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 Shafi Ahmed

 

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

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

The 2018/19 and 2019/20 accounts are expected to be signed off at the end of November.

 

Following widespread speculation of the shape and form of a central government initiative to ensure that the backlog of previous years’ accounts is addressed, the 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 accounts will all be published early in the new year (re-presented in the case of the 2020/21 accounts). The hope and expectation is that the accounts will be able to go through the required statutory processes, although the precise shape and form of the audit is as yet unknown – there is speculation that government will issue special guidance for auditors.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Shafi Ahmed.

How can we ensure delays to the accounts do not happen again?

 

Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources

and the Cost of Living

 

It’s important to note that the 2016/17 and 2017/18 accounts have been certified and now with the appointment of a permanent Section 151 Officer, the council is working towards completing the accounts for the outstanding years. Officers have been applying the improvement and have vastly improved the processes involved. The Council is awaiting the guidance from Central government regarding how the delayed accounts should be dealt with.

 

 

11.2    Question from Councillor Mohammad Chowdhury.

 

A significant number of residents in Mile End, as well as throughout Tower Hamlets, are facing challenges when it comes to electric car charging. The availability of both slow and fast chargers is currently insufficient, leading to car owners driving around for extended periods in search of a charging station, which results in time-consuming charging processes. This situation is adversely impacting people's employment and daily routines. Could you please provide information about the council's strategy and plans for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the area?

 

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

 

The Council has published an EV strategy, which can be found at the following link https://talk.towerhamlets.gov.uk/evchargers. The following sets out the numbers to be installed up to 2030 

  

Year	2023/24 Delivery target	2024/25 Delivery target	2025/26 Delivery target	Total Target for 2026	Total Target for 2030
Slow	350	650	800	1800	5000
Fast	50	60	90	200	500
Rapid	10	10	15	35	100
Total	410	720	905	2035	5600

 

 

11.3    Question from Councillor Amin Rahman. 

 

Can the lead member provide an update on the outcome of the LGA Corporate Peer Review which took place between 18th and 22nd September of this year?

 

Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources

and the Cost of Living

 

The LGA Corporate Peer Review Process is a robust and rigorous assurance and improvement tool managed and delivered by the sector, for the sector. It is designed to complement and add value to a council’s own performance and improvement focus. The Review Process covers:

 

1.       Local priorities and outcomes

2.       Organisational and place leadership

3.       Governance and culture

4.       Financial planning and management

5.       Capacity for improvement

 

As the last LGA Corporate Peer Review had been completed 5 years ago and it is good practice to ensure a full review is undertaken every five years, The LGA were invited back to undertake a corporate peer review of the Council by the Mayor and the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive asked that the peer review, when covering the above five areas, undertake a deeper review of leadership of place, finance and governance.

 

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Amin Rahman.

When is the LGA Peer Review going to be published?

 

Response of Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources

and the Cost of Living

 

A formal report is scheduled to be published by the LGA in December. 

 

A draft action plan will be prepared to draw together the actions necessary to address the recommendations emerging from the Peer Review. Following Council / Mayoral approval it is planned to be published alongside the LGA Peer Review Report in December.

 

 

11.4    Question from Councillor Marc Francis.

 

How many homeless families are still currently housed in B&Bs beyond the six-week limit?

 

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

 

As of November 2023, we have 229 families in Bed and Breakfast. We have inherited a perfect storm. With increased mortgage and interest rates and lack of social housing, the numbers of families seeking suitable accommodation including temporary accommodation has increased. We are waiting for the government to legislate against this. It’s not just Tower Hamlets who is struggling with this but Councils across the country.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Marc Francis.

Can the lead member state why Tower Hamlets is such an outlier of the 6-weeks limit?

 

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

 

Tower Hamlets is taking steps to address this and is supporting residents. We have accommodated families in specific Bed and Breakfast hotels rather than corporate hotels and have set up modular homes for the homeless. We have our new local plan and hope to increase the amount of social housing available to us.

 

 

11.5    Question from Councillor Kamrul Hussain.

 

Could the lead member explain how he intends to generate much needed income from events in Victoria Park? Can he tell us how many events are being considered over the year, their capacities and how much does he expect to raise? I understand this money will go towards balancing the council budget as well as maintaining the park.

 

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

 

Victoria Park is a key asset of the Council. It is a green flag rated park and has millions of visitors each year. It’s a significant cultural hub and as such we are looking to generate income from holding social events. The “All points East” events generated £3m for the council and this is key income that can be used to support residents. The commercial events policy has been reived and the threshold has been increased from 5,000 to 20,000 in line with other London Boroughs.

 

 

Questions 11.6 to 11.28 were not put due to lack of time. The written responses are attached at Appendix A.