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.

 

 

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 Amin Rahman.

 

Could the lead member provide an update on the status of the council’s outstanding accounts requiring sign off? These accounts were left unsigned for many years under the previous administration.

 

Response from Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living.

 

Thank you for your question. The accounts had been left unsigned for many years by the previous administration. However, I am pleased to report that 2016/17 and 2017/18 accounts had their certificates issued by KPMG in March 2023, so these years are now completed.

 

For 2018/19 and 2019/20 accounts, the audits are close to completion in terms of the number of significant issues being investigated, there being only one remaining. The Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer will be meeting with Deloitte within the coming week to establish a clear commitment and assurance regarding Deloitte ability to resource the process to achieve timelines required for November Audit Committee approval and to ensure a smooth handover to our newly appointed auditors Ernst &Young.

 

The historical low for our council has been rectified.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Amin Rahman.

 

Can you provide update on whether the financial statements, for more current years will be affected due to the issues raised by the auditors in the past?

 

Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living.

 

We now have a permanent Section 151 officer, which is good news for the Council. As each year’s accounts move closer to finalisation, there is a great deal of learning that then needs to be applied to subsequent years. Officers are pro-actively applying these improvements, with the aim of them being reflected in future years’ accounts at first publication. As a result, the 2021/22 and 2022/23 accounts have not been produced yet.

 

 

 

11.2 Question from Councillor Mufeedah Bustin.

 

When will the Mayor be in a position to communicate the outcome of his review of the council’s asset portfolio? Many organisations are left in limbo, including those waiting 18 months for decisions on meanwhile use properties, and in my ward, lease renewals for the Mudchute and operators for Island Gardens café.

 

Response from Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living.

 

The review of transactions is an ongoing process, and transactions are progressing following completion of reviews.  Some cases are more complex than others, and outcomes will be communicated once all the issues have been considered. The decisions on the two specific cases mentioned have been completed and the relevant organisations are being informed.

 

The Mayor has always supported those organisations in the third sector, unlike the previous administration who reduced recipients and reducing funding. Mayor will significantly increase the funding and double the number.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Mufeedah Bustin. 

 

Looking at the Mayor’s grants programme, the funding applied to advice services has been reduced. Most of the funding for grants has been taken from the neighbourhood CIL, from the Island and invested in other parts of the Borough. I want to know when will Mudchute and the operators of Island Gardens Café know about the offer made to them. 

 

Response from Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living.

 

The process followed for review was officer led and has been reviewed by the Chief Executive. This has been agreed by Cabinet. The administration is making the right choices unlike the previous labour administration.

 

11.3 Question from Councillor Musthak Ahmed.

 

Can the lead member share the findings of the independent investigation into housing management following the complaint brought by 31 members of staff in the department?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding.

 

I’d like to thank the booking team for the exceptional work they have done, to progress this matter. However, the matter has yet not been finalised but has been progressed following our internal procedures. At this stage it would not be appropriate to share any details on this matter given that it relates to confidential staffing matters.  Once the matter has been concluded, and if there are broad outcomes that can be shared, without disclosing confidential information, then this can be done. 

 

 

11.4 Question from Councillor Asma Islam.

 

Can the Mayor and lead member clarify what percentage of the administration’s 1000 a year house building target will be for social rent?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding.

 

The majority of affordable homes are delivered via the planning process. The current Local Plan has a 35% habitable rooms affordable housing onsite requirement with a tenure split of 70% affordable/social rent and 30% intermediate. We are currently working on a new Local Plan and aim to increase the level of affordable/social rented accommodation delivered through the planning process. 

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Asma Islam .

 

So, it’s a question of let’s see how we get along then?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding.

 

 

We want to exceed this 70/30 split. We have invested £73million additional funds identified in housing capital at Cabinet. We are looking to increase the split to 80/20 and hope to deliver 1000 council units plus more from other social housing developments.

 

 

11.5 Question from Councillor Shafi Ahmed.

 

Could the lead member provide an update on the purpose, parameters and processes of the LGA Corporate Peer Review that took place between 18^th and 22^nd September?

 

Response from Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living.

 

LGA Corporate Peer Challenges are coordinated by the Local Government Association on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The council invited the LGA to carry this out as it has been 5 years since our last full Corporate Peer Challenge and the expectation from government is that these happen on a 5-year cycle.

 

The Corporate Peer Challenge is an effective and well-regarded sector led improvement tool. By bringing together political and managerial leadership, through the use of member and officer peers it provides local authorities with robust, credible challenge and support across five core strategic areas:

 

·       Local priorities and outcomes

·       Organisational and place leadership

·       Governance and culture

·       Financial planning and management

·       Capacity for improvement

 

The council will receive a report and come up with an action plan which we will embed into our improvement and transformation work. The LGA will then carry out a progress review 6-8 months after the publication of their report.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Shafi Ahmed.

 

What is the timeline for the first report from the LGA peer review?

 

Response from Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living.

 

The first report will be in November 2023.

 

 

11.6 Question from Councillor Rachel Blake.

 

Could the lead member inform me when residents in Bow East will have their regular food waste collections resume. Residents in my ward and across the borough have spent weeks without collection.

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environment and the Climate Emergency.

 

Collections of food waste had been disrupted over a number of weeks during the summer and we must apologise for the impact on residents. This was due to an increase in absence from sickness and staff taking a backlog of annual leave. We apologise for the level of disruption and inconvenience this has caused.

Action is being taken to ensure we have sufficient staff cover to maintain collections, with plans being developed to ensure food and waste services are not disrupted due to staff sickness or leave. Post strike action, we expect to be able to deliver this improvement in service, with improved monitoring and follow up of missed collection.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Rachel Blake.

 

It’s clear the Mayor and lead members have very little real interest in the Environment. I note the Lead members apology to residents of Bow East for the appalling service they have received but will an apology be communicated to the residents of Bow Quarter, Annie Besant Close, Towergate House and Taylor Place, whose waste collection only seems to be collected when ward councillors get involved. What is being done to resolve this issue?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environment and the Climate Emergency.

 

Members and residents are encouraged to use the ‘Find it, fix it’ app to report missing collections. The Mayor has invested £10m in this crisis and £2.1m to improve recycling services. Residents are reminded to download and use the app.

 

11.7 Question from Councillor Kamarul Hussain.

 

Could the lead member outline how the council is looking to make Workpath more accessible to the residents of Tower hamlets? It is understood plans are being discussed to redesign the service and move it to the new Town Hall in Whitechapel as part of an efficiency and improvement exercise.

 

Response from Councillor Wahid Ali, Cabinet member for Jobs, Skills and Growth.

 

Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of the Workpath team who assist residents in finding employment. With the resident’s hub moving into the Town Hall, we have embedded ourselves in the community and have the ability to signpost people and provide a more integrated service.

 

 

11.8 Question from Councillor Amy Lee.

 

Councillor Lee was not present to ask the question, however it was agreed that a written response would be provided to her question.

 

 

11.9 Question from Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled.

 

Following coverage of issues within the council’s housing management service, can the lead member provide an update on what steps have been taken to address outstanding issues and how future issues will be addressed?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding.

 

 

Recent media coverage referenced several concerns from staff within the Homelessness Service.

 

The council takes staff wellbeing seriously and acknowledges that the Homelessness Service has experienced significant pressure in previous months.

 

·       The pressure is being felt London-wide.

·       It is related to an increase in the number of approaches from residents for homelessness assistance due to the cost-of-living crisis, families not being able to continue to house family members and an increase in evictions from private rented homes due to the eviction ban, that was in place during Covid, being lifted.

·       There is a lack availability of suitable accommodation in and around London.

·       In quarter 1 this year only 1.9% of the private rentals in London were at LHA rates.

There are several measures that are in place now to address service pressures and staff wellbeing.

 

We will continue to monitor service pressures and the impact on staff, and we will adjust service provision in consultation with staff to better meet resident needs and build staff resilience.

 

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled. 

 

Can you state what measures have been put in place to address the issue. 

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding.

 

Measures in place:

 

·       22 extra posts being recruited to across the service at all levels to build resilience and extra capacity in the service.

·       £600k of ICT investment to consolidate ICT systems, remove bureaucracy, and double entry.

·       ICT roadmap identifying improvements that will run in parallel to each other.

·       Improved connectivity in the Residents’ Hub.

·       Quematic queuing system installed in the Residents’ Hub.

·       Electronic forms to enable signature of legal documents by those in temporary accommodation therefore avoiding a return to the office.

·       Revised Homelessness online form now ‘live’ reducing staff time inputting data.

·       Staff wellbeing survey in June 2023 which identified 40 actions to improve staff wellbeing and workflows. These have been actioned with the remaining ones due for action completing end of September 2023

 

 

11.10 Question from Councillor Ayas Miah.

 

DVLA statistics show that there has been a drop in the number of low emission vehicles registered in the borough in the last year, despite numbers increasing elsewhere in the country. Could the lead member inform me what the borough is doing to increase the uptake of electric/low emission vehicles and explain why this may not be working?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environment and the Climate Emergency.

 

There are three types of charging points – fast, standard and slow charging points. We need to find places to increase the availability of public charging points. The council is working on plans for a significant increase in publicly available charging points in the borough. There are currently 350 public chargers in Tower Hamlets and the plans are for an additional 2000 chargers over the next three years. These include new rapid, fast and standard chargers which will start to be installed in early 2024.

 

 

11.11 Question from Councillor Bodrul Choudhury.

 

Following the momentous launch of free school meals for over 38,000 additional children across tower hamlets - including at secondary level - could the lead member provide an update on what schools, parents and pupils have had to say about the new service?

 

Response from Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning.

 

Nearly all the schools in the borough now offer free school meals. We have been able to deliver this initiative ahead of the predicted schedule and praise must be given to the commitment and collaboration of headteachers.

 

The programme was launched at Swanlea School, in front of local and national media and will help support parents during the cost-of-living crisis. The feedback has been positive with schools reporting there had been an uptake in the number of students accessing free school meals.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Bodrul Choudhury.

 

The Deputy Mayor and I attended the LGA training course last week and the Council was commended for the introduction of universal Free School meals. Members for other authorities were grateful for this.

 

 

Response from Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning.

 

Thank you, Councillor Choudhury. It was a proud moment for the Council and people of this Borough. The initiative and investment were appreciated by members, politicians and officers.

 

11.12 Question from Councillor Sabina Akhtar.

 

 

Can the lead member confirm:

 

·       Whether all buildings within the LBTH estate have been surveyed for RAAC (including schools)?

·       Can he detail the mitigation measures for where RAAC has been found?

·       If surveys have not been completed, can he provide a timeline for their completion?

 

Response from Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning.

 

Thank you for the question. As you’ll be aware this is a national problem and it’s important that we seek to keep children and staff safe in the schools, that we operate and maintain.

 

We are less effected than other local authorities. Stepney All Saints, Church of England is closed at present however the school is in discussion with the DfE. We are keeping a close eye on this situation. Other schools affected are local authority-maintained school Seven Mills, the affected area (main hall) has been closed to pupils with alternative spaces within the school being used for impacted activities.  

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Sabina Akhtar.

 

Stepney All Saints is in my ward. What is the latest update as to when the school can reopen?

 

Response from Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning.

 

The school and officers of the Council are in negotiations with the DfE. Safety of children and staff is vital. We must ensure the safety of all and as such the school will re-open when it’s safe to do so.

 

 

11.13 Question from Cllr Ahmodul Kabir

 

Could the lead member provide an update on the ongoing work to address the service issues outlined in the waste emergency declared by the mayor last year?

 

Response from Councillor Kabir Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environment and the Climate Emergency.

 

The declaration of a waste emergency by the Mayor was a statement of intent to clean up our borough.

 

We have started by redesigning the service from within. Plans are underway to improve management and support of front-line teams, re-design collection routes, to continue with investment in greening our fleet, to focus on recycling improvements, to improve standards of street cleansing and target environmental crime such as fly tipping, litter and graffiti. Our plans also include improvements to our commercial waste service. To include a more flexible and reliable waste and recycling offer that meets the needs of customers, with improved on-line ordering / digital account management.

 

We have re-launched our Find It Fix App and are promoting this widely. This makes it easier to report problems that need action. As we work towards a cleaner borough, it’s important for our residents to act as our eyes and ears by reporting street waste using Find It Fix It.  We will continue to work with all our staff and front-line teams to ensure a cleaner and greener future for Tower Hamlets.

 

 

 

Questions 11.8 was not put due to the absence of the questioner and Questions 11.14 to 11.27 were not put due to lack of time. The written responses are attached at Appendix A.