Issue - meetings
TO CONSIDER MOTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
Meeting: 23/01/2013 - Council (Item 12)
12 TO CONSIDER MOTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PDF 130 KB
The motions submitted by Councillors for debate at this meeting are set out in the attached report.
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 ... view the full decision text for item 12
Minutes:
Procedural Motion
Councillor Anwar Khan moved and Councillor Joshua Peck seconded a procedural motion – “That under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be altered to consider Motions 12.3 “Motion regarding fire and police station closures”, 12.6 “Motion regarding Blacklisting of Workers” and 12.9 “Motion regarding Decent Homes Prioritisation“ and then move on to the Exempt part of the meeting. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
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. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED
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.