The questions which have been received from Councillors to be put at this Council meeting are set out in the attached report.  A maximum period of 30 minutes is allocated to this agenda item.

 

 

The following questions and in each case supplementary questions were put (except where indicated) and were responded to by the Mayor or relevant Executive Member:-

 

8.1 Question from Councillor Clare Harrisson

 

Will the Mayor confirm that, contrary to some opposition scaremongering, he will not be recommending removing the 100% Council Tax Reduction Scheme support unlike many other boroughs?

 

Response of Mayor John Biggs

 

I am happy to confirm that, as has already been debated. I think it is worth noting that under my predecessor over £100 million pounds worth of savings were taken out of the Council's budget, they were done progressively by hollowing out centres and services. What we are doing is creating a solid way forward, but within that the we have the headroom in our budget to continue to support people on the lowest incomes and we are very committed as a Labour group to tackling the problems of poverty and exclusion in our community, both by addressing people's needs for support with their incomes, but also by supporting people in improving their circumstances in getting into work. I think that is progressive. I was previously compared to Tony Blair. I don't particularly like being compared to Tony Blair, but I think he did teach us a number of things about progression and about how we support our communities and I am proud that he did that.

 

No supplementary question from Councillor Clare Harrisson

 

8.3 Question from Councillor Andrew Cregan

 

Smarter Streets is being trialled in three wards - Bromley North, Island Gardens and Stepney Green – and enables residents to very easily report litter and fly-tipping using their smart phones. Are there any early indications about the success of the trial scheme?

 

Response of Councillor Ayas Miah, Cabinet Member for Environment

 

As part of our ongoing strategy to deal with littering a fly-tipping we are incorporating technology as a way to make it easier to report.

Smart Streets is still in its early stages, the pilot scheme across the three wards was fully initiated and set for public use in September 2016. We had an advertising push in December, encompassed a range of channels, including a household flyer distribution, social media, East London Advertiser and Council internet/intranet. Further promotion materials are set to go out until February 2017. Smart Street is in its early stages, we have not seen the uptake we would have liked by now but this is still very much a trail stage. We are reviewing a change in strategy to amplify the use and benefits of the scheme to channel direct delivery, including current location and implementing in high footfall areas.

 

No supplementary question from Councillor Andrew Cregan

 

8.4 Question from Councillor Julia Dockerill

 

Is the Mayor aware that when neighbouring Newham Council sought to set up a new free school without a proper, open competition, it ended up costing three council officers their jobs after they effectively broke the law?

 

What assurances can the Mayor provide councillors that Tower Hamlets will be running an open, fair and compliant tendering process for the London Dock and Westferry free school sites?

 

Response of Mayor John Biggs

 

I am very happy to confirm that our officers will act in total compliance with the law. As you know there are a number of free school site, particularly the two secondary school sites that we have been discussing, the lead member and our officers and we will start with the presumption, that I think is called the free school presumption, is followed, which means that there is a competitive process. I am very happy to work with Council Dockerill particularly in relation to the school in Wapping as I will with Councillor Jones.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Julia Dockerill

 

In his report to Council, the Mayor advised that he has been holding discussions with the planned arrival of the new secondaries, and ‘do we need them?’ he asks. What is his answer and if he has concerns about demand for places is it wise to exclude girls from admissions by having gender segregated education on the London Dock site, which is apparently being promoted in demand of parents north of The Highway, but it is certainly not what parents south of The Highway want.

 

Mayor John Biggs’ response to supplementary question

 

I am very clear that we should follow the proper process and I am sure that my lead member wants to make sure this happens as well. I know there is a lot of pressure for a mixed school on the Wapping site. The reason I raised this question about whether we want the school is because the government has now announced that we are going to have a new sixth form entry secondary school on the Commercial Road, which we didn't know anything about until the press statement came out, in the former London College furniture site and that sort of announcement by government, of free schools plonking out of thin air, does rather disrupt our planning process and we need to look closely at the impact that that has as well, but I absolutely support the principle that the people of Wapping should have access to a school that represents their desires, but we have to balance that against the desires of other people and the fact that the majority of school kids who will go to that school will come from north of The Highway as well, but yes, I like mixed schools and I hope that it will be a mixed school.

 

8.5  Question from Councillor Helal Uddin

 

The Tower Hamlets Education Partnership launched in late September this year. What work has been undertaken by the Partnership since the formal launch – and what is planned for the near future?

 

Response of Councillor Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education & Children's Services

 

85% of Tower Hamlets Council schools are now full members of the partnership, 88 of 103 schools. Member schools include nursery, primary and secondary schools special schools academies and three of the four Teaching Alliance schools in the borough. There is also a diverse range of associate members, other organisations other than schools who want to work closely with our schools on education related works. A diverse range of associate members including, Aldgate and All Hallows Foundation, Bow Arts, Queen Mary University, Spitalfields Small Business Association. A longer list of excellent organisations that I don’t necessarily need to read out.

 

Cath Smith who is the head teacher of Bow School began a one year secondment part-time as executive director in September 2016. Ian Jones who is the head at Mary Richardson primary school is our primary advisor working one day a week. There is an interim board chaired by Christine Gilbert with excellent people on it, but we need to increase the diversity of the leadership of the organisation. A new board is due to be appointed at the AGM in March 2017. The organisation is being established with Companies House and then as a charity, as you would expect, and the offer to schools has just been circulated and I can tell you more about that if you like.

 

No supplementary question from Councillor Helal Uddin

 

8.6  Question from Councillor Abdul Asad

 

Could the Mayor provide an update on what actions have been taken to keep Old Ford Housing a locally based Housing Provider as agreed in the original transfer documents?

 

Response of Mayor John Biggs

 

I am anxious that the residents of Bow in particular, but Old Ford covers other parts of the borough as well, should receive a service that is locally based and is accountable to them. I don't have absolute power in this as I don't over a number of other matters, for example the naming of schools and so on, I have had a number of meetings with local Councillors, with chief executives of both Circle and Affinity Sutton, the chief executive of which is now the chief exec of Clarion. I also met with the directors of Old Ford Housing Association, which still legally exists, and there have been a number of conversations about how we might resolve this and I am happy to undertake to report back to you about what progress we make with that. Can I also thank the local Councillors for the very active role in supporting residents off the estate, particularly in Bow, who are very anxious about the performance. The underlying problem with the performance of Circle has been a great concern and I am pleased that there seems to be some beginnings of a sign that that might be improving under Clarion, but I think this story is well from over.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Abdul Asad

 

The Mayor is very experienced and you probably were involved in helping setting up Old Ford housing, maybe there is something under the Tory government Housing Action Trust, but I would be very keen to have the reports when you have your meetings with them.

 

Mayor John Biggs’ response to supplementary question

 

I note that Chair. I don't think I need to respond.

 

8.7  Question from Councillor Danny Hassell

 

Can the Mayor or portfolio holder provide an update on plans to bring Old Flo back to the borough?

 

Response of Councillor Asma Begum, Cabinet Member for Culture

 

Unlike the previous administration, we value this borough’s culture and heritage and don’t just see it as a cash cow to be melted down for cash. That is why we took the decision to save Old Flo and to return her to her rightful place in the borough. We don't just want to return this artwork to its spiritual home, we want Old Flo to play a vital role in the cultural make-up of the borough, to be a focal point for schools and educators, and to be a visitor attraction that adds to Tower Hamlets already enviable reputation as a creative borough. We are currently in the process of identifying a suitable organisation to host the artwork and provide a safe and accessible local home for ‘Old Flo’, which will allow the residents to enjoy this historic piece of local art without the financial liability to the borough.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Danny Hassell

 

Does the lead member agree that the decision of the previous administration and many members opposite to flog this art represents not only their callous disregard for the value of public art, but also would have put at risk funding for art projects in our borough, given that other councils when selling such works of art have had their grants cut and have been essentially blacklisted by the Arts Council and other organisations?

 

Councillor Asma Begum’s response to supplementary question

 

Absolutely. We want to enrich the lives of our residents and inspire the creative talents of our young people in particular I am proud that we continue to fund a range of events which celebrate the diversity of the community and support organisations which in turn enhance the lives and wellbeing of our residents and help our creative industries to thrive.

 

8.8 Question from Councillor Ohid Ahmed

 

Does the Mayor believe that dealing with the drugs and drug-related crimes in Tower Hamlets - which links to vicious cycle of poverty, lack of social mobility, abuse, dependence, self-harm - is one of his priorities?

 

Response of Councillor Shiria Khatun, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Community Safety

 

Tackling drug-related crime is a top priority of our Mayor, John Biggs and of our administration and we’ve always been very clear on the need to be tough on drug crime, and supportive of people who need treatment for substance misuse. The Substance Misuse Strategy was agreed by Council in September. I know Cllr Ahmed and his group colleagues had walked out of the meeting before we had discussed the report, but I’d very happy to go over the Strategy with him in more detail. We work very closely with the police to tackle drug dealing in the borough and we arrest more drug dealers in Tower Hamlets than in any other borough.  We are also soon to be part of the Home Office Heroin and Crack Action Area pilot.

 

However, we cannot underestimate the pressures the police face. The Conservative Government have made huge cuts to policing budgets. As you know, Tower Hamlets Council funds the Partnership Task Force.

 

I would also note the Mayor of London’s excellent announcement that every ward in the borough is to be given a second dedicated neighbourhood police officer.

 

We now have the Community Safety Plan and the Substance Misuse Strategy in place. The strategy is very clear – in order to limit the impact of substance misuse, we need to support those experiencing substance misuse, facilitate access to treatment, and restrict the supply of drugs.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Ohid Ahmed

 

A few weeks ago, Tower Hamlets was declared to have one of the worst drug related problems in the entire UK, based on people dying or being taken to hospital. There were 682 people admitted to hospital last year, 2015/16, because of drugs problems. There were 35 people who died because of drug problems. 1,513 crimes committed in the last 12 months. You already mentioned that this is a drug heaven. There were 37,625 drug seizures made, which is the highest of any authority in this country. My question is straightforward, Mr Mayor, do you actually take this drug problem seriously and if you do are you going to put any money into it?

 

Councillor Shiria Khatun’s response to supplementary question

 

I did not say that Tower Hamlets was a drug heaven, what I actually said was we are also seem to be part of the Home Office Heroin and Crack Action Area pilot which means more financial support to continue the good work that we are doing in order to get people off of drugs. One of the other things I would like to mention, Councillor Ahmed rightly so talked about drugs related issues, however the Substance Misuse Strategy that was agreed at Full Council in September, unfortunately everyone there apart from the Tories walked out of that Council meeting. The strategy is very in depth and has three strands and if anybody is interested to talk about the strategy or know more about it then I am more than willing to spend time going through the strategy.

 

8.9  Question fromCouncillor Amina Ali

 

Shelter estimated that over the Christmas period, 120,000 children were homeless. This figure is up two-thirds since 2010. What action is the Council taking to house homeless families?

 

Response of Councillor Sirajul Islam, Statutory Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Management & Performance

 

Council members will be aware of the huge progress on bed and breakfast accommodation that we have made since Mayor Biggs was elected. We were shocked to find that under the previous administration over 230 households had been in B&B for longer than six weeks, and are proud that we have reduced that number to zero. We may be the only borough to be statutorily compliant. Indeed by Christmas we had moved almost every single family out of Bed & Breakfast accommodation and into self-contained temporary accommodation. However the ongoing housing crisis means that the total numbers of households in temporary accommodation remains high at over 2,100. The only solution to this is to build more homes, and in particular council homes, which is the major priority of our new housing strategy.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Amina Ali

 

Does the cabinet member believe the Tories housing and planning act will make it easier or harder for us to reduce the affliction of homelessness in our borough?

 

Councillor Sirajul Islam’s response to supplementary question

 

Unsurprisingly, given what I have said in this Council Chamber before on this subject, I think it will undoubtedly make it harder. While I welcome the Government’s U-turn on pay to stay, there are still incredibly damaging measures in the Act, including the forced sell off of much needed social housing, and the perverse approach to new affordable housing through starter homes. More importantly the Act does not help us with funding for the land, bricks, and mortar we need to build council homes. The Act neither says anything about controlling private sector rent, whilst this is one of the main causes of increased homelessness.

 

8.10  Question from Councillor Peter Golds

 

Concerns have been raised by residents of Manchester Road as to vibration from traffic which is causing serious problems to residential housing. Thames Water recently completed repairs to Manchester Road at the Manchester Grove intersection; however the road surface was left uneven on completion. 

 

Thames Water say the repair was signed off by Tower Hamlets Council. The uneven surface is now causing vibration issues in an area with many known water breaks and is affecting nearby houses. In this situation who takes responsibility, Thames Water or Tower Hamlets Council for signing off the completed road repair?

 

Response of Mayor John Biggs

 

We have had a couple of meetings with Isle of Dogs Councillors from all parties to discuss these issues, I take it very seriously. The Council formally signs things off under the Street Work Act, but I am more than happy to arrange a visit with Councillor Golds and officers to see this site. I am aware that particularly when a road reinstatement is near to older properties, the vibration and impact can be quite severe, so very happy to do that as a priority.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Peter Golds

 

There is a situation of the road table near Island Gardens Station, where as the buses come off, particularly those going along Manchester Road to Westferry Road, as they come off the bang is such that you could stand in several of the cottage houses on the Chapel House estate and feel the bump, actually stand inside and feel the bump. On two of them I have drawn attention to Council officers of cracks in the wall and all I get is saying that Council officers visiting the premises have measured the bump and there isn't a bump. In fact if they actually went inside the houses, and all the residents there are quite happy to invite them in, and feel the bumps and see the cracks and I wonder if you could use your good officers to ensure that takes place.

 

Mayor John Biggs’ response to supplementary question

 

I am more than happy to do that and while I am on my feet, I can also address the responsibility members have to convey information, and I want our member support service and our officers to be responsive to local issues such as this and I am happy to discuss it with Councillor Golds outside the meeting. I think that members also have a responsibility to brief their residents accurately on proposals and I just want to refute the suggestion that I want to chop down trees en masse and build massive cycle superhighways on Manchester Road either. I think we all agree that we want to provide a safe environment on the Isle of Dogs, resolve problems with speeding and provide a good quality of life for people in the area.

 

8.11  Question from Councillor John Pierce

 

Can the Cabinet Member assess the effectiveness of the Whitechapel Public Spaces Prevention Order, which was brought in to tackle anti-social behaviour around the pedestrian footpath connecting Old Montague Street and Whitechapel Road?

 

Response of Councillor Shiria Khatun, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Community Safety

 

Tower Hamlets first Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) officially commenced on 1^st October last year at Kings Arms Court in Whitechapel. The location is a busy pedestrian footpath connecting Whitechapel Road to Old Montague Street and is adjacent to Hopetown Hostel and residential properties.  There had been a persistent high volume of anti-social behaviour (ASB) complaints for a few years in that area.

 

A PSPO provides power for Police and designated Council officers to take action by use of Fixed Penalty Notices or other enforcement actions, if individuals behave in contravention of the order. The location also now has 24/7 recorded CCTV coverage. The cameras monitoring this area are a priority for our CCTV control room here in the Council and they will advise Police and council THEO’s of any breaches of the order to enable appropriate action to be taken straight away.  The CCTV team also advise Police and Council officers of any anti-social activities which are recorded so it can be used to identify offenders.

 

Recently, one offender was recorded on CCTV. He was identified by the ASB Team, found to be in breach of a probation order and was arrested on 19^th November last year for a number of offences and breach of his probation.

 

The six week appeal period has now passed and there have been no objections or challenges to the Council’s first PSPO. The PSPO’s require a considerable amount of work in terms of research, public consultation and implementation.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor John Pierce

 

Would you agree that the previous Mayor and his cabinet, particularly his lead for tackling these issues across the borough were asleep at the wheel for the last five years?

 

Councillor Shiria Khatun’s response to supplementary question

 

I absolutely concur with you Councillor Pierce, particularly it is very concerning, because the previous Mayor, from what I know, lives in Old Montague Street and this area has been subjected to ASB and many other issues for a number of years, so yes it has been neglected and under the new Mayor it has now received a lot of attention that the area has not received in the past.

 

8.12 Question from Councillor Rabina Khan

 

Could the Mayor confirm if any of Tower Hamlets Children’s Centres have failed OFSTED Inspections?

 

Response of Councillor Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education & Children's Services

 

Following Ofsted inspections in 2014/15, 9 of our children's centres showed cause for concern and were judged to require improvement.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Rabina Khan

 

As I can tell from the report, none of our children centres have failed their inspections. Two were last judged ‘good’ and 8 have been given ‘requires improvement’. Looking at all the report it is clear that each of these centres were doing a good job and only falling down because the criteria on how they were evaluated had changed. Is it true that Tower Hamlets Labour Party passed a motion in December that the Olga Children's Centre was opened in name only and that the empty purpose building should be made available to a childcare provider in order to increase the supply of affordable childcare? Is the Labour Party proposing to privatise children's centres?

 

Councillor Rachael Saunders’ response to supplementary question

 

I have no recollection of the motion you describe and I wouldn't usually spend Full Council discussing Labour Party motions anyway, what I can tell you though was that when we came to office what we found was a hollowed-out children's centres service. I am absolutely hole hearted about the importance of having, it was something that New Labour created, the fact that we should have an arm of the state which is about supporting families in their earliest years, partly and the bulk of our resources go to the most vulnerable families who need it most, but also because it is such an important part of cohesion and bringing communities together to have children playing with each other and parents meeting one another, so I was really frustrated when the Mayor was elected and I took on this role to find that contrary to all of the assurances we had been given in a scrutiny review that Councillor Whitelock-Gibbs led quite shortly before, in fact the cuts that your administration made meant there was very little going on in a number of our children's centres, these Ofsted issues has not in any way been spoken about or published or discussed even in scrutiny sessions when we asked about it very specifically, and there are real challenges. So we are going to improve the children's centres services, more families and more children will use the services and we will have far more of an impact in tackling the impact of child poverty in the borough.

 

8.13  Question from Councillor Candida Ronald

 

What impact will the new school funding formula have on children in Tower Hamlets?

 

Response of Councillor Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education & Children's Services

 

London Councils have estimated almost all inner London boroughs will lose funding as a result of the new formula. The vast majority of funding for each pupil will be determined nationally, not locally and we expect full implementation by 2019/20. All schools in Tower Hamlets would lose on average 2.7%. This equates to a Primary losing £55k and a Secondary £203k. The Mayor has been campaigning on this, as have I, as have people across London, local authorities and the Labour Party more broadly.

 

Essentially the success story of education in Tower Hamlets is partly that of leadership and community engagement and excellent teachers, excellent head teachers and children absolutely taking responsibility for their own success supported by their families, but the other side of that success story is a Labour government which has decided that funding needs to go into the areas which needed it because of poverty. A combination of funding and leadership has meant that our young people have achieved extraordinary success, especially at GCSEs and that is now at very seriously at risk.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Candida Ronald

 

Do you believe that this Tory government are playing politics with our children's lives?

 

Councillor Rachael Saunders’ response to supplementary question

 

I think that not only are the conservatives playing politics with people's lives, but they are taking money from the poorest children and giving it to the leafy suburbs and it is a scandal.

 

8.14  Question from Councillor Mahbub Alam

 

Can the Mayor please list the specific activities and tasks that each of the appointed Mayoral Advisers have carried out in line with their job description which were agreed by the Council?

 

Response of Mayor John Biggs

 

The Mayoral Advisers have carried out a wide range of tasks and activities in relation to the areas I have asked them to advise me on, but my office does not offer a diary support so I am unable to provide precise details.

 

Cllr Chesterton has regularly attended meetings with planning officers and external developers, in order to provide advice to myself and the Cabinet member for Strategic Development, and has provided extensive input to the draft Local Plan and a number of other areas relating to the Isle of Dogs

 

Cllr Denise Jones has offered extensive advice in relation to service quality, with particular focus on contractual matters in regards to waste and street cleansing. She has represented me in meetings with Veolia, and will continue to be engaged in this area. I have asked her to lead on the development of the council’s position in relation to Aldgate masterplanning, and I understand she has met with officers and Cabinet members to further that.

 

Cllr Helal Uddin has met with me regularly to discuss community engagement and liaison, and has helped further the development of the Council’s approach to community engagement. He has met myself and other members regularly on an informal basis to discuss how the Council can further improve our work in relation to equalities, foster stronger inter-community relations.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Mahbub Alam

 

Can you tell me how many hours each of the three Mayoral Advisors have worked on the specific objectives outlined in the job descriptions for their second jobs and what outcomes have been achieved because of their contribution? Can they provide full details of the items of advice provided by the three Mayoral Advisors to him and what action has been taken by him as a result? I am happy for him to answer as much as he can now, if he can, in the interests of accountability and transparency, but if he has not got the details to hand I am happy for him to write to me with further information by next week and please ensure that the details of his reply are fully recorded in the minutes.

 

Mayor John Biggs’ response to supplementary question

 

If the member wants to write to me with that question. I have already answered that we don't provide diary support so I can't provide precise details of the activities, but I have given you an account of the work that they are doing and I am very pleased with the work that they are doing and if I wasn't pleased I would remove them from that office instantaneously.

 

Question 8.2 was not put due to the absence of the questioner. Questions 8.15- 8.27 were not put due to lack of time.  Written responses would be provided to the questions.