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 13.1 – Urgent Motion regarding the Ian Mikardo School
• Items 5 – Petitions.
• Item 6 – Public Questions. (6.4-6.5,6.7)
• Item 7 – Mayor’s Report.
• Item 8 – Members Questions (8.1 – 8.4, 8.6-8.12)

·         Item 9. 1  - Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2015/16

·         Item 9. 2  - Appointment of Members to the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board

·         Item 11.1 - Treasury Management Outturn Report 2015/16

·         Item 11.2 - Appointments related to the Standards Regime

Before commencing the formal business, the Speaker of the Council stated that Members would be aware that the past month had witnesses a number of outrageous attacks on peaceful people and societies. The thoughts of the Council were with the victims of these attacks, in particular, those affected by the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, the attacks in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 1-2 July, the murder of Jo Cox MP, the attack on the Gay nightclub in Orlando and the Istanbul Airport attack.

He stated that it was vital that the Council showed solidarity with those affected and underlined it’s condemnation to those who chose to undertake these acts.

For all those effected by the atrocities and all other attacks, the Council rose to observe a minutes silence.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of:

·         Councillor Craig Aston

·         Councillor Ohid Ahmed

·         Councillor Asma Begum

·         Councillor Gulam Kibria Choudhury

·         Councillor Abjol Miah

·         Councillor Maium Miah

·         Councillor Joshua Peck

Apologies for lateness were received on behalf of Councillor Clare Harrison

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.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Council held on18 May 2016.

RESOLVED:

1.            That the unrestricted minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 18 May 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and the Speaker be authorised to sign them accordingly.

With regret, the Speaker of the Council announced that Patricia Mary Thompson, former Civic Mayor of this Borough had sadly passed away. Patricia was the Civic Mayor in 1981-2.  On behalf of the Council, he sent his condolences to her family.

Following which, the Mayor made a statement on a controversial appointment by the Ian Mikardo School. He reported that he first became aware of the issues last month and in view of the level of public unease about the appointment, he had requested that Officers investigate the role of the Council in this case and establish the facts of the case.  The findings of the investigation would be published on the Council’s website and circulated to Members.

He then presented the key findings of the investigation, explaining the appointment process and the issues around this. He stated that whilst he strongly believed in rehabilitation, he did not support this particular appointment in view of the circumstances of the case.

In terms of addressing the issues, he recognised that the appointment of staff was a matter for the school and that the Council had no control over this. Nevertheless, he felt that it was important that the Council were involved in controversial appointments to ensure that the wider impact on the community and community cohesion was taken into account. Therefore, to ensure this, he had amended the Council’s procedures to ensure, that in future, the Corporate Director of Children Services be consulted on controversial appointments and that the Council’s Safer Recruitment Guidance should include guidance on fixed terms appointments.  It should be noted that these requirements would not apply to academies and free schools (except on a voluntary basis). However, it was hoped that they would be sensitive to such matters. He would continue to meet with the school and the community to understand their concerns and to identify how the Council can address these.

He strongly condemned the recent attacks on the school and called for a calm and measured response to the matter based on the facts of the case.

Following the statement, Mayor John Biggs 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 Ian Mikardo School to be considered”. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

Council requested and it was agreed that the name of the individual in question be redacted from the motions on the subject matter within the meeting agenda.

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 14 July 2016.

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

One further petition has been received which collected more than 2,000 signatures and is presented for debate as set out in the additional report.

5.1       Petition relating to Sex Education in Schools

Jahed Choudhury addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education & Children's Services then responded to the matters raised in the petition. She explained that Culloden Primary School, as an academy school, had control over the content of the sex education curriculum. Whilst it was of great importance to ensure that schools protected children, it was also important that parents were consulted on the content of sex education lessons. She pledged that the Council would work with parents to ensure this.

RESOLVED:

1.            That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Children's Services for a written response within 28 days.

5.2       Petition relating to Special Responsibility Allowances

Glyn Robbins addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Mayor John Biggs then responded to the matters raised in the petition. He reported that since taking up office, he had scrapped the Mayor’s car and posts within the Mayor Office generating a considerable amount of savings. The savings far exceeded the costs of the new Mayoral advisor posts that were in budget. In addition, he had decided not to accept half of the increase in his Mayoral allowance agreed by the Council meeting in May 2016. He also commented that he felt that it was a mistake to reduce the Mayoral allowance in 2014. 

He considered that it was important that Councillors’ were paid a reasonable allowance to compensate for the personal and professional sacrifices they made in carrying out their duties. Therefore, he stood by the decision to increase Councillors allowances. He pledged that there would be no further increases before the next Mayoral election. 

RESOLVED:

1.            That the petition be referred to the Chief Executive, for a written response within 28 days.

5.3       Petition relating to Save our Youth Clubs

Petitioners addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Mayor John Biggs then responded to the matters raised in the petition. He advised that he had been working hard to address the issues, and had issued a Members’ briefing setting out proposals for the service. In view of this, he expressed regret at the circulation of misinformation by opponents regarding the nature of these plans. The first thing to note was that these were interim measures to address urgent problems within the youth services (such as anti - social behaviour issues, problems with premises) and to even out services. Even under these plans, the Borough would still have the second largest youth service in London. He stressed that the Council were committed to providing an excellent youth services and a strong budget. The Administration would be examining the issues in further detail and would be bringing forward long term proposals for the service in the Autumn. There would also be an Overview and Scrutiny spotlight discussion on the subject tomorrow.

RESOLVED:

1.            That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Children's Services for a written response  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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 questions and in each case supplementary questions  were put and were responded to by the Mayor or relevant Executive Member:-

6.4            Questionfrom Lisa Stepanovic        

Who is the governing body of a school accountable to?

Who monitors the head teachers attendance and how is it scrutinised?

Response by Mayor John Biggs

The answer to that is quite technical. For community schools maintained by the local authority the governing body is responsible for the conduct and decision making of the school. The Council can intervene in certain circumstances if there is a cause for concern. However, ultimately the school is accountable to Department for Education and the Secretary of State.

I think this highlights that with the education reforms, in the old days the local authority would have significant powers of intervention and involvement and nowadays it doesn’t. So the only place you can go in the end is the Secretary of State and I don’t find that satisfactory. That doesn’t mean that a government can’t change the law and create a far greater degree of independence (this was done by both Labour and Conservative Governments, a greater extent by the Conservatives). But it does create a potential vacuum if people are unhappy. I’m very happy in my role as Mayor and for Councillors to be involved in meetings and they have been. But we don’t have a formal responsibility for managing the school.

The head teacher is accountable to the governing body and any absence will be reported to the chair of the governing body.

Supplementary question from Lisa Stepanovic

Does the Council think it’s acceptable that children who are described as the most vulnerable young people in the UK are able to view the horrific articles online referring to a teacher and supposed role-model as a racist killer? Whether he is or he isn’t, is irrelevant. It harms their mental health and that is something I am bothered by. Does the Council feel it’s acceptable that when those same children question the articles online that it is trivialised in such a way that it shows no regard for Mr Shiblu Rahman or the family he left behind?

Children told me that they were not allowed to challenge this. I was told I couldn’t challenge it and I was also told the community had no right to challenge this. I was told this by the chair of governors and also the head teacher. I was bullied and I resigned from the very project I created and also from the governing body. Surely this kind of disregard for our community and emotional neglect for the vulnerable students at Ian Mikardo high school had no place in Tower Hamlets. This is neglect. I believe it is a safeguarding issue. It is divisive and to silence and shut down young people from the community who raise these concerns, I believe, has the potential to encourage extremism, further divide and hate.

Mayor John Biggs response to the supplementary question:

I am  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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

A maximum of five minutes is allowed for the Elected Mayor’s report, following which the Speaker of the Council will invite the respective political group leaders to respond for up to one minute each if they wish.

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 other political groups then responded briefly to the Mayor’s report.

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 a supplementary question were put (except where indicated) and were responded to by the Mayor, relevant Executive Member, or Councillor.

8.1       Question from Councillor Clare Harrisson

(For transparency, I would like to declare that I am an employee of UNISON, although I do not work in ethical care.)

Can the Cabinet Member for Health & Adult Services inform members how many people, including home care staff and service users, will benefit from the Council’s adoption of UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter?

Response by Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs (Cabinet Member for Health & Adult Services)

I am really proud that we are fulfilling one of the Mayor’s flagship manifesto commitments with this policy. The great thing about this charter is it’s about ethics and dignity both for staff and service users. In terms of residents, it will benefit all 2,000 of the vulnerable residents who currently receive homecare services. Their care workers will have proper time, will be paid properly and treated better, so they can provide care based on dignity, safety and wellbeing.

In terms of care workers, we estimate that there will be around 1,300 care workers who will benefit from the adoption of the Charter in a number of ways. One which I know many care workers have spoken to me and the Mayor about is about guaranteeing a fixed hours contract, moving away from zero hour contracts, which will be at least 12 hours per week and moving up to 16 hours per week by end 2018 and a number of other benefits.

Supplementary question from Councillor Clare Harrisson

One of the things that informed our conversation on this was a report that was published by, I believe, Islington Council a couple of years into their implementation that looked at the increase in qualifications of people working in the service and increased service user satisfaction. Will you guarantee to produce a similar report in, say 18 months’ time to see how it has done?

Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs response to the supplementary question

We will be robustly monitoring the Ethical Care Charter through the contracts and it will be a compulsory part of those contracts, so if the home care providers fail to deliver they will be held to account by us. I will be requiring regular updates from officers and I am sure we can produce an annual report of the nature you describe. I am really proud of this, not least because it shows how a Labour council working together with staff (many care workers spoke to me and the Mayor about this) and with the unions can really improve quality of services despite the government cuts that we face.

8.2       Question from Councillor Oliur Rahman

Has John Biggs had a word with Cllr Whitelock Gibbs, who is reviewing the Tower Hamlets Health & Wellbeing Board (TH H&WBB) and consulting on how to cut £5m from the Public Health Budget? Will he clarify whether he has asked her to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Council is asked to consider the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2015/16 municipal year.

Councillor John Pierce, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, presented the Committee’s Annual Report for 2015-16.

The recommendation set out in the report was put to the vote and was agreed. Accordingly it was:

RESOLVED:

1.            That the Council note the contents of the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for 2015-16.

Council is asked to consider the report of the Corporate Director, Law, Probity and Governance on appointments to the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Council considered the report of the Corporate Director, Law Probity and Governance regarding appointments to the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board, Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs reported that the list of elected representatives needing adjusting to reflect the decisions taken (as set out in resolution 1 below). 

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the vote and were agreed. Accordingly it was:

RESOLVED:

1.            That it be noted that at its meeting on 21 June 2016 the Health and Wellbeing Board discussed amendments to its membership as reflected in the amended Terms of Reference attached as Appendix 2 to the report to be amended to include the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s’ Services and remove the post of the Executive Advisor on Adult Social Care.

2.            That it be noted that the Mayor has agreed the updated Terms of Reference in respect of membership and has nominated:

(a)          That the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult services be the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board;

(b)          That the Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Performance becomes a voting member of the Board; and

(c)          That a Councillor from the largest opposition group be appointed as a non-voting as a stakeholder and that that Councillor be put forward by such group.

3.            That the appointment of co-opted members to the Board be agreed.

4.            That a Councillor from the largest opposition group be appointed as a stakeholder to the Board.

Nil items.

There was no business to transact under this agenda item.

Council is asked to consider the report of the Corporate Director, Resources, setting out the Treasury Management Outturn for 2015/16.

The Council considered the report of the Corporate Director of Resources setting out the Treasury Management Outturn for 2015/16.

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the vote and were agreed. Accordingly it was:

RESOLVED:

That the Council note:

1.            The Treasury Management activities and performance against targets for the twelve months to 31 March 2016.

2.            The Pension Fund investments balance (set out in section 9 of Annex A of the report).

3.            The Council’s investments as at 31 March 2016 (as in Appendix 2 of the report).

4.            The Prudential indicators outturn for 2015/16 (set out in Appendix 1 of the report).

Council are asked to consider the report of the Corporate Director, Law, Probity and Governance in relation to the appointment of an Independent Person, a Reserve Independent Person and also Independent Co-opted Members of the Standards (Advisory) Committee.

The Council considered the report of the Corporate Director of Law Probity and Governance regarding the appointment of an Independent Person, a Reserve Independent Person and also Independent Co-opted Members of the Standards (Advisory) Committee.

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the vote and were agreed. Accordingly it was:

RESOLVED:

That the Council agree:

1.            That Ms Hall’s term of appointment as Independent Person  be increased to five years, as outlined in paragraph 1.3 of the report, to expire on 24 June 2018.

2.            The recruitment of a Reserve Independent Person with a report to be presented to Council to confirm their appointment.

3.            The recruitment of three new Independent Co-opted Members to the Standards (Advisory) Committee with a report to be presented to Council to confirm their appointment.

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

None of the submitted Motions were debated due to lack of time.

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

13.1 Motion Regarding the Ian Mikardo school.

Mayor John Biggs, moved and Councillor Sirajul Islam seconded, the motion as tabled.

Councillor Oliur Rahman moved, and Councillor Rabina Khan seconded a friendly amendment to the motion as set out below:

This Council requests the Executive Mayor to:

1.     whilst we recognise that there has been an investigation, there needs to be a public enquiry taking into consideration the feelings and experiences of parents and members of the local community as to how they feel and to learn lessons from this episode.

2.     prepare a statement explaining that schools are responsible for appointing their own staff and that the Council and police will always work to protect ethnic minority and other relevant communities from hate crimes, and circulate this widely to local residents.  The statement should acknowledge that parents have right to be assured that staff at the school which their children attend are appointed in a proper manner. This statement should be publicised fully using all communication channels.

3.     to write to all school governors in the borough pointing out the sensitivity which should be exercised when considering appointing people convicted of serious offences, and especially those with a racist element, and to ensure that this need is communicated to all new LEA governors when they are appointed in the future, and a report provided to the relevant committee of the Council for information and any appropriate legal and professional input.

4.     to write to all schools in the borough to advise them of this resolution.

5.     to follow the example of the late Jo Cox MP, who said that her multi-ethnic community had more in common than it had division, by promoting community harmony in Tower Hamlets and having no truck with any actions which would cause distress and promote disharmony.

Mayor John Biggs indicated that he accepted paragraphs 2-5 of the amendment and altered the substantial motion accordingly.

Following debate, the motion as amended was put to the vote and was agreed.

RESOLVED

This council notes:

·         Three individual motions were tabled at the Council meeting related to the appointment of an individual at Ian Mikardo school.

·         The Mayor has made a full statement to Council and published a detailed report setting out the findings of the investigation carried out by officers in to the appointment and the role the council played.

·         That the appointment of the individual in question by Ian Mikardo school was a matter for the school.

·         That representatives of different political groups on the Council have expressed their personal views about the appointment, including the Mayor who has stated that had the decision been down to him, he would not have approved the appointment.

·         That Ian Mikardo School has been judged as excellent, provides a vital service to some of our most vulnerable youngsters, and its transformation has happened under its current head  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.