Apologies received from Councillor Marc Francis who attended virtually.

Members are reminded to consider the categories of interest 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, please see the attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

Members are reminded to declare the nature of the interest and the agenda item it relates to. Please note that ultimately it’s the Members’ responsibility to declare any interests form and to update their register of interest form as required by the Code.

If in doubt as to the nature of your interest, you are advised to seek advice prior to the meeting by contacting the Monitoring Officer or Democratic Services

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were received at the meeting.

To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 12 December 2022 and 9 January 2023

RESOLVED

That the unrestricted minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 12 December 2022 and 9 January 2023 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of the proceedings

To receive any petitions (to be notified at the meeting).

Nils Items.

For the committee to review and note Work Program and Action Log

Members raised the Gill Street site and asked for information to be shared and action to be correctly logged.

RESOLVED:

Members Noted the Committee Work Program and Action Log

To review forthcoming decisions expected to be taken by the Mayor and identify any areas of further Scrutiny for committee.

A copy of the forthcoming decisions can be found here:

FORTHCOMING DECISIONS PLAN 9 February 2023

RESOLVED:

Members Noted the forward plan

To consider any decisions that have been called in.

Nil Items.

Service users from the Tower Hamlets and City of London Youth Justice Service were in attendance virtually to answer questions from the committee about their experiences with the police within the borough. They highlighted that police officers can be very aggressive and subject young people to unfair searches, leaving young people to feel targeted.

The committee raised the following comments and questions:

·       Why do young people feel they are being targeted in this way from police officers? The service users stated that it was due to their age but also due to their race.

·       While residents want to see greater police intervention to drug related crime, how do you think this can be balanced while not increasing stop and searches? The service users stated that stop and searches should be around suspicion and not random targeting, but also more resources should be placed in youth workers to work with young people, rather than police dealing with them first.

·       Tower Hamlets is a young borough, based on the age of residents. What can the council do to support young people further? The service users reflected on youth centres and more engagement opportunities for young people to take part in. Mental Health needs to be taken more seriously and the council needs to ensure young people are supported better with their mental health issues.

·       Where are the stop and search hot spots that young people are targeted? The service users stated that it is across East London, but places like Stepney, Shadwell and Whitechapel are known to be places where frequent stop and searches occur.

·       What training would you like to see police officers have with young people? How do we build up more trust with young people over these issues with the police? The service users highlighted the initial contact with the police needs to be improved and how reporting to parents after a stop and search needs improvement. A training package covering mental health & learning disabilities would be an area for training.

·       How would you prefer the police to engage with young people? The service users stated first the police should only be approaching young people if they have a good reason to, but when they do approach, it should come in a respectful way. A more diverse police force could ensure that stop and searches would be less likely to target young people due to their race.

The chair thanked the Youth Justice Team for their feedback to the committee and sharing their experiences.

Borough Commander Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway presented to the committee the update, highlighting, the Turnaround Plan 2023-25.

Ann Corbett, Director of Community Safety was present and commented on the need for strong community safety and local police who were aware of the diverse borough of Tower Hamlets.

The committee raised the following comments and questions:

·       What is behind the disproportionate stop and search frequency of residents of colour within the borough? DCS Conway stated that there needs to be greater understanding of why police  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.1

The following items are due to be considered at the Cabinet meeting 22 February 2023. The committee is invited to consider the reports below, which can be found on the links provided to the agenda for the Cabinet meeting.

This item has been withdrawn

This item has been withdrawn

This item has been withdrawn

This item has been withdrawn

To hear verbal updates from the Overview and Scrutiny Leads on their work across the Council.

Councillor Abdul Mannan gave an update on housing & regeneration and highlighted the recent consultation of the future of services for people living in council homes.

Councillor Bodrul Choudhury gave an update on Children’s & Education and highlighted the launch of the Education Maintenance Allowance and University Bursary schemes.

Councillor Sabina Khan gave an update for Resources and Finance and highlighted the food poverty review, including energy poverty. Councillor Ahmodur Khan gave an update on Health & Adults and highlighted the scrutiny session on workforce.

Councillor Abdul Malik gave an update on Community Safety and highlighted the recent scrutiny session on women’s safety.

RESOLVED:

Members noted the updates.

To review the Cabinet agenda and to consider and agree any pre-decision scrutiny questions to be presented to the Cabinet meeting 22 February 2023.

Members noted the Cabinet Papers and did not wish to raise any questions.

To consider any other unrestricted business that the Chair considers to be urgent.

Nil items

In view of the contents of the remaining items on the agenda the Committee is recommended to adopt the following motion:

“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.”

EXEMPT/CONFIDENTIAL SECTION (Pink Papers)

The exempt committee papers in the agenda will contain information, which is commercially, legally or personally sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties.  If you do not wish to retain these papers after the meeting, please hand them to the Committee Officer present.

As the agenda circulated had no exempt/confidential reports and there was therefore no requirement to exclude the press and public to allow for its consideration

Nil Items

Nil items.

Nil Items

Nil items.

Nil Items

Nil items.

To consider any other exempt/ confidential business that the Chair considers to be urgent.

Nil items.