Agenda item
TO RECEIVE WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
The questions which have been received from members of the public to be put at this meeting are set out in the attached report.
A maximum period of 20 minutes is allocated to this agenda item.
Decision:
6.1 Question from Mr. Glenn Power re: Fairtrade Status
The above question was put and was responded to by Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Resources.
(Action by: Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)
6.2 Question from Ms. Clare Harrisson re:use of unlicenced mini cabs in the borough
The above question and an oral supplementary question were put and were responded to by Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor and Mayor Lutfur Rahman respectively.
6.3 Question from Ms. Seema Kapoor re:Family Play Project
The above question was withdrawn as a petition had been presented to the Council on the same matter earlier in the meeting (see 5.2 above).
6.4 Question from Mr. James King to the Mayor, Lutfur Rahman
The above question and an oral supplementary question were put and were responded to by Mayor Lutfur Rahman.
Minutes:
6.1 Question from Mr. Glenn Power
“Tower Hamlets achieved Fairtrade status in 2006. Volunteers on the steering group would like to know what measures the Council would consider taking to increase its support for fair trade. Could officers consult with other Fairtrade councils, such as Bristol and Newcastle, to learn from their best practice?”
Response (by Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Cabinet Member, Resources)
I would like to thank members of the Fairtrade Steering Group for their continuous support and hard work. It helped the Council receive Fairtrade status in 2006. We are very proud of this and committed to improve upon this status.
The Council launched the ‘Fairtrade Caterers Scheme’ which gives local caterers the incentive to buy Fairtrade goods. This has now become a popular scheme and well received by the catering sector. The Sustainable Development Team will continue to promote this scheme. Moving forward, the Council will work with other sectors including local statutory, voluntary and faith organisations to promote Fairtrade within Tower Hamlets.
We will continue to raise awareness and promote Fairtrade and fairly traded products among staff and residents. The council will also work with other local authorities to learn from best practice.
No supplementary question was asked.
Change in order of business
At this point Councillor Rania Khan moved, and Councillor Bill Turner seconded, ‘that under Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to enable motion 12.3 concerning Fairtrade to be debated immediately.’
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
Motion 12.3: Motion proposed by Councillor Rania Khan regarding Fairtrade
Councillor Rania Khan moved, and Councillor Alibor Choudhury seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Following debate the motion was put to the vote and was agreed with no Member voting against. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED
This Council notes
· That fairly traded products guarantee stable, living wage prices to producers in poor countries around the world and fund community development projects including safe drinking water schemes, basic medical facilities and education.
· That Tower Hamlets was the first London borough to introduce the living wage when Mayor Lutfur Rahman was Leader of the Council.
This Council believes:
· That strengthening our commitment to Fairtrade entails exploring all opportunities for the Council to procure fairly traded products including giving clear guidelines to our procurement officers.
· That the Council should promote a culture of using and sourcing fairly traded products.
This Council resolves:
· To promote fairly traded products in Council’s catering services to schools, social services, Ideas Stores and Council offices with vending machines.
· To include fairly traded products as part of the tender specifications of future catering contracts.
· To ask existing contractors to source fairly traded products at no extra cost.
· To promote our commitment to fairly traded products to local statutory, voluntary and faith organisations.
· To encourage our residents to use fairly traded products by occasional Council publicity.
6.2 Question from Ms. Clare Harrisson
“What is the Mayor doing to prevent the use of unlicensed mini cabs in
the borough?”
Response (by Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor)
In London, the licensing and control of mini cabs is the responsibility of Transport for London and the Police. The Council does not have direct responsibility in this area. But, we work in partnership with enforcement agencies. The Mayor and his administration are fully committed to ensure that illegal taxi touting and unlicensed mini cabs are properly addressed.
Recently, officers from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist unlicensed taxi unit conducted operations in Tower Hamlets. They targeted unlicensed mini cabs and dealt with unsafe vehicles.
We take this issue very seriously. And we will work with the enforcement agencies to address this issue properly.
Summary of supplementary question: Could the Mayor and Council explain its actions in providing a reference for an unlicensed minicab driver who had been charged and was later convicted of a criminal offence of a sexual nature?
Summary of the Mayor’s reply: I have provided references for a number of persons over the years that I have been a Councillor and in this one case I fully accept that I made a genuine mistake. My trust was abused and I have withdrawn the reference which was provided. Procedures have been strengthened to ensure that such an incident will not occur again in the future.
Change in order of business
At this point Councillor Peter Golds moved, and Councillor Joshua Peck seconded, ‘that under Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to enable motion 12.2 concerning character references to be debated immediately.’
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
Motion 12.2: Motion proposed by Councillor Peter Golds regarding character references
Councillor Peter Golds moved, and Councillor Tim Archer seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Councillor Helal Abbas moved, and Councillor Shiria Khatun seconded, a tabled amendment as follows:-
“Delete from ‘This Council believes’: ‘that Council staff time should not be expended in the production of these’; and
Delete point a) from ‘Therefore, this Council resolves’ and replace with: ‘Council staff may continue to be involved in the production of character references only if Members of the Council dictate them to officers or submit them in writing’.”
This amendment was accepted by Councillors Peter Golds and Tim Archer, who varied their substantive motion accordingly.
The substantive motion as amended was then put to the vote and was agreed with no Member voting against. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED
This Council notes that:
· Council staff have produced at least 120 character references on behalf of the Executive Mayor and Councillors since the May 2010 elections.
· The recent case of an unlicensed cab driver, jailed for sexual assault, who was reported to have provided character references from the Executive Mayor and ‘several’ Councillors prior to his being sent to jail.
This Council believes that:
· it is appropriate for councillors, on occasion, to provide character references and testimonials for outside bodies and constituents; but
· that members of the Council should be entirely responsible for references and testimonials that they provide to residents.
Therefore, this Council resolves:
· to instruct the Standards Committee to revise the existing guidance to state that:
a) Council staff may continue to be involved in the production of character references only if Members of the Council dictate them to officers or submit them in writing; and
b) All copies of character references and testimonials used for judicial and governmental agencies produced on Council stationery must be logged with the Monitoring Officer, who should keep a record of the number and type of such references and testimonials.
6.3 Question from Ms. Seema Kapoor
Question withdrawn as a petition on the same matter (the Family Play Project) had already been presented to the meeting.
6.4 Question from Mr. James King
“Could the Mayor update us on the progress of the campaign to overturn the appalling decision made by the London 2012 Organising Committee to backtrack on the promise made to run the Olympic marathon through the East End?'
Response (by Mayor Lutfur Rahman)
I share the disappointment that the marathon has been re-routed. But, I am sure you will agree with me that it is much better to focus on a series of certain gains than the uncertainty of a legal battle.
You and I both know that there is absolutely no certainty that we would have won a legal challenge against LOCOG. Also, I could not justify pursuing the judicial review at taxpayers’ expense in these difficult times. We are saving every single penny we can.
Legal battles are extremely long and protracted. And we just have over a year to go before the Olympics. This is why I signed an agreement with Lord Coe on 21 February. It delivers a package that maximises the benefits for Tower Hamlets’ residents.
· Residents will have priority access to 1,000 Olympics jobs
· Every child in the borough will have a Game time experience
· There will be a special event in the Borough to mark the arrival of the Olympic Torch
· We launched Brick Lane and Banglatown as Olympics’ Curry Capital last week with Princess Anne and Lord Coe – this will boost business and the reputation of the area.
· There will be opportunities for local suppliers to engage with LOCOG main contractors.
Summary of supplementary question: Regarding the ‘Curry Capital’, can the Mayor guarantee that the borough’s reputation will not be tarnished by association with persons and premises in Brick Lane and Banglatown who are under investigation for breaches of regulations in respect of the anti social activity of touting for business, breaches of licensing laws or trading standards?
Summary of the Mayor’s reply: I assure that we take touting and the other matters you mention very seriously and we are fully committed to ensuring that they are dealt with via enforcement powers.
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