Agenda item
SCRUTINY SPOTLIGHT
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Lutfur Rahman, will attend to report on his portfolio.
(Time allocated – 45 minutes)
Minutes:
The Chair invited Councillor Lutfur Rahman, Leader of the Council, to address the Committee in the final Scrutiny Spotlight session for the current Municipal Year.
Councillor Rahman thanked the Members of the Committee for their excellent work over the past year, which had been a very challenging period due to the economic recession. He made particular points regarding the Council’s performance in that:
- The Care Quality Commission had rated the Council as excellent in some areas and capable of improving in others.
- OFSTED had given the Children’s Service an excellent rating, with services for vulnerable children being rated as outstanding quality.
- There had been an 11% improvement in GCSE results of 5 A – C passes. Significant performance improvements had been achieved at Bethnal Green College of Technology, George Green’s School and Bishop Challoner School, and the Building Schools for the Future programme and work around Youth Services would make a huge difference over the next few years.
- Beacon awards had been given for Older People’s Services and our work on reducing Child Poverty.
- Work had started on the Ocean Estate, with £42m having been made available for the refurbishment of 1200 homes and building of 800 more homes, half of which would be affordable. At Robin Hood Gardens, 1600 new homes would be built, 35% of which would be affordable social housing. 10,000 homes had been brought up to Decent Homes standards.
- £25m had been set aside to enable the buy-back of 3 and 4 bed ex-Council properties in connection with the Council’s overcrowding strategy.
- Redressing youth unemployment was very important and there had been great achievements in reducing the number categorised as NEETs. Skillsmatch had helped some 600 young persons into sustained employment and 100 new jobs had been created at the Olympics site.
- Supporting older residents was now a priority, with funds having been made available for luncheon clubs and other events. In home care, the charges had been removed for the Telecare service and a Council Tax rebate for households with a member over 60 years old had helped people cope with the coldest winter for 30 years.
- Challenges still remained in tackling crime, in view of a recent spate of stabbings and homophobic attacks but overall, reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in the Borough was the biggest in London. 20 new Police Officers had been funded and were now on the streets and more had been agreed by individual LAPs. £500,000 had been allocated to improve the CCTV network and £200,000 was to be spent on new street lighting.
- £9m of S106 funding from the Bishop’s Square project would help with improvements in the LAP 2 area building the cultural trail; £1m match funding was being provided by English Heritage to enhance the Olympic route and £4m was made available for the Victoria Park Masterplan.
Councillor Rahman added that work on services was proceeding on the assumption of future reduction in Government grants owing to the financial climate and this was being addressed in association with the Institute of Fiscal Studies. He was confident that front line services could be maintained by streamlining back of house arrangements, better use of resources and efficiency savings. Overall, he considered that the Council’s position was strong.
In response to questions from Members, Councillor Rahman indicated that:
- He was fully supportive of transparent processes for recruitment of top staff. He was prepared to look into any concerns expressed but was confident that the process in place was good.
- He was satisfied that the governance structure in place linking Tower Hamlets Homes and the Council was sound but would investigate any issues brought to his attention.
- The 2012 Olympics comprised a unique opportunity to reap legacy benefits for the surrounding area and he was proud that Tower Hamlets was one of the host Boroughs.
- The CAA results showed how much progress had been made as the new regime was tougher, with more robust assessments and showed that the Council was on the right path although there was always room for improvement in service delivery.
- The Council was committed to keeping the Mudchute Farm operational although any discussion on its funding would need discussion at a separate forum.
- Despite disparities of data, crime figures were demonstrably down and the Borough had improved as a place to live over the last 10-15 years. However, the community as a whole needed to make all efforts towards further reductions in view of incidents of knife crime over the past few months.
- Tower Hamlets was at the forefront of new home building and was ahead of any other borough with 9,000 homes built over the last few years, a substantial number of such properties being affordable. Construction targets were ambitious but realistic, with 1,500 new homes to be provided next year. The Ocean Estate and Robin Hood Gardens would provide a great environment with better homes for residents.
- To improve the lives of young people he was prepared to work on literacy rates and investigate the causes of crime, so as to improve life chances. The direction of youth facilities, particularly for girls, would also receive further consideration.
- He confirmed that Councillor Heslop’s comments regarding the new telephony system, possible alternative arrangements arising from top level staff vacancies and the use of premises other than Mulberry Place as an administrative headquarters would be taken up with appropriate Directors.
- He was satisfied that services were now being delivered well over the whole spectrum of Council activities, although it was essential not to be complacent. He further supported the preference for new governance arrangements as agreed recently at full Council.
The Chair thanked the Leader and Mr A. Dalvi, Corporate Director Development & Renewal, for their attendance and comprehensive presentation.