To elect a Councillor to serve as Speaker of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24 or until a successor is appointed, whichever is the sooner.

(Note: Section 4 and Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 1972 provide that the election of the chairman (which post the Council has resolved to title ‘Speaker’ in Tower Hamlets) shall be the first item of business transacted at the Annual Meeting of the Council and that in the case of an equality of votes, the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any vote they may have).

The Speaker of the Council, Councillor Shafi Ahmed addressed the meeting about his time in office.

He thanked the Council, the Mayor, and elected Members for giving him the opportunity to serve as First Citizen of the Borough since May 2022.

He noted that he had made every effort to carry out his duties in a fair and impartial way, shining a light on the borough by bringing positivity and enthusiasm to the role.

His chosen charity for which he had fundraised for, was the Tower Project, which provides support to families with autistic children. He said the charity dinner event held in December 2022 had raised almost £20,000, despite this being a scaled-back event owing to the cost-of-living crisis.

Councillor Ahmed said he was honoured to serve as Speaker which was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  He said of the many occasions and events he had attended the most memorable ones were:

·       The late Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, which was followed a few months later with the sad news of Her Majesty passing away.

·       The proclamation of the new King.

·       The new King and Queen’s visit to the Borough of Tower Hamlets

·       Attending the Coronation Garden Tea Party; and

·       Taking part in Citizenship ceremonies welcoming new citizens to the borough.

He said the Civic Awards held at the beginning of May 2023 were a resounding success and reminded everyone that nominations of next year’s awards would open later in the year. He said he was privileged to be the last Speaker of the old Town Hall as well as the new Speaker of the Whitechapel Town Hall, especially as a local resident and Whitechapel ward councillor.

He thanked his Consorts for their support before expressing his condolences to the family of Suma Begum who had been tragically murdered.

He also thanked the Democratic Services Team for their unequivocal support and said he looked forward to serving his constituents and spending more time with his family.

Following the Speaker’s address, the following Councillors addressed the meeting:

·       Councillor Maium Talukdar

·       Councillor Kabir Ahmed

·       Councillor Sirajul Islam

·       Councillor Bodrul Choudhury

·       Councillor Abdal Ullah

·       Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury

·       Councillor Shahaveer Shubo Hussain

·       Councillor Iqbal Hossain

·       Councillor Ayas Miah

·       Councillor Abdul Wahid

·       Councillor Mufeedah Bustin

·       Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled

·       Councillor Peter Golds

·       Councillor Amin Rahman

·       Councillor Harun Miah

·       Councillor Suluk Ahmed

·       Councillor Kabir Hussain

·       Councillor Kamrul Hussain

·       Councillor Abdul Mannan

·       Councillor Ohid Ahmed

·       Councillor Musthak Ahmed and

·       Mayor Lutfur Rahman

The Councillors praised Councillor Shafi Ahmed for his great personality, showmanship, and magnanimous attitude in overseeing Council meetings and for being an excellent role model for the community. They were in awe of his charitable work and the significant amount of money he had raised for charity.

The Councillors thanked the Speaker for all his good work and his service to the Borough during his term. They wished him well for the future.

ELECTION OF NEW SPEAKER

The Speaker then called for nominations to serve as Speaker of the Council for the coming year.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

To elect a Councillor to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24 or until a successor is appointed, whichever is the sooner.

The Speaker sought nominations to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Council for the forthcoming municipal year.

The following nominations were proposed:

It was moved by Councillor Maium Talukdar and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed that Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled be elected to serve as the Deputy Speaker of the Council for 2023/24.

It was moved by Councillor Sabina Akhtar and seconded by Councillor Asma Islam that Councillor Rebaka Sultana be elected to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Council for 2023/24.

The nomination to elect Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Council as the first nomination received was put to the vote and was agreed on a majority vote.

RESOLVED

1.    That Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled be elected to serve as Deputy Speaker of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council until the Annual Council meeting in May 2024.

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillor Faroque Ahmed was unable to join the meeting in person but joined remotely. It was noted that he would be unable to vote as he was not formally in attendance.

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.

There were no declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on Wednesday 15 March 2023.

RESOLVED:

1. That the unrestricted minutes of the ordinary Council Meeting held on 15^th March 2022 be confirmed as a correct record save to record that Councillor Nathalie Bienfait was in attendance for the meeting.

2. Upon the amendment being noted, the Speaker be authorised to sign them accordingly.

There were no announcements from the Speaker or Interim Chief Executive to note.

The Council considered the report of the Director of Legal and Monitoring Officer, (circulated in a supplementary agenda) setting out the Mayor’s Cabinet appointments and other arrangements in respect of Executive Decision Making.

The recommendation was agreed.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Mayor’s Executive Scheme of Delegation be noted.

The Council considered the report of the Director of Legal and Monitoring Officer, proposing the establishment of the Council’s committees for 2023/24 and setting out the review of proportionality and the allocation of places on those Committees.

The recommendations were agreed.

RESOLVED:

1.    Agree the review of proportionality as at Section 3 of this report and the allocation of seats on Committees and Sub-Committees for the municipal year 2023/24 as set out at Paragraph 3.7.

2.    Agree to establish the Committees set out for the municipal year 2023/24, and for places to be allocated on those Committees, as set out at Paragraph 3.7.

3.    As part of Recommendation 2 above, to confirm the establishment of a new Human Resources Committee with Terms of Reference as set out in Appendix 1 to the report and with a new Special Responsibility Allowance for the Chair of £6,526.

4.    To also agree subsequent changes to the General Purposes Committee Terms of Reference set out in Appendix 2 to the report to reflect the handover of responsibilities to the Human Resources Committee.

5.    Note that consequential changes to the Constitution will be required and are noted as part of the Constitution report at Agenda Item 11.

The Council considered the report of the Director of Legal and Monitoring Officer, regarding the appointment of members to the Council’s Committees, and Chairs where appropriate, (including those established under item 8 above). The list of nominations were circulated in a supplementary agenda however some verbal nominations were also received during the meeting and these were decided by Council.

Following the receipt of competing nominations for Chairs of several Committees and for certain Committee places, a number of the nominations were put to a vote. This was in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 16.8. Following the votes, the following were elected to the relevant positions.

The recommendations subject to the above appointments, were agreed.

RESOLVED

1.    Appoint members and substitute members to the committees and sub-committees of the Council and other bodies (including Outside Bodies) for the municipal year 2023/24 as set out at Appendix 1 attached or any further nominations made at the meeting.

2.    Appoint the Chairs of Committees for 2023/24 from amongst the nominations listed at Appendix 2 attached or any further nominations made at the meeting.

3.    Agree that in relation to any unfilled places within the seats allocated to a particular political group, the Council note that the Director of Legal, as Monitoring Officer has delegated authority subsequently to agree the appointments to those places in accordance with nominations from the relevant political group.

The Council considered the report setting out the calendar of meetings for the Council, Committees and other meetings for the municipal year 2023/24. In addition it was noted that the first meeting of the Human Resources Committee was scheduled for 8 June and not 25 May.

The recommendations were agreed.

1.    Approve the proposed calendar of meetings for the municipal year 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1 subject to the above amendment.

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

The Council considered the report of the General Purposes Committee, setting out the Council’s Constitution including the new Member Code of Conduct.

The recommendations were agreed:

RESOLVED

1.    Note the work of the General Purposes Committee throughout the year to support the Constitution.

2.    Agree the addition of an amended Paragraph 11.2 of the Council Procedure Rules as set out in Paragraph 3.6 below.

3.    Agree that subsequent to this meeting to further amend the Constitution with consequent factual changes required due to the establishment of the Human Resources Committee to be added after this meeting and reported to the General Purposes Committee for noting.

4.    Agree to confirm the re-adoption of the Council’s Constitution as set out at Appendices 1-4 to the report subject to the above amendments.

The Council considered the report of the Director of Legal and Monitoring Officer, setting out when Special Urgency provisions have been applied to Executive Key Decisions.

The recommendation was agreed.

1.    Note the report on the use of special urgency provisions in relation to Executive Key Decisions.