During the meeting, Members agreed to vary the order of business to take item 10.1 (Briefing Note – OFSTED Inspection Report outcome) after the Chief Executive announcements (Item 4), as Children from a local choir were present at the meeting to perform their songs.

Item 10.2 (Progress update on Best Value Improvement Matters) was taken after item 8 (Opposition Motion on Best Value).

For clarity, the minutes are presented in the order the items appear on the agenda.

The Speaker of the Council provided his update to the Council. He said he had enjoyed attending various engagements within the borough. He had celebrated achievements and marked special occasions with community organisations and individuals.

He said he had attended organisational milestones, the Independence and Victory Day of Bangladesh, educational achievements and the annual curry awards. Other highlights included:

·       Attending the Tower Hamlets in Bloom Awards. He said the Borough excelled in this area with dedicated council officers ensuring the parks and open spaces were looking, their best. He said the borough had won 8 Gold Awards in 2024 at the London Bloom Awards and 14 Green Flags awards with Victoria Park ranked amongst the top 10 parks in the Country winning the Green Flag People’s Choice award.

·       He had recently returned from a tour of Bangladesh, which had been a great experience and source of inspiration to him. He said he had meet with various government figures and hoped Bangladesh would continue to prosper under the new interim government. He thanked his consorts for their support and cooperation.

The Speaker welcomed the new Director for Legal, Shupriya Iqbal and the ministerial envoys and said he looked forward to working with them.

Lastly, Council observed a minute silence in memory of former Councillor Ray Gipson who had recently passed away. He had served as a Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bow for 12 years before founding the Bow Geezers Group organising activities and campaigns for elderly gentlemen in the area. Councillor Peter Golds, Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Councillor Abdal Ullah and Councillor Maium Talukdar expressed their condolences to Mr Gipson’s family and loved one and said he would be missed.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Councillor Sirajul Islam, Councillor Marc Francis, Councillor Asma Begum, Councillor Ayas Miah and Councillor Amina Ali.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor James King however he did not attend the Council meeting.

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.

Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Councillor Nathalie Bienfait, Councillor Shubo Hussain, Councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury declared a personal interest in item 7 (Administration Motion – Council Divestment of Pension Funds) for the sake of transparency in that they had attended rallies supportive of the campaign and petition recently presented to pensions committee calling for the divestment of Tower Hamlets' pension fund.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on Wednesday 20 November 2024.

The Council RESOLVED to:

1. Agree the minutes of the Ordinary meeting of the Council of 22^nd November 2024 and approve them as a correct record of the proceedings. The Speaker was authorised to sign the minutes accordingly.

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

OfSted Inspection into Children’s Social Care Services – Mr Halsey said he was delighted Children Services had been recognised by OfSted as outstanding. He thanked senior management and staff for their hard work and said the service had achieved this result through its relentless drive for continuous improvement.

Youth Centres – Mr Halsey said the Council continued to roll out its programme of youth centres, with the Wapping Youth Centre being opened earlier in the month, following refurbishment as well as Samuda and The Reach opening on Monday 20^th January 2025.

The Times List – Mr Halsey said the Times had listed Tower Hamlets as the 33^rd Best place to live in the country – the highest for any east London borough. He said the list is put together by a panel of experts and looks at data for categories such as education, parks and open spaces as well as healthcare and crime.

Holocaust Memorial Day – Mr Halsey reminded Council Holocaust Memorial Day was on Monday 27^th January. He said this was being marked internally as well as externally with an inter-faith Commemoration Service taking place at the Town Hall on Sunday 26^th January 2025.

Medium Term Financial Strategy – Mr Halsey said he looked forward to the debate at next month’s Full Council.

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.

There are no petitions for consideration at this meeting.

There were no petitions to debate or be presented to Council.

Councillor Maium Talukdar moved and Councillor Kabir seconded that the order of business be changed so that item 10.1 ‘Briefing Note – OFSTED Inspection Report outcome’ be taken after item 4 ‘Chief Executive’s announcements’, as Children from a local choir were present to sing their songs. The Speaker accepted the exceptional circumstances for the change to the order of business and put the request to the meeting and it was agreed.

The Council’s Constitution provides for the Elected Mayor to give a report at each Ordinary Council Meeting.

A maximum of six minutes is allowed for the Elected Mayor’s report, following which the Speaker of the Council will invite the leaders of the opposition groups to respond for up to two minutes each should they so wish. Following those contributions, the Mayor may reply for up to two minutes.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman presented his report to the Council.

The Deputy Opposition Group Leader, Councillor Amy Lee then responded briefly to the Mayor’s report.

Mayor Rahman provided concluding remarks.

To debate a Motion submitted by the Administration in accordance with Rules 11 and 13 of the Council’s Constitution. The debate will last for a maximum of 30 minutes.

Council considered a motion as printed in the agenda on Council Divestment of Pension Funds that had been moved by Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Maium Talukdar.

Council also considered an amendment proposed and moved by Councillor Amy Lee and seconded by Councillor Shubo Hussain as set out in the tabled papers as follows:

Amendment Proposed by Councillor Amy Lee and seconded by Councillor Shubo Hussain.

Additions underlined

Deletions struckthrough

This Council notes:

1.   That in Local Authorities across the country, millions of pounds from local government pension funds are being used to fund the unethical purchase of products, including arms.

2.   That the use of these arms is often used in serious conflicts across the globe – including the ongoing conflict in Gaza (which the UN Human Rights Office found consistent with genocide).
That the use of these arms is often deployed in serious conflicts across the globe,

3.   That in August of 2024, Waltham Forest council took the decision to divest £773,000 of its £1.1billion pension fund, that appeared to be invested in companies engaged in the dealing of weapons,

4.   That in Palestine (specifically Gaza) and other conflicts weapons are being funded by Local Government Pension funds.
That in conflicts around the globeif steps toward ethical divestment are not taken.

5.   That daily, civilians are killed by drone and aerial attacks across the globe.

6.   That these weapons – including deadly drones and missiles – are often part-paid for by funds drawn from local government pension pots.

7.   That at the September 30th meeting, the Pensions Committee requested legal advice in relation to divestment of any funds associated with arms dealing or any activities that facilitate death and destruction in other countries.

8.   That an update was provided by London CIV at the November meeting of the committee, where it was acknowledged that the council can divest its funds following due process and a declaration of intent to do so.

9.   That this was unanimously supported by all members of the committee.

10.  

11.  

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.

Council considered a motion as printed in the agenda to Best Value that had been moved by Councillor Amy Lee and seconded by Councillor Mufeedah Bustin.

Council also considered an amendment proposed and moved by Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed as set out in the tabled papers as follows:

Amendment Proposed by Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.

Additions underlined

Deletions struckthrough

This Council Notes: 

1. The Best Value Inspection Report, commissioned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, identified areas where the Council has not met its Best Value Duty under the current administration led by Mayor Lutfur Rahman and Aspire. 

2. The report raises concerns about the Council's culture, noting: 

·       “The lack of trust between councillors, officers, and partners is extremely worrying and is not conducive to good governance and decision-making.”(Section 3.4).

3. Leadership and accountability are highlighted as areas for improvement, with the report stating:

·       “The perception of many interviewees was that many good managers had exited the organisation as a result of ‘speaking truth to power.’” (Section 4.50).

·      

·       “Inspectors found the council’s scrutiny culture to be ‘weak and confused,’ with ‘The level of challenge or in-depth scrutiny offered, or exhibited has in our view been inadequate.’” (Sections 10.17 and 5.120) 

4. A staff survey conducted by the inspection team revealed that 48% of respondents expressed discomfort in raising concerns, and only 27% believed their concerns would be appropriately dealt with. The report also notes: 

·       “We have seen evidence that staff are also concerned by some appointments and consider them inappropriate. In our staff survey we heard about a ‘friends and family culture,’ ‘cronyism’ and that some staff are concerned that existing relationships between councillors and officers changes the way work is done in the Council.” 
(Section 4.4) 

·      

5. The report expresses concerns about the Council’s capacity to improve without external oversight: 

·       “They found insufficient evidence that the organisation is open and transparent,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Councillor Saied Ahmed moved and Councillor Maium Talukdar seconded that the order of business be changed so that item 10.2 ‘Progress Update on Best Value Improvement Matters’ be taken after item 8 ‘Opposition Motion on Best Value’, as the two are intrinsically linked to each other. The Speaker accepted the exceptional circumstances for the change to the order of business and put the request to the vote. This was voted on and agreed by Council.

To consider the Budget and Policy Framework report on the Youth Justice Board Strategic Plan.

Council considered the report which went to Cabinet on the 8^th January 2025 relating to the progress made in Youth Service.

The report was moved by Councillor Maium Talukdar and was seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.

Council RESOLVED to:

1.                 Note the progress and achievements made in respect of the Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2024-25 and to agree the plan going forward.

To consider the report of the General Purposes Committee on the polling districts and polling places review 2024.

Council considered the report which went to the General Purposes Committee on 2^nd December 2024 relating to Polling Districts and Polling Places Review 2024.

The report was moved by Councillor Rebaka Sultana and was seconded by Councillor Maium Talukdar.

Council RESOLVED to:

1.    Agree the review report and agree the action as set out in the Appendix.

To consider a briefing note from the Corporate Director, Children’s Services on the recent OFSTED Inspection.

Council considered the briefing note relating to the OFSTED Inspection of Children Services.

The report was moved Councillor Maium Talukdar and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.

Council RESOLVED to:

1.    The Briefing note and congratulated Children Services on its ‘Outstanding’ rating.

To consider the report of the Chief Executive providing an update on Best Value matters.

Council considered progress update report on Best Value Improvement matters.

The report was moved Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Maium Talukdar.

Council RESOLVED to:

1.    To note the content of the update report.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer on changes to the Council’s proportionality and allocation of places on committees of the Council.

Council considered a report on proportionality and allocation of places on Committees for the Council 2024/25.

The report was moved Councillor Maium Talukdar and seconded by Councillor Asma Islam.

Council RESOLVED to:

1.             Consider the review of proportionality as at Section 3 of this report and the allocation of seats on Committees and Sub-Committees for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2024/25 as set out at paragraph 3.4 to 3.5.

2.             Note the Committees set out for the municipal year 2024/25 listed in paragraph 3.5 as agreed at the Annual Council meeting held on Wednesday 15 May 2024.

3.             To agree that the Monitoring Officer is delegated to approve the appointment of Councillors required to fill positions during the municipal year in line with the proportionality arrangements set out in this report on the nomination of the respective group leaders.

4.             Agree that the Monitoring Officer be delegated to approve the appointment of ungrouped Councillors to any committee places not allocated by the Council to a political group, after consultation with those Councillors and the Speaker of the Council where there is only one application for the position (where there is more than one application these will be presented to Council for decision).

To consider the report of the Interim Head of Corporate Human Resources on proposed exit payments under the Council’s ER/VR scheme.

This report includes an Exempt Appendix.

Council considered a report on the ER/VR – Approval of Exit Payments.

The report was moved Councillor Saied Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Maium Talukdar.

Council RESOLVED to:

a)    Note and approve the exit payments, including redundancy and the cost of the early payment of pension benefits, the applications for Early Retirement and Voluntary Redundancy, as set out in Appendix 1.

b)    Note that the redundancy payment is part of the individuals’ contractual terms and conditions of employment and that the early payment of pension benefits is linked to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

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 the lack of time, no questions from members were considered. A written response to be provided to the questions asked.

The motions submitted by Councillors for debate at this meeting are set out in the attached report.

Motions 12.1 and 12.2 were not considered due to lack of time.