The Speaker of the Council, Councillor Jahed Choudhury in the Chair

The Speaker of the Council provided his update to the Council. He noted that he had a lot to learn in his new role however was enjoying the role of first citizen of the Council. He said he had met his fellow civic colleagues from across London at the induction day hosted by the London Mayors’ Association. Other highlights included:

·       The Lord Mayor’s reception and Civic Service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

·       Meeting with the charities that he is supporting this year - St Joseph’s Hospice and Eden Care UK, with a Fundraising dinner later in the year.

·       Attending celebration and achievement ceremonies as well as citizenship ceremonies.  

·       Welcoming and hosting three courtesy calls from commanding officers of ships visiting the docks, with two ships from Mexico and one from France.

The Speaker was saddened to announce the death of Beatty Orwell, who passed away aged 105. Beatty had been a former Tower Hamlets Councillor and served as a Mayoress when her husband John Orwell was Mayor. The Speaker said she was a long-standing activist and was in the frontlines in the Battle of Cable Street. He said that she had spent her lifetime working for the benefit of other and would be sorely missed.

Members of the Chamber observed a minute’s silence in memory of Beatty Orwell.

Finally, the Speaker congratulated the Tower Hamlets Hockey club for their recent achievement, for they were not only winners of the national championship but also picked up the England hockey team of the year award. He said they were a shining example to youngsters in the borough.

Apologies for absence were received from:

·       Councillor Ohid Ahmed

·       Councillor Shubo Hussain

·       Councillor Rachel Blake

Members are reminded to consider the categories of interest, identified in the Code of Conduct for Members to determine; whether they have an interest in any agenda item and any action they should take. For further details, see the attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

Members are also reminded to declare the nature of the interest at the earliest opportunity and the agenda item it relates to. Please note that ultimately it is the Members’ responsibility to identify any interests and also update their register of interests form as required by the Code.

If in doubt as to the nature of an interest, you are advised to seek advice prior to the meeting by contacting the Monitoring Officer or Democratic Services.

Councillor Amin Rahman and Councillor Mushtak Ahmed declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 12.3, and declared they were Board Members of Tower Hamlets Community Housing.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Council and the Extraordinary Meeting of Council held on Wednesday 17 May 2023.

Council RESOLVED to:

1.    Agree the minutes of the extraordinary and ordinary Council meeting of 17^th May 2023 be approved as a correct record of the proceedings and the Speaker was authorised to sign them accordingly.

Announcements from the Chief Executive

The Chief Executive, Stephen Halsey provided his regular update to the Council meeting, highlighting the following issues:

·       Covid and Flu rates remain stable. The Autumn vaccine programme offering a booster is expected nationally for people who are in high-risk groups.

·       Young Tower Hamlets launched on Monday 17^th July, which aims to offer a facility in every ward. Its part of the wider programme of supporting young people including the expansion of free school meals, education maintenance allowance and university bursaries.

·       Tower Hamlets Council had won awards at the Local Government Chronicle awards – including the innovation category by the Crime Reduction Team.

·       The Staff conference held at the Troxy was well attended and was an opportunity to share the aspirations and ambitions of the Council, as it begins its transformation programme.

The Council Procedure Rules provide for a maximum of four petitions to be discussed at an Ordinary Meeting of the Council.

The attached report presents the received petitions to be discussed. Should any additional petitions be received they will be listed to be noted but not discussed.

Petition regarding curbs to infrastructure Projects

Adam Allnutt, Lauma Kalns-Timans and Yesmin Begum presented a petition asking the Council to reserve its decision to cut NCIL funding for infrastructure projects. Especially projects on the Isle of Dogs. Mr Allnutt said it was vital funding for projects that had already been approved were implemented. He asked why funding had been halted.

Members asked questions of the petitioners before Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding responded to matters raised in the petition. He said that some of the projects that had been approved had been nominated by less than twenty people and as such the administration was reviewing the projects to which NCIL money had been allocated.

RESOLVED

That the petition be referred to the Chief Executive for a written response within 28 days.

The Council’s Constitution provides for the Elected Mayor to give a report at each Ordinary Council Meeting.

A maximum of six minutes is allowed for the Elected Mayor’s report, following which the Speaker of the Council will invite the leaders of the opposition groups to respond for up to two minutes each should they so wish. Following those contributions, the Mayor may reply for up to two minutes.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman presented his report to the Council.

The Opposition Group Leader, Councillor Sirajul Islam then responded briefly to the Mayor’s report.

Mayor Rahman provided concluding remarks

To debate a Motion submitted by the Administration in accordance with Rules 11 and 13 of the Council’s Constitution. The debate will last for a maximum of 30 minutes.

YOUNG TOWER HAMLETS

Council considered a motion as printed in the agenda on the Young Tower Hamlets initiative that had been moved by Councillor Maium Miah Talukdar and seconded by Councillor Bodrul Choudhury.

Council also considered the amendment proposed by Councillor Sabina Akhtar and seconded by Councillor Mohammad Chowdhury as set out in the supplementary agenda.

Addition in Bold

Deletions struckthrough

This Council notes:

·       That Mayor Lutfur Rahman, in his previous term as Mayor, oversaw a huge investment of resources into the borough’s youth services – taking young people off the street, giving them educational, cultural, recreational, wellbeing and employment opportunities, and preparing them for adult life.

·       The chronic cuts to, neglect and underfunding of, Tower Hamlets’ youth services during the terms of the previous administration, which resulted in the closure of 70% of all youth centres and attendant services in the borough. And Insert:

·       The previous administration built wealth, knowledge and skills in the community by partnering with the voluntary and community sector to deliver youth services. As they have a track record of delivering high quality youth provision.

·       Insert: That this council’s own studies demonstrated that when communities are empowered, they provide efficient, effective and economical youth services.

·      

·       That this latter point is particularly true in the youngest and most densely-populated borough in the country, where green space is scarce for many communities.

·       That children from lower income households often have worse educational outcomes. A 2021 report found that those children from poorer households and without access to a decent education and extra-curricular activities end up with significant gaps in academic achievement – especially those from BAME backgrounds.

·       That young people in Tower Hamlets have suffered because of the previous administration’s cuts. Insert: Under the previous administration Tower Hamlets had one of the best funded youth services in London and managed to secure more than £1m of funding from the GLA’s MyEnds programme to combat youth violence on the Isle of Dogs.

This Council believes:

·       That the young people of Tower Hamlets deserve the best opportunities to excel, both inside and outside of the classroom.

·       That every ward in Tower Hamlets should have a dedicated youth centre, where children and young people can access services to help them develop skills, as well as their interests and aspirations.

·       That a serious (re-)investment in capital, personnel, and infrastructure is required to deliver these ambitions.

·       And Insert: Modern youth services are most effective when they are delivered through strategically located centres equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to engage and support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To debate a Motion submitted by the Opposition Group in accordance with Rules 11 and 13 of the Council’s Constitution. The debate will last for a maximum of 30 minutes.

WOMEN’S SAFETY

Council considered a motion as printed in the agenda on Women’s safety that had been moved by Councillor Sabina Khan and seconded by Councillor Rebeka Sultana.

Council also considered the amendment proposed by Councillor Abu Chowdhury and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed as set out in the supplementary agenda.

Additions – Bold

Deletions – Struckthrough

This Council notes:

·       That many women and girls in Tower Hamlets face harassment, assault and violence in public and private spaces, which affects their freedom, dignity and wellbeing.

·       That Tower Hamlets has very high levels of domestic abuse and sexual offences reported to the police, as well as 14 domestic homicides since 2011.

·       In Tower Hamlets on average 6000 Domestic abuse incidents reported to the police each year.

·       Last year 2,082 sexual offences were reported, of that 1348 were non rape offences and 734 rape offences.

·       That improving women’s safety is the responsibility of everyone, especially men, and requires more action from the Council and its partners.

·       That for some time now the council’s service offer around women’s safety has been far too limited, and that this lack has only been exacerbated by austerity measures occurring over the last 7 years such as the closing of the Jagonari centre.

·       That the mayor Lutfur Rahman acknowledges these historic failings and has already demonstrated a commitment to reversing trends of service cutting by identifying new funding options for crucial VAWG services such as our women’s criminal justice pathway coordinator role and investing community safety resources in a new series of ground-breaking digital women’s safety walks.

·       That the mayor has taken personal responsibility for the development of a new VAWG strategy being produced for 2024, which under the direct oversight of the newly hired Women and Equalities Officer, is intended to set a new standard for direct government intervention in issues of violence against women and girls.

This Council resolves to:

·       Launch a public advertising campaign to raise awareness and challenge violence against women and girls, and to communicate the Council’s commitment to women’s safety using council communications and the public relations departments of partner agencies. The campaign should also promote positive messages about consent, respect and healthy relationships, and encourage bystander intervention. This campaign will also focus on intersectionality in women’s safety, prioritising the needs of LGBTQI women, BAME women, and women involved in sex work and/or sexual exploitation in line with the mayor’s equalities priorities.

·       Strengthen the enforcement partnership between the Council, the Police and other agencies, and use innovative anti-social behaviour legislation to fine individuals who harass and cat-call women on our streets. The partnership should also work to improve the reporting, investigation and prosecution of domestic abuse and sexual offences, and provide specialist training for frontline staff.

·       Support the work being done to build a mayor’s anti-crime task force that will strive to build specialisation around VAWG and women’s safety issues into our local enforcement service, while also increasing the capacity of our THEO service to respond to issues  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee setting out their Annual Report to Council.

Councillor Mushtak Ahmed, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee presented the annual report. He outlined the achievements of the Committee before members added their comments.

RESOLVED

Council AGREED to:

1.    Note the annual report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To consider the report from the Corporate Parenting Board setting out its Annual Report to Council.

Councillor Maium Miah Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning introduced the report. He stated the report highlighted the achievements of the Corporate Parenting Board. Members of the Council commented on the report.

RESOLVED

Council AGREED to:

1.    Note the content of the Corporate Parenting Board Annual Report.

Nil items.

Nil Items.

The questions which have been received from Councillors to be put at this Council meeting are set out in the attached report.  A maximum period of 30 minutes is allocated to this agenda item.

The following questions and in each case supplementary questions were put

(except where indicated) and were responded to by the Mayor or relevant

Executive Member.

11.1    Question from Councillor Kamrul Hussain.

Can the Lead Member provide an update on the ongoing costs accrued by the council in redressing the failure to sign off the council accounts under the last administration?

Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living

Thank you for your question. You won’t be surprised to learn that the costs incurred on the financial statements from 2016/17 through to 2019/20 (4-years) accrued amount to £3.1m.  This money could be invested to resolve the Borough’s overcrowding issue and other worthy causes. The previous administration has admitted a considerable expense has been accrued because of the mismanagement of the accounts.

Supplementary question from Councillor Kamrul Hussain.

How soon will the accounts be signed off? 

Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living

The 2016/17 and 2017/18 accounts have been signed off however the following three years accounts – 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 are yet to be signed off. Officers are working with Deloitte to address one final issue and it’s hoped that these can be signed off shortly.

11.2    Question from Councillor Mohammad Chowdhury.

We are facing an unprecedented housing crisis in the borough. I have been contacted by many private tenants that their landlord is turning their rented accommodation into Airbnb accommodation for more profit. Some of these private tenants will be homeless soon, which, in turn, enhances the current crisis. Could the lead member for Housing tell us their plan to regulate the increase of Airbnb or similar holiday accommodations in the borough?

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding

Tackling the housing crisis is a clear priority for the council, as set out in the Mayor’s manifesto and the Strategic Plan.

Regarding the regulation of Airbnb and other holiday lettings, unfortunately there are limitations on what we can do. Currently in London it is possible to let out a residential (use class C3) property as a short term let for up to 90 days a year without planning permission and it is extremely difficult to monitor and enforce against those who let out their properties for longer than that 90-day limit.

The Government have recently consulted on the possibility of introducing a new use class for short term lets, although it is not clear that any of the measures consulted on will help the situation in London. But we are proactively looking at that and will continue to explore the powers we can utilise as a council to make the best use of the borough’s housing stock.

11.3    Question from Councillor Shafi Ahmed.

Can the Mayor or Lead Member please update on the progress of the LBTH Local Plan refresh, and what he hopes to see achieved in the outcomes of this process?

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Motions 12.1 to 12.4 were not considered due to lack of time.