The Council Procedure Rules provide for a maximum of three petitions to be presented at an Ordinary Meeting of the Council. 

 

The deadline for receipt of petitions for this Council meeting is noon on Thursday 13 July 2017.

 

However at the time of agenda despatch, the maximum number of petitions has already been received as set out in the attached report.

 

5.1        Petition regarding Poplar HARCA

 

Petitioners addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Mayor John Biggs then responded to the matters raised in the petition. Whilst acknowledging that the Council had no jurisdiction over Poplar HARCA, the Mayor reported that he had worked closely with the organisation to reduce parking charges and save social housing. He would continue to lobby the organisation to influence their decisions. He also stated that leaseholders could lobby the organisation over such matters as services charges and major works and he was happy to meet with the petitioners to consider their concerns.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.            That the petition be referred to the Acting Corporate Director, Place for a written response within 28 days.

 

5.2       Petition relating to Save Our NHS

 

Dr Jackie Applebee Turner and others addressed the meeting and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Health and Adults Services then responded to the matters raised in the petition. She advised that the Mayor had confirmed that he would not sign up to the North East London Sustainability and Transformation Plan until a wide range of issues had been addressed. She stated that she would continue to fight against the plans to centralise services and  the cuts to health budgets. She also reported that she had met with NHS colleagues to express concerns about the proposals and the draft plans were available on line for local residents to view. She looked forward to working with the petitioners to address their concerns.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.            That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Health, Adults and Community, for a written response within 28 days.

 

5.3       Petition relating to renewable energy

 

Petition not presented due to the absence of the petitioner.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.            That the petition be referred to the Acting Corporate Director, Place for a written response within 28 days.

 

5.4       Petition Debate – Save Tower Hamlets Youth Sports

 

Chris Dunne addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and the Council then debated the matters raised by the petition. Following a debate, the Mayor responded to the petition. Whilst recognising that the Trust was operating at a deficit, he explained that the Council could not provide funding to the Trust without a clear a business plan. The Mayor was however willing to explore ways of supporting youth sport and young people for example through an Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussion. 

 

Procedural Motion

 

Councillor Oliur Rahman moved and Councillor Ohid Ahmed, seconded, a procedural motion “that under Procedure Rule 14.1.3 the order of business be varied such that item 13.12  Motion regarding John Biggs failing the Borough and austerity axing the Olympic Legacy be considered as the next item of business”.

 

The procedural motion was put to the vote and was defeated

 

Procedural Motion

 

Councillor Andrew Cregan moved and Councillor Rabina Khan,seconded, that under the rules for a Petition Debate, their motion on ‘Save Tower Hamlets Youth Sport’ be considered”. The text of the motion was as follows:

 

The Council Notes;

·         In Tower Hamlets, the Head Teacher of Langdon Park School, Chirs Dunne, led a campaign to sustain the essential work of the School Sport Partnerships.

·         Aided by the Local Authority and supported by Tower Hamlets Schools who collectively replaced the lost funds; the Tower Hamlets Youth Sports Foundation (THYSF) was established.

·         Although THYSF’s Board of Trustees raised funds and provided some guidance, staff employment remained with Langdon Park School.

THYSF delivers the following;

·         Improves sports opportunities

·         Increases sports & physical activity participation

·         Utilise Sport for Personal and Community Development (Health, Social Cohesion, Educational Attainment, Youth Employment)

The Council Further Notes;

LBTH have now formally begun consultation with staff about the closure of this service. This will lead to:

·         The combined school-community model which has led to huge improvements in the number of young people in Tower Hamlets participating in sport & physical activity

·         The demise of opportunities for schools in Tower Hamlets to pool their Primary PE & Sport Premium funding for better strategic use (LBTH will return school funding to schools that is already committed for 2017-18)

·         A decrease in the amount of physical activity and competitive sport experienced by over 30,000 young people in schools

·         The demise of the only opportunities for young people in Tower Hamlets to participate in structured/competitive badminton, basketball, cricket, fencing, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, tennis or weightlifting.

·         A loss of circa £250K additional funding secured for youth sport in Tower Hamlets

·         The loss of 18 full time posts and over 50 part time positions, the vast majority of whom are borough residents (88% are under 25, 84% are BAME)

The Council Resolves;

·         Suspend the current redundancy process in relation to all staff delivering THYSF services

·         Instruct the business consultants currently working with Langdon Park School/THYSF staff to produce a full, public report to this Council meeting that outlines whether and how THYSF’s current staff and services can exist as a business unit within the Council

·         The Council’s Sport & Physical Activity Department’s staffing, function and budget falls within scope of the same review/report

 

At the end of the debate the tabled motion was put to the vote and was defeated

 

Mayor John Biggs moved, and Councillor Abdul Mukit seconded, a tabled motion on this subject [text of motion as set out in the resolution below].

 

Following debate, the tabled motion was put to the vote and was agreed.

 

RESOLVED:

 

This council notes:

 

-       The good work Tower Hamlets Youth Sports Foundation have done over previous years.

 

-       THYSF is not and has never been directly funded by the Council, though it has received MSG funding and last year the council provided financial support to cover its deficit.

 

-       The THYSF is and has always been primarily funded by the schools they provide services to and as schools have withdrawn from funding THYSF their finances have become problematic.

 

-       The current situation has arisen as a result of THYSF income falling far below their costs. Mainly as a result of schools choosing to pull out from funding the organisation.

 

-       Currently the organisation’s staff are formally employed by Langdon Park School. Given the increasing concerns about THYSF’s finances the school no longer wish to host them as they could end up liable for any deficit.

-       Whilst THYSF are not a council service, last year the council agreed to underwrite the THYSF deficit and support them to produce a viable business plan that demonstrated that THYSF can cover all its expenditure from the income it receives.
 

-       After a number of time extensions, the Trustees concluded that they could not submit a balanced business plan.

-       The Council has not withdrawn any of its existing funding sources, nor where we proposing to.

-       With the Council is facing £58m in cuts over the coming years we cannot continue absorbing THYSF’s overspends each year as that would mean having to cut other projects.

 

This council believes:

 

-       It is clear that Government cuts have made it far harder for schools to afford the THYSF service.

-       The Council worked hard to support THYSF however we cannot make an open-ended commitment to underwrite hundreds of thousands of pounds in costs with no funding strategy in place. To do so would mean cutting other important council services.

This council further notes:

 

-       The Mayor’s commitment that should THYSF close the council will step-in for a year to support the running of the inter-borough, School Games and London Youth Games before commissioning another organisation to run them in future years.

 

-       The plan to offer schools a core package of support should THYSF close, including specialist, cricket, hockey, cycling, football and other sports in conjunction with national sport governing bodies and organisations like Middlesex Cricket, England Hockey and professional football clubs.

 

-       The plan to devise a strategy, alongside sport national governing bodies, for elite sport provision in Tower Hamlets and to support local sport clubs.

 

This council resolves:

 

-       To condemn the Government cuts to school budgets which have led to schools withdrawing from the THYSF resulting in significant financial problems.

-       To welcome the Council’s role in supporting THYSF over the past year but to note with sadness that to take over full running of the service would require the council to cut other services in order to fund it.

-       To welcome the alternative plan put forward by the Mayor to support youth sport, including the provision of the inter-borough, School Games and London Youth Games and support local clubs and elite sports.