Agenda item
TO RECEIVE ANY PETITIONS
The deadline for receipt of petitions to be presented to this meeting is noon on Thursday 7th July 2011.
However, at the time of agenda despatch the maximum number of three petitions had already been received and details of these are set out in the attached report.
Decision:
5.1 Petition from Mr A. Bentham and Mr Terry McGrenara regarding Budget Savings
Mr Terry McGrenara addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Resources, then responded to the issues raised.
DECISION
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Resources, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
(Action by: Chris Naylor, Corporate Director, Resources)
5.2 Petition from East London Teachers’ Association regarding Academy Status
Mr Paul McGarr addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Oliur Rahman, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, then responded to the issues raised.
DECISION
That the petition be referred to the Acting Corporate Director, Children, Schools & Families, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
(Action by: Isobel Cattermole, Acting Corporate Director, Children, Schools & Families)
5.3 Petition from Mr Ernest Dawe and others regarding Council properties in Bruce Road, E3
Mr Ernest Dawe addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, then responded to the issues raised.
DECISION
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development & Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
(Action by: Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development & Renewal)
Additional Petition
The Council agreed to suspend Procedure Rule 19.2 to enable the following additional petition to be heard:-
5.4 Petition from Mr Glyn Robbins and others regarding the English Defence League (EDL)
Mr Glyn Robbins addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members.
Minutes:
5.1 Petition from Mr A. Bentham, Mr Terry McGrenara and others regarding Budget Savings
Mr Terry McGrenara addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and replied to questions from Members.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Resources, then responded to the issues raised. He shared the petitioners’ disgust and objection to the cuts forced on to the Borough by the Coalition Government. Whilst it was a legal requirement to ensure a balanced budget, the Mayor and Cabinet were working hard to ensure that the centrally driven cuts did not impact on frontline services and those who needed support most. Children’s centres, THEOs and the Youth Service had been protected and building of social housing had continued. Compulsory redundancies were some of the lowest in London and savings were being made through more efficient working practices.
RESOLVED
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Resources, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
5.2 Petition from East London Teachers’ Association regarding
Academy Status
Mr Paul McGarr addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members.
Councillor Oliur Rahman, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, then responded to the issues raised. He regretted that the Chair of the Labour Party in the borough was a key player in the Bethnal Green Technology College vote to apply for academy status. The Mayor’s position against academy status was clear. Educational results in Tower Hamlets had improved at a faster rate that any other area in the country over the past ten years and this had been achieved through collective work between schools and the local authority.
RESOLVED
That the petition be referred to the Acting Corporate Director, Children, Schools & Families, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
Change to Order of Business
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman MOVED and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED a procedural motion – “That under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to allow motion 12.1 to be considered after item 5.2.”
The procedural motion was put to the vote and agreed.
12.1 Motion proposed by Councillor Bill Turner regarding Academy Schools – Bethnal Green Technology College
Councillor Bill Turner MOVED, and Councillor Amy Whitelock SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda and as amended by their own tabled amendment, the terms of which are incorporated hereunder.
Councillor Peter Golds MOVED, and Councillor Zara Davis SECONDED, a further tabled amendment as follows: –
“Delete all and insert:
This Council notes:
· That Academy Schools were first established under the Tony Blair Government in 2000 and there are now 629 throughout England.
· The Mossbourne Academy in neighbouring Hackney, the venue for a joint promotional meeting by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in 2005, is now one of the most popular and successful state schools in the entire country, a vast difference from its days as the failing Hackney Downs School.
This Council further notes:
· That although Academy Schools are funded directly from the Department of Education and are therefore independent of local authority control, they remain focused in their local community and to qualify for Academy Status each must meet the National Curriculum core subject requirements and are subject to inspection by Ofsted.
· The council notes that Academy Schools are overwhelmingly successful and popular with parents and pupils. We believe the Bethnal Green Academy will be a huge boost to Tower Hamlets, just as Mossbourne has been in Labour run Hackney.
This Council believes:
· That the current Government is following on from the former Labour Government and is working to increase Academy numbers and bring additional to help drive up standards and ensure that school leavers in areas such as Tower Hamlets are educated to compete in an increasingly global and competitive environment.”
During debate on the amendment Councillor Alibor Choudhury MOVED and Councillor Ohid Ahmed SECONDED a procedural motion – “That the vote be now put.” On being put to the vote, the procedural motion was defeated.
Following further debate, the amendment moved by Councillor Golds was put to the vote and was defeated.
Councillor Fozol Miah MOVED, and Councillor Harun Miah SECONDED, a further tabled amendment as follows:-
Add to “This council resolves:…”
“6) To support any legitimate initiative to secure a judicial review of flawed consultation processes that lead to academy conversion.”
Following debate, the amendment moved by Councillor Miah was put to the vote and was defeated.
The substantive motion as amended was then put to the vote and was agreed. Accordingly, it was: –
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
1. That education results in Tower Hamlets have improved at a faster rate than in any other area of the country over the last 10 years.
2. This significant improvement in attainment has been achieved through collective working between schools and the Local Authority, under previous Labour administrations.
3. That the previous Labour Government initiated the academy programme as a way of levering funding for improvements in failing schools.
4. That the Tory-led coalition Government’s policy to allow outstanding schools to automatically become academies and others to apply for academy status is an extension of their policy of opt-outs in the 1990s and will allow thousands of privately owned and managed schools to operate, fully funded by the taxpayer.
5. That Tower Hamlets Council has consistently maintained its support for non-selective comprehensive education and has previously declined the prospect of an academy in the borough, believing our schools are stronger together than apart.
This Council further notes:
1. The Governors of Bethnal Green Technology College (BGTC) voted to apply to become an academy with the intended conversion date of 1st January 2012.
2. BGTC has moved rapidly from special measures and made significant progress in the last three years with exam results rising from 27% 5+ A* to C including English and Maths in 2007 to 59% in 2010.
3. This improvement has been achieved with support from the Local Authority, including £17 million of funding from Building Schools for the Future (BSF).
4. Officers at Tower Hamlets Council are committed to working closely with the leadership and governors of BGTC to achieve the highest aspirations of the school, and the Lead Member for Children’s Services has stated his own commitment in this regard.
5. That the leadership of the school however has identified a problem with high levels of midterm admissions, that they believe the Council has failed to resolve.
6. Sir William Burrough and Ian Mikardo schools have also registered interest in academy status.
7. Many local groups and individuals are opposed to BGTC’s and other schools’ applications for academy status, including the National Union of Teachers, East London Teachers’ Association and local headteachers, several of whom have publicly made a convincing case for the damage academy status would do to the community of schools in our borough, with few tangible benefits for the schools in question.
This Council further notes:
1. That academies are removed from local accountability structures, meaning parents and pupils have no recourse to assistance from local authorities.
2. That academies are not subject to the admissions procedures of the local authority.
3. That there is no conclusive evidence that academy schools are more effective at raising educational standards than other types of maintained school.
4. That academies have a destabilising effect on the ability of neighbouring schools to achieve a balance of abilities amongst their pupil intakes.
5. That exclusions of pupils in academies have been significantly higher than the national average.
6. That parental representation on governing bodies is minimal.
7. That unlike maintained schools, academies are not required to automatically recognise trade unions and many choose not to and that academies are not required to adhere to the national terms of pay and conditions for teachers, meaning that many teachers are subject to inferior arrangements for pay, conditions of service or working time.
This Council believes:
1. That the long-standing principle of the non-selective comprehensive system must be defended, to ensure all our children in Tower Hamlets have free and equal access to a high quality education, regardless of background or income.
2. That the Tory-led Government’s academy programme is intended to break up Local Authority involvement in education and extend privatisation in education, removing schools from local, democratic control.
3. That if one school converts to an academy, this will undermine the collective agreement to date between schools that remaining with the Local Authority is in the best interests of local children and there is too much to lose by opting out.
4. That this could lead to more schools becoming academies and result in a two-tier system of state education in Tower Hamlets, with the Local Authority powerless to drive up standards or ensure consistent admission standards or curriculums.
5. That BGTC has significantly benefitted from the strong collective approach to education in Tower Hamlets, not least agreement among local schools that BGTC should be prioritised for BSF funding.
6. That the principal aims of BGTC’s academy bid – to become an outstanding school and to become popular and fully subscribed – can be achieved under the current system with support from the Local Authority, as with Stepney Green school before.
This Council resolves:
1. To oppose any future proposal to establish an academy school in Tower Hamlets.
2. To urge the Headteachers and Governors of BGTC to continue to work with the Local Authority and the family of schools, whatever the outcome of their application for academy status.
3. To work with other schools to maintain support for the collective system of state education provision in Tower Hamlets.
4. To work with BGTC to effectively address its concerns with high levels of midterm admissions.
5. Where schools do convert to academies, to work with parents, teachers and the unions to encourage cooperation with the Local Authority and other schools, to ensure local children’s access to high quality education is not undermined.
5.3 Petition from Mr Ernest Dawe and others regarding Council
properties in Bruce Road, E3
Mr Ernest Dawe addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members.
Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, then responded to the issues raised. There were several options under consideration for the short-life properties in Bruce Road and a full report would be submitted to Cabinet in due course. Any revenues from sales would go directly to providing new long-term social housing. One of the Mayor’s main pledges was to provide 1,000 new social houses a year and in the current year 1,531 houses for social rent would be provided, of which over 680 were 3+ bedrooms.
RESOLVED
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development & Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
Change to Order of Business
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman MOVED and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED a procedural motion – “That under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to allow motion 12.5 to be considered after item 5.3.”
The procedural motion was put to the vote and agreed.
12.5 Motion proposed by Councillor Judith Gardiner regarding Housing Sales Phases 2 and 3
Councillor Judith Gardiner MOVED, and Councillor Helal Uddin SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Councillor Timothy Archer PROPOSED, and Councillor Peter Golds SECONDED, a procedural motion under Rule 14.1.4 - “That the matters detailed in this motion be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration.” This procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
Following debate, the substantive motion was put to the vote and was agreed. Accordingly, it was -
RESOLVED
This Council notes that:
1. Tower Hamlets has amongst the highest levels of housing need in London with the waiting list standing at about 23,000 households. Of these, over 1,677 households need a home with four bedrooms or more.
2. Despite this, in December 2010, the newly elected Mayor and his Cabinet agreed to dispose of 5 properties in Swaton Road and two other properties – 19 Parfett St (a 6 bed house) 102 Tredegar Road. In April 2011 the Cabinet also agreed to dispose of 63A Sewardstone Road - on the open market by auction.
3. A further 12 properties in Bruce Road, Old Ford Road and Mount Terrace have also been identified for sale.
4. The sales of Swaton Road properties have now taken place and have achieved some £1.6m, the sale of 19 Parfett St, 102 Tredegar Road and 63A Sewardstone Road have already been advertised.
This Council believes
1. That given the desperate need for family size and street level properties in this Borough, disposal of such properties should be halted.
2. That it was wrong for the Mayor to reverse the Labour cabinet’s decision to seek to maintain family sized homes as social housing and instead sell them to the highest bidder.
This Council therefore calls upon the Mayor to ensure
1. That receipts from any such sales are ring-fenced for the provision of new family size homes, preferably in the areas where these homes are being lost, rather than for other housing purposes.
FURTHER RESOLVED
That the matters detailed in the motion above be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration.
Additional Petition
At this point Councillor Alibor Choudhury MOVED and Councillor Joshua Peck SECONDED that Procedure Rule 19.2 be suspended to enable the following additional petition to be heard:-
5.4 Petition from Mr Glyn Robbins and others regarding the English
Defence League (EDL)
“We the undersigned note the stated intention of the English Defence League (EDL) to stage a ‘demonstration’ in Tower Hamlets in August/September 2011.
We regard the EDL as an intolerant, bigoted organisation whose activities around the UK have sought to provoke racism and Islamaphobia.
We further note that many of their demonstrations have led to violence and brought fear and division to the communities where they have taken their message of hate, particularly those with significant Muslim populations.
We believe that a demonstration by the EDL in Tower Hamlets is deliberately provocative and incompatible with the peaceful nature of our community which values diversity and mutual respect. The East End is No Place for Hate. We oppose discrimination of all kinds.
For these reasons, we call on Tower Hamlets Council to:
1. Make representations to the Home Secretary to ban any form of demonstration by the EDL in Tower Hamlets on the grounds of community safety and incitement to religious and racial hatred.
2. Hold discussions with the Police about increasing and maintaining a visible police presence in areas of the borough where and when EDL supporters might be expected.
3. Promote borough-wide a statement of opposition to the values and threat of the EDL and a reaffirmation of Tower Hamlets as a successful, multi-cultural place where many different communities and lifestyles live peacefully side by side.
4. To work together with local people, political parties, trade unions, cultural, youth, faith and community organisations to build a peaceful and diverse celebration of community unity to coincide with and oppose any EDL demonstration in our borough.
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
Mr Glyn Robbins addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Statements in opposition to the proposed EDL demonstration in the Borough were also made by Mr John McLoughlin (Tower Hamlets Unison), Mr Alan Greenwood, Sister Christine Frost and a representative of Rainbow Hamlets.
Change to Order of Business
Councillor Fozul Miah MOVED and Councillor Shiria Khatun SECONDED a procedural motion – “That under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied to allow motion 12.12 to be considered after item 5.4.”
The procedural motion was put to the vote and agreed.
12.12 Motion proposed by Councillor Shiria Khatun regarding the English Defence League
Councillor Shiria Khatun MOVED, and Councillor Kosru Uddin SECONDED, the motion as printed in the agenda.
Followjng debate, the motion was put to the vote and was agreed unanimously. Accordingly it was –
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
· That the English Defence League (EDL) has signalled its intention to hold a march in Tower Hamlets this August.
· That the EDL had planned to march through Tower Hamlets in June 2010, but after discussion with the Council, local police and community Groups, their plans were cancelled.
· That previous EDL marches around the UK have been marred by violence, racism and tension within communities.
This Council believes
· That Tower Hamlets is a community which is at its best when it is united.
· That any group or organisation that encourages division and tension in our communities is not welcome in the Borough.
This Council Resolves:
· To call on the Home Secretary to ban the proposed EDL march in Tower Hamlets.
· To work with the Mayor, political groups, the Police, Interfaith Forum and community organisations to respond to any planned action by the EDL and ensure the safety and security of residents.
Closure of meeting
At this point the Service Head, Democratic Services, advised that only two minutes remained before the time limit for the meeting would expire and the Council proceedings would terminate.
Councillor David Snowdon MOVED and Councillor Stephanie Eaton SECONDED a procedural motion under rule 14.1.13 ‘That in accordance with Procedure Rule 9, the meeting be extended by up to 30 minutes to enable the remaining business to be debated’. The procedural motion was put to the vote and was defeated.
The outstanding items on the agenda were therefore dealt with under the guillotine procedure at Rule 9.2 without debate as follows:-
Supporting documents: