Agenda Order

During the meeting, Members agreed to change the order of business. To aid clarity the minutes are presented in the order items appear on the Agenda. At the meeting Agenda Item 12.1 (Motion on Tower Hamlets- A Go-to Borough) was taken after Agenda Item 7 (Administration Motion for Debate). Agenda Item 8 (Opposition Motion for Debate) followed thereafter.

Council also adjourned for a 15-minute prayer break at 20:48 to 21:04 in between Item 12.1 and Item 8.

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 attended several events, including an art exhibition showcasing artwork of secondary school pupils, as well as participating in sport awards, book launches and citizenship ceremonies. Other highlights included:

·       Attending Iftar meals during the holy month of Ramadan;

·       Hosting the Lord Mayor and his visit to Billingsgate market for the annual rent payment ceremony;

·       Commemorating Altab Ali day; and

·       Meeting the winners of the Civic Awards at a ceremony held in early April.

Finally, the Speaker congratulated Councillor Iqbal Hossain, Alibor Choudhury, from the Mayor’s Office, Raadiyah Hussain and Ethan Cowles from Supporting Families as well as other staff and residents who took part in the London Marathon.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Amy Lee and Councillor Asma Begum.

Councillor Asma Begum and Councillor Ayas Miah joined the meeting online.

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.

Cllr Marc Francis and Cllr Rachel Blake declared a Non-Registerable Interest in Agenda Item 12.1 (Motion on Tower Hamlets – a Go To Borough) in that the matter under discussion affected a body they had registered as a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest. They left the meeting once the interest had been identified during discussion of that item.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 24^th January 2024, the Budget Meeting of the Council held on 28^th February 2024 and the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 20^th March 2024.

The Council RESOLVED to:

1.    Agree the minutes of the ordinary Council meeting of 24^th January 2024, the Budget meeting minutes of 28^th February 2024 and the extraordinary meeting minutes of 20^th March 2024 be approved as a correct record of the proceedings and the Speaker was authorised to sign them accordingly.

Steve Halsey, Chief Executive provided an update to the Council meeting, highlighting the following issues:

·       Steve Halsey thanked the Elections team, polling clerks and count staff for their work on the London Assembly elections. He said he had visited over 20 polling stations on the day of the election and was pleased to see the elections conducted in such a positive way.

·       He also stated the Leisure Service had been insourced and re-branded as “Be Well” as of the 1^st May. He said the service would be providing holistic programmes for older people, people with long-term conditions as well as women and girls so as to increase participation and ensure all groups had access to good leisure services.

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.

5.1 Petition to Defend Free Speech and Democracy

Alex Owolade and Shanaz Akhtar Chowdhury presented their petition relating to defending Free Speech and Democracy. Mr Owolade said many people in the community had concerns relating to the government’s Prevent programme. He said the Prevent programme targeted the Muslim community and was an Islamophobic policy which restricted free speech.  He said this had become more acute due to the on-going war in Palestine. He said there had been incidents where innocent comments have been misconstrued, resulting in harsh action under the prevent programme.

He asked the Mayor of Tower Hamlets to meet with local community groups so they could share their experience with Prevent and for Tower Hamlets to make a stand against the Prevent policy.

Members asked questions of the petitioner before Councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities responded to matters raised in the petition. Councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury stated the Council had a duty to report on the government’s Prevent programme. However, he was aware of some misplaced and misguided referrals. He said the referral team were treating each case robustly and sensitively. He said they were following best practice and guidance, but fully understood the frustration within the community. He said tension had heightened during the current war in Palestine.

The Council RESOLVED:

1.    That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director for Communities 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.

MOTION ON A PROGRESSIVE COUNCIL: TWO YEARS OF TRANSFORMATION AND RECOVERY

Council considered a motion as printed in the tabled agenda on the Council being a progressive council: two years of transformation and recovery that had been moved by Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Maium Talukdar.

Following debate, the tabled motion moved by Councillor Saied Ahmed was put to the vote and was agreed.

The Council RESOLVED to:

This council notes:

·       That two years have passed since the re-election of Mayor Lutfur Rahman and the Aspire group.

·       That these two years have seen huge levels of investment – not only financially, but also of time; energy; and dedication – to ensure that the Council could begin to deliver services and governance worthy of the residents of Tower Hamlets.

·       That upon returning to Office, the Mayor and his Councillors inherited a Council which was financially unstable – with six years of accounts unsigned; £20million of missed savings targets; millions of pounds lent to neighbouring authorities during the COVID-19 and cost-of-living crises; unpaid VAT receipts of over £1million over six years; £11million of unreconciled adult social care payments with significant risk or duplication; spiralling costs to complete the new Town Hall; and grants awarded through single-applicant processes. There were also governance issues – with five years of unsigned Annual Governance Statements; one-year budget-setting processes; struggling statutory services, reflected in failed Ofsted and Youth Justice reports; rising crime and community safety issues; and a string of interim Corporate Directors in statutory positions, including the Section 151.

·       That public services significantly reduced with minimal resources expended to develop a thriving and accessible network of delivery. Instead, reserves were increased, all while the services available to residents were allowed to decline and – in some cases – disappear completely. 

·       That the introduction of the controversial Fire and Hire Policy by the previous Administration led to a palpable loss of staff morale, likely to be the lowest ever given the 90% support for a strike when Unison held a ballot. The introduction of inferior contracts through the TOWER rewards scheme contributed to a negative impact on workforce. This was reflected in a council-wide strike, involving national Trade Union leaders.

·       That this was compounded in our view by a disconnect between the Mayor’s Office and the then-Corporate Leadership Team, allowing a ‘two-council culture’ to develop, hindering service delivery and strategic clarity in the process.

·       That at the earliest possible opportunity – Full Council July 2022 – this administration called for a ‘Council-wide’ audit to identify the failings that had been hindering delivery; good governance; and fiscal prudency over the previous seven years.

This council believes:

·       That the radical measures taken by the current Administration, to reinvest in key services and clean up bad governance and financial practice across the Council, has led to a recovery and reinvigoration of service delivery and performance across the Authority.

·       That, through the holistic transformation of how the Council sets its budgets – underpinned by a three-year MTFS strategy and  ...  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.

MOTION ON: BEST VALUE INSPECTIONS

Council considered a motion as printed in the tabled papers on the best Value Inspections that had been moved by Councillor Marc Francis and seconded by Councillor Sirajul Islam.

Council also considered the amendment proposed by Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed as set out in the tabled papers.

Additions Underlined

Deletions Struckthrough

This Council notes:

• April 2024 marks the 10^th anniversary of the Government’s decision to instruct PwC to undertake a ‘best value inspection’ of Tower Hamlets Council during Lutfur Rahman’s first term as Executive Mayor;

• Despite opposition from Mayor Lutfur Rahman and Tower Hamlets Council corporately to this audit, PwC concluded that Tower Hamlets Council was failing to comply with its best value duty which the government considered amounted to serious irregularity in the allocation of some grants and the disposal of some council-owned assets, as well as noting the allegations of possible fraudulent payments in the Youth Services Team that were subject to a separate police investigation; The police found no case to answer.

·       As a result of these findings, in December 2014, the former Secretary of State issued directions for independent Commissioners to be sent into Tower Hamlets Council to oversee the award of grants, the sale of assets, publicity and subsequently further directions were issued requiring the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive.

• In April 2015, following Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s removal from office, the former Secretary of State issued further directions which gave the independent Commissioners the powers ‘to ensure that there is effective financial management safeguarding the assets and financial integrity of the Authority’ which amounted to the power to intervene in all significant financial transactions by the authority.

• Independent Commissioners finally ended their role in 2018 after Tower Hamlets Council we believe that under former Mayor John Biggs’ leadership demonstrated significant progress in all the areas in which concerns had been raised by PwC and the Secretary of State; yet it was discovered in 2022, that there were still many significant and easily identifiable issues in these areas, including six years of unsigned Council accounts and five years of unpublished annual governance statements.

• Mayor Lutfur Rahman and Tower Hamlets First / Aspire Councillors have never publicly apologised to the people of Tower Hamlets for the issues revealed by the PwC audit;

·       In December 2023 a local government peer review report identified some positives about Tower Hamlets Council since Lutfur Rahman’s re-election as Executive Mayor, and whilst noting that considerable staff churn at senior managerial level is not uncommon following a change of political and managerial leadership it was important the council now reaches a more settled state. It also highlighted concerns about the lack of women’s voices in decision making and referenced a ‘Two Council Culture’ that impacted on the speed of decision making.

·      As the LGA stated “Fuelling the two-council culture is an evident lack of trust from some members and officers (although it should be noted that this is not at front  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

There were no executive or committee reports for Council to consider at the meeting.

There was no other business for Council to consider at the meeting.

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 council’s outstanding accounts which were left unsigned for 6 consecutive years under the previous administration.

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

All accounts up to and including 2019/20 have been signed off. The 3 remaining outstanding years (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23) have now all been published and are expected to be signed off by the auditors by September 2024.

Supplementary question from Councillor Kamrul Hussain

Can you please state what has been learnt from the unassigned accounts?

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

The cost of six-years of unassigned accounts has been in the region of £2M and rising. The Council has through learning implemented changes to policies and procedures as well as training. The three outstanding accounts are expected to be signed off by September 2024.

11.2 Question from Councillor Mufeedah Bustin

Residents have heard rumours that the administration is planning to turn the Stebondale Street football pitches, in to floodlit pitches available for hire until 9pm at night. Please could the administration confirm what their plans are for the Stebondale pitches.

Response of Councillor Iqbal Hossain Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation

The council is currently looking at the feasibility of installing a 9V9 3G Pitch at Stebondale, in partnership with the Football Foundation.  This will replace the existing under-utilised area.  The proposed facility will include floodlights and will allow the council to deliver a targeted community sport programme for Women and Girls groups, Young people, etc.  We are currently at an early stage of the feasibility, focusing on the logistics of installing such a facility.  Once we know that an artificial pitch is feasible, we will start the consultation process with local residents and potential user groups, and then develop an operational plan accordingly which will include hours of use etc.  Initial indicative designs are expected soon, and we anticipate beginning consultation exercises from the end of May onwards.

Supplementary question from Councillor Mufeedah Bustin

Residents are concerned about the floodlights. Can the lead member say when the consultation will take place?

Response of Councillor Iqbal Hossain Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation

Once the feasibility study had been completed, residents and stakeholders will be consulted.

11.3 Question from Councillor Musthak Ahmed

Can the Lead Member update us on progress with the recommendations following the LGA Corporate Peer Review which took place in September last year?

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

The Local Government Association (LGA) undertook a Corporate Peer Challenge (LGA CPC) for the Council in September 2023. The report, published in December acknowledged the many positive aspects of the organisation’s performance and the motivated and focused staff who work for it. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.1 Motion on Tower Hamlets – A Go-To Borough

Council considered a motion as printed in the agenda on Tower Hamlets – A Go-to Borough that had been moved by Councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.

Following debate, the motion moved by Councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury was put to the vote and was unanimously agreed.

The Council RESOLVED to:

This Council notes:

·       The overwhelmingly positive role that the cooperation and coexistence communities in our borough has played in the identity, spirit and development of Tower Hamlets.

·       The integral and invaluable role that migrants, refugees, and asylum-seeking peoples have played in shaping the history and culture of Tower Hamlets.

·       That those fleeing tyranny, oppression and war – whether they Jewish communities; Huguenots; the Irish, Caribbean, Bangladeshi, and Southeast Asian communities; or Somali communities and many others – have always been welcomed into this Borough, enriched our community, and thrived.

·       That the contribution of these communities to the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of the Borough have changed its identity for the better.

·       That in Tower Hamlets, we enjoy very strong community cohesion, with many

·       different groups living side by side. Our Annual Residents Survey found that 87% of residents said that Tower Hamlets is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together.

·       That these communities have stood together and fought against racism and hatred in every generation: from the Irish, Jewish and working-class cockneys who stood bravely against the fascist Blackshirts in the 1930s; to the Caribbean community that fought against racism in the 50s and 60s; the Bangladeshi and South East Asian community – including the Mayor and many members from across the chamber – who faced down the National Front in the 70s and 80s; and the broad  coalition of communities that expelled the EDL in the 2010s.

·       That from Wapping to Whitechapel; Bow to Bethnal Green; and Canary Wharf to Limehouse, these communities have made all areas of Tower Hamlets a ‘go-to’ place to be. Through art; cuisine; community projects; history; and the mixing and sharing of cultures, this borough exemplifies the best of London, and is a shining example of how diversity and respect brings out the best of residents and their areas.

This Council believes:

·       That recent comments about our borough – underpinned by ignorance; Islamophobia; and division – could not be further from the truth.

·       Tower Hamlets has and should always be a borough where the poor, the tired, the oppressed, and the hungry can come and know they will be welcomed and treated with dignity and respect.

·       That our borough’s diversity and openness represents the best of humanity, and demonstrates that tolerance, respect, and understanding will always produce caring and cooperative places for people to live.

·       That regardless of religion, skin colour, sexual orientation, gender, or belief system, Tower Hamlets will always be a safe place for all its residents.

This Council resolves:

·       To produce an exhibition showcasing the rich  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.