To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Abdul Matin and Abdul Munim.

NB:  The Order of Business was varied during the course of the meeting but for ease of reference, the decision sheet is in the same order as the agenda.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Abdul Matin and Abdul Munim.

RESOLVED

That the apologies for absence be noted.

To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992.  See attached note from the Chief Executive.

Please see minutes.

Councillors made declaration of interest in items included on the agenda as follows:

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 27^th January 2010, the Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 3^rd March 2010 at 7.00 pm and the Budget Council Meeting held on 3^rd March at 7.30 pm.

DECISION

That the minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 27^th January, the extra ordinary meeting on 3^rd March and the Budget meeting on 3^rd March, 2010 be confirmed as correct records of the proceedings and the Mayor be authorised to sign them accordingly.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 27^th January 2010, the extraordinary meeting on 3^rd March 2010 and the Budget meeting on 3^rd March 2010 be confirmed as correct records of the proceedings and the Mayor be authorised to sign them accordingly.

Please see minutes.

(1)               Announcement by the Mayor

The Mayor referred to the fact that this was the last Council meeting before the elections.  He expressed the hope that many of the Councillors present would be back in the Chamber for the Annual Council Meeting on 26^th May 2010 and took the opportunity to thank all Councillors for their contributions over the past four years on behalf of the people of Tower Hamlets; and to express his gratitude to the Council for allowing him to serve the borough as Mayor during the current year. 

The petitions and deputations that have been received for presentation to the meeting are set out in agenda item 5 attached.

PETITIONS

5.1.1       Petition re: postal votes

Mr. Terry McGrenera addressed the meeting in support of the petition.   Members asked questions of the petitioners and the Lead Member then responded to the issues raised.  

DECISION

That the petition be referred to the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) for a written response on any outstanding matters with 28 days.

(Action by: Isabella Freeman, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services)

5.1.2       Petition re: the future use of Habanos Wine Bar

Mr Ian Dick addressed the meeting in support of the petition.  Members asked questions of the petitioners and the Lead Member then responded to the issues raised.  

DECISION

That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development and Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.

(Action by: Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)

5.1.3       Petition re: 2 Jubilee Street

Ms. Lynsey Ellard addressed the meeting in support of the petition.  Members asked questions of the petitioners and the Lead Member then responded to the issues raised.  

DECISION

That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development and Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.

(Action by: Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)

DEPUTATIONS

5.2.1       Deputation re: resident parking permits for 62-80 Swaton Road

Mr. Stephen Foster and Mr. Nurul Amin addressed the meeting in support of the deputation.  Members asked questions of the deputation and the Lead Member then responded to the issues raised.  

DECISION

That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Communities, Localities and Culture for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.

(Action by: Stephen Halsey, Corporate Director, Communities, Localities and Culture)

5.2.2       Deputation re: clamping system for John Smith Mews

This deputation was withdrawn.

5.2.3   Deputation re: Crown Estate

This deputation was not heard as the deputation did not attend the meeting.

PETITIONS

5.1.1       Petition regarding postal voting

At the invitation of the Mayor, Mr. Terry McGrenera addressed the meeting in support of the petition as set out in the agenda.  Mr McGrenera then responded to questions from Members of the Council. 

Councillor Joshua Peck, Deputy Leader of the Council, said that since the elections held in 2006 the government had implemented new Regulations requiring dates of birth and signatures to be registered by electors in advance of the election.  Stringent checks had been put in place by the Elections Team in respect of postal vote applications as they arrive in the office.  All electors who apply are advised in writing that an application has been received.  Checks are also made by the Election Team where the elector has requested that the ballot paper be sent to an alternative address.  When ballot paper packs are returned, the postal voting statement is separated from the ballot paper envelope and 100% are scanned to match signatures and dates of birth before the ballot paper is accepted.  

RESOLVED

That the petition be referred to the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) for a written response on any outstanding matters with 28 days.

5.1.2       Petition regarding the future use of Habanos Wine Bar

At the invitation of the Mayor, Mr Ian Dick, speaking on behalf of Janet Wade,  addressed the meeting in support of the petition as set out in the agenda.  Mr. Dick then responded to questions from Members of the Council.

Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Lead Member for Resources and Performance, thanked Mr. Dick for bringing this matter to his attention.  He was also aware that these concerns had been brought to the attention of the Chief Executive who had provided a detailed response and he assured the petitioner that he was aware of the strength of feeling of the residents in the locality.  The Council was restricted in the interventions available to it and the use was long established in planning terms and was protected from planning enforcement.  He was aware that that a series of conditions were being imposed by the Council which were geared to protecting residential amenity.  He added that he was keen to ensure that this property was brought back into use whilst minimising the detrimental affect on neighbouring residents. 

RESOLVED 

That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development and Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.

5.1.3       Petition regarding the use of 2 Jubilee Street, E1 by Turangalila

At the invitation of the Mayor, Ms. Lynsey Ellard, on behalf of Ms. Deborah Coughlin, addressed the meeting in support of the petition as set out in the agenda.  Ms. Ellard then responded to questions from Members of the Council.

Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Lead Member for Resources and Performance, said that the site was currently being held for the provision of a Centre for Independent Living and was not therefore available.  The Council had submitted a bid  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The questions which have been received from members of the public are set out in agenda item 6 attached.  There is a maximum time limit of 30 minutes for this agenda item. 

6.1             Question from Mr. Terry McGrenera to the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Joshua Peck re: the complaints system

6.2             Question from Mr. Graham Collins to the Lead Member Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis re: Rosefield Gardens and Kemps Drive

6.3             Question from Ms. Francesca Preece to the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families, Councillor Abdul Asad re: youth services in Bow West

6.4             Question from Mrs. Hazjera Khatun to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis re: overcrowding/housing waiting list.

6.5             Question from Ms. Joanna Buckman to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis re: Spitalfields surgery

6.6             Question from Sally Hone to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis re: conditions on planning applications

6.7             Question from Mr. Adrian Lockwood to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Frances re: car free zone area at Green Dragons Yard

The above questions and oral supplementary questions where put, were responded to by the relevant Lead Members.  In relation to question 6.4, the question was not put at the meeting in the form submitted.  The member of the public in attendance, who was not the original questioner, posed a different question, notice of which had not been given and this was therefore ruled out of order.  The Lead Member nevertheless responded to the general issues raised.  

(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

6.1             Question from Mr. Terry McGrenera to the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Joshua Peck

“Is the complaints procedure itself a cause for complaint?”

Response by the Lead Member, Councillor Joshua Peck

No.  The Council operates a procedure that has been accredited to International Standard, Complaints Management System ISO 10002:2004.  It is also accredited with the Customer Service Excellence award. 

Internal motoring of complaint volumes, response times and escalation rates; identifying learning opportunities & best practice, directorate reviews and service specific reviews all contribute to the Council's complaints monitoring and service improvement initiatives.

I also report regularly to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on this matter.  

Summary of supplementary question from Mr. McGrenera:

I made a complaint about an officer and it was referred to that officer to investigate.  What is the point of the complaints system?

Summary of Lead Member’s reply: 

That sounds unlikely but if you provide the details I will look into the matter.  The complaints procedure has three stages and if, having gone through each stage you are still then dissatisfied, you can complain externally to the Local Government Ombudsman. 

6.2             Question from Mr. Craig Aston (represented by Mr. Graham Collins) to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis

“Can the Lead Member inform me when security doors will be fitted on the entrances to 2 – 40 Rosefield Gardens and 1 – 31 Kemps Drive and when urgent decoration will be carried out on the ceilings in the public corridors of these blocks?”

Response by the Lead Member, Councillor Marc Francis

The £7.5 million Estate Improvement Programme agreed by Cabinet in 2008 has been put to very good use over the past two years. Around 200 of the dirtiest council blocks have been deep cleaned and repainted.  This good work has been carried out in our remaining council estates spread fairly across the Borough and this includes the Bazley Estate and the St Matthias Estate on East India Dock Road.

However, I have personally noted the failing paint coating to the ceiling areas in Rosefield Gardens during my two recent inspections of the Birchfield Estate and Tower Hamlets Homes noted these for inclusion in a future external decoration programme once a budget for the programme has been identified and confirmed.

I have been advised by the Repairs Manager that the water logged roof of the store shed area has been dealt with and since been cleared. 

With regard to the residents request for a security door on the block which leads to Thornfield House, we have a large existing committed programme of security door systems to be progressed in the capital programme and, subject to the agreement of residents themselves, we will seek to include this block for possible inclusion into the programme when the next future opportunity arises.  In the mean time I have asked the major works door entry engineer to visit the block and provide a feasibility report on whether such a security door can be fitted.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(Maximum of 30 minutes allowed)

The questions which have been received from Councillors are set out in agenda item 7 attached.  There is a maximum time limit of 30 minutes for this agenda item.

7.1             Question from Councillor Muhammad Abdullah Salique to the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families, Councillor Abdul Asad re: improvement in educational achievements in the last 4 years

7.2             Question from Councillor Tim Archer to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis re: allocation of Section 106 money

7.3             Question from Councillor Alibor Choudhury to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Lutfur Rahman re: achievements of the Council’s 6 political priorities in the last two years

7.4             Question from Councillor Abjol Miah – This question was withdrawn (see below)

7.5             Question from Councillor Ann Jackson to the Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Rofique Ahmed re: protection of the borough’s heritage over the last 4 years

7.6             Question from Councillor Stephanie Eaton to the Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, Councillor Abdal Ullah re: the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in Tower Hamlets

7.7             Question from Councillor Bill Turner to the Lead Member for Regeneration, Localisation and Community Partnerships, Councillor Rania Khan re: the participatory budgeting events in the LAP areas

7.8             Question from Councillor David Snowdon to the Lead Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Ohid Ahmed re: the Council’s budget

The above questions, and oral supplementary questions where put, were responded to by the relevant Lead Members.

Question 7.4 was withdrawn as a motion on the same subject had already been debated.  Due to the lack of time, questions 7.9 – 7.26 were not put.  Written responses will be forwarded to the questioners.

(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

7.1             Question from Councillor Muhammad Abdullah Salique to the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families, Councillor Abdul Asad

Can the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families outline how educational achievement has improved in the last 4 years under this Labour administration for Key stage 1,2,3, GCSE and A-Levels, where there has been investment in the bricks and mortar of the borough’s schools and where this money has come from?

            Response of the Lead Member

The borough’s Children’s Centres, primary and secondary schools have benefited from significant investment over the past four years. This has meant improvements to existing facilities, as well as brand new facilities for Tower Hamlets’ children and young people aged 0–18 and their families. Almost £67m of investment has gone into improving primary and secondary schools through the Primary Capital and Building Schools for the Future programmes while £7.25m has gone into building 23 Children’s Centres across the borough.

Additional investment of £56m is also planned for the coming year, 2010-11. This will see investment of £18 million in two of the borough’s secondary schools during the course of 2010-11 and will result in much improved facilities in the coming years. The brand new school at St Paul’s Way will open in January 2011 and will provide state of the art facilities for pupils and the wider community. Investment in our Children Centre’s is critical to outcomes in the early years and investment in schools is key to raising attainment and breaking cycles of poverty, both features of our work to tackle child poverty in the borough.

While the funding for these programmes comes largely from central government grants the Council has, on occasion, contributed additional investment to both primary and secondary capital works. This includes the £6.5m provided to the BSF programme to fund a community space at St Paul’s Way School.

In recent years we have seen some impressive outcomes at all Key Stages. For example, 69% of 7 year olds (Key Stage 1) are now achieving level 2b in reading – an improvement in the last four years from 63% – while 71% are achieving level 2 in maths (compared to 64% in 2006/07.) Progression by 2 levels in maths between KS1 and KS2 has also improved – up from 79% in 2006/07 to 87% in the latest set of results. This compares to 81% nationally with Tower Hamlets improving faster than the national rate.

Since 2006/07 the achievement of Level 4 and above in English and maths at age 11 (Key Stage 2) has improved by 3% percentage points to 74% which is 2 percentage points above the national outcome and a particularly impressive result for the borough’s primary schools.

Summer 2009 also saw our best ever GCSE results continuing our strong upward trend. On the 5+ A*-C grade GCSEs including English and maths measure we achieved 46% compared to 51% nationally. This is a massive improvement on the 2006/07 result of 34% and means Tower  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Independent Chair of the Standards Committee, Mr Barry O’Connor, to present the annual report of the committee.

The annual report of the Standards Committee was tabled.  The Independent Chair of the Committee, Mr Barry O’Connor, addressed the meeting. 

DECISION

That the annual report of the Standards Committee be noted.

(Action by: Isabella Freeman, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services)

The annual report of the Standards Committee was tabled and the Independent Chair of the Committee, Mr Barry O’Connor, addressed the meeting. 

Councillors Lutfur Rahman and Stephanie Eaton each commended Mr. O’Connor on the work of the Standards Committee and thanked the members of the Committee for their contribution to the work of the authority.

RESOLVED

That the annual report of the Standards Committee be received.

11.2         Motion proposed by Councillor Alex Heslop regarding support for the co-operative and social enterprise sector

Councillor Alex Heslop MOVED and Councillor Denise Jones SECONDED the motion as printed in the agenda.  With the agreement of the meeting Councillor Alex Heslop amended his motion by the addition of a further bullet point under ‘This Council resolves’ as follows:-

“Promote within primary and secondary schools the importance of co-ops locally and internationally in addressing the issues of poverty, community empowerment and democratic governance through supporting the work of the Humanities Education Centre.”

On being put to the vote the motion as altered by Councillor Heslop was agreed.  Accordingly it was:

RESOLVED

This Council recognises that there is a diverse and healthy co-operative sector in Tower Hamlets with a combined turnover of approximately £50 million and also appreciates the important role that co-operatives and other social enterprises can play in community and economic regeneration initiatives.  Although there are many successful co-operative enterprises operating in Tower Hamlets such as Tower Hamlets Community Credit Union, Tower Hamlets CDA and Greenwich Leisure (effectively a workers co-op), as well as several food co-ops and housing co-operatives, there is not a single Council officer with a specific remit or indeed expertise for working with the co-operative & social enterprise sectors.

This Council resolves to do the following:

·        Allocate responsibility for supporting the co-operative & social enterprise sectors to the Lead Member for Regeneration as well as a designated Council officer who will promote and support new mutual models for the provision of community services, including housing, pre-school childcare, residential and home care, recycling and leisure.  Made possible through service reviews, externalising, or re-contracting services and procurement procedures.

·        Organise an annual event to celebrate International Co-operatives Day in partnership with the local Co-operative Movement; this could also involve the Tower Hamlets Partnership and its Creating and Sharing Prosperity Community Plan Action Group.

·        Develop procurement strategies that make a direct link between the Community Plan and other strategic objectives and contract specifications ensuring that community benefits can be fully integrated into the procurement process.

·        Work with the Co-operative Sector and London Development Agency to improve access to finance and support for socially and mutually owned businesses.

·        Work with staff and unions on a partnership basis in the creation of new cooperative services

·        Promote within primary and secondary schools the importance of co-ops locally and internationally in addressing the issues of poverty, community empowerment and democratic governance through supporting the work of the Humanities Education Centre.

There is no business to conduct under this agenda item.

There was no business under this heading.

There was no business under this heading.

To carry out a review of proportionality and allocation of seats on committees as required following a change in political composition of the Council.  The report of the Service Head, Democratic Services is attached.

Councillor Lutfur Rahman moved and Councillor Joshua Peck seconded an amendment to the recommendations set out in the report.  This was agreed and the substantive recommendations as amended were agreed as follows:

DECISION

1.         That the review of proportionality at paragraph 3 of the report be noted and the allocation of seats on committees and panels established for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2009/10 be agreed as set out at paragraph 4.2.           

2.         That Members and deputies be appointed to serve on the committees and panels affected by this change in accordance with the nominations from the political groups to be notified to the Assistant Chief Executive.

3.         That Councillor Fazlul Haque be removed as Chair of the Audit Committee and Councillor Salim Ullah be removed as Chair of the Appeals Committee.

4.         That no appointments be made to the Chair these Committees until the start of the 2010/11 municipal year

5.         That Councillor Fazlul Haque be removed as the Council’s representative to the board of Tower Hamlets Homes, to be replaced by Councillor Sirajul Islam.

(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

Councillor Lutfur Rahman MOVED and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED the recommendations in the report.  

Councillor Peter Golds then MOVED and Councillor Azizur Rahman Khan SECONDED an amendment – “That Councillor Stephanie Eaton replace Councillor Fazlul Haque as Chair of the Audit Committee for the remainder of the municipal year, with no SRA to be paid.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was lost.

Councillor Stephanie Eaton then MOVED and Councillor Tim Archer SECONDED a further amendment – “That Councillor Peter Golds replace Councillor Salim Ullah as Chair of the Appeals Committee for the remainder of the municipal year, with no SRA to be paid.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was lost.

Councillor Lutfur Rahman then MOVED and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED a further amendment to the recommendations set out in the report as follows:-  

“That Councillor Fazlul Haque be removed as Chair of the Audit Committee and Councillor Salim Ullah be removed as Chair of the Appeals Committee;

That no appointments be made to the chair of these Committees until the start of the 2010/11 municipal year; and

That Councillor Fazlul Haque be removed as the Council’s representative to the board of Tower Hamlets Homes, to be replaced by Councillor Sirajul Islam.”

On being put to the vote the amendment was agreed.

A vote was then taken on the substantive motion as amended, and was agreed.  Accordingly it was

RESOLVED

1.         That the review of proportionality at paragraph 3 of the report be noted and the allocation of seats on committees and panels established for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2009/10 be agreed as set out at paragraph 4.2.           

2.         That Members and deputies be appointed to serve on the committees and panels affected by this change in accordance with the nominations from the political groups to be notified to the Assistant Chief Executive.

3.         That Councillor Fazlul Haque be removed as Chair of the Audit Committee and Councillor Salim Ullah be removed as Chair of the Appeals Committee.

4.         That no appointments be made to the Chair these Committees until the start of the 2010/11 municipal year

5.         That Councillor Fazlul Haque be removed as the Council’s representative to the board of Tower Hamlets Homes, to be replaced by Councillor Sirajul Islam.

To agree the dates of Council, committee and other meetings for the forthcoming municipal year.  The report of the Service Head, Democratic Services is attached.

DECISION

That the proposed programme of meetings for the municipal year 2010/11 be approved as set out at Appendix A to the report.

(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

Councillor Lutfur Rahman MOVED and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED the recommendation as set out in the report.

Councillor Peter Golds then MOVED and Councillor Tim Archer SECONDED an amendment as follows:-

“We believe that all council meetings should start at 7.30 p.m. to give more time to residents attending to get to the Town Hall from their work commitments; and

We believe that there should be at least one more full council meeting a year.  We propose this take place on the first Wednesday on November – 3^rd November 2010.”

On being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

The original motion was then put to the vote and was agreed.  Accordingly it was:-

RESOLVED

That the proposed programme of meetings for the municipal year 2010/11 be approved as set out at Appendix A to the report.

To adopt the Scheme of Members’ Allowances for the financial year 2010/11.  The report of the Assistant Chief Executive is attached.

DECISION

1.         That the Members’ Allowances Scheme at Part 6 of the Constitution be re-adopted for 2010/11, subject to indexing of the amounts payable for the basic, special responsibility and dependants’ carers’ allowances as set out in paragraph 11 of the scheme;

2.         That accordingly the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Members’ Allowances Scheme 2010 be adopted as at Appendix ‘A’ in the report; and

3.         That the Members’ Allowances Scheme be subject to review in accordance with the regulations following the publication of the London Councils Independent Remuneration Panel recommendations 2010. 

(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

Councillor Ohid Ahmed MOVED and Councillor Lutfur Rahman SECONDED the recommendations as set out in the report.

Councillor Peter Golds then MOVED and Councillor Tim Archer SECONDED an amendment – “That all Special Responsibility Allowances be reduced by 10% and the SRAs paid to the Chairs of Licensing, Appeals, General Purposes, Audit, Human Resources and Pensions Committees; and to the Olympics Ambassador, be abolished.”

After discussion, the amendment was put to the vote and was declared lost.

The original motion was then put to the vote and was agreed.  Accordingly it was:-

RESOLVED

1.         That the Members’ Allowances Scheme at Part 6 of the Constitution be re-adopted for 2010/11, subject to indexing of the amounts payable for the basic, special responsibility and dependants’ carers’ allowances as set out in paragraph 11 of the scheme;

2.         That accordingly the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Members’ Allowances Scheme 2010 be adopted as at Appendix ‘A’ in the report; and

3.         That the Members’ Allowances Scheme be subject to review in accordance with the regulations following the publication of the London Councils Independent Remuneration Panel recommendations 2010. 

At this point, the Service Head, Democratic Services advised Members that the time limit for the meeting had been reached and the guillotine procedure set out in Rule 9 would come into effect, with any remaining business (excluding motions at agenda item 11) being put to the vote without further debate.

To note the attached quarterly report of the Leader of the Council on Cabinet decisions taken under the urgency provisions in the Access to Information Procedure Rules.

DECISION

That the report of the Leader of the Council be noted.

(Action by:  John S Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

RESOLVED

That the report of the Leader of the Council be noted.

The motions submitted by Members of the Council for debate at this

meeting are attached at agenda item 11.

11.2    Motion proposed by Councillor Alex Heslop regarding support for the co-operative and social enterprise sector

With the agreement of the meeting Councillor Alex Heslop amended his motion by the addition of a further bullet point under ‘This Council resolves’.   The motion as amended was agreed as follows:

DECISION

This Council recognises that there is a diverse and healthy co-operative sector in Tower Hamlets with a combined turnover of approximately £50 million and also appreciates the important role that co-operatives and other social enterprises can play in community and economic regeneration initiatives.  Although there are many successful co-operative enterprises operating in Tower Hamlets such as Tower Hamlets Community Credit Union, Tower Hamlets CDA and Greenwich Leisure (effectively a workers co-op), as well as several food co-ops and housing co-operatives, there is not a single Council officer with a specific remit or indeed expertise for working with the co-operative & social enterprise sectors.

This Council resolves to do the following:

·        Allocate responsibility for supporting the co-operative & social enterprise sectors to the Lead Member for Regeneration as well as a designated Council officer who will promote and support new mutual models for the provision of community services, including housing, pre-school childcare, residential and home care, recycling and leisure.  Made possible through service reviews, externalising, or re-contracting services and procurement procedures.

·        Organise an annual event to celebrate International Co-operatives Day in partnership with the local Co-operative Movement; this could also involve the Tower Hamlets Partnership and its Creating and Sharing Prosperity Community Plan Action Group.

·        Develop procurement strategies that make a direct link between the Community Plan and other strategic objectives and contract specifications ensuring that community benefits can be fully integrated into the procurement process.

·        Work with the Co-operative Sector and London Development Agency to improve access to finance and support for socially and mutually owned businesses.

·        Work with staff and unions on a partnership basis in the creation of new cooperative services

·        Ppromote within primary and secondary schools the importance of co-ops locally and internationally in addressing the issues of poverty, community empowerment and democratic governance through supporting the work of the Humanities Education Centre.

(Action by: Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)

11.8           Motion proposed by Councillor Joshua Peck regarding the Crown Estate residents

CouncillorAbjol Miah proposed an amendment to include in the motion the final two paragraphs of Councillor Dulal Uddin’s motion on the same matter at agenda item 11.10.

In response, and with the agreement of the meeting, Councillor Joshua Peck amended his motion by inserting additional wording to address the points raised by Councillor Miah. 

The motion as amended was agreed as follows:

DECISION

This Council notes that:

• The Crown Estate announced on 25 January its intention to sell the freeholds of 1,300 properties on the Victoria Park Estate in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, and the Millbank, Cumberland Market and Lee Green estates in other London Boroughs
• Tenants of these homes include people who have lived there for over 60 years, young  ...  view the full decision text for item 11.

Motions 11.2, 11.8, 11.11 and 11.12 had been considered earlier in the meeting.

Motions 11.1, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 11.7, 11.9, 11.10 and 11.13 – 11.18 as listed below were not considered due to lack of time, the meeting having closed in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 (Duration of meeting).

11.1         Motion submitted by Councillor Stephanie Eaton regarding the declassification of Old Ford Road as a designated route for heavy goods vehicles

11.3    Motion submitted by Councillor Rupert Eckhardt regarding sale of Henry Moore sculpture

11.4         Motion submitted by Councillor Abjol Miah regarding facilities for cricket

11.5         Motion submitted by Councillor Waiseul Islam regarding parking in John Smith Mews

11.6         Motion submitted by Councillor Dr. Anwara Ali regarding display of Henry Moore sculpture

11.7         Motion submitted by Councillor Fazlul Haque regarding anti-social behaviour

11.9    Motion submitted by Councillor Dr. Emma Jones regarding Hermitage Memorial Garden

11.10  Motion submitted by Councillor Dulal Uddin regarding Crown Estate sell off

11.13    Motion submitted by Councillor Fozol Miah regarding the Dispatches programme and slurs against the Council

11.14    Motion submitted by Councillor Ohid Ahmed regarding reducing carbon emissions

11.15    Motion submitted by Councillor Mamun Rashid regarding the Bethnal Green Stairways to Heaven war memorial

11.16    Motion submitted by Councillor Harun Miah regarding respite breaks for carers

11.17    Motion submitted by Councillor Salim Ullah regarding transport for London cuts

11.18    Motion submitted by Councillor Abdul Munim regarding John Smith Mews residents objections

Chair, Council