Decision details
TO CONSIDER MOTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
Decision Maker: Council
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Decision:
12.3 Motion regarding Fire and Police Station Closures
Councillor Abdal Ullah moved, and Councillor Denise Jones seconded, the motion as printed on the agenda and subject to an amendment as tabled.
Councillor Shahed Ali moved a further amendment:- “That the Council additionally (i) notes the tragic deaths of two fire fighters based in the borough in 2004; and (ii) believes that the proposed reduction in fire engines is an insult to the families of those fire fighters.”
Councillors Abdal Ullah and Denise Jones accepted the first part of Councillor Ali’s proposed amendment and altered their motion accordingly.
In relation to the proposal contained in the motion to invite the Borough Commanders to address a Council meeting, the Service Head Democratic Services advised the meeting that the Council Procedure Rules did not specifically provide for this and that the Council meeting was subject to a strict time limit. It may therefore be more appropriate for a separate briefing to take place outside the formal meeting. Councillors Abdal Ullah and Denise Jones agreed and further altered their motion accordingly.
The motion as so amended was put to the vote and was agreed.
DECISION
This Council notes:
-
That the first duty of politicians is to protect
residents.
-
That crime has been increasing in Tower Hamlets and
across London.
-
In 2009/10 there were 26,989 crimes reported in
Tower Hamlets, in 2010/11 there were 28,670 and in 2011/12 there
were 29,485. This represents over a 9% increase.
-
Last year Tower Hamlets had by
far the greatest number of fires in London (1,523) as well as the
5th highest call outs for specialist fire services (1,821) and the
3rd highest for false alarms (2,586).
- In total in 2011/12 there were 5,930 call outs attended by Tower Hamlets Fire Brigade.
- The tragic deaths of two fire fighters based in the borough in 2004.
This Council Further Notes:
- Boris Johnson has proposed £65m cuts to the London Fire Brigade and over £300m cuts to the London Police Service budget.
Fire Brigade
- That the Mayor of London announced earlier this month that he proposed closing Bow fire station and halving the number of fire engines at Whitechapel fire station.
- The cuts for Tower Hamlets Fire Brigade come on top of additional cuts to neighbouring boroughs with Silvertown in Newham (1 pump) and Kingsland in Hackney (2 pumps) both earmarked for closure. This will have a significant impact on Tower Hamlets’ ability to deal with major incidents.
- Last year the target set by Tower Hamlets Fire Brigade for fires in the home was 227 however the actual number of these fires was 308, this is over 35% higher.
Police Service
-
Tower Hamlets lost 58 PCSOs (45%) and 103 Police Officers (13%) between
March 2010 and April 2012.
-
The London Mayor, Boris Johnson has proposed closing
half of the borough’s police stations, Bow, Poplar and the
Isle of Dogs, as well as reducing the service at the Limehouse police station from 24 hours to daytime
only.
-
The positive impact of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams
introduced by the Labour Government and Labour Council in Tower
Hamlets. That the SNTs helped to not
only reduce crime in Tower Hamlets but also increased public
confidence in the police.
- Boris Johnson’s plans to cut Safer Neighbourhood Teams to the bone by cutting the teams to one police officer and one police community support officer per ward, down from six officers and staff at present.
This Council Believes:
-
Closing Bow fire station and reducing the service at
Whitechapel as well as closing half of the borough’s police
stations is reckless and a dereliction
of the Mayor’s duty to protect residents.
- The levels of high density housing in Tower Hamlets makes the threat and potential loss of life from fire much greater than in more less densely populated boroughs. This, paired with the fact that Tower Hamlets already has the highest rate of fires in London makes the Mayor’s proposed closures completely irresponsible.
- Boris Johnson has chosen to pursue a political gimmick in giving Londoners a 7p a week cut in Council Tax which will result in massive cuts to the vital services they rely on.
This Council Resolves:
-
To condemn the Mayor of London’s deep cuts to
fire and police stations in the borough.
-
To support Labour’s 999 SOS campaign against
the cuts to police and fire stations in Tower Hamlets.
-
To invite the Police Borough Commander to attend a
meeting with all Councillors, open to the public and held in the
Chamber immediately prior to the next, post-budget, Full Council
meeting to brief councillors on the Mayor of London’s police
station closures proposals and their impact on crime levels in
Tower Hamlets.
- To invite the Fire Brigade Borough Commander to attend a meeting with all Councillors, open to the public and held in the Chamber immediately prior to the next, post-budget the next, post-budget, Full Council meeting to brief councillors on the Mayor of London’s fire station closures proposals and their impact on the fire brigade’s ability to responds to fires in Tower Hamlets.
(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)
12.6 Motion regarding Blacklisting of Workers.
Councillor Joshua Peck moved, and Councillor Bill Turner seconded, the motion as printed on the agenda and subject to an amendment as tabled.
The motion as so amended was put to the vote and was agreed.
DECISION
This Council notes:
-
The GMB campaign to highlight that
3,213
workers were blacklisted by construction firms and which calls for
all of those affected to be given an unreserved apology and
compensation by the firms.
-
That in 2009 the Information Commissioners Office
(ICO) seized a database of 3,213 construction workers used by 44
companies to vet new recruits and keep out employment trade union
and health and safety activists.
-
That of the 3,213 workers identified on the
blacklist only 194 have been informed that they appear on the
list.
-
Of the 194 people identified as featuring on the
blacklist, 39 of these were based or attempting to find work in
London.
- That some companies have admitted that they did employ a system of blacklisting workers and have apologised but have refused to pay any compensation to those workers affected.
This Council believes:
-
Blacklisting is an unacceptable practice which
cannot be condoned.
-
That the construction firms which engaged in
blacklisting should apologise to those who have been affected and
denied jobs as a result of the list.
- That the Information Commissioners Office should inform all those who feature on the blacklist.
This Council resolves:
-
To support the GMB campaign against the blacklisting
of construction workers.
-
To call on the Mayor to make clear to all
construction companies bidding for Council contracts that any
unlawful blacklisting of workers will not be tolerated.
- To ask Legal Services to explore how to enable the council to not contract with companies that have engaged in blacklisting and haven't paid compensation to workers.
(Action by: Isabella Freeman, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services))
12.9 Motion regarding Decent Homes Prioritisation
Councillor Marc Francis moved, and Councillor John Pierce seconded, the motion as printed on the agenda.
The motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
DECISION
This Council notes:
-
Brodick
House on the St Stephen’s Estate is the last
big tower block remaining in the ownership of Tower Hamlets
Council;
-
It is home to 130 households (121 tenants and nine
leaseholders) across 22 storeys;
-
Brodick
House was completed in 1968 and most flats within it
still retain the original kitchen and bathroom;
-
The block has suffered from persistent problems with
water penetration for many years and an ineffective storage heating
system that tenants have to supplement with expensive electrical
heaters;
-
These problematic conditions undermine the health,
education and life chances of the hundred or so children in
Brodick House and the well-being older
residents;
-
In 2005, Old Ford Housing Association demolished two
similar blocks on the Monteith Estate
(Antrim House and Cavan House) and upgraded the remaining (Clare
House) at a cost of around £6 million;
-
In 2010, East End Homes upgraded two similar blocks
(Berkeley House and Grafton House) at a cost of around £10
million each;
-
The reduction in Government funding for Tower
Hamlets Council’s remaining estates means that, in Years 1
and 2, it has concentrated resources on those homes that are
easiest to bring up to the Decent Homes Standard;
- The Budget indicates that £25 million should be available for Decent Homes works in 2013/14 and £45 million in 2014/15.
This Council believes:
-
The Conservative – Lib Dem Coalition
Government is wrong to force councils to prioritise works on those
properties with least problems;
- Tenants in Brodick House have suffered too long in very poor conditions and that improvements to the block, including new kitchens, bathrooms, and a new heating system should be a council priority.
This Council resolves:
- To call on the Mayor to commit to prioritise the most in need blocks, such as Brodick House, in the Decent Homes programme for 2013/14 and 2014/15.
Motions 12.1, 12.2, 12.4, 12.5, 12.7, 12.8 and 12.10 – 12.18 were not considered due to lack of time.
Publication date: 05/02/2013
Date of decision: 23/01/2013
Decided at meeting: 23/01/2013 - Council
Accompanying Documents: