Agenda item
TO RECEIVE WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
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.
Minutes:
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:
11.1 Question from Councillor Jahed Choudhury:
Will the Mayor provide an update on how this Council plans to alleviate the current cost of living crisis on the residents of our borough, and any specific measures that have either been implemented or are likely to be implemented in the near future?
Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living:
At the meeting on 11th July 2022, Cabinet approved a package, of just under £3 million, to ease the cost of living crisis for 26,000 residents in the Borough. The Council has a Residents Support Grant Scheme, which distributes £600,000 in grants for white goods every year. This year, this has been increased to £800,000 to further support those who are struggling in the energy crisis. Regarding Council Tax, we will explore ways of helping the self employed on low income. We believe that they should receive the same benefit as those receiving wages.
At this point in the meeting, the Speaker invited Councillor Peter Golds to ask his question as set out in the supplemental agenda, under urgency procedures:
Question from Councillor Peter Golds:
Would the Mayor comment on the police raid of the former Isle of Dogs Police Station during on the evening of Sunday, 24th July, which was being used as a Cannabis factory. Would the Mayor also comment on the police statement that the premises had been sold in February 2022, although land registry records show the ownership of the building to be the Metropolitan Police?
Response of Mayor Lutfur Rahman:
It saddens me that public places are used in this way to grow cannabis. Not only here but at the Davenant Centre, due to this premises being left empty and the users wrongly ejected. This was a great premises. Its shameful and totally unacceptable.
This is a high crime Borough and the closure of the Police Station was wrong. Tackling crime was a top priority of our previous Administration. We invested in 55 Police Officers and Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs) and CCTV cameras. We also upgraded state of the art CCTV systems. I appreciate the money that has been allocated towards CCTV at this time. But we are a crime ridden Borough.
Fighting crime is one of our Manifesto pledges. We want everyone, our youngsters, our women and our elders to feel safe. We will be investing in more Police Officers. We are already in discussions with the appropriate authorities and the outgoing and now the Acting Borough Commander regarding measures. For example, we are looking at investing in more THEOs. Most importantly, we want a joined up approach to fighting crime and to achieve this, we need to invest in youth services and public services to make sure we work collectively to bring down crime.
Supplementary question from Councillor Peter Golds:
I was delighted to hear the Mayor refer to both the Isle of Dogs and the Davenant Centre, as well as the meetings with the Borough Commander. Can you assure the Council and residents that you will be asking the Police about the theft of the electricity to support the cannabis factory and the action to recover the money?
Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s response:
Yes. We want to see a base for the Police on the Island. We have approached the Borough Commander about this and will continue to discuss this with the appropriate authorities.
11.2 Question fromCouncillor Sirajul Islam:
Further to the announcement of the re-opening of the Rushmere One Stop Shop, can the Mayor confirm whether this will be permanent to ensure it remains open for residents for the foreseeable future?
Response of Mayor Lutfur Rahman:
We had four such shops during my previous Administration. Councillor Sirajul Islam was the Deputy Mayor under the Labour Administration. They closed three of them. I can assure you that by closing such facilities, the Council has deprived those who are not IT literate, the elderly and the infirm from face to face services from Council Officers. We are reviewing that. We have asked for the Rushmere One Stop Shop to remain open. I can assure you that we will have face to face services across the borough
Procedural Motion
Councillor Kabir Ahmed moved and Councillor Maium Talukdar seconded a procedural motion that under Council Procedure Rule 12.1 (c) the urgent motion relating to Youth Offending Services Report is considered as the next item of business. The Speaker indicated that he was satisfied that there were exceptional circumstances to permit such a change. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed. (Motion set out at the end of these minutes)
Following the consideration of the urgent motion, Councillor Kabir Ahmed moved and Councillor Maium Talukdar seconded a procedural motion that under Council Procedure Rule 12.1 (c), Agenda item 12.1, Motion relating to the Council Finances is considered as the next item of business. The Speaker indicated that he was satisfied that there were exceptional circumstances to permit such change. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed. (Motion set out under Item 12.1 in these minutes)
The Speaker of the Council moved a procedural motion that under Council Procedure Rule 9.1 the meeting be extended for 20 minutes to allow for the full 30 minutes to be allocated to hearing Member Questions. (Time being 9:55pm).This was put to the vote and was defeated.
11.3 Question from Councillor Bodrul Choudhury:
Many families are having to make the choice between eating and heating, often to the detriment of the educational needs of our Borough’s children. Will the Mayor clarify how his Council will be safeguarding our young people from the current crisis, both inside and outside of the classroom?
Response of Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning Statutory Deputy Mayor:
This Administration is serious about delivering for the people of Tower Hamlets. Education and Children’s services is one of our top priorities. The Mayor has already announced £2.7 M for cost of living support. We are also looking into investing into free school meals for secondary schools and reintroducing University grants/ Education Maintenance Allowances.
There were many other good measures on the way.
11.4 Question from Councillor Marc Francis:
Will the Mayor and Lead Member for Housing set out the actions he intends to take to ensure social landlords in Tower Hamlets that are underperforming in terms of housing management, repairs and accountability to residents are required to take decisive action to improve those services?
Response of Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding:
The Council has a close working relationship with 15 Housing Associations that provide 38,557 homes. The partnership is the Tower Hamlets Housing Forum. Where performance is unsatisfactory, the Council meet with the Housing Association to agree an action plan with timescales for improvements. If performance remains consistently substandard, the Council can make a referral to the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulators.
In terms of scrutiny involvement, I am happy to work with you and the scrutiny committee to address specific issues with Housing Associations. I am in support of working collaboratively to challenge poor practice and lack of service delivery.
Supplementary question from Councillor Marc Francis:
In respect of Clarion Housing in Bow, I am aware that a large number of residents are unable to report repairs due to a cyber attack. This situation is intolerable and has gone on for nearly 6 weeks. Something needs urgently to be done. I have emailed the Mayor about Clare House, which was also an urgent situation. Can you set up a meeting with yourself, the Mayor and all of us who represent the tenants to look into this and get decisive action.
Councillor Kabir Ahmed’s response to supplementary question:
I will work across the house to challenge bad practice. I am happy for us to join a cross party meeting with the Mayor, so we can send a unified message to landlords who are failing in their duty of care of their residents.
Question 11.5 – 11.22 were not put due to lack of time. (Written responses to follow)
Supporting documents:
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ReportMemberQuestionsCouncil27.07.22, item 11.
PDF 228 KB
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Urgent Question under Procedure Rule 10.4, item 11.
PDF 82 KB