Councillors Marc Francis, Asma Islam and Sabina Khan gave apologies, and they joined the meeting online. Councillor Sabina Akhtar attended as a Substitute.

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

Members declared interests in items on the agenda for the meeting as set out below:

*Cllr Abdul Malik declared this interest during the discussion of the Call In and agreed to leave the room for the rest of the committee meeting.

Cllr Mufeedah Bustin presented the reasons for call-in on behalf of the Call-in members and proposed alternative course of action as set out in the report.

The committee made the following comments and questions:

• Can you elaborate on the concerns residents have been raising about the cost of living in the Isle of Dogs? And do you feel the Mayor's Community Grants Programme needs to be reviewed to support the residents of the Isle of Dogs better? Cllr Bustin outlined the major concerns residents have raised, including the effects of the universal credit rollout. The Mayor's Community Grants Programme could help provide some funding structure to alleviate some of the concerns that residents have if it was structured that way. There are many projects that directly support the Isle of Dogs, most are borough wide.
• Can you detail how increased funding for NCIL 3 would help residents in this area? Cllr Bustin detailed how funding Neighbourhood SIL would help organisations within the area support residents and fund projects, including the Tower Hamlets Community Advice Network, who run critical services for Black and Asians residents. Organisations like Tower Hamlets Community Advice Network ensure that residents do not need further support from the council, so without the funding it will place greater strain on the council itself.
• Can you outline different funding models that could be considered? Cllr Bustin reflected on funding models, highlighting the general fund for more immediate funding.
• How much of the £4M allocated to the Docklands area goes to the Isle of Dogs? Cllr Bustin questioned that this breakdown is not available for local members, and it would be helpful for understanding the issues in the area, as currently only projects totalling a few thousand pounds seem to be supporting the Isle of Dogs.

Cllr Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living with Steve Halsey, Chief Executive, Afazul Hoque, Head of Corporate Strategy & Communities, Jennifer Peters, Director of Planning & Building Control set out the context of the Cabinet Decision and reviewed the key elements of the decision.

The committee made the following comments and questions:

• How will the Mayor's Community Grants Programme support forward planning for the council’s future aims? Officers detailed how the Mayor's Community Grants Programme supports the aims of the council’s strategic plan, including thematic work around supporting children in and outside of schools.
• The council needs to create mitigations within the Mayor's Community Grants Programme to ensure the issues within the Isle of Dogs can be supported. Can any monetary figure be put on the funding and infrastructure that will be put back into the Isle of Dogs, from development in the area? Officers detailed how the grant funding will be distributed and highlighted how social housing capital funding will be agreed for the area. Officers agreed that how Mayor's Community Grants Programme is allocated through out the year will be reported to the committee in a timely way.
• The work of the Tower Hamlets Community Advice  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Chair confirmed that as the Mayor's Community Grants Programme 2023-2027 was considered for Call In, it did not need to be considered further within the Scrutiny Spotlight.

DECISION

Members noted the report.

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

Members of the committee asked for the Annual Resident’s Survey Results to be discussed at a future committee meeting.

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.

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

Nil items.