Agenda item
TO RECEIVE WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
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.
Minutes:
The following questions and in each case (except where indicated) a supplementary question were put, and were responded to by the relevant Executive Member:-
6.1 Question from Ms Kathy McTasney
Who made the decision to remove personalised disabled bays, and are they aware of the Equality Act and the right of the person with disability to access, especially to their home? I understand from officers that, I quote, "It was the Councillors that made the decision". So who was the person responsible for this?
I have a personal issue that officers were responsible for removing my daughter’s bay because I have a front drive. They clearly weren’t interested in the adaptations for the car. As officers made clear there were people not using their bays. Then common sense would be to write a letter and if no response at all, remove the bay. Not threaten disabled people that can't speak for themselves.
In conclusion I ask that you withdraw the removal of all personalised disabled bays and send out letters for reply instead of reapplying, as personally there was never an application made as LBTH (Social Services) and the Ambulance service many years ago applied for this to be allocated because of my daughter’s disability?
Response by Mayor John Biggs
The formal answer is that the Council set its policy in 1996 at the Planning and Environmental Services Committee and at the Policy and Information Committee an associated decision of February 2000 amended the procedure to require periodic review and so there are periodic reviews and I certainly have been petitioned about them by constituents down the years as well. There needs to be a process of review and also a process so you can appeal and challenge that. I think in a Borough where parking is such a massively political issue it’s important that people have a right to have such decisions reviewed. It’s quite wrong to say that Councillors individually make decisions about this though. It’s a Council policy which is to review these allocations from time to time. I would be very surprised if large numbers were withdrawn and certainly the decision I think preceded my election but I might be wrong about that.
Supplementary question from Ms Kathy McTasney
Why would an Officer commission an external Occupational Therapist (OT) to come and assess my daughter for her mobility when the OT arrived and saw my daughter she then said she didn’t know why she was sent. I asked the Council to look at the facts. Officer trying to remove the bay, sends external OT to assess a severely disabled person who is 2-1 care. Officer wanting to refuse blue badge so as to remove the bay. This is clearly discrimination and you have to take responsibility for these actions
Mayor John Biggs’ response to the supplementary question
I am very happy to go away and to review the way the policy is being implemented. As I understand it, part of the driver behind this has been that the previous Mayor - and I am not making a political point about this - but he set a policy of trying to trying create additional ordinary parking spaces in the Borough which led to Officers reviewing a lot of these disabled spaces and it could be that in some cases people no longer need them. But I would be surprised if in the majority of cases they did not continue to need those spaces. So I am happy to go away and review what’s happened and see if we can better implement a policy which is there to serve people, particularly vulnerable people in our community. I know Ms McTasney and I am happy to follow this up outside the meeting
6.2 Question from Mr Dean Morrison, representing Leaseholders of Tower Hamlets (LTH)
Can LBTH offer the Leaseholders of Tower Hamlets (LTH), as sole representative of leaseholders within LBTH properties, a permanent venue in which to conduct their business, and can LBTH provide LTH with any grants or monies taken from the Right to Buy receipts that will enable LTH to fund its activities?
Response by Councillor Sirajul Islam, Statutory Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Management & Performance
Thank you Mr Speaker and thank you Mr Morrison for your question. I am happy to engage with leaseholders on issues about housing services and to support them in their endeavours to improve the service. I have asked Tower Hamlets Homes to seek to facilitate LTH meetings wherever possible. The Council has a process of advertising vacancies in community buildings which can be shared with LTH. Right to Buy receipts can only be used to fund new housing supply and therefore unfortunately cannot be used for LTH activities. However, you can apply for other relevant grants as they are advertised.
(No supplementary question was put)
6.3 Question from Mr Geoff Juden, Chairman, The East London Garden
Society:
I would like to put a question to full council on the advisability of felling 22 trees along the Mile End Road, by Tfl, pursuant to the progress of a cycle highway.
I would request the council insist, noting the health concerns in the borough, that Tfl either not fell the said trees, replace the trees, or have a concerted planting programme, with specialist plants and regular maintenance, in order to offset the air pollution created with the felling of the trees. Trees are the most effective method nature has in cleansing the air, therefore with 7,500 Londoners dying this year from air pollution, we should all do what we are able to improve our population’s lung quality?
Response by Mayor John Biggs
Very briefly, we discussed this before, myself and Mr Juden, and I am very pleased that he has brought this to the Council. Council Officers have been talking to TfL about replacing the trees. What he does not mention is of course is that of the 22 trees, 3 of them are actually mature trees, they were massive things which clearly can’t be replaced and their loss is a greater loss, in my opinion, than the other 19 which are relatively less mature trees and can be replaced. Up until now TfL have only identified sites for 4, I think, of the replacement trees and the Council are pressing them to find the other 18 holes that they can place trees into and this may include adjoining Council land but trust me we are very committed to ensuring that the Borough maintains its tree cover and increases it.
Supplementary question from Mr Geoff Juden
There are many ways in which you can plant trees. You can put trees in tubs on pavements. We can have a whole planting programme with specialist planting operations. I would urge this Council to involve the local community organisations who are also involved with the redressing of air pollution in this Borough, to have an understanding of what they can do. It’s not just about replacing the tress but about having a planting programme that you can engineer a very satisfactory solution for everyone.
Mayor John Biggs’ response to the supplementary question
I agree with you.
6.5 Question from Ms Shuily Akthar
How many Free School Dinners were served since its introduction and how many children have benefited?
Response by Councillor Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services
I hope to be able to work with Officers now to improve the tracking of free school meals. But in summary there are three schemes in operation. There is the Mayor’s Meals Scheme in 2014 which provided meals for reception year one pupils; the Government’s Universal Infants Free School Meals scheme also in 2014 for reception year one and two pupils; and the Tower Hamlets Universal junior free school meal scheme from the 1st September 2014 which was for years 3-6. Unfortunately it has not been possible to give me a cumulative figure for all of these schemes. However, in January 2015 there were 6632 pupils in years 3-6 who wouldn’t normally be eligible for free school meals but who have that opportunity because of the programme that was brought in by this Council.
I was in the Labour Group in 2009 when Councillors including Carlo Gibbs and Motin Uz-Zaman and others, who are sitting here today, asked the then Leader of the Council, Luftur Rahman to include free school meals in his budget that year and he refused. He said that there was no money. I was also here when, as part of the John Biggs election campaign, we fought very hard in this Council Chamber for free school meals and after a lot of campaigning and lot of hard work, Luftur Rahman finally agreed and it was introduced. This Labour Administration is absolutely committed to continuing with the Labour Policy, implemented before us in Newham and Islington. Please be assured that this is a policy that we have fought hard for and we will continue to implement.
Supplementary question from Ms Shuily Akthar
Will the current Mayor please tell me if you intend to carry on the University Grants in Tower Hamlets?
Summary of Councillor Rachael Saunders’ response to the supplementary question
The grants continue to be funded this year. We are reviewing how to make the programmes as effective as possible.
Procedural Motion
Following the consideration of question 6.5, Councillor Oliur Rahman moved, and Councillor Rabina Khan seconded, a procedural motion “that under Procedure Rule 14.1.5, Rule 13.1 be suspended to enable an urgent motion regardingthe ‘Tory Government’s Welfare Reform Bill’to be considered”.
The Speaker agreed that the meeting would adjourn briefly for five minutes to allow Members to consider the tabled motion. Following which, the procedural motion was put to the vote and was defeated.
6.7 Question from Mr John Allison
Could Mr Biggs tell me the number of strategic and regeneration developments on site giving the Borough the potential for much needed housing, infrastructure and community benefits?
Response by Mayor John Biggs
It depends on one’s definition, but there are at least half a dozen such regeneration schemes on site in the Borough that I am aware of and there are many others in preparation. We are happy to discuss them with local communities and their possibilities and threats at the same time.
Supplementary question from Mr John Allison
I wanted to give credit and I wonder if the Mayor would acknowledge that to the contribution that the last Lead Member for Housing made to ensuring that there are enough suitable sites for future regeneration and housing within the Borough. So it’s just an acknowledgment to all the work that was done by Mrs Khan around this problem that the Borough has.
Mayor John Biggs’ response to the supplementary question
I think that Councillor Rabina Khan made a very position contribution on the previous debate about the housing co-operative and I want to take her positive contributions down the years in the light in which they were made. Clearly there are many other things that she has been responsible for which and I am less enamoured of but these meetings are not here for us to assassinate each other’s characters, they are there for us to discuss the future of our Borough.
One of the things that worries me enormously about the regeneration schemes, about which there have been many boasts, is the issue of what I would call real affordability where we talk about affordable housing but very often the housing that is supposedly affordable simple isn’t affordable for the people on the sorts of incomes that many people in our Borough have. So we have affordable home ownership schemes with six, seven hundred thousand pounds on their price tag and that is clearly not affordable. We have affordable rented properties at formula rents which are £200 a week or more for a one bedroom or smaller property and those properties I think we need to examine very closely our regeneration policies to ensure we are really addressing the needs and demands within our communities.
Questions 6.4, 6.6 and 6.8 were not put due to the absence of the questioners. The Service Head, Democratic Services stated that written responses would be provided to the questions. (Note: The written responses are included in Appendix ‘A’ to these minutes.)
Supporting documents: