12.1    Motion regarding Lutfur Rahman’s legacy of failure

 

Councillor Sirajul Islam moved, and Councillor Rachael Saunders seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.

 

The motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

 

DECISION

 

This Council notes:

 

-       That under Lutfur Rahman’s leadership:

 

Jobs

 

-       The number of people long-term unemployed in the borough has risen 23%

-       The number of young people aged 18-24 who are long-term unemployed in the borough has more than doubled. (Up 111%)

-       During the Olympics there was little discernable impact in terms of the number of young people employed in the borough.

 

Cleaner Streets

 

-       Residents have reported 24,000 bins as uncollected.

-       The introduction of charges for bulk waste collections led to 7,000 fewer bulk collections.

-       Street cleaning was cut to only two days a week

 

Crime and ASB

 

-       Crime is up 1.4% since Lutfur Rahman came to power.

-       Over the same period crime in neighbouring in Newham is down 8% and in Barking and Dagenham it is down 10%.

-       20,000 reports of Anti-Social behaviour last year

-       Tower Hamlets has the second highest levels of anti-social behaviour in London.

-       Between October 2009 and September 2012 robberies were up 50%, knife crime was up 49%

-       In the 2013 Annual Residents Survey 41% of people said crime was one of their top three concerns, this was the biggest overall concern from residents.

 

Housing

 

-       Lutfur Rahman has actually SOLD more Council homes than he has built

o   15 built since Lutfur Rahman came to power

o   46 homes sold off under right to buy

o   14 homes sold off through Lutfur Rahman’s asset stripping

-       There are over 20,000 families on the borough’s housing waiting list

-       Plans were drawn up to ship up to 500 families out of London this year.

-       94 vulnerable families have unlawfully been placed in ‘temporary’ accommodation for more than 6 weeks.

-       Only 27 of almost 700 homes on the Olympic Park were allocated to Tower Hamlets families

 

Cost of Living

 

-       14,000 families have been hit by the Government’s Benefit Cap.

-       Lutfur Rahman cut the borough’s stretched advice centres to the bone with cuts in their grants of up to 50%

-       The cost of privately renting in Tower Hamlets now takes up 60% of the average household income.

 

Schools

 

-       30% of secondary school children missed out on their first preference school last year. 157 children didn’t get any of their 6 preferences.

-       The provision of school places varies significantly between areas. For example in Limehouse, last year only 54% of students got a first preference Secondary School place.

-       The school place crisis has been ignored.

 

Council Finance

 

-       The Council has made no progress on invest to save strategies.

-       The Council has developed a budget gap of £80m in coming years.

-       Over £18m has been spent on redundancy payments with countless more on out of court ‘settlements’

 

Waste

 

-       £42,000 a year wasted on a vanity chauffeur driven Mercedes

-       £296,000 a year wasted on ‘mayoral advisors’

-       Hundreds of thousands wasted on unnecessary publicity

 

Contempt

 

-       Residents have had their questions, petitions and expectations ignored.

-       Councillors were removed from community organisations with their seats left vacant.

-       A Commonwealth minister was banned from visiting the Town Hall during the Olympics

 

This Council Believes:

 

-       Tower Hamlets is a great place to live and can do so much better than this.

-       People feel totally let down by Lutfur Rahman’s out of touch, divisive and secretive administration and that a change is needed.

-       That the current Mayor is too weak to face up to the real challenges facing this council and the people who live in our borough.

 

-       That John Biggs is the man to make that change.

 

This Council resolves:

 

-       To condemn Lutfur Rahman for his four years of failure.

 

 

12.3 Motion regarding supporting building of the Columbia Market War Memorial

 

Councillor John Pierce moved, and Councillor M.A. Mukit M.B.E. seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

 

During debate Councillor John Pierce accepted an amendment proposed by Councillor Kabir Ahmed to add, under ‘This Council Resolves’,:- “To call on the Executive to provide a suitable site within the Sivill House Rose Garden for this memorial”.

 

The motion, as amended, was put to the vote and was agreed.

 

DECISION

 

This Council Notes:

On the first night of the Blitz, 7th September 1940 a German bomb entered the ventilation shaft of the air raid shelter situated under the Great Hall of Columbia Market which had a glass roof which caused mass devastation and killed at least 51 people.

This Council believes:

This tragedy should be commemorated and a fitting memorial should be erected near the site of the Great Hall to remember the 51 people who lost their lives in this tragedy.  

This Council Resolves:

To commemorate the air raid on Columbia Market, Columbia Road, and to support the Columbia Market War Memorial Group with building of the Columbia Market War Memorial.

 

To call on the Executive to provide a suitable site within the Sivill House Rose Garden for this memorial.

 

(Action by:  Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director, Development and Renewal)

 

 

Motions 12.2 and 12.4 – 12.11 were not considered due to lack of time. 

 

The Council agreed to suspend Procedure Rule 13.1 to enable an additional, urgent motion to be included on the agenda regarding Former Crown Estate Tenants.  However this urgent motion was also not considered due to lack of time.

 

12.1    Motion regarding Lutfur Rahman’s legacy of failure

 

Councillor Sirajul Islam moved, and Councillor Rachael Saunders seconded, the motion as printed in the agenda.

 

The motion was put to the vote and was agreed.  Accordingly it was:-

 

RESOLVED

 

This Council notes:

 

-       That under Lutfur Rahman’s leadership:

 

Jobs

 

-       The number of people long-term unemployed in the borough has risen 23%

-       The number of young people aged 18-24 who are long-term unemployed in the borough has more than doubled. (Up 111%)

-       During the Olympics there was little discernable impact in terms of the number of young people employed in the borough.

 

Cleaner Streets

 

-       Residents have reported 24,000 bins as uncollected.

-       The introduction of charges for bulk waste collections led to 7,000 fewer bulk collections.

-       Street cleaning was cut to only two days a week

 

Crime and ASB

 

-       Crime is up 1.4% since Lutfur Rahman came to power.

-       Over the same period crime in neighbouring in Newham is down 8% and in Barking and Dagenham it is down 10%.

-       20,000 reports of Anti-Social behaviour last year

-       Tower Hamlets has the second highest levels of anti-social behaviour in London.

-       Between October 2009 and September 2012 robberies were up 50%, knife crime was up 49%

-       In the 2013 Annual Residents Survey 41% of people said crime was one of their top three concerns, this was the biggest overall concern from residents.

 

Housing

 

-       Lutfur Rahman has actually SOLD more Council homes than he has built

o   15 built since Lutfur Rahman came to power

o   46 homes sold off under right to buy

o   14 homes sold off through Lutfur Rahman’s asset stripping

-       There are over 20,000 families on the borough’s housing waiting list

-       Plans were drawn up to ship up to 500 families out of London this year.

-       94 vulnerable families have unlawfully been placed in ‘temporary’ accommodation for more than 6 weeks.

-       Only 27 of almost 700 homes on the Olympic Park were allocated to Tower Hamlets families

 

Cost of Living

 

-       14,000 families have been hit by the Government’s Benefit Cap.

-       Lutfur Rahman cut the borough’s stretched advice centres to the bone with cuts in their grants of up to 50%

-       The cost of privately renting in Tower Hamlets now takes up 60% of the average household income.

 

Schools

 

-       30% of secondary school children missed out on their first preference school last year. 157 children didn’t get any of their 6 preferences.

-       The provision of school places varies significantly between areas. For example in Limehouse, last year only 54% of students got a first preference Secondary School place.

-       The school place crisis has been ignored.

 

Council Finance

 

-       The Council has made no progress on invest to save strategies.

-       The Council has developed a budget gap of £80m in coming years.

-       Over £18m has been spent on redundancy payments with countless more on out of court ‘settlements’

 

Waste

 

-       £42,000 a year wasted on a vanity chauffeur driven Mercedes

-       £296,000 a year wasted on ‘mayoral advisors’

-       Hundreds of thousands wasted on unnecessary publicity

 

Contempt

 

-       Residents have had their questions, petitions and expectations ignored.

-       Councillors were removed from community organisations with their seats left vacant.

-       A Commonwealth minister was banned from visiting the Town Hall during the Olympics

 

This Council Believes:

 

-       Tower Hamlets is a great place to live and can do so much better than this.

-       People feel totally let down by Lutfur Rahman’s out of touch, divisive and secretive administration and that a change is needed.

-       That the current Mayor is too weak to face up to the real challenges facing this council and the people who live in our borough.

 

-       That John Biggs is the man to make that change.

 

This Council resolves:

 

-       To condemn Lutfur Rahman for his four years of failure.

 

 

12.3 Motion regarding supporting building of the Columbia Market War Memorial

 

Councillor John Pierce moved, and Councillor M.A. Mukit M.B.E. seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

 

During debate Councillor John Pierce accepted an amendment proposed by Councillor Kabir Ahmed to add, under ‘This Council Resolves’,:- “To call on the Executive to provide a suitable site within the Sivill House Rose Garden for this memorial”.

 

Following debate the motion, as amended, was put to the vote and was agreed unanimously.  Accordingly it was:-

 

RESOLVED

 

This Council Notes:

On the first night of the Blitz, 7th September 1940 a German bomb entered the ventilation shaft of the air raid shelter situated under the Great Hall of Columbia Market which had a glass roof which caused mass devastation and killed at least 51 people.

This Council believes:

This tragedy should be commemorated and a fitting memorial should be erected near the site of the Great Hall to remember the 51 people who lost their lives in this tragedy.  

This Council Resolves:

To commemorate the air raid on Columbia Market, Columbia Road, and to support the Columbia Market War Memorial Group with building of the Columbia Market War Memorial.

 

To call on the Executive to provide a suitable site within the Sivill House Rose Garden for this memorial.

 

 

Motions 12.2 and 12.4 – 12.11 were not considered due to lack of time. 

 

The Council agreed to suspend Procedure Rule 13.1 to enable an additional, urgent motion to be included on the agenda regarding Former Crown Estate Tenants.  However this urgent motion was also not considered due to lack of time.