The Speaker of the Council brought the Council up to date with some of his activities since the previous Council meeting.

He advised that he was very pleased to have hosted and attended a variety of events. This included:

·         Citizenship ceremonies and community awards celebrating local achievements.

·         Charity events including an anniversary celebration of the Queen Victoria Seaman’s Rest and an annual celebration of Blind Aid.

·         Welcoming the Mayor of Sylhet City and a talk about Tower Hamlets and the links with Sylhet.

·         A visit to RAF Northolt and a tour of the Battle of Britain Bunker.

·         Several large civic events, including the Annual Civic Service in Westminster and an event in St. Paul’s Cathedral to mark National Hate Crime Awareness Week.

·         Meeting Princess Anne at an event to mark the links between the Corporation of Trinity House and the City of London.

·         A Diwali celebration event.

·         Remembrance ceremonies and fundraising activities, marking 100 years since the end of World War 1. This included: a Service of Remembrance at City Hall, the Remembrance Sunday service at Tower Hill and a special preview of the Shrouds of the Somme.

·         A Cadets Parade day.

·         Hosting several local Primary Schools in Local Democracy Week, where they had an opportunity to learn about local decision making.

·         Welcoming a Plenary Conference of the British – Irish Parliamentary Assembly to Tower Hamlets.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of:

·         Councillor Ruhul Amin

·         Councillor Mohammed Pappu

Apologies for lateness were received on behalf of Councillor Rabina Khan

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.

Councillor Amina Ali declared an Interest that must be registered (Other Interests) in agenda item 5.1, a Petition regarding drug dealing and ASB on Three Colt Street and the Thames Path E14.

The following Councillors declared an Interest that must be registered (Other Interests) in agenda item 9.12, a Member question regarding the new financial health centre, operated by THH. This was on the grounds that they were Board Members of Tower Hamlets Homes:

•              Councillor Sabina Akhtar

•              Councillor Asma Islam

•              Councillor Tarik Khan

•              Councillor John Pierce

Councillor Ayas Miah declared an Interest that must be registered (Other Interests) in agenda item 9.12, a Member question regarding the new financial health centre, operated by THH. This was on the grounds he was the leaseholder of a Tower Hamlets Homes property

The Monitoring Officer advised that she had granted Councillor Dan Tomlinson a dispensation in respect of Agenda Item 7, Administration Motion regarding Universal Credit for tonight’s meeting.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 19 September 2018

RESOLVED:

1.         That the unrestricted minutes of the ordinary Council Meeting held on 19th September 2018 be confirmed as a correct record and the Speaker be authorised to sign them accordingly.

The Chief Executive updated the Council on a number of recent developments. He welcomed to the meeting Neville Merton who was now the Acting Corporate Director, Resources. He also reported that Dan Jones, the new Divisional Director for Public Realm, would be joining the Council next week. He thanked Robin Payne for all his work in this role. 

He also advised that the Council had been shortlisted for a number of Local Government Awards and would find in March whether they had been successful.

He also reported that the Council’s next Ofsted Visit was due to take place in December and that the Council would also be joined in the same week by the Investors in People assessors.

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 four received petitions to be discussed. Should any further petitions have been received they would have been listed to be noted but not discussed. No further petitions were received.

5.1   Petition regarding Stop drug dealing and ASB on Three Colt Street and the Thames Path E14

Petition not presented due to the absence of the petitioner.

RESOLVED:

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

5.2   Petition regarding the disposal of part of Island Gardens.

Ralph Hardwick 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. He stated that the Council had provided information to the petitioners and responded to requests for information, showing that East End Homes lawfully owned the site and it was no longer open space at the time of the transfer.  The Mayor also stated that, subject to legal advice, he was happy to make further information available.

Regarding the development plans, he hoped that the proposals would include public open space.

RESOLVED:

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

5.3   Petition regarding the rights of EU citizens to vote in local elections.

Spencer Wood and others addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Amina Ali, Cabinet Member for Culture, Arts and Brexit responded to the matters raised in the petition. She acknowledged the concerns of the petitioners regarding the future rights of EU citizens. She advised that Labour politicians would continue to campaign at all levels to ensure that EU citizens had the right to vote and stand locally.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer for a written response within 28 days.

5.4    Petition Safeguard regarding Palestinian Solidarity

Sybil Cock 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. Whilst recognising the concerns about Israeli/ Palestinian relations, he stated that he completely stood by the Council’s decision to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Guidelines on Anti Semitism.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer for a written response within 28 days

Note – during the above item the Speaker adjourned the meeting for 10 minutes at 7:40pm to restore order in the public gallery. The meeting was reconvened at 7:50pm.

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 leader of the opposition group to respond for up to two minutes should he so wish.

The Mayor made his report to the Council, referring to his written report circulated, 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, Councillor Andrew Wood, Leader of the Conservative Group, briefly responded to the Mayor’s report.

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.

7 – Administration Motion regarding Universal Credit

Councillor Rachel Blake moved and Councillor Dan Tomlinson seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

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

RESOLVED:

This Council notes:

1.         Universal Credit, the new social security payment which replaces 6 other benefits, is currently being rolled out across the country, including Tower Hamlets.

2.         That the system and the rollout have been beset by numerous problems leading to real hardship.

3.         The problems with Universal Credit are numerous and can have devastating impacts. These include cash flow crises, debt, rent arrears and evictions, and given that Universal Credit payments are made to a single bank account per household, this makes it easier for perpetrators of domestic abuse to control and exploit their victims.

4.         That it can take up to 5 weeks before the first payment under Universal Credit is made.

5.         That the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) own survey of claimants published on 8^th June showed that 40% of claimants are experiencing financial hardship even nine months into a claim and that 20% of claimants are unable to make a claim online.

6.         That despite the roll-outs major problems, highlighted in a National Audit Office report (NAO, June 2018), the government sought to undermine it rather than address the very serious concerns it raised.

7.         The NAO report also raised concerns that ‘it is not clear that Universal Credit will cost less to administer than the existing benefits system.’

8.         Tower Hamlets Council submitted written evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into Universal Credit last year, on a joint basis with three other London boroughs.

9.         The Times reported before the Budget that Esther McVey, Work & Pensions Secretary, confirmed to cabinet colleagues that millions of families could lose £200 per month under Universal Credit.

10.       That under Mayor Biggs’ Tackling Poverty Fund, £1m has been allocated to support Tower Hamlets residents affected by Universal Credit. This sits alongside a programme of Tackling Poverty work the council is undertaking.

11.       Only 46% of respondents to Tower Hamlets own survey reported that they received correct payment from the start and an extraordinary 35% reported that they did not.

12.       Tower Hamlets has launched our own Universal Credit Support service which has already started to work with clients who have moved onto UC.

This Council believes:

1.         Universal Credit should be stopped completely, and that a genuinely comprehensive system should be introduced in which nobody will be worse off.

2.         As the Prime Minister has announced that “austerity is over”, the Chancellor should reverse the cuts to social security.

3.         That the Chancellor’s announcement of an extra £1.7bn for Universal Credit work allowances is less than a quarter of the £7bn of welfare cuts planned over the next 5 years.

4.         That the social security system is there to support individuals and families in tough times, not to punish them.

This Council resolves:

1.         To call on  ...  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.

8 – Opposition Motion by the Conservative Group regarding affordable housing in Tower Hamlets

Councillor Andrew Wood moved and Councillor Peter Golds seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

Councillor Rachel Blake moved and Councillor Sirajul Islam seconded the following amendment to the motion to be debated as tabled:

Added text underlined

Deleted text scored out.

The Council notes:

The results of the 2018 Tower Hamlets Annual Residents' Survey show that the second highest concern for residents was a lack of affordable housing  with 37% concerned.

This council further notes:

That the Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that the Housing Revenue Account cap that controls local authority borrowing for house building will be abolished from 29 October 2018 in England

In response to the scrapping of the cap, Polly Neate, chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter, said: “Scrapping the borrowing cap lays down the gauntlet to local authorities to bring forward home-building plans – no more excuses.”

That the Mayor of London on the 23^rd October 2018 released £1,029 million of government grants to build new affordable housing in London.

Tower Hamlets only received £13 million from the Mayor of London, the fifth lowest number across London Boroughs

By contrast our five neighbours will each receive:

Newham £107 million

Southwark £89 million

Hackney £45.6 million

Lewisham £37.7 million

Greenwich £32.6 million

This is despite Tower Hamlets currentlyhavingthe highest housing targets in London (2^nd highest targets in London when new London Plan approved)

The government funding, , is part of the provision of over £44 billion of new financial support for housing between 2017-18 and 2022-23

This council further notes:

The Council has committed to building 2,000 new Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

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-

9.1 Question from Councillor Asma Islam:

Can the Mayor or Cabinet Member set out what the council is doing to encourage more residents to become foster carers, particularly in light of Afia Choudhury winning the 2018 Fostering Network President’s Award after being a foster carer with Tower Hamlets for 13 years?

Response of Councillor Danny Hassell, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Young People:

This is a particularly important issue to us all as corporate parents as we know that providing enough foster homes for our most vulnerable children and young people helps to give them a chance of having a loving and supporting home and environment.  We are all deeply proud of Afia Choudhury’s hard work and that her tireless dedication to fostering has been highlighted by this award. As the Mayor said, she is an inspiration who has welcomed over 27 children into her home. Prior to the announcement of Afia’s award, we took steps to strengthen and increase our social media activity. Our campaign has resulted in a significant increase in interest over the past 2 months. It has risen from 20 enquiries per month prior to the campaign to 47 enquiries in September and 37 in October.

This activity has also taken place alongside our usual recruitment activities and advertising within our local communities.  I can assure you that we will

continue to highlight the benefits of fostering and also the positive work of foster carers in our borough.

Supplementary question from Councillor Islam:

Could you also elaborate on what support mechanisms we have in place to support existing foster carers and newly recruited foster carers?

Councillor Hassell’s response to the supplementary question:

We provide an excellent range of support to our foster carers.  We make sure that their voice is represented through decision making so we have representatives on the Corporate Parenting Board.  I know when I speak to many foster carers, and a number of you come from neighbouring boroughs, they really value the support that we provide as a Local Authority. So I would like to pay tribute to our fostering team for all that they do in that work. We have six different support groups. We provide a £6000 grant funding towards the local TH foster carers association, as well as providing annual memberships to fostering networks for members who foster for us. This enables them to get the peer support that they need. We run a mentoring scheme and we are recruiting and training experienced carers as part of that and we pay the mentors for that work. 

9.2 Question from Councillor Andrew Wood:

Given that the Council recently signed the "Violence Against Women and Girls Charter” why did the Council choose not to inform nearby female residents of the threat of sexual assaults from a lone male on Blackwall Way although it did send an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Council considered a report from the Audit Committee setting out

the Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2018/19. The Council noted that recommendation 2 on the cover report should read £447.62m.

RESOLVED:

That the Council notes:

1.         That the treasury management activities and performance against targets for the half year ending 30 September 2018; and

2.         The Council’s investments as set out in Appendix 1 to the report. The balance outstanding as at 30 September 2018 was £447.62m which includes £10m pension fund cash awaiting investment.

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

11.1 –Motion regarding Remaining Local Authority Day Nurseries

Councillor Peter Golds moved and Councillor Andrew Wood seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

Councillor Danny Hassell moved and Mayor John Biggs seconded the following amendment to the motion to be debated as tabled:

Added text underlined.

Deleted text scored out.

This council notes that there has been considerable concern amongst both members and residents regarding the closure of the three remaining Local Authority Day Nurseries, namely; John Smith, Overland and Mary Sambrook.  

The council further notes that the call-in members expressed concern in their call-in requisition that 

“no ‘other operators’ were considered as providers to run the three LADNs

In addition, the members highlighted the alternatives presented to the Schools Forum all resulted in closure of the three nurseries

In addition, the call-in members suggest that the result of the decision will result in a ‘depreciation of service’ for service users and is therefore in contrast to what was agreed by full council in 2017 

The council notes that whilst the Mayor has responsibility for Executive decisions, members retain certain responsibilities as to the budget.

Constitution - 4.02 Functions of Council

Only Council will exercise the following functions:

(b) approving or adopting the policy framework and the budget;

Therefore,The Council believes that in this case there are budgetary implications and therefore the decision to proceed should be debated by full council enabling members to invite the Mayor to explain the situation to full council and in light of the council debate whether to proceed with the closures.

The amendment was put to the vote and agreed.

Following debate, the motion as amended was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

There was no other business.