Agenda item
TO CONSIDER MOTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
The motions submitted by Councillors for debate at this meeting are set out in the attached report.
Minutes:
12.1 Motion regarding the Constitutional Working Group
Councillor Craig Aston moved, and Councillor Peter Golds seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.
Following debate, the motion was put to the vote and was agreed. Accordingly it was:-
RESOLVED:
This council notes that:
1. Since October 2010 the council has operated under an Executive Mayoral model in which most functions of the council are in the hands of the Executive Mayor.
2. The size of the council was reduced from 51 to 45 in 2014, in part due to arguments about how the work of councillors and the structure of the council could be revised with fewer members.
3. Apart from necessary changes to the constitution to account for the transfer of executive powers, no thorough revision of the structures of the council was carried out, and no such revision has been carried out since.
4. Tower Hamlets is one of only 9 boroughs in London out of 32 with a single Overview and Scrutiny Committee as opposed to a number of scrutiny bodies.
This council notes further:
1. Although a formal scheme of delegation exists, executive powers have never been formally delegated. Responsibility for executive actions therefore rests exclusively with the Executive Mayor.
2. The outgoing Executive Mayor had not answered a single question at Full Council since 2012 and usually his only interaction with Full Council meetings was his 5-minute report, where he generally talked about matters irrelevant to his duties as Executive Mayor.
3. The outgoing Executive Mayor attended just 4 Overview & Scrutiny Committee meetings in a tenure of four and a half years.
4. The council further notes that the newly elected Mayor, attended and responded to a call in at the most recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
This council notes further:
1. The intervention of the Department for Communities and Local Government in sending the auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to this council.
2. The subsequent report of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which made severe criticisms of the actions and lack of accountability of the outgoing administration.
3. The further intervention of DCLG in sending Commissioners into this borough to exercise certain executive powers.
This council believes that:
1. The structures left in place at the transfer to an Executive Mayoral model in 2010 are, and were, not sufficient to ensure genuine scrutiny and accountability of an Executive Mayoral administration.
2. Those structures have plainly failed, resulting in DCLG intervention.
3. A revision of those structures is both necessary and desirable.
The council resolves that:
1. The Constitutional Working Group be convened to consider revisions to the constitution which would strengthen scrutiny, oversight, and executive accountability.
2. The legal department provide all necessary assistance to the Constitutional Working Group.
3. That proposals for revisions to the constitution should be brought back to Full Council within six months of the date of this meeting.
Procedural Motion
Councillor Oliur Rahman moved and Councillor Rabina Khan seconded, a procedural motion “that under Procedure Rule 15.11.7 the meeting be extended to enable the consideration of Motion 12.3 regarding Safeguarding against radicalisation
The procedural motion was put to the vote and was defeated
Motions 12.2–12.6 were not debated due to lack of time.
Supporting documents: