The Speaker of the Council, Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed in the Chair

During the meeting, the Council agreed to vary the order of business. To aid clarity, the Minutes are presented in the order that the items originally appeared on the agenda. The order the business was taken in at the meeting was as follows:

• Item 1 - Apologies for absence.
• Item 2 – Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
• Item 3 – Minutes.
• Item 4 – Announcements.
• Item 5.1 – Petition regarding Speed Humps at Stainsby Road.
• Item 5.2 – Petition regarding Island Health Trust.
• Item 12.1 – Motion regarding Island Health Trust.
• Item 5.3 – Petition regarding Council Tax Reduction.
• Item 9. 1  - Report of Cabinet: Council Tax Reduction Scheme. 
• Item 6 – Public Questions.
• Item 7 – Mayor’s Report.
• Item 13.1 – Urgent motion regarding the proposed change of Osmani School name.
• Item 8 – Members Questions.
• Item 9.2  - Report of Cabinet: Late Night Levy. 
• Item 11.1 – Appointment of Independent Co-opted Member. 
• Item 11.2 – Appointment of Co-Opted Members .
• Item 12.4 – Motion regarding Government’s failure to tackle the social care crisis.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of:

·         Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs.

·         Councillor Rachel Blake. 

·         Councillor ShafiqulHaque.

·         Councillor M. Abdul Mukit.

·         Councillor Oliur Rahman.

·         Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury.

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 Monitoring Officer.

No declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests were made.

Councillor Peter Golds declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 5.2 - Petition relating to Island Health Trust. This was on the basis that the Councillor was a patient at the Island Health Centre and was a member of the Patients Panel.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting held on Monday 5 December 2016.

Councillor Mahbub Alam  moved and Councillor  Gulam Robbani seconded an amendment to the minutes to request that a statement detailing the reasons for the Independent Group’s walk-out of the 21 September 2016 Council meeting  be attached to the minutes.

The amendment was put to the vote and was defeated.

RESOLVED:

1.            That the unrestricted minutes of the Council meeting held on 5 December 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and the Speaker be authorised to sign them accordingly.

The Speaker of the Council congratulated Councillor Amy Whitelock-Gibbs on the birth of her baby boy, Felix. The Council passed on their best wishes to the whole family. The Speaker also congratulated Councillor Julia Dockerill on her recent engagement.

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

The deadline for receipt of petitions for this Council meeting is noon on Thursday 12 January 2017.

However at the time of agenda despatch, the maximum number of petitions has already been received as set out in the attached report.

5.1       Petition relating to Speed Humps at Stainsby Road

Richard Caley addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Ayas Miah, Cabinet Member for Environment then responded to the matters raised in the petition. He advised the Council had commissioned the Bartlett Park Master plan which included an intention to close the junction of Cottall Street with Upper North Street in the near future which would in turn reduce the amount of traffic on Stainsby Road and improve the situation. Councillor Miah also advised he had instructed officers to develop a scheme for the introduction of speed humps in Stainsby Road and issue this scheme for public consultation by the end of February.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Place for a written response within 28 days.

5.2       Petition relating to Island Health Trust

Doris Joyce Penn and Adam Allnutt addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Mayor John Biggs then responded to the matters raised in the petition. The Mayor advised that he had met with the CCG and Trust members to seek to address this issue. The Trust had indicated that it was willing to listen to and act on some of the concerns. He hoped to continue to engage with the Trust to ensure that these developments benefit local people and that the local assets were protected. He also advised of specific concerns with the Trust’s accounts, which he hoped also to raise with the Charity Commission.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director Health Adults and Community, for a written response within 28 days.

Procedural Motion

Councillor Dave Chesterton moved and Councillor Rajib Ahmed seconded, a procedural motion “that under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied such that Item 12.9 Motion regarding the Island Health Trust be taken as the next item of business. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

5.3       Petition relating to Council Tax reduction

The petitioners  did not wish to present their petition and so it was referred to the Corporate Director for a written response.

Procedural Motion

Councillor Danny Hassell moved and Councillor Helal Uddin seconded, a procedural motion “that under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied such that Item 9.1 Report of Cabinet – Council Tax Reduction Scheme be taken as the next item of business. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

The questions which have been received from members of the public for this Council meeting are set out in the attached report.  A maximum period of 20 minutes is allocated to this agenda item.

The following question followed by a supplementary question was put and was responded to by the relevant Executive Member:-

6.2    Question from Ahmed Hussain

The council certainly has a duty to collect its taxes & fees either due or unpaid. But is it right to use the council's "Bailiffs" and "Court Orders" inappropriately, too early too soon; if not then why is this council using these resources to often to early? 

Response of Councillor David Edgar, Cabinet Member for Resources

Clearly the Council has a statutory responsibility to collect council tax and there is a statutory process that we need to follow in doing that and I am assured that the use of enforcement agents or bailiffs is only ever taken as a last resort, when all the other options that we have tried to use in order to collect that money have failed. Where we have discretion about the level of court costs enforced and we exercise that discretion and arrangements are kept after the issue of a Liability Order Notice, so we are seeking to increasingly waive court costs to help minimise the impact of the charges made to those who owe the Council money. So I think we do exercise the responsibilities that we have in a way that is humane and takes into account the circumstances of people, but also allows us to do our statutory role in collecting that money which is clearly in the interest of residents of this Council. We need to maximise the council tax that is due to the Council in order to provide the services that we are expected to.

Supplementary question from Ahmed Hussain

I know that you can't comment on individual cases, but these certain cases have been copied in with the Mayor and I will just give you this as an example and I hope you take it as an example which is affecting in a broader context the residents of Tower Hamlets. I have two examples here, one whereby the resident actually being pursued for council tax, the actual person who was liable admitted to it and said he will pay up, but the Council did not acknowledge that and proceed with the landlord and while the landlord was trying to have a meeting with the officers instead of giving a meeting they sent in the bailiffs, despite when they asked “don't send the bailiffs we've got mental health patients in the house it will cause a lot of stress”, still they did so and they took the money, but at no point did they say they would not going to pay it they wanted to sit down and have a chat and tease out where the problem was. The second one is a bit more unique, whereby someone, they charge rate to a businessman and it was found that he was wrongly charged and the Council admitted it. But following that they already started the court procedure and now they are pursuing the £200 for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Mayor made his report to the Council, referring to his written report circulated at the meeting, summarising key events, engagements and meetings since the last Council meeting.

When the Mayor had completed his report and at the invitation of the Speaker the leaders of the Conservative Group, Independent Group and the People’s Alliance of Tower Hamlets responded briefly to the Mayor’s report.

Procedural Motion

Councillor David Edgar moved and Councillor Sirajul Islam seconded, a procedural motion ““that under Procedure Rule 14.1.5, Rule 13.1 be suspended to enable an urgent motion regarding the proposed change of Osmani School name to be considered”. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

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:-

8.1 Question from Councillor Clare Harrisson

Will the Mayor confirm that, contrary to some opposition scaremongering, he will not be recommending removing the 100% Council Tax Reduction Scheme support unlike many other boroughs?

Response of Mayor John Biggs

I am happy to confirm that, as has already been debated. I think it is worth noting that under my predecessor over £100 million pounds worth of savings were taken out of the Council's budget, they were done progressively by hollowing out centres and services. What we are doing is creating a solid way forward, but within that the we have the headroom in our budget to continue to support people on the lowest incomes and we are very committed as a Labour group to tackling the problems of poverty and exclusion in our community, both by addressing people's needs for support with their incomes, but also by supporting people in improving their circumstances in getting into work. I think that is progressive. I was previously compared to Tony Blair. I don't particularly like being compared to Tony Blair, but I think he did teach us a number of things about progression and about how we support our communities and I am proud that he did that.

No supplementary question from Councillor Clare Harrisson

8.3 Question from Councillor Andrew Cregan

Smarter Streets is being trialled in three wards - Bromley North, Island Gardens and Stepney Green – and enables residents to very easily report litter and fly-tipping using their smart phones. Are there any early indications about the success of the trial scheme?

Response of Councillor Ayas Miah, Cabinet Member for Environment

As part of our ongoing strategy to deal with littering a fly-tipping we are incorporating technology as a way to make it easier to report.

Smart Streets is still in its early stages, the pilot scheme across the three wards was fully initiated and set for public use in September 2016. We had an advertising push in December, encompassed a range of channels, including a household flyer distribution, social media, East London Advertiser and Council internet/intranet. Further promotion materials are set to go out until February 2017. Smart Street is in its early stages, we have not seen the uptake we would have liked by now but this is still very much a trail stage. We are reviewing a change in strategy to amplify the use and benefits of the scheme to channel direct delivery, including current location and implementing in high footfall areas.

No supplementary question from Councillor Andrew Cregan

8.4 Question from Councillor Julia Dockerill

Is the Mayor aware that when neighbouring Newham Council sought to set up a new free school without a proper, open competition, it ended up costing three council officers their jobs after they effectively broke the law?

What assurances can the Mayor provide councillors that Tower Hamlets will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Mayor will consider the report of the Corporate Director, Resources at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 10 January 2017. Subject to agreement at that meeting the report will be considered at Council.

The Cabinet report is attached to this agenda. The Recommendations from Cabinet and the proposed scheme will be circulated in an addendum to this agenda.

The Council considered the report of Corporate Director, Resources regarding the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. Additional papers for this item were circulated to all Members in an addendum to the Agenda.

Under Council Procedure Rule 14.1.8 Councillor David Edgar, Cabinet Member for Resources moved and Mayor John Biggs seconded an amendment to the recommendations requesting that should the Council make any amendments to the scheme tonight or if there were any technical changes subsequently  that took place in relation to matters in the scheme, that the Corporate Director, Resources be authorised to make any technical changes to the draft Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme to ensure that the Council’s approved scheme is adequately reflected and implemented.

The amendment was put to the vote and was agreed.

Following further debate, the recommendations as amended were put to the vote and were agreed.

RESOLVED:

1.            That the continuation of the current Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2017/18 be approved which retain the 100% support for working age households within the LCTRS scheme but that the scheme is changed to reflect the following:

(a)  the period for which backdated claims for LCTRS can be made will be one month;

(b)  the length of time LCTRS claims can continue whilst the recipient is abroad will be 4 weeks;

(c)  the Council introduces a scheme in addition to LCTRS to help applicants suffering exceptional hardship;

(d)  households with non-dependants income above £370.50 per week will be  excluded from support and non-dependant deductions will apply to all other non-dependants with income below £370.50 per week (as set out in appendix 1 of the Cabinet report);

(e)  an assumed income for self-employed earners where their self-employment earnings after one year is declared at below equivalent minimum wage levels, minimum wage levels will be assumed in the assessment of LCTRS;

(f)   the savings limit is to be lowered to £6k from £16k in order to qualify for LCTRS.

2          That the revised Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2017/18 (which includes the changes at 1 above) at Appendix 4 be adopted. (to follow).

3.            That the Corporate Director Resources be authorised to make any technical changes to the draft Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme to ensure that the Council’s approved scheme is adequately reflected and implemented.

The Mayor will consider the report of the Corporate Director, Place on the proposed Late Night Levy at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 10 January 2017. Subject to agreement at that meeting the report will be considered at Council.

The Cabinet report is attached to this agenda. The Recommendations from Cabinet will be circulated in an addendum to this agenda.

The Council considered the report of the Corporate Director, Place on the proposed Late Night Levy. The Council noted that the Mayor in Cabinet on 10^th January 2017 agreed the recommendations subject to bringing forward the proposed start date to 1 June 2017.

Following debate, the recommendations were put to the vote and were agreed.

RESOLVED:

1.            That the Late Night Levy be adopted;

2.            That the levy commencement period should be the 1^st June 2017.

3.            That the commencement time should be from midnight

4.            That the income from the levy, less collection costs, should be allocated through the Community Safety Partnership.

5.            That Members of the Best Bar None Scheme receive a 30% reduction from the levy.

6.            That the following premises would be exempt from the levy:

·         Premises with overnight accommodation

·         Theatres and Cinemas

·         Bingo Halls

·         Community Amateur Sports Clubs

·         Community premises

·         Premises opening past midnight for New Year’s Eve only

7.            That the following licensed premises would not be exempt from the levy, as :

·         Country Village Pubs

·         Premises in Business Improvement Districts

·         Premises that receive a small business rate relief.

There was no business to transact under this agenda item.

The Council considered the report of the Acting Corporate Director, Governance and Interim Monitoring Officer proposing the appointment of an Independent Co-opted Member to the Standards (Advisory) Committee

RESOLVED:

1.            That the appointment of Ms Fiona Browne as an Independent Co-opted Member of the Standards (Advisory) Committee be approved for a term of office of four years to expire on 31 January 2021.

The Council considered the report of the Acting Corporate Director, Governance and Interim Monitoring Officer proposing the appointment of Overview and Scrutiny Committee Co-Opted Members.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the following nominations for co-optees of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be approved

a.    Dr Philip Rice as the Church of England diocese representative;

b.    Victoria Ekubia as the Roman Catholic diocese representative;

c.    Asad Jaman as the Muslim faith representative; and

d.    Shabbir Ahmed Chowdhury, Christine Trumper and Fatiha Kassouri as parent governor representatives.

2.     That the appointments above will take effect immediately and will be   reviewed following the Council elections in May 2018.

Procedural Motion

Councillor Danny Hassell moved and Councillor Sirajul Islam seconded, a procedural motion “that under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied such that the next items of business be: Item 12.4 - Motion regarding Government’s failure to tackle the social care crisis; Item 12.7 - Motion regarding Scrap the fee for domestic violence victims; and Item12.8 - Motion regarding Pink Bags & Recycling”. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

12. 4   Motion regarding Government’s failure to tackle the social care crisis

Councillor David Edgar moved and Councillor Danny Hassellseconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

Councillor Muhammed Ansar Mustaquim moved, and Councillor Mahbub Alam seconded a friendly amendment to the motion that the following be added to the resolution section of the motion:

Mayor to write a joint letter with other agreeable Group Leaders to the responsible Government Minister, highlighting Tower Hamlets’ case.

Councillor David Edgar declined to accept this amendment. The amendment was put to the vote and was defeated.

Guillotine Motion

At this point the meeting had sat for three hours and, with no motion to extend the meeting proposed, the guillotine came into effect. As set out in Procedure Rule 9.2, the matter being debated was concluded as if the motion, ‘That the question be now put’ had been moved and carried. The motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

RESOLVED:

This council notes:

-           That the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services estimates that nationally, between 2010 and 2015, £4.6bn was cut from the adult social care budget.

-           The Government’s announcement that it would be introducing a £240m national Adult Social Care Grant to help fund the increasing costs of social care.

-           That the £240m is nowhere near what is needed to properly resolve the social care crisis.

-           The £240m grant is not made up of new money; it is funded by top slicing the New Homes Bonus already given to councils. It is estimated that as a result a third of councils will actually lose money overall as a result.

-           The NHB top slice means that Tower Hamlets will lose out on £4.8m of NHB in 2017/18 in order to fund the new adult social care grant but will only receive £1.5m in grant.

-           This means Tower Hamlets will actually be £3.3m worse off in 2017/18 as a result of the “extra” funding for social care announced in December. This is the biggest reduction in funding in the country.

-           The £3.3m reduction in funding comes on top of £58m savings the council already has to make over the next three years as a result of other government cuts to our budget.

-           Government also allowed councils to raise council tax by up to 3% in order to provide additional funding for social care.

This Council believes:

-           With an aging and growing population the Government should be looking for long term solutions to the social care crisis, not just moving money around and pretending it is new.

-           Ministers need to do far more to meet the funding gap, but moving and relabeling pots of money, which would have gone to councils anyway, as new does nothing to achieve this. It just creates perverse situations where the fastest growing – and one of the most deprived – boroughs in the country actually loses out.

-           By giving local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Mayor, Councillor Gulam Robbani and Councillor Rabina Khan all attempted at the meeting to move urgent motions on the proposed change of name at the Osmani School.

Following discussion and a brief adjournment, the Council agree to suspend Procedure Rule 13.1 to enable the following urgent motion to be debated without notice: 

13.1    Motion regarding the proposed change of Osmani School name

Mayor John Biggs moved and Councillor Sirajul Islam seconded a procedural motion to enable an urgent motion regarding the proposed change of Osmani School name to be considered.

Following debate the motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

RESOLVED

This Council notes:

1.            The Governors of Osmani School have written to parents stating their intention to change the school’s name to Vallance Primary School with effect from September 2017.

2.            Osmani School recently underwent a positive OFSTED inspection and has been an established community school for over thirty years.

3.            Neither councillors nor the Mayor were consulted on this change in advance.

4.            Changing the name of a school is down to the Governing body and the council has no power to veto over it.

5.            The mayor and numerous councillors of different political groups have already spoken out against the change, expressing their disappointment and concern.

6.            Government education policy means schools increasingly have to compete with one another for pupils and that those who do not get sufficient pupil numbers are at risk of becoming financially unviable.

7.            A number of schools face a challenge filling their nursery rolls in the west of the borough at present.

8.            The name of the school Osmani Primary School is based on M.A.G Osmani who was a well-known Army Officer who fought in World War II for the British Armed forces and is known as Bangabir – Brave Bengali Freedom Fighter.

9.            The school was opened in May 1986 on the site of the former Lord Montefiore Secondary School and Commander Osmani’s name was given to the school to commemorate his contribution in serving in the British Army during World War II and in the liberation of Bangladesh.

10.         General Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani was born 1^st September 1918 in an affluent family in Dayamir, a village in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Following his graduation in 1938 he began a career in the Civil Service.

11.         There are a number of further protest and community meetings planned and the school’s Governing Body will be meeting again on 24^th January.

This Council believes:

1.            Schools in our community should reflect the vast range of cultures and communities who live locally.

2.            General Osmani’s name is an important symbol for the Bengali community in Tower Hamlets and there are a number of other schools named after notable people with connections to the borough and its residents.

3.            The school’s governing body was wrong not to consult with parents ahead of making their decision.

4.            Whilst government policy changes and changing demographics mean schools need to do  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.