Agenda item
TO RECEIVE ANY PETITIONS
The Council Procedure Rules provide for a maximum of three petitions to be presented at an Ordinary Meeting of the Council. The deadline for receipt of petitions for this Council meeting is Thursday 20th June 2013. However, at the time of agenda despatch three petitions have already been received as set out in the attached report.
Decision:
5.1 Petition against the closure of the Isle of Dogs Police Station
Petition withdrawn.
5.2 Petition against Casinos and Betting Shops in Tower Hamlets
A representative of Kelly Begum addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members.
Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor, then responded to the petition.
DECISION
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Communities, Localities and Culture for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
(Action by: Stephen Halsey, Corporate Director, Communities, Localities and Culture)
Procedural motion
Councillor Ohid Ahmed moved, and Councillor Gulam Robbani seconded, a procedural motion – “That Procedure Rule 13.1 be suspended to allow consideration of an emergency motion on casinos.”
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was defeated.
Members voting in favour of the procedural motion requested that their votes be recorded in the minutes.
(Action by: John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)
5.3 Petition regarding benefit cuts and the ‘bedroom tax’
Ms Eileen Short 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 petition.
DECISION
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development and Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
(Action by: Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)
Minutes:
5.1 Petition against the closure of the Isle of Dogs Police Station
The Service Head, Democratic Services informed the meeting that this petition was withdrawn as the lead petitioner had unfortunately had to attend a funeral on the day of the meeting. The petitioners would be offered the opportunity to present the petition to the next meeting.
5.2 Petition against Casinos and Betting Shops in Tower Hamlets
A representative of Kelly Begum addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members.
Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Deputy Mayor, then responded to the petition. He stated that gambling arcades and casinos exploit the hopes of the most vulnerable and he wanted to see their spread limited. Unfortunately, the amount that the Council could do was limited by the Government and the Gambling Commission. However, the Council would do everything it could to prevent the spread of such establishments.
The Council’s Statement of Gambling Policy was only recently adopted by full Council and became active on the 27th May 2013. This Policy was developed after much consultation and a good practice guide had been developed for the managers of gambling establishments to protect vulnerable groups and especially young people.
On the matter of casinos the Mayor recently requested that preparations be made for the Council to adopt a “no casino” policy under section 166 of the Gambling Act 2005. A consultation had been undertaken and it was and hoped to bring a resolution to the council meeting.
RESOLVED
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Communities, Localities and Culture for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
Procedural motion
Councillor Ohid Ahmed moved, and Councillor Gulam Robbani seconded, a procedural motion – “That Procedure Rule 13.1 be suspended to allow consideration of an emergency motion on casinos as follows:-
‘This meeting notes:
Gambling can have a variety of very negative consequences for the individual concerned and wider society including increased risk of drug misuse, eating disorders, mental ill health and criminality.
An estimated £400 million is spent every year on gambling in Tower Hamlets.
This meeting agrees:
It is in the best interests of residents that dangers of problem gambling are minimized in the borough.
That the granting of licenses for casinos to operate in the borough increases the risk of problem gambling.
That Tower Hamlets adopt a policy of not granting licenses to new casinos to operate in the borough as under Section 166 of the Gambling Act 2005.
While we are bound by statutory gambling laws here is a possibility that we could use Planning and our Commercial leasing arrangements to affect further controls’.”
The Chief Legal Officer’s representative advised the meeting that the adoption of any policy under Section 166 of the Gambling Act as proposed by the motion could only be agreed following consultation. Councillor Ohid Ahmed therefore amended the third paragraph under ‘This meeting agrees’ of the proposed emergency motion to read “That subject to consultation Tower Hamlets adopt a policy of not granting licenses to new casinos to operate in the borough as under Section 166 of the Gambling Act 2005.”
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was defeated.
[Note: The following Members requested that it be recorded that they had each voted in favour of the procedural motion above:-
Councillors Kabir Ahmed, Ohid Ahmed, Rofique Ahmed, Shahed Ali, Abdul Asad, Lutfa Begum, Alibor Choudhury, Shafiqul Haque, Aminur Khan, Rabina Khan, Fozol Miah, Harun Miah, Maium Miah, Oliur Rahman and Gulam Robbani]
5.3 Petition regarding benefit cuts and the ‘bedroom tax’
Ms Eileen Short 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 petition. She felt that the Government was trying to scapegoat and divide people so that they could make the poor pay for an economic crisis caused by the richest 1% and from which the rich continued to benefit. The Mayor’s casebook on related matters had increased by 700%.
Councillor Khan stated that the latest information supplied by the DWP for Tower Hamlets showed 2,796 cases were currently affected by the ‘bedroom tax’, of which around 2,100 are RP tenants and the remainder council tenants. In addition to the above, there was a total of 768 cases where an exemption to the ‘bedroom tax’ applied.
Legal advice was being sought on the re-designation of bedrooms and it was not in anyone’s interest to make people homeless. The Council had been working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions, Job Centre Plus, Registered Providers and a range of voluntary sector partners to create awareness about the changes in order to prepare those affected.
RESOLVED
That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Development and Renewal, for a written response on any outstanding matters within 28 days.
Supporting documents: