Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor Asma Begum, (Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Equalities).

There were no Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

The unrestricted minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday 31 October 2018 are presented for approval.

RESOLVED

1.    That the unrestricted minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday 31 October 2018 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record of proceedings.

The Mayor made the following announcements:

·         Tomorrow (Thursday 29 November), he was expecting to sign an individual mayoral decision in relation to the risk contingency in relation to the new Town Hall project.

·         He was pleased to see that the Council had won 13 awards recently and was nominated for 11 at the next Local Government awards. Judging performance against your peers was an important measure for a local authority and he congratulated the staff involved in the nominated services.

Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) to report on any issues  raised by the OSC in relation to unrestricted business to be considered.

Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions were submitted in relation to agenda items:

·         6.1 (Planning for School Places – 2018/19 Review and Recommendations)

·         6.3 (Tower Hamlets Customer Service Transformation Plan 2018-22)

·         6.4 (London City Airport: Neighbouring Authority Agreement)

These were considered alongside each individual report.

In addition, Councillor Abdal Ullah, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, provided an update on the recent work of the Committee. The Committee had held a meeting earlier in the week at which they had focussed on the issue of employment aspiration. The Committee had heard from guest speakers as well as the Lead Cabinet Member and officers. A good discussion had followed on the key identified themes and issues.

The Committee had followed that with a discussion on Youth Services involving the Cabinet Lead Member and officers looking at the work the Council undertook in this area as well as key issues and challenges such as how to provide good outreach services, provision of soft skills training and encouraging participation by girls and young women.

The Mayor thanked Councillor Abdal Ullah for his update.

Nil items.

DECISION

1.    To note the current position on the projected need for school places;

2.    To agree the proposals for specific schemes to increase school places i.e.:

a.    the development of a new secondary school on the London Dock site for opening in September 2022;

3. To note the progress of plans to rationalise the primary school provision in areas of the borough where there is a significant surplus;

4.    To note the progress made in relation to:

a.    The development of a new primary school at Wood Wharf on the Isle of Dogs.

b.    The development of a new secondary school at Westferry Printworks on the Isle of Dogs.

c.    The expansion of Phoenix Special School on the site of the former Bow Boys Secondary School at Paton Close, E3 and the planned enlargement of Beatrice Tate Special School.

d.    The plans and options for future school developments in the East to meet the anticipated need for additional places.

5.    To agree the funding for the development of the new schools as outlined in paragraph 3.46 of the report;

6.    To note the options for the commissioning of a school provider when a new school is to be established; and

7.    To note that this report sets out the Council’s plan to exercise its Education functions, not its functions as a Local Planning Authority (LPA). It aligns with the LPA stance at the Local Plan Examination in Public, particularly on the plan to retain the current allocation of school sites.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR, CHILDREN AND CULTURE (D. JONES)

(Head of Pupil Services and School Sufficiency (T. Bryan)

Councillor Hassell, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Young People, introduced the report on planning for school places. He provided an update on expected pupil numbers and the central ambition of the Council to ensure the right school provision was available in the right parts of the Borough at the right time. He noted that pupil numbers had not risen as far as expected and that school places would therefore need careful management especially as primary school demand moved towards the East of the Borough.

He also took Council through expected secondary school demand and plans to manage that including potential new schools. Finally he highlighted the planned increase in capacity for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Cabinet discussed the report looking at a number of issues including:

·         Potential development sites.

·         Falling fertility rates

·         Changing Borough demographics

The Mayor thanked everyone for their contributions, noted the pre-decision scrutiny questions and officer responses, and agreed the recommendations as set out.

RESOLVED

1.    To note the current position on the projected need for school places;

2.    To agree the proposals for specific schemes to increase school places i.e.:

a.    the development of a new secondary school on the London Dock site for opening in September 2022;

3. To note the progress of plans to rationalise the primary school provision in areas of the borough where there is a significant surplus;

4.    To note the progress made in relation to:

a.    The development of a new primary school at Wood Wharf on the Isle of Dogs.

b.    The development of a new secondary school at Westferry Printworks on the Isle of Dogs.

c.    The expansion of Phoenix Special School on the site of the former Bow Boys Secondary School at Paton Close, E3 and the planned enlargement of Beatrice Tate Special School.

d.    The plans and options for future school developments in the East to meet the anticipated need for additional places.

5.    To agree the funding for the development of the new schools as outlined in paragraph 3.46 of the report;

6.    To note the options for the commissioning of a school provider when a new school is to be established; and

7.    To note that this report sets out the Council’s plan to exercise its Education functions, not its functions as a Local Planning Authority (LPA). It aligns with the LPA stance at the Local Plan Examination in Public, particularly on the plan to retain the current allocation of school sites.

The report was withdrawn from the agenda.

The report was withdrawn from the agenda.

The recommendations were amended and then agreed.

DECISION

1.    To agree the Tower Hamlets Customer Service Transformation Plan as attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

2.    To agree our Customer Promises as set out at Appendix 2 to the report.

3.    To agree the proposed approach in terms of phasing the Customer Service Transformation Plan’s development as set out in this report in paragraphs 3.22 – 3.24 of the report.

4.    To agree in principle the creation of a Customer Board, chaired by the Cabinet Member for Culture, Arts and Brexit, to monitor delivery of the Customer Service Transformation Plan dependant on further discussion with the Mayor about the proposed Board and its terms of reference.

5.    To delegate the development of the Customer Service Transformation Plan implementation plan to the Corporate Director, Resources; and the Divisional Director, Customer Services; in consultation with the Mayor and Lead Member. 

Action by:

ACTING CORPORATE DIRECTOR, RESOURCES (N. MURTON)

(Divisional Director, Customer Services (S. Hussain)

(Head of Corporate Strategy and Policy (A. Hoque)

(Senior Strategy, Policy and Performance Officer (C. Linnanne)

Councillor Amina Ali, Cabinet Member for Culture, Arts and Brexit, introduced the report setting out plans to transform the Council’s customers services with a particular focus on enabling digital interactions for those residents who wished to use these channels. She explained that evidence showed significant demand from residents for increased digital transaction options and these had the further benefit for the Council that they were cheaper than traditional communication methods.

However, she explained that it was important face-to-face and phone contact was still available for those who needed them.

The Mayor noted the pre-decision scrutiny questions and officer responses. He then reviewed the recommendations in the report. He stated that although he agreed in principle to the proposed Customer Board, he would wish to hold further discussions on its proposed remit and arrangements before it was initiated. He therefore amended the recommendations to reflect that before agreeing them.

RESOLVED

1.    To agree the Tower Hamlets Customer Service Transformation Plan as attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

2.    To agree our Customer Promises as set out at Appendix 2 to the report.

3.    To agree the proposed approach in terms of phasing the Customer Service Transformation Plan’s development as set out in this report in paragraphs 3.22 – 3.24 of the report.

4.    To agree in principle the creation of a Customer Board, chaired by the Cabinet Member for Culture, Arts and Brexit, to monitor delivery of the Customer Service Transformation Plan dependant on further discussion with the Mayor about the proposed Board and its terms of reference.

5.    To delegate the development of the Customer Service Transformation Plan implementation plan to the Corporate Director, Resources; and the Divisional Director, Customer Services; in consultation with the Mayor and Lead Member. 

DECISION

1.    To approve the entering into a Neighbouring Authority Agreement with London City Airport.

Action by:

ACTING CORPORATE DIRECTOR, PLACE (A. SUTCLIFFE)

(Divisional Director, Planning and Building Control (O. Whalley)

Councillor Rachel Blake, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Air Quality, introduced the report looking to enter into an agreement to enable residents to benefit from noise insulation works subsidised by the airport. She explained that, whilst the Council had opposed the expansion of the airport this did not prevent it from ensuring residents could benefit from the available noise insulation payments.

The Mayor noted the pre-decision scrutiny questions and officer responses and agreed the recommendations as set out.

RESOLVED

1.    To approve the entering into a Neighbouring Authority Agreement with London City Airport.

Nil items.

Should the Mayor in Cabinet consider it necessary, it is recommended that the following motion be adopted to allow consideration of any exempt/restricted documents.

“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)

Nil items.

Nil items.

Nil items.

Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) to report on any issues  raised by the OSC in relation to exempt/confidential business to be considered.

Nil items.

Nil items.

Nil items.