councillor Ann Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Mohammed Abdul Mukit, MBE
Councillor Ahmed Omer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury (The Chair of Council)
Against the motion (nil Councillors)
Abstained (21 Councillors)
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shelina Aktar
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Abdul Asad
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Dr Emma Jones
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Councillor Maium Miah
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
The motion was therefore agreed. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
1. That we are in a time of significant change in how social care is provided in Tower Hamlets, with reablement and personalisation changing how people relate to services.
2. That the Independent Mayor chose to take a significant proportion of the Tory led government’s cuts from domiciliary care - £2,731,000 through reducing demand for domiciliary care through reablement and cutting the in house domiciliary care service and £1,390,000 through re-commissioning.
This Council believes:
1. That whilst there are steps that can be taken to make legitimate savings – block contracts rather than expensive spot purchasing, and increasing the independence of some service users through intensive early support, there are significant concerns.
2. The move to reablement must be driven by what is best for vulnerable people, not cost cutting.
3. That the in house service was widely recognised as an excellent service and that any contracted care that replaces it must be commissioned on the basis of the same high standards.
4. That the Independent Mayor, having put forward his savings proposals, had a responsibility to keep them on track – delays in making savings mean further unplanned cuts to vital services.
5. That the people of Tower Hamlets deserve an explanation for why the domiciliary care contracts were delayed. This cost circa £800,000 – money that will now have to be cut from elsewhere.
6. That since October 2009 all new long term packages of home care support have been commissioned from external suppliers.
7. That, as a part of the budget process, the Independent Mayor rowed back on his original proposal to end all in house provision of domiciliary care other than reablement.
8. That some long term service users of in house domiciliary care packages are now being moved on to contracted out care providers at their annual reviews, and some are not, and are being permitted to stay in house.
This Council resolves:
1. To call on the Independent Mayor for transparency on how decisions are made on which long term service users retain in house provision, and which move to contracted provision.
2. To call on the Independent Mayor for a halt on moving people away from in house provision until councillors and the public have had full public transparency and debate.
3. To continue to speak up for those local people who receiving less than the best quality of care.
4. To call on the Independent Mayor for answers on the £800,000 of unnecessary cuts.
Extension to time limit for the meeting
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman MOVED, and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED, a procedural motion – “That under Procedure Rule 15.11.7 the meeting continue for a further 10 minutes, to enable consideration of motion 12.21.” The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
NOTE: Councillor Carli Harper-Penman, having declared a prejudicial interest in the next item, left the Council Chamber before consideration thereof.
12.21 Affordable Rent
Councillor
Helal Uddin
MOVED, and Councillor Judith Gardiner SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Following debate, Councillor Judith Gardiner MOVED, and Councillor Bill Turner SECONDED, a procedural motion – “That under Procedural Rule 14.1.10 the question be now put.” The procedural motion was then put to the vote and was agreed.
The substantive motion was then put to the vote and was agreed. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
1. According to its own Housing Strategy, Tower Hamlets faces an “immense” set of housing challenges including almost 10,000 overcrowded households living in its social rented housing. The chronic shortage of affordable housing in Tower Hamlets is a crisis for the health, economic prospects and wellbeing of its citizens.
2. Under Labour control, the Council responded to this crisis by consistently building more affordable homes than any other London borough.
3. The Tory-led coalition government has made huge cuts to the affordable housing budget. To make up the shortfall, most new state subsidised homes will be signi?cantly more expensive and less secure than traditional social rented homes - up to 80% of market rents and with tenancies as short as two years. This new tenure is called “Affordable Rent”.
4. As well as most new homes being “Affordable Rent”, the government has also given its approval for housing associations to “convert” existing social-rented homes to the new Affordable Rent level when they become vacant, further reducing the number of genuinely affordable homes for those who need them.
This Council believes:
1. “Affordable Rent” is yet another example of the Tory party’s obsession with decimating our stock of social housing - this time by racking up rents to make sure that the people who need social housing most are the ones who miss out.
2. Tower Hamlets Council’s number one housing priority must be to build more homes that its residents can afford and want to live in. It must do this in the context of an economic recession that has sti?ed the housebuilding industry, and a government and a Mayor that are strongly opposed to the ideals of the welfare state.
3. There are opportunities to tweak “Affordable Rent” to make it more workable for a particular area. For example, family-sized properties could be charged at 50% of market rents if a housing association can charge higher rents on smaller properties. Alternatively, the Council could contribute some land in return for lower rents once the homes are build.
4. There are other ways to build social housing, e.g. through section 106 agreements. However, these are unlikely to deliver the volume of new homes that we need.
This Council Resolves:
1. To call on the Mayor to publish a clear and transparent policy covering the following:
a. maximum permitted
rent levels for each size of property in each ward of Tower
Hamlets
b. how the Council
will evaluate each proposal for “Affordable Rent” homes
in Tower Hamlets
c. to oppose housing
associations “converting” existing social rented homes
to Affordable Rent, and in what circumstances
2. To call on the Mayor to make a commitment only to support bids for HCA funding that deliver homes those on our Housing Waiting List can afford to rent and which keep the number of re-lets at these higher rent levels to an absolute minimum;
3. To call on the Mayor to remove from Tower Hamlets Council’s list of Preferred Partners for future development, any housing association submitting a bid for HCA funding which would result in either new homes or re-lets costing 70 per cent or more of a market rents;
4. To call on the Mayor to instruct officers not to agree to any amendment to the legal Transfer Agreement between the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and a stock transfer RSL enabling the later to let former council homes at non-social rent levels;
5. To call on the Mayor to report back to Full Council on the outcome of this year’s bidding round for HCA funding, within three months of any decisions being announced.
Motions 12.1; 12.4; 12.5; 12.6; 12.11; 12.12; 12.14; 12.15; 12.16; 12.17; 12.18; 12.19; 12.20; 12.22 and 12.23 were not considered due to the time limit being reached. Tabled amendments to motions 12.1 and 12.4 were not moved, accordingly.
Supporting documents: