To receive nominations for vice-chair.

The Chair requested nominations for the position of Vice-Chair of the General Purposes Committee for the municipal year 2022/2023.

Councillor Maium Talukdar proposed Councillor Musthak Ahmed for the position. This was seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.

There were no further nominations.

The General Purposes Committee;

RESOLVED

1.     That Councillor Musthak Ahmed is elected as Vice-Chair of the General  Purposes Committee for the municipal year 2022-2023.

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 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

There were no declarations of disposable pecuniary interests.

To agree the unrestricted minutes of the General Purposes Committee meeting held on 22 March and 25 May 2022.

The minutes of the General Purposes Committee meeting held on 22 March 2022 were noted, as attendees were not present. The minutes held on 25 May 2022 were approved as a correct record of proceedings.

To review the Committee’s work plan for the current municipal year.

The Committee reviewed the work plan for the first meeting of the municipal year and the following were proposed:

Review on Employment Appeals and a review on Polling Stations

·       Agreed to receive updates on whether these items can be reviewed at the next General Purposes Committee scheduled for 13 October 2022.

RESOLVED

1.     That the General Purposes Work Plan be noted.

Farhad Ahmed, Head of Governance Information and Traded Services, introduced the report which detailed three recommended Governors be appointed to Tower Hamlets maintained primary schools and three reappointments.

As this was the first meeting of the municipal year with new administration, Mr. Ahmed informed the Committee that the summary of all BAME Governors will be submitted at the next General Purposes Committee.

RESOLVED

1.     That the recommendations for Governors be agreed.

2.     A summary of all BAME Governors be submitted at the next General Purposes Committee.

3.     The report be noted.

Will Tuckley, Chief Executive Officer, introduced the report in his capacity as the  Returning Officer. The report detailed the administrative arrangements put in place by the Returning Officer for the Mayoral and Borough Ward polls, held on Thursday 5th May 2022. The report is an information item only.

In response to the presentation, the Committee noted:

-      A highly successful administered election/s

-      Concerns about campaigning outside polling stations and clarification on any complaints logged.

-      Concerns regarding disproportionate third-party reporting of family figures in Tower Hamlets, when other local authorities had similar numbers.

-      Information had been received of postal votes not arriving on time for some electors to return and this should be looked at and any lessons learnt as to why this was the case.

-      Clarification on the number of poll counting staff and any recruitment issues.

-      Clarification on why poll counting took place at East Wintergardens, rather than the Excel Centre and why observers were not provided water.

-      Clarification on the two wards requiring informal double checking and why this occurred.

Mr. Tuckley said that as long as campaigning outside polling stations did not intimidate constituents, this is a legitimate act. A government bill was quoted by many complainants but was incorrect because the bill was not enacted.

Tower Hamlets worked in conjunction with the Police regarding complaints which were formally logged by both sides. There are no complaints pending. It was agreed that third-party reporting on family voting to Tower Hamlets and appeared prevalent in the figures reported in other local authorities.

The numbers of postal packs not received, although regrettable were minimal. Officers can look into the  number of cases if required. Counting staff were recruited based on the capacity of the venue and numbers of staff withdrawing on polling day at the count was minimal.

The decision to hold the counts at the East Wintergardens was made as it had the capacity to accommodate both polls, it has the best quality accommodation and local services and was a better financial option by some way.

Mr. Tuckley apologised for not providing water to observers and confirmed decisions on re-counts are made at the Returning Officer’s discretion. The informal double checking took place in two wards where there was an estimated small gap between the last elected candidate and the following one listed not elected and this affected two long standing councillors who appeared to be losing their seats. The names of the two wards in question will be submitted to the Committee for information.

Electors/residents were encouraged to vote in the run up to the  election via a comprehensive communications engagement programme linked with the Electoral Commission. The Returning Officer, Electoral Commission and Tower Hamlets Communication team had done a great deal to encourage electoral registration and access to the various voting methods available.

As a result of the controversy over elections in Tower Hamlets in 2014, the Returning Officer had chosen not to take his fees for any local elections,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.2

Musrat Zaman, Director of Workforce, OD and Business Support, introduced the annual report which detailed the level and management of employee relations casework with the Council and highlighted progress made. This report relates to the period from April 2021 – March 2022.

In response to the presentation, the Committee noted:

-       Clarification on why the report was moved from quarterly to annual submittance.

-       As the General Purposes Committee now consists of Members from the new  administration, a proposal was made for the report to be reverted back to quarterly submittance.

-       Clarification on the ratio of panellists.

-       Proposal to reinstate the formal three-member appeals panel.

Pat Chen, Head of HR clarified that the agreement to submit the report on an annual basis was made at the General Purposes Committee meeting held on 01 January 2022. At that time, the Committee were assured the good work would continue and therefore took the view that a quarterly update to the Committee in such detail was no longer required. A proposal was made to receive a report detailing updates on an annual basis going forward.

Musrat Zaman reported that the new appeals process had been agreed by the General Purposes Committee and assured members that appropriate training for managers was provided and that independence is built into the Disciplinary Process.  Furthermore, she confirmed that Trade Unions are involved in every step of the process and provide an additional level of scrutiny.

The Committee were urged to consider that 4 dismissals had taken place (workforce of circa 4,000 staff) and that the current process was robust, and these decisions are the responsibility of Officers with one Member on the appeal panel. Any changes can also not be unilaterally made and may require a change of constitution through Full Council. 

Mr. Tuckley advised the Committee to look carefully at the evidence before proposing further changes as more evaluation is required. Employment tribunals may result from appeals and decisions are usually taken by officers in most local authorities. It was noted that Members who attended previous tribunals, felt it highly inappropriate for them to be part of that process.  This then presents a greater risk to the organisation.

RESOLVED

1.     That the report be reverted back to quarterly submittance to the General  Purposes Committee.

2.     That the report be presented to a future Committee meeting examining  options around Employee Appeals processes, including exploring the re-introduction of the previous formal Employee Appeals Sub Committee

 3. That the report be noted.

Matthew Mannion, Head of Democratic Services Governance, introduced the committee to the updates for the new municipal year 22/23. The committee were asked to:

-       Note the General Purposes Committee’s role as general overseer of the Council’s Constitution.

-       Confirm whether it wishes to undertake reviews of any sections of the document.

-       Note the changes set out in Paragraph’s 3.12 to 3.14 of the report.

-       Agree the changes set out in Paragraph’s 3.15 to 3.17 of the report

In response to the presentation, the Committee noted:

-       Clarification on why sections 25 regarding investigatory powers and section 26 on the use of surveillance were included.

-       Clarification on the amended paragraph 3.15 regarding accepting personal gifts.

Mr. Mannion said that the aforementioned sections were added as Members are required to have oversight in the Audit Committee, as per legislation. The paragraph change relates to discussing any gifts received with your line manager, which may not be possible after acceptance in some instances. The new change states that in these cases this does not need discussions in advance, not does it require recording in the Gifts and Hospitality register.

RESOLVED

1.     That the report be noted, and the Constitution changes be agreed.

No resolution to exclude the press and public was passed at this meeting.

The exempt appendices related to the school Governor appointments and the Forthcoming Restructures were noted.

TO FOLLOW

This report was withdrawn