During the meeting, the Council agreed to vary the order of business to consider additional items – a presentation from the Pupil’s Parliament and an Urgent Motion on Ukraine. To aid clarity, the Minutes is presented in the order that the items originally appeared on the agenda

The Speaker of the Council, Councillor Mohammed Ahbab Hossain in the Chair

The Speaker of the Council provided his update to the Council. He advised that he had the honour of attending many community events and activities over the last couple of months with restrictions lifting. The highlights included:

• The annual gathering to mark International Mother Language Day held in Altab Ali park
• The Tower Hamlets Civic Awards. An event to honour and recognise the outstanding achievements of those in the Borough.  He also wished to thank all those in the Borough working so hard to support the community.  Their efforts were greatly appreciated.
• Attending the Rich Mix Centre with Councillor Denise Jones for a tour of the improvements.

• The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.  Members were invited to stay and join the Speaker for some cake, which has been made especially with the Platinum Jubilee emblem on it. The Speaker also looked forward to planting a tree during March, contributing to the Queen’s Green Canopy.

Referring to International Women’s Day, he thanked all women -   mothers, sisters, daughters and friends for the important part they play in our lives on a daily basis.

Looking ahead, the Speaker noted that this would be the last meeting of the Council year before the May elections. He thanked everyone for their support and participation in these council meetings.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of:

•                Councillor Rajib Ahmed

•                Councillor Sufia Alam (maternity leave)

•                Councillor Amina Ali

•                Councillor Gabriela Salva Macallan

•                Councillor Eve McQuillan

•                Councillor Kyrsten Perry

•                Councillor Val Whitehead

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.

No declarations of interest were reported

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the:

·       Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 19^th January 2022

·       Budget Meeting of the Council held on 2^nd March 2022

RESOLVED:

1.     That the unrestricted minutes of the following meetings of the Council be confirmed as a correct record and the Speaker be authorised to sign them accordingly:

·         Ordinary Council meeting held on Wednesday 19^th January 2022

·         Budget Council meeting held on Wednesday 2^nd March 2022

The Chief Executive provided his regular update regarding the following issues:

• Covid rates and Vaccines.  As restrictions had relaxed, the Borough had seen a rise in case rates up by 29% and hospital admissions. Although the Borough remained significantly below the national average. This situation will be kept under review. 236,815 residents had received their first vaccine and 1800 booster jabs were given last week. The Council, working with the NHS, will continue to encourage take up of vaccines – including the booster vaccines and amongst young people and children.
• Continuing success at Awards.  He congratulated the Growth and Economic Development Team on winning an award from the Federation of Small Businesses and London Council’s on their work in supporting local businesses in the pandemic. He was also pleased to report that the Council have recently been recognised in the following ways:

• Reviews and Inspections.  He provided an update on the Council’s participation in a forthcoming LGA Peer Review of Children’s Social Care and the communications service. He also advised of his  work to  assist LB Croydon with their preparations for a Mayoral System
• Staffing Issues. Paul Rock, the Chief Internal Auditor, would be leaving the Council to join Lambeth. Araan Winter would be taking over this role for a period. It was also noted that the Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Homes, Susmita Sen, would be taking up a senior role at Croydon. They were thanked for their contributions to Tower Hamlets, and the Council wished them well for the future.
• Local Elections. The preparations for the May elections were gathering pace. Since this was the last Council meeting before the election, he expressed gratitude to the Councillors not standing for their contributions to the Borough. He also wished the those who were candidates in the election all the best.
• Regarding Ukraine, the Council stands ready to meet the needs of those arriving from the country.

Presentation from Isle of Dogs Pupil’s Parliament

At this point in the meeting, the Speaker agreed to change the order of business to accept a request from the Isle of Dogs Pupil’s Parliament to address the Council meeting on the issue of violent crime. 

A number of the young representatives the addressed the meeting. They highlighted a range of issues discussed during their recent debates and responded to questions from Members. Some of the issues discussed included the following points:

• That tacking knife crime and violence was a top priority of the parliament
• Knife crime was everyone’s responsibility as well as the Police.
• Importance of raising awareness of mental health issues in young people.
• The need to promote kindness and provide help to those in need, both in terms of those experiencing physical and mental health issues.
• Need for more safety precautions.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

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 regardingRefuse & Recycling is collected on time – Keep our streets clean

Michael Robinson and others addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners, and responded to questions from Members.  Councillor Asma Islam, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, then responded to the matters raised in the petition.

It was noted that the Borough has faced a challenging period due the pandemic and Brexit, with difficulties in terms of staff sickness, and with a shortage of qualified drivers and repair issues with vehicles. A high level of waste had also been generated during the pandemic. However, she thanked staff for all their hard work and for continuing to deliver the service during the difficult period. To further improve the service, the Council had invested additional funding in a number of areas to provide:

·       New Underground Waste Services vehicles.

·       Resident and partner engagement initiatives, to raise awareness of waste and recycling issues.

·       To tackle fly tipping and boost recycling

·       To reduce missed collections.

She thanked the Petitioners for raising these very important issues.

RESOLVED

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

5.2          Petition regarding Say no to underpass closure and overdevelopment of Aberfeldy

Foysol Hussain and others addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners, and responded to questions from Members.  Mayor John Biggs  then responded to the matters raised in the petition. The Mayor advised that the Council engaged regularly with Poplar HARCA.  The initial feedback from Poplar HARCA’s consultation on the planning proposals indicated that residents supported the proposals. However, the plans will need to be formally considered by the Council and the Strategic Development Committee in accordance with procedure rules.

The Mayor stated he was happy to meet with the Petitioners to discuss their issues further.

RESOLVED

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

5.3          Petition regarding prolonged road closure from Colliers (developer)

risks residents' lives

Shorif Ahmed and others addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners, and responded to questions from Members.  Councillor Danny Hassell, Cabinet Member for Housing then responded to the matters raised in the petition.

It was noted that the development in Hanbury Street to provide 7 residential units and other works, was due to be completed soon. 25% of the lettings will be let to local residents.  He also noted that it has been a difficult period for contractors, with issues with the availability of materials and labour. As a result of this, the works had been delayed. The Councill will however continue to review the measures in place to manage the works – and will continue to learn from these issues to mitigate the impact from future schemes.

He stated he was happy to meet with the Petitioners to discuss their issues further.

RESOLVED

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

5.4          Petition regarding New  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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.

The Mayor presented his report to the Council.

The Opposition Group Leader’s then responded briefly to the Mayor’s report.

•                Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Leader of the Aspire Group.

•                Councillor Peter Golds, Leader of the Conservative Group.

The Mayor provided concluding remarks

With the permission of the Speaker, a number of retiring Councillors shared their own personal highlights and memories of their time in office and their achievements. They stated that it had been a great privilege to serve as a Councillor and represent the community. They thanked residents, their families, Council staff, fellow Councillors and the Council partners in the community for all their support.

A summary of the contributions is set out below:

• Councillor Denise Jones. She stated that she was particularly proud to have fulfilled so many important roles including: Lead Member for Arts, Leisure and Sports, the Civic Mayor, and Leader of the Council.
• Councillor David Edgar. In particularly, he welcomed his Corporate Parenting role given the importance of these duties.
• Councillor Abdul Mukit MBE. He stated that he was privileged to have acted as Speaker of the Council for two years and was honoured to serve alongside Councillor John Pierce who set a very high standard which everyone should try to follow.
• Councillor Helal Uddin. He  stated that he was particularly proud of his involvement in  a number of important projects in his ward.
• Councillor Leema Qureshi - thanked family, friends and colleagues for their support.
• Councillor Danny Hassell. He was particularly proud of his work as the Cabinet Member for Children and Schools, helping some of the most vulnerable residents
• Councillor Dan Tomlinson. He drew attention to his experiences as a Cabinet Member and as a Member of various Committees.
• Councillor Candida Ronald – paid particular tribute to the work of the voluntary sector for helping residents especially during the pandemic.
• Councillor Bex White. She drew attention and paid tribute to the important work of foster careers in the Borough.

Mayor John Biggs thanked all the retiring Councillors for their contributions to the Borough. In particularly he paid tribute to the work of the late Councillor John Pierce.

In view of the time constraints, the Speaker proposed that the time limit for discussing both main motion items should  be no longer than 15 minutes each. This was agreed.

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.

Mayor John Biggs moved and Councillor Asma Begum seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

Councillor Peter Golds moved and Councillor Andrew Wood seconded the  following amendment as set out in the supplementary agenda

Added text is underlined

Deleted text is scored out.

This Council Notes:

1.             In 2018, the Mayor pledged 2,000 new council homes by 2022, and the Council ison track to hit this target, with 2,046 homes delivered or in delivery. There havealso been6,876 newaffordable homescompleted acrossthe boroughsince 2015.

That the 700 new homes promised as part of the wider Town Hall project have never been delivered (see the poster in the entrance to Mulberry Place)

That the Council intends to sell large sites to private developers (Car pound for example) rather then develop themselves and when it has sold those sites to private developers (LEB for example) no new homes have been built years later.

That the Council has displacing existing residents from 422 homes who now have to compete in the housing market meaning more people may need to rely on temporary housing. 

That the Council only bought existing old homes from one housing association, Poplar Harca, providing them with a cash injection, that this opportunity was not extended to other housing associations. And again, has displaced existing residents.

That the Council bought 157 existing s106 properties so that they can be presented as new homes when they are not, they would have been bought by another housing association and provided to residents of Tower Hamlets in need.

That only 225 homes are genuinely new build plus 23 conversions, but this has in some cases meant the loss of scarce green space.

Only these 225 + 23 homes can be genuinely described as new Council homes.

2.             That this Council provides Universal Free School Meals for all primary schoolchildren in the borough, one of only a few councils in the country that does this.This coststhe council£3m peryear, andmeans that19,000 childrenget ameal, equatingto anestimated saving forfamilies of £450 per child.

3.             Although tackling crime and ASB is a police responsibility, the Council areinvesting in tackling crime and ASB by funding additional police officers and acouncil-operated ASB service. It has also set up a borough-wide Public SpacesProtection orderto tacklethe misuseof laughinggas andthe associatedASB.

The Conservative group welcome the adoption of the borough-wide NOX Public Space Protection Order that we suggested several years before its adoption.

We regret that other ideas we have suggested have not been adopted to reduce ASB.

That residents have had to flee their homes after a home invasion following vehicle related ASB.

That we also need Public Spaces Protection Orders to deal with all vehicle related ASB including tunnel runs, vehicle based parties, and noisy cars.

4.             The Councilis alsoinvesting over£3m inan upgradeto theentire publicspace CCTV  ...  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.

Councillor Kabir Ahmed moved and Councillor Harun Miah seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

Councillor Motin Uz – Zaman moved and Mayor John Biggs seconded the following amendment as set out in the supplementary agenda

Added text is underlined

Deleted text is scored out.

This Council notes:

The Whitechapel Market was established nearly 120 years ago in 1904. In 1909, the Council bought the strip from Vallance Road to Mile End Gate.

Leading up to that, in the 1850s there were stalls and costermongers’ barrows along the north side of Whitechapel Road from St Mary (Davenant) Street to Charrington’s Brewery in Mile End Old Town. Some sections of the waste were given over to the setting- out of furniture and, street junctions aside, paved cart roads separated the ground at several points.

In 1904 Stepney Council sought to take control of the market on the waste in both Whitechapel and Mile End to regulate nuisance traders. Terms were agreed with the Manor in 1909 and the Council acquired strips on both north and south sides from Vallance Road east into Mile End where gardens were laid out in 1909–10. Thus regulated, trading west of Mile End Gate came to be called Whitechapel Market. It was noted in the 1970s for clothing, jewellery, flowers, second-hand records and hi-fi equipment.

By the 1980s, when there were 124 pitches between Vallance Road and Cambridge Heath Road, the market was being transformed by a transition to the latest edition of East Enders, Bangladeshi stallholders. They remain the predominant community trading in the Whitechapel Market with a wide range of items for all in the community including idiosyncratic products including clothing as well delicious food and delicacies hard to come by elsewhere.

In 1997 the Whitechapel conservation area was established and later renewed in 2008. It has seen various communities pass through including the French Huguenots, the Irish, the Jews and currently the Bangladeshis. It is a market that exemplifies market street trade. By the 1980s the Market was established from Vallance road to Cambridge Heath Road. In 2008 the Whitechapel Market became the market in the UK to recycle its waste.

The Market’s street furniture was renewed as part of the High Street 2012 project. Alan Baxter & Associates and East Architecture Landscape Urban Design oversaw standardisation of demountable market stalls, and the additions of perforated metal screens to face the road and catenary lighting along the pavement on a row of standards, as well as new bollards and seating.

In 2021, Tower Hamlets Council launched an extensive survey with traders, business owners, residents and visitors of Whitechapel Market. All were asked what changes they would like to see, and the responses then went out to public consultation and have been included in the Action Plan 2022-25.

One of the things that traders were strongly in favour of was new stalls to be provided. This is a current project funded by a Levelling Up Grant and part of the Whitechapel Road Improvement Program  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Nil items.

There were none

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer proposing a calendar of Council and Committee meeting dates for the 2022-23 Municipal Year.

The Council considered the report of the Monitoring Officer regarding the Council’s committee calendar. Due to time constraints, the recommendations were put to Members without debate.

RESOLVED:

1.             Approve the proposed calendar of meetings for the municipal year 2022/23 as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

2.             To delegate to the Monitoring Officer the authority to agree meeting dates for any new Committees or Panels that are set up subsequent to this report being presented to Council, subject to appropriate consultation with Members.

3.             To note that the Annual Meeting of Council on 25 May 2022 may be moved to another venue depending on Covid safety requirements at that time and that should new Covid restrictions be introduced this may also apply to other future meetings.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer proposing a Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2022-23.

 The Council considered the report of the Monitoring Officer regarding the Members Allowances Scheme. Due to time constraints, the Council moved straight to the vote on the recommendations without debate.

The recommendations were put to the vote and were agreed.

RESOLVED:

1.             Adopt the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Members’ Allowances Scheme 2022/23 as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

2.       Agree that the Members Allowances Budget be adjusted as necessary to cover the costs following the uprating of the local government pay award as set out at 3.7 of the report.

3.       To agree that the General Purposes Committee lead on any required engagement with the upcoming London Independent Remuneration Panel in-depth review of Member Allowances and that the Committee is delegated authority to consider the outcome of that review, reporting back to Council as required for decision.

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.

Due to lack of time, the questions were not considered and written responses will be provided

Due to lack of time, the questions were not considered and written responses will be provided. The written responses are attached at Appendix A. (Action by:–Matthew Mannion, Head of Democratic Services to arrange written response)

Due to lack of time, no motions were considered  

The Council agreed to suspend Procedure Rule 13.1 to enable the following urgent motion to be debated without notice:

13.1    Urgent Motion regarding Ukraine

Mayor John Biggs moved and Councillor Peter Golds seconded the motion as tabled.

Following debate, the motion was put to a vote and was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED:

This Council Notes:

1)    The Putin regime’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is an horrific attack not only on the Ukrainian people, but also on sovereignty, democracy, freedom and the rule of law.

2)    The Ukrainian people continue to show incredible courage, dignity and resilience in the face of the horrific acts caused by Putin’s invasion.

3)    The many reports of individual and collective acts of bravery in defence of the nation’s freedom and democracy, as well as heart-breaking reports about those who have tragically lost their lives because of Putin’s actions.

4)    The devastating plight of refugees from Ukraine who have been forced from their home in the most brutal manner, causing the biggest refugee migration since World War II.

5)    The open letter signed by all the political groups in Tower Hamlets to the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK which outlines support for and solidarity with Ukraine.

This Council believes:

1)    This invasion is due to the actions of President Putin and is not reflective of the Russian population. Many ordinary Russians have bravely protested the attack on Ukraine.

2)    The Council stands united with both the Ukrainian and Russian communities in Tower Hamlets, and strongly condemns any abuse and harassment of these communities.

3)    The East End has always been a magnet for opportunity and an area which has welcomed immigration and diversity throughout its history, and this will continue to be the case for our friends from Ukraine.

This Council resolves:

1)    To work on a united cross-party basis to offer what support we can for the Ukrainian people affected by this senseless invasion.

2)    To work with the Government on the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme to ensure refugees fleeing the atrocities taking place in Ukraine can have a safe haven in Tower Hamlets, such as the council’s ongoing work to support a number of Afghan families.

3)    To challenge anyone who seeks to sow division by making any derogatory or harassing comments towards anyone in the Ukrainian and Russian communities.