Agenda item
URGENT MOTIONS
Minutes:
The Council agreed to suspend Procedure Rule 13.1 to enable the following urgent motions to be debated without notice:
13.1 Motion regarding Waste Management Strategy
Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs moved, and Councillor John Pierce seconded, a tabled motion on the above matter.
Following debate the motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
- that the Cabinet Paper making significant proposals about the future of waste management in Tower Hamlets was withdrawn on 7th January without any public discussion
- that the proposals have concerning implications for the cost, scrutiny and efficiency of rubbish and recycling collection in the borough, including multiple contracts with variable prices and no local depot which could lead to delays in collection and fewer local jobs
- that the proposals fail to investigate all options, such as whether costs could be reduced and scrutiny of services improved by bringing waste management services in-house
This Council further notes:
- that there are already problems with waste management in the borough, with local residents regularly raising concerns about dirty streets, missed rubbish collections and flytipping hotspots
- that this has been exacerbated by the Mayor bringing in charges for bulk rubbish collection back in June 2012
- that residents rightly expect the council to deliver on basic services and ensure our streets are kept clean
- that despite improvements in recycling rates, many residents still struggle to recycle as much as they could, due to inadequate purple bin capacity and lack of facilities to recycle food waste in many blocks
- that the Budget includes worrying cuts to monitoring of street cleaning
This Council believes:
- that there is an urgent need to get a grip on clean streets and recycling rates
- that the waste management strategy must be used as an opportunity to tackle these problems while ensuring value for money for local taxpayers
- that all options for waste management must be thoroughly considered and openly discussed in public
This Council resolves:
- to call on Mayor Lutfur Rahman to protect local waste services including a local depot
- to call on the executive to thoroughly investigate the option of bringing waste services in house
- to instruct officers to explicitly identify how the new waste management proposals will improve street cleaning, flytipping collection and recycling rates, including more options for recycling for those living in blocks
13.2 Motion regarding Wasted Public Money
Councillor Rachael Saunders moved, and Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed seconded, a tabled motion on the above matter.
Following debate the motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
RESOLVED
This Council notes:
· The £38,735 of taxpayers’ money spent by the Mayor on judicial review of the government’s decision to send in PwC inspectors.
· The £81,924.70 of taxpayers’ money spent by the Mayor to employ the law firm Taylor Wessing in response to the Panorama program.
· The £41,144 of taxpayers’ money spent by the Mayor to employ the communication consultancy company Champollion in response to the Panorama program.
This Council further notes:
· The Mayor’s intention to begin judicial review of directions from the Department of Communities and Local Government.
This Council believes:
· that public money has been wasted.
· that any further legal action should be funded by the Mayor personally, rather than from public funds.
This Council resolves:
· to call on Mayor Lutfur Rahman to stop wasting public money.
· to call on the Mayor to personally fund any further legal action.
13.3 Motion regarding Circle Housing Group & Old Ford Housing Association
Councillor Amina Ali moved, and Councillor Joshua Peck seconded, a tabled motion on the above matter.
Following debate the motion was put to the vote and was agreed.
RESOLVED
This Council notes that:
· Old Ford Housing Association was established in 1998 as the successor body to the Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust, which had been responsible for the redevelopment of the Tredegar, Monteith and Lefevre estates in Bow;
· OFHA was a subsidiary of Circle 33 Housing Trust for financing purposes, but was accountable to its own Board of tenants, leaseholders and independent members;
· OFHA completed this redevelopment programme to a good standard and generally enjoyed high levels of satisfaction from residents;
· In 2005, Circle 33 merged with Anglia Housing to form Circle Anglia. Other housing associations have been merged into the group since then to form Circle Housing Group;
· In 2007, LBTH transferred the “Parkside” estates – Lanfranc, Locton, Ranwell and McCullum – to OFHA under the Housing Choice programme to bring them up to the Decent Homes Standard within five years;
· OFHA fitted all tenants’ homes with new kitchens and bathrooms by 2012, but other promises within the “Offer Document” have not been kept, including external works to at least a dozen blocks, environmental works on other parts of the estates and the Overcrowding Reduction Initiative;
· In 2013, Circle Housing Group required Old Ford to terminate its Repairs & Maintenance contract with Mears and Major Works contract with Apollo to sign up to a new group-wide contract with Kier. The performance of this contractor has been exceptionally poor in the 15 months since then, with appointments repeatedly missed, phone calls going unanswered and repairs not being carried out to a satisfactory standard, leading to hundreds of complaints;
· Circle Housing Group is now taking forward a restructuring programme, which involves the closure of Old Ford’s offices in Bow and Stratford. When questioned on this by staff, a member of Circle Housing Group’s Senior Management Team is reported to have said that Old Ford could use a stall in Roman Road market;
· Despite repeated promises by Circle Housing Group that an action plan was in place, the Repairs & Maintenance service remains inadequate and most of the major works committed to by Circle are now more than two years overdue;
· The Homes & Communities Agency regulator is now investigating these failings.
This Council believes that:
· By terminating the contract with Mears, Circle Housing Group has undermined Old Ford’s ability to provide an adequate Repairs & Maintenance service, resulting in “Serious Detriment” to its residents;
· By terminating the contract with Apollo, Circle Housing Group has significantly delayed Old Ford’s major works programme of external works to the Parkside estates, leaving it in breach of the promises made to tenants and leaseholders in the 2005 “Offer Document” and listed as “Qualifying Works” in Schedule 17 of the Transfer Agreement;
· The proposed closure of Old Ford’s offices is also a breach of the specific promises made to tenants and leaseholders on the Parkside estates in the 2005 “Offer Document”.
This Council resolves:
· To write to the Homes & Communities Agency, calling for the regulator to investigate whether residents have suffered serious detriment as a result of the failings of the Repairs & Maintenance contract;
· To support Old Ford residents in preparing their own submission to the Homes and Communities Agency
· To call on the Mayor to suspend Circle Housing Group as a Preferred Development Partner in Tower Hamlets with immediate effect;
· To call on the Mayor to instruct officers to explore options for legal proceedings against Circle Housing Group for breach of Schedule 17 of the Transfer Agreement and to report back to Full Council on the possibility of such proceedings by 15th April.