(Maximum of 30 minutes allowed)

 

The questions which have been received from Councillors are set out in agenda item 7 attached.  There is a maximum time limit of 30 minutes for this agenda item.

7.1             Question from Councillor Muhammad Abdullah Salique to the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families, Councillor Abdul Asad re: improvement in educational achievements in the last 4 years

 

7.2             Question from Councillor Tim Archer to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis re: allocation of Section 106 money

 

7.3             Question from Councillor Alibor Choudhury to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Lutfur Rahman re: achievements of the Council’s 6 political priorities in the last two years

 

7.4             Question from Councillor Abjol Miah – This question was withdrawn (see below)

 

7.5             Question from Councillor Ann Jackson to the Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Rofique Ahmed re: protection of the borough’s heritage over the last 4 years

 

7.6             Question from Councillor Stephanie Eaton to the Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, Councillor Abdal Ullah re: the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in Tower Hamlets

 

7.7             Question from Councillor Bill Turner to the Lead Member for Regeneration, Localisation and Community Partnerships, Councillor Rania Khan re: the participatory budgeting events in the LAP areas

 

7.8             Question from Councillor David Snowdon to the Lead Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Ohid Ahmed re: the Council’s budget

 

The above questions, and oral supplementary questions where put, were responded to by the relevant Lead Members.

 

Question 7.4 was withdrawn as a motion on the same subject had already been debated.  Due to the lack of time, questions 7.9 – 7.26 were not put.  Written responses will be forwarded to the questioners.

 

(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)

 

7.1             Question from Councillor Muhammad Abdullah Salique to the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families, Councillor Abdul Asad

 

Can the Lead Member for Children, Schools and Families outline how educational achievement has improved in the last 4 years under this Labour administration for Key stage 1,2,3, GCSE and A-Levels, where there has been investment in the bricks and mortar of the borough’s schools and where this money has come from?

 

            Response of the Lead Member

 

The borough’s Children’s Centres, primary and secondary schools have benefited from significant investment over the past four years. This has meant improvements to existing facilities, as well as brand new facilities for Tower Hamlets’ children and young people aged 0–18 and their families. Almost £67m of investment has gone into improving primary and secondary schools through the Primary Capital and Building Schools for the Future programmes while £7.25m has gone into building 23 Children’s Centres across the borough.

 

Additional investment of £56m is also planned for the coming year, 2010-11. This will see investment of £18 million in two of the borough’s secondary schools during the course of 2010-11 and will result in much improved facilities in the coming years. The brand new school at St Paul’s Way will open in January 2011 and will provide state of the art facilities for pupils and the wider community. Investment in our Children Centre’s is critical to outcomes in the early years and investment in schools is key to raising attainment and breaking cycles of poverty, both features of our work to tackle child poverty in the borough.

 

While the funding for these programmes comes largely from central government grants the Council has, on occasion, contributed additional investment to both primary and secondary capital works. This includes the £6.5m provided to the BSF programme to fund a community space at St Paul’s Way School.

 

In recent years we have seen some impressive outcomes at all Key Stages. For example, 69% of 7 year olds (Key Stage 1) are now achieving level 2b in reading – an improvement in the last four years from 63% – while 71% are achieving level 2 in maths (compared to 64% in 2006/07.) Progression by 2 levels in maths between KS1 and KS2 has also improved – up from 79% in 2006/07 to 87% in the latest set of results. This compares to 81% nationally with Tower Hamlets improving faster than the national rate.

 

Since 2006/07 the achievement of Level 4 and above in English and maths at age 11 (Key Stage 2) has improved by 3% percentage points to 74% which is 2 percentage points above the national outcome and a particularly impressive result for the borough’s primary schools.

 

Summer 2009 also saw our best ever GCSE results continuing our strong upward trend. On the 5+ A*-C grade GCSEs including English and maths measure we achieved 46% compared to 51% nationally. This is a massive improvement on the 2006/07 result of 34% and means Tower Hamlets is rapidly closing the gap, now improving at almost twice the national rate of improvement. Alongside this we have one of the smallest gaps in the country between the attainment of our pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers – in 2008/09 42% of pupils eligible for FSM in Tower Hamlets secured 5+ A*-C grade, including English and maths, compared to just 27% nationally.

 

At A Level we have also seen improvements in the past four years with the Average Points Score per student increasing from 606 to 631 in summer 2009. A range of interventions are also in place to bring about further improvement at A Level.

 

 Summary of supplementary question from Councillor Muhammad Abdullah Salique: 

 

 Can the Lead Member account particularly for the improvements in Bethnal Green North and in LAP 1?

 

 Summary of Lead Member’s response:  

 

 There has been a 6.7% rise since 2005.  75% of young people are achieving 5 A-C* in mathematics and English.  £17m has been put into the Bethnal Green Technology College under the Labour Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme.  Morpeth School has works commencing next month.  This borough is committed to improvements in the education of its children year on year.

 

 

7.2             Question from Councillor Tim Archer to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis

 

£300,000 of S106 money received in April 2007 from the redevelopment of the former Jaguar showroom on Limeharbour is being spent on street lighting.  How was this decision made?

        

            Response of the Lead Member

 

In April 2004 the Council made a section 106 agreement with the developer of 3 Limeharbour.  This agreement included the payment of £300,000 to Tower Hamlets Council to be spent on:

 

"improvements to the St John's Community Hall in Glengall Grove and/or environmental improvements to streets within the vicinity of the site."

 

I am told the money was paid to the council in May 2007.

 

At the Planning Contributions Overview Panel (PCOP) Officers Panel on the 29th October 2009 a report was presented in relation to that £300,000.  Council officers discussed and approved the allocation of all that funding to the environmental improvements.  

 

A scheme has been developed to improve the pedestrian links between Limeharbour and Manchester Road providing a safe, attractive and accessible environment.   The scheme includes road junction improvements, a raised zebra crossing, improved footways, new street lighting and planting.   This is a good scheme and I don’t question it’s merits.

 

But I can tell you that I am far from happy with this outcome and the process gone through to reach it.  I do not believe it is appropriate for council officers to make a decision to deny St John’s Community Centre’s reasonable expectation of monies without reference either to myself as the Lead Member or Cllr Shafiqul Haque as Chair of the Development Committee.  I have seen the written report presented to officers and I am extremely concerned about it’s failure to acknowledge the value of monies to improve St John’s Community Hall.  This decision may have been in line with the letter of the legal agreement but it was clearly not in line with its spirit.

 

I can assure everyone in this Chamber that I have made it quite clear that I do not expect a similar situation to arise again in future.  I can also confirm this evening that a sum of up to £65,000 has been identified to support the refurbishment of the St Johns Community Centre.

 

Summary of supplementary question from Councillor Tim Archer: 

 

I thank you for your kind words and I am delighted the money has been found for the St. John’s Community Centre.  But why is that the decisions on how Section 106 money is spent have become so far removed from what the community want? I thank you for stepping in but why did we get here and how can we do better going forward?

 

Summary of Lead Member’s response: 

 

It is perfectly legitimate for officers to seek to maximise the benefits of section 106 but I have made it clear that I am not happy with the process that was followed in this case and that I do not expect this to happen again.  I am happy to discuss this further outside of this Chamber.

 

 

 

 

7.3             Question from Councillor Alibor Choudhury to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Lutfur Rahman

 

Could the Leader of the Council tell us what has been achieved towards each of the Council’s 6 political priorities in the last two years, giving a detailed breakdown by LAP of investment and delivery?

 

Response of the Lead Member

 

Thank you for you question Cllr Choudhury. So much has been done in the last few years that I can’t cover everything in the time we’ve got. So I’ll give you the borough-wide headlines for each priority, a more detailed written answer will be provided shortly.

 

GCSE Results

In terms of raising GCSE results:

 

·        We’ve seen an 11.8 per cent improvement the attainment of 5 A* – C at GCSE including English and Maths between 2005/06 and 2008/09 – 6 times the national rate of improvement.

·       In LAP 4 and LAP 8 this rises to 18 per cent, and in LAP 7, an incredible 25 per cent improvement

·       The Labour Government’s Building Schools for the Future program has seen over £40m invested in the last two years with major improvements to Morpeth, St Paul’s Way and Sir John Cass Schools, as well as Bethnal Green Technology College.

·       The new Wessex 6^th form Centre, which opened recently, will also transform the way A-levels are taught.

·       An additional 80 pupils supported through 1:1 tuition, and 400 pupils using online learning and study support

·       And in the budget we recently passed, there was a provision of £100,000 to get laptops for the poorest students.

 

Housing and Overcrowding

 

In terms of Housing and Overcrowding, we have:

 

·        Invested £20m in buying back family-sized homes sold under the right to buy.

·        Spent more than £60m on housing improvement, with a further £2.5m allocated in this year’s budget.

·        Secured £2.5 million from the HCA to start building Council Housing.

·        And pushed through the Ocean and Blackwall Reach regeneration programs which will lead to 2500 new homes, most of which will be social rented and able to accommodate larger families.

·        Developed an Overcrowding Reduction Strategy for Tower Hamlets which is being delivered in partnership with 18 housing associations signed up to the Common Housing Register.

·        Overhauled the Choice Based Lettings Scheme to make it fairer and more transparent

·        Reduced the number of families in temporary accommodation by 30 per cent since 2006

·        Halved the number of “non-decent” social rented homes in the borough

 

Tackling Crime and ASB

 

Turning to tackling crime and ASB:

 

·        In 2008/9 the borough has had the largest reduction in overall crime figures in London – representing 17% of the overall crime reduction in the Capital including a 29.2% drop in gun crime, a 22.2% drop in youth violence and a 13.5% drop in knife crime

·        We also put an extra 20 police officers on the streets and £500,000 into new CCTV and better street lighting.

·        And of course we've put 20 new police officers on the streets and dozens of Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers.

·        Our work was recognised last year when we were given a Beacon Award for reducing re-offending in 2008

 

Improving Cleanliness and the public realm

 

In terms of improving the public realm:

 

·        The 2008/9 Annual Residence Survey showed an 8 % increase in satisfaction with street cleanliness, above our target and the London average

·        The very successful ‘We Can Recycle More’ campaign launched leading to a very impressive 50% improvement in recycling in 2008/9

·        £1m grant funding secured from English Heritage, match funded by the Council to undertake an historic buildings improvement scheme

·        £4.4m Heritage Lottery Fund and match funding of £5.5m secured to improve Victoria Park

·        Maintained all the boroughs Green Flag Awards for Parks in 2008/9 and achieved a new one for Millwall

 

Supporting older people

 

In terms of supporting older people:

 

·        The Council continued to support more frail older people with intensive homecare than any other local authority in the country.  625 households were receiving an intensive home care package in September 2008, an increase of 9% from September 2007.

·        The innovative LinkAge Plus programme offers residents over the age of 50 a range of social and health related activities.  Outreach workers have contacted over 10,000 isolated people since the partnership was established in 2006. 

·        In 2008 we abolished telecare charges

·        And this year we’ve invested more than £300,000 in luncheon clubs to get our older residents out and about.

·        And all this has meant that the Quality Care Commission has rated us as excellent in terms of Commissioning, Leadership and Older People’s Choice and Control.

 

Reducing Youth Unemployment

 

In terms of reducing youth unemployment:

 

·        We have decreased the number of young people not in Education, Employment or training by 50 per cent in three years, the largest year on year reduction in London

·        Skillsmatch has placed 592 young people into sustainable employment since 2008. It has also helped 63 graduates find work placements since April last year with 75 per cent moving on to sustainable employment.

·        We have allocated £5.7m over 18 months through our Working Neighbourhood Fund to focus on reducing and preventing youth unemployment

·        In October we secured £650,000 from the Labour Government’s Future Job Fund, placing 100 local people of whom 80 were 18-24 in work.

·        And recently 3 organisations - Tower Hamlets Council, Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association and City Gateway have just been awarded additional Future Jobs Fund investment in March 2010 to create a further 152 jobs focusing on young people. This equates to a further £988,000 investment in the borough.

 

This, as I’ve said, is the tip of the iceberg. But it should give an indication of our commitment to the residents of Tower Hamlets and show that only Labour is willing to work hard to meet their needs.

 

Summary of supplementary question from Councillor Alibor Choudhury:

 

Despite the rubbish that has been in the media and the attack on this borough by the Dispatches programme, it is clear that we have come a long way.  This Council believes in inclusion and we have delivered.  If the Tories were to get into power, what effect would that have on investment in the community?

 

 

 

 

 

Summary of Lead Member’s response: 

 

I believe it would be devastating for this borough and for the country to have the Tories back in power.  The legacy of Mrs Thatcher still remains and we know what that party stands for. 

 

 

7.4             Question from Councillor Abjol Miah to the Lead Member for Housing and Development, Councillor Marc Francis

 

This question was withdrawnas a motion on the same subject had already been debated.

 

 

7.5             Question from Councillor Ann Jackson to the Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Rofique Ahmed

 

Can the Lead Member tell us what has been done over the last 4 years to protect and enhance the borough’s heritage, concentrating on our historic buildings, parks and the celebration of our rich and diverse cultural history?

 

            Response of the Lead Member

So much has been achieved over the past four years that it has been difficult for me to select which to highlight in this reply. 

We have maintained a high level of protection and enhancement of our historic buildings.  No Listed Building has been demolished and we have actively pursued the protection of 'Building at Risk'.  We have designated new Conservation Areas and have a new framework for long-term decision-making on the conservation and improvement of the Tower, a World Heritage Site.  Our Scheduled Ancient Monuments, together with other archaeology, have been protected by planning policy, as have our 16 historic squares.  To enable this we have secured funding English Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund and Section 106.

 

There has been an extensive parks improvement programme but two major projects for me to highlight are Victoria Park where a Masterplan has been developed that will enhance and restore this wonderful Park.  Funding is anticipated shortly from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Council’s Capital Programme for the first phases of this exciting project.  Work is on site at Arnold Circus to restore this unique park to its former glory and will complete in time for its 100^th anniversary.

 

            Summary of supplementary question from Councillor Ann Jackson:  

 

Given my interest in history, is anything being done to involve school children more in our unique history?

 

Summary of Lead Member’s response: 

 

The first phase of renovation of Bancroft Local History and Archives begins on site shortly and S106 funding has been identified for a further two phases, including roof works.  A new Heritage Manager is leading the development of a Local History and Archives Strategy and improving the management of our collections. 

 

           

Change to order of business

 

At this point, Councillor Peter Golds MOVED and Councillor Tim Archer SECONDED, - “That under Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be changed to allow motion 11.3 to be considered as the next business.”

 

Nine members then rose to request a recorded vote on the procedural motion.  This number being fewer than the number set out in Rule 17.4, a recorded vote was not held and the Mayor declared that the procedural motion would be determined by a show of hands.

 

On being put to the vote, the procedural motion was lost.

 

[Councillors Philip Briscoe and Shirley Houghton each declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the above motion as set out at agenda item 2 above, and did not take part in the decision.]

 

 

7.6             Question from Councillor Stephanie Eaton to the Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, Councillor Abdal Ullah

 

What is the Lead Member's response to the recent report of the Crown Prosecution Service inspectorate that found the overall performance of the CPS in Tower Hamlets to be poor, with outcomes for cases of sexual crimes described as poor and service to victims and witnesses rated as poor? How can the Borough work with the CPS to improve the criminal prosecution service for victims of crime?

 

            Response of the Lead Member

 

Tower Hamlets Police have had several meetings with the Borough Crown Prosecutor since the publication of this report.

 

A review of both the police and CPS working practices is being undertaken to improve the overall service to victims and witnesses.

 

This has already resulted in the formation of two new groups:

·        Case Progression Meeting for cases at Thames Magistrates Court. This aims to identify any issues or actions arising prior to court date to minimise risk of discontinuance or adjournment and the ensuing impact on victim/witnesses and

·        Witness Care working party. This will monitor services to victims/witnesses by police, CPS, court and relevant Third Sector organisations such as Victim Support

 

Summary of supplementary question from Councillor Stephanie Eaton: 

 

Why is there not a representative from the Crown Prosecution Service on the SBR Board?  Will the Lead Member support my call for the Chief Crown Prosecutor of London to come to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to explain why files are kept in cupboards, rape prosecutions downgraded, cases being treated incorrectly and criminals not getting appropriate punished?

 

Summary of Lead Member’s response: 

 

You have my support in any endeavour to bring justice for our community. 

 

 

7.7             Question from Councillor Bill Turner to the Lead Member for Regeneration, Localisation and Community Partnerships, Councillor Rania Khan

 

Can the Lead Member for Regeneration, Localisation and Community Partnerships tell us how many people took part in this year’s participatory budgeting event and give us a breakdown of the services they chose from LAP menus?

 

            Response of the Lead Member

 

770 residents attended the You Decide! events in 2010 and a list of the purchased items is contained in the following table:

 

Item purchased	Cost per item	Amount spent	LAP 1	LAP 2		LAP 3		LAP 4		LAP 5		LAP 6	LAP 7			LAP 8
Better Street Lighting (4)	£15,000	£60,000	x					x				x				X
CCTV Camera (2)	£30,000	£60,000										x			X
Community Bus for Older People (2)	£60,000	£120,000					x				x
Community Football Coaching	£4,500	£4,500												x
Day Trips (3)	£10,000	£30,000			x				x			x
Drug Outreach Worker	£42,500	£42,500									x
Early GCSE in languages (6)	£35,000	£210,000	x		x		x					x		x	X
Engaging Young People in Community Events (2)	£7,000	£14,000	x												X
Expand Linkage plus service (2)	£35,000	£70,000												x	X
Family Learning ESOL (2)	£7,500	£15,000										x	x
Family Learning Support ESOL	£15,000	£15,000				x
Handyperson Service (7)	£10,000	£70,000	x	x		x		x		x		x	x
Healthy Diet: Children & Young People (PCT) (4)	Varied	£160,000	X (55k)			X (35k)				X (35k)						X (35k)
Jobs Fairs (2)	£5,000	£10,000	x							x

	Learn to Swim	£7,000	£7,000	x
	One to One small group tuition (3)	Varied	£40,000					X (20k)	x	x
	Pampering Days (3)	Varied	£5,500				X (2k)		X (1.5k)		x (2k)
	Park Improvement Project (4)	£50,000	£200,000	x	x	x	x
	Reducing Alcohol’s Harm (PCT) (4)	£35,000	£140,000		x		x		x	x
	Skillsmatch Graduate Placement Programme (4)	Varied	£55,000	X (11k)	X (22k)			X (11k)			X (11k)
	Speed Indicator Devices	£3,500	£3,500					x
	Study Support (3)	Varied	£70,000	X (30k)	X (20k)						X (20k)
	Support for carers (2)	£10,000	£20,000	X			x
	Targeted Police Operations (8)	£35,000	£280,000	X	x	x	x	x	x	x	X
THEO Operations		£35,000	£35,000	X
Traffic Calming and road safety developments (4)		£18,000	£72,000		x		x	x		x
Tree and Shrub Planting		£20,000	£20,000	x
YIP (5)		£50,000	£250,000	X			x		X	x	X
YISP (7)		£35,000	£245,000	X	x	x	x	x	X	x
Youth Disabilities & SEN Employment Project (3)		£5,000	£15,000	X	x		x

 

Summary of supplementary question from Councillor Bill Turner: 

 

How do you feel that the process has improved from last year? 

 

Summary of Lead Member’s response:  

 

Some significant changes were made.  A Participatory Budgeting event was held for young people in Mulberry School and it is notable how many items were requested for elderly residents by the young people.

 

 

7.8             Question from Councillor David Snowdon to the Lead Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Ohid Ahmed

 

Does the Council's budget have a financial black hole for the years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14?

 

Response of the Lead Member

 

There is no black hole in the Council’s medium term financial strategy.

Like all public service organisations, the Council is predicting that its next financial settlement will be much tougher than those experienced in recent years. This is because of the need, nationally, to balance the books following the recession and, amongst other things, the bail out of the banking sector. We will not know the precise impact on Government Grant settlements until after the general election. Indeed, it is unlikely that we will know our grant position until late Autumn 2010, unless an incoming government calls an emergency budget before that time.

 

In the absence of a clear steer from Government, the Council has based its projections on data produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The IFS are modelling a range of future funding scenarios. All of these scenarios predict a reduction in available funding. The variables relate to depth and pace. The Council is using a mid point position from these scenarios in its financial planning. Together with a set of secondary assumptions this mid point view drives a predicted reduction in available resource of just under 18% over the financial years 2011/12 through to 2013/14.

 

This reduction in resource, if realised in the next financial settlement, will have a significant impact on the Council and its partners. Officers are, however, developing a range of efficiency options for Members to consider during the budget setting process for 2011/12. These include amongst other things: smarter working and a reduction in office accommodation; the streamlining of back office business processes, greater collaboration and sharing of services with other public sector organisations, the third sectors and the private sector.  Officers have also embarked upon a Strategic Service Options Review. This will conclude in time to inform the 2011/12 budget process. An outcome of this review will be options to re-commission services so that service outcomes for residents are preserved at a lower cost.

 

Summary of supplementary question from Councillor David Snowdon: 

 

Do you deny that you have you have a £54M black hole in your budget?  By efficiency savings, you mean cuts.  What are you going to cut for your £54M black hole?

 

Summary of Lead Member’s response:   

 

I cannot give you all the detail in the time available but our approach is to develop smarter working, not cuts to services.  We are going to rationalise back office functions and improve our services while finding savings.

 

 

In accordance with Rule 12.10 (expiry of time limit), questions 9 – 26 were not put.  Written responses would be forwarded to the questioners.

 

Change to order of business

 

At this point, Councillor Abjol Miah MOVED and Councillor Dulal Uddin SECONDED – “That under Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be changed to allow motion 11.13 to be considered as next business.”

 

On being put to the vote, the procedural motion was lost.

 

Councillor Alex Heslop then MOVED and Councillor Lutfur Rahman SECONDED – “That under Rule 14.1.13 the meeting be extended by 15 minutes to enable the Chair of the Standards Committee to present the Annual Report of the Committee; and under Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be changed to allow motion 11.2 to be considered after item 8.1.”

 

On being put to the vote, the procedural motion was agreed.