The questions which have been received from members of the public for this Council meeting are set out in the attached report.  A maximum period of 20 minutes is allocated to this agenda item.

6.1       Question from Mr Koyes Uddin 

 

Can the Mayor tell us how many jobs will be lost as a result of the Labour-Conservative party’s decision to close East End Life, and can he provide a breakdown of the possible equalities implications this will have? 

 

Response by Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Resources

 

East End Life currently employs 8.6 full-time equivalent staff. The closure of East End Life would affect at least ten members of staff in total.  Of these ten staff, the majority (seven) are women, two of whom are currently on Maternity Leave. Four of the total number of staff are from a BME background.

 

East End Life is delivered to 83,000 households with its total distribution points taking circulation to almost 100,000 every week. One of its key roles is to promote community cohesion and race equality in the borough. There are dedicated pages in East End Life which are translated into Bengali and Somali, making information about key council services as widely accessible to local people as possible.

 

A key part of the Mayor’s decision to undertake a review into the implications of the closure of East End Life is to allow proper consideration of the equalities implications of its closure by Tower Hamlets Tory-Labour coalition.  This will include undertaking a full Equalities Impact Assessment.  In order to comply with the relevant procurement and organisational review procedures, this review will take between 9 and 12 months.

 

Summary of Supplementary Question from Mr Koyes Uddin

 

Do you consider the proposal is an attempt to score political points at the expense of residents and a valuable community resource.

 

Summary of Councillor Alibor Choudhury’s response to the Supplementary Question

 

I suggest this highlights the disregard of the opposition who wish to keep the community in the dark.

 

 

6.2       Question from Mr Fazleh Elaahi 

 

Dame Colet House has been closed and in a state of disrepair for many years.  What plans does the Mayor have to bring this site back into community use?

 

Response by Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing

 

This facility has been unfit for use for many years, and I’m proud to be part of the administration that is bringing it back into use.

 

The council has entered into a development agreement with Guildmore Ltd for the regeneration of the Haileybury Youth centre and Dame Colet house. This redevelopment will see a new Youth and Community centre being built on the site, alongside 40 residential housing units.

 

The residential housing units will be socially rented and will be managed by Tower Hamlet Homes. The programme for starting works on site is December 2013, with complete in spring 2015.

 

This is subject to a planning consent being received by the developer and final legal agreements being completed.

 

Summary of Supplementary Question from Mr Fazleh Elaahi

 

Can you reassure me that there will not again be a misuse of Town Hall funds as seen in 2003?

 

Summary of Councillor Rabina Khan’s response to the Supplementary Question

 

I can’t comment on past events but under the current Leadership we hope to bring changes for the young and families who need housing and use our assets to benefit the community.

 

 

6.3       Question from Mr Abu Ahsan

 

What plans does the Mayor have to regenerate Whitechapel? 

 

Response by Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing

 

The Whitechapel Vision was launched on 11^th March 2013 by the Mayor following a competitive tender process under which Building Design Partnerships (BDP) were successfully procured to produce a masterplanning framework for regeneration across the Whitechapel area until 2025.

 

The main objectives of the Vision are to ensure the Council can positively promote the regeneration of Whitechapel by maximising the development opportunities that will arise from the opening of the new Crossrail station in 2017.  The project seeks to promote inward investment through the delivery of new affordable homes, new jobs, skills and training opportunities, together with high quality public realm improvements across the area. 

 

The masterplan will seek to build on Whitechapel’s rich and diverse character, by enhancing the existing vibrant street market, support the world class facilities at the Royal London NHS hospital and Queen Mary University research institution and protect the unique historic built environment. A key role of the masterplan will be to balance the introduction of striking new architecture.

 

A series of consultation forums with local stakeholders and groups are scheduled to take place at the Whitechapel IDEA Store in the last week of April 2013 with a wider 6 week statutory public consultation commencing in the early Summer. 

 

Summary of Supplementary Question from Mr Abu Ahsan

 

There is some concern over the future of Whitechapel Market. How will traders and small businesses be involved?

 

Summary of Councillor Rabina Khan’s response to the Supplementary Question

 

There is a rich heritage of traders at the market and we want to work with businesses and the local people to enrich the area. As the area grows we want to ensure that local businesses and residents have a stake.

 

 

6.5       Question from Mr Abdul Azad 

 

Can the Mayor tell us what he plans to do with the £800k allocated in his budget proposal for borough’s street cleaning?

 

Response by Councillor Shahed Ali, Cabinet Member for Environment

 

This administration is committed to keeping this borough clean. We were delighted to have won two awards recently including the Keep Britain Tidy Award.

 

However, we are not complacent. To build on this good work our additional investment will focus on:

 

·       More litter pickers to assist with cleaning during the summer months

·       Additional graffiti and chewing gum removal

·       Additional ‘Find it Fix it’ team

·       More hot spot sweepers

·       Dedicated education and awareness prodramme

·       Find it Fix it apprentice initiative, and

·       Additional waste disposal

 

From talking to residents we know that what makes a real difference to how clean they see their streets is:

 

·      Having hard to reach areas.

·      Targeting areas more regularly which attract a lot of

     rubbish

·      Making sure that hard to clean graffiti and chewing

     gum is tackled

·      Keeping parks clean in summer

·      Being able to easily tell us about problems they want

     us to fix.

 

No supplementary question arising from the above question or response was asked.

 

 

6.6       Question from Ms Pawla Cottage 

 

Will you guarantee that no Tower Hamlets Council tenants (whose homes are managed on your behalf by THH) are threatened with eviction due to arrears caused by the Bedroom Tax and other benefit cuts? 

 

Response by Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing

 

Eviction is always an absolute last resort and approval to evict is only granted when all available methods of support and assistance from relevant internal and external agencies have been exhausted. Tower Hamlets Homes have been working closely with the Council to actively pursue a number of initiatives to advise and help residents affected by the changes introduced in the Welfare Reform Bill, including one-to-one interviews with those most seriously affected to advise the options available to them and where appropriate to make referral to other agencies.

 

An additional pre-eviction protocol was introduced in 2012 at the point in the recovery process immediately before approval for eviction is sought. This additional measure is designed to avoid evictions by inviting residents who are in danger of being evicted to meet with a senior officer in a final attempt to seek payment and/or resolve any outstanding issues before approval for eviction is sought.

 

Some financial assistance may be available to residents experiencing severe difficulties through the Discretionary Housing Payment Scheme, however it should be noted that the fund for this scheme has an overall annual cash limit per Local Authority and therefore each application will need to be carefully considered against the criteria.

 

Summary of Supplementary Question from Ms Pawla Cottage

 

Research suggests that over 70% of those classified as under occupying have lived there a long time and also that there are no single bed flats to move into, can this work?

 

Summary of Councillor Rabina Khan’s response to the Supplementary Question

 

Residents have a connection to their home and that is important. We are working with people affected to explore options and avoid evictions.

 

 

6.7       Question from Mr Marcus O’Mara

 

In which ways will this Council use its Strategic Housing role to protect tenants of RSLs and tenants of private landlords from eviction due to benefit cuts? 

Response by
Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing



 



The Council has been working closely with tenants and landlords
in preparing for the impact of benefit cuts in the borough.



 



On April 2 2013 the reduction in Housing Benefit to households in
Council and Housing Association properties, who have extra bedrooms
came into force. Households will lose 14%of their rent if they have 1 extra
bedroom and 25% of their rent if they have 2 or more extra bedrooms. The
restriction on benefits is intended to pull social housing into line with
private sector housing where restrictions already exist.



 



The reduction in
benefits will affect over 3000 social housing tenants in Tower Hamlets. A
significant amount of these households are likely to have a disabled person who
may require a separate bedroom or require a room for a care on a temporary
basis. In addition the changes from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) migrating
to Personal   Independence Payment (PIP)
from June 2013 will also have an impact on these households. It is estimated
that around 20% of current claimants of Disability Living Allowance may
eventually lose their entitlements to disability benefits as a result of this
change, which is estimated to be around 1,384 people in Tower Hamlets. 



 



The Council launched a Prepare and Act Now Campaign to ensure that
residents are aware of all the welfare changes and can seek advice and
assistance from the Council and third sector organisations. Five events were
held across the borough in November where residents could speak to Housing
staff, Benefit Team staff, Skillsmatch and Job Centre
Plus staff, as well as staff from third sector advice agencies. There are a
further four events planned during the summer. 




 



Private sector tenants  will be
impacted by the benefit cap of £500 which will be introduced later this year as
a large proportion of their benefit will be require dot pay their rent. The
Council has been visiting these residents to explain the changes and offer
advice on budgeting and alternative housing options.



 



The Council does have access to a discretionary housing payment fund to
assist in alleviating the impact of the welfare reform changes. However the
total loss from benefits will not be covered by the fund. The Council is in the
process of developing its policy on how best to use the discretionary housing
payment fund.



 



Where tenants fall
into arrears and their landlords seek eviction it will be up to the Court to
decide whether to serve an eviction notice. The Council will continue to work
with all partners to provide advice and support for all tenants who will face
financial hardship as a consequence of the welfare reform change sot benefit in
order to minimise evictions across the borough.



 



No supplementary
question arising from the above question or response was asked.



 



 



6.8     Question from Mr Suluk
Ahmed



 



Why did Peter Golds and the Tories propose to
remove the contribution of British-Bangladeshis from Tower Hamlets electoral
map?



 



Response by
Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor



 



Perhaps Councillor Golds did this
because, and I quote him direct:-



 



‘What will happen if every single tiny group in the country
suddenly decides they want their local government ward named
after it. What are we going to have, Earls
  Court and Kangaroo Valley
for the Australians?’ 



 



That says all that we need to know about Councillor Peter Golds and the Tories.



 



Point of Order/Point of
Personal Explanation



 



At this point Councillor Craig
Aston rose to make a Point of Order and Councillor Peter Golds
then rose to make a Point of Personal Explanation.  Councillor Golds
stated that he had been misquoted and asked why this question had been directed
to another person as only he was in a position to answer it.



 



Summary of Supplementary
Question from Mr Suluk Ahmed



 



Will Councillor Golds say sorry to the people
of Banglatown?



 



Summary of Councillor Ohid
Ahmed’s response to the Supplementary Question



 



I cannot answer for Councillor Golds but I am
glad that the proposal was rejected.



 



 



6.9       Question
from Ms Lillian Collins  



 



I am proud to have lived in Poplar for over 50 years, and I couldn’t
understand why it was proposed to remove the legacy of East
 End icon, George Lansbury, from the map of Tower Hamlets?  



 



Response by
Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor



 



Some people are laughing because they were not born at the
time when George Lansbury led and united the Labour Party locally and probably
do not understand his importance.  He was
an iconic figure who played a key role in Poplar and went to prison along with
other Councillors fighting for a fair and just society to benefit all, not just
the few, and we should honour him.   



    



Summary of Supplementary
Question from Ms Lillian Collins



 



I also think it’s a shame that the East India part of East
 India and Lansbury is not being retained, but George Lansbury went
to prison as part of the Poplar Rates revolt in 1921.   As a he was a Labour Councillor and MP I
would have thought the Labour Party would have recognised his importance.  I think that children should learn about
local history as there is so much to learn.



 



Summary of Councillor Ohid
Ahmed’s response to the Supplementary Question 



 



I see that people are laughing opposite. 
I your sentiments and I am surprised that the Labour Group does not take
this issue seriously.



 



 



6.10    Question
from Mr Ruhel Miah  



 



Will the Mayor join
me in reminding all Councillors, who are elected by the residents of this
borough, to uphold the highest levels of personal and professorial integrity
when reporting concerns to the authorities?



 



Response by
Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor



 



The
Council adopted a new code of conduct for members in June 2012 to comply with
the Localism Act. The code of conduct continues to require members to be guided
by general principles of conduct in all aspects of their roles as members. 



 



The
principles require selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability,
openness, honesty and leadership. The Mayor is happy to remind all members of
the requirements of the code.



 



Summary of Supplementary Question from Mr
Ruhel Miah



 



[Note by Clerk:- Mr Ruhel asked a supplementary
question in which he quoted from a local blog an account of alleged events
which he felt was evidence that a Councillor had not maintained integrity.]



 



Summary of Councillor Ohid Ahmed’s response
to the Supplementary Question



 



I have seen that
story and I would again refer to the principles that I mentioned earlier which
should be followed by all Councillors.



 



Point of Personal Explanation



 



At this point a Councillor who was named in
the supplementary question above rose to make a Point of Personal Explanation
and refuted any allegation in relation to his conduct.  



 



 



Public Question 6.4 was not put at the meeting as the
questioner was not present.  A written
response to the question was provided after the meeting and this is included in
Appendix A to these minutes.