12.4 Motion in support of foster carers

 

CouncillorAmy Whitelock Gibbs moved and Mayor John Biggs seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

 

Councillor Andrew Wood moved and Councillor Oliur Rahman seconded the following amendment to the motion

 

“Delete all after 1 in the opening section and insert

 

2. That following the highly critical Ofsted Report published on Friday 7^th April the Secretary of State using powers under Section 497A (4B) of the Education Act, 1996 imposed statutory directions to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in relation to Children’s services.

 

3. That after this Councils Children’s Services failed its OFSTED Inspection that those responsible for the service were moved sideways, stayed in post or have taken a secondment elsewhere but nobody has lost their job.

 

4. That whereas the OFSTED failure was a surprise to this Council it was in part due to the culture of the service.

 

5. That this service failure may be identified elsewhere within the Council.

 

6. That concerns relating to childcare were further revealed in the extensive publicity concerning the fostering of Child AB as revealed in the Family Court of East London.

 

7. It is reported that the biological mother of the of the child raised issues, in Court, as the suitability of the foster placement and that the child was reported as being distressed.

 

8. It is reported that certain controversial statements were referred to in Court which were attributed to the initial foster carers.

 

The Council;

 

Reiterates that foster parents in Tower Hamlets and countrywide undertake extremely difficult tasks in caring for often confused and vulnerable children.

 

Calls upon the Intervention Advisers appointed by the Secretary of State to undertake an investigation into the accuracy of these allegations.

 

In the event of the allegations being correct then the Council removes the persons concerned from the Register of Foster Parents to ensure the credibility and reputation of the service in Tower Hamlets.

 

The Council further notes

 

The Ofsted reported noted a significant decline in the standard of delivery of Children’s Services since the last inspection in 2012 when the borough standard was rated Good.

 

The Council had reports available to them from the Contact Centre where the young girl expressed her concerns in the presence of those supervising officers. Answers need to be given about what the Council did after reading these reports.

 

The Council calls upon the Mayor

 

To concentrate on the delivery of an improved service as required by the Statutory Directions and by ensuring that the concerns are properly investigated, provide parents, residents and Foster carers that the service operates to the highest level”.     

 

Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs declined to accept this ammendment to the motion. The ammendment was put to the vote and was defeated.

 

Councillor Rabina Khan moved and Councillor Aminur Khan seconded the following friendly amendment to the motion:

 

(a)          Under ‘Believes 4’ replace ‘many will see’ with ‘ we see’

 

(b)          Under ‘Resolves’ add ‘3. To instruct the Chief Executive to report the Times and the Daily Mail to IPSO on the grounds of Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 2 (Privacy), Clause 6 (Children) and Clause 12 (Discrimination) 

 

Councillor Amy Whitelock Gibbs and Mayor John Biggs accepted the amendment and altered their motion accordingly:

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

This Council notes:

 

1.            The story first published in The Times newspaper concerning a child in a Tower Hamlets foster placement, which has seen significant media attention in the UK and internationally.

 

2.            The unprecedented publication of the court report confirms that while foster placements will always require judgement and will rarely achieve a perfect fit, the judgement of our officers was sensitive and makes clear The Times' reporting was intrusive to both the child and her foster family.

 

3.            That many foster carers feel their work and value have been questioned and undermined as a result of negative media coverage.

 

4.            That immediately following the publication of the Times article Mayor Biggs and Cllr Whitelock Gibbs met with a group of concerned foster carers.

 

This Council believes:

 

1.            The media’s portrayal of foster carers is deeply misguided and harmful to the recruitment and retention of carers.

 

2.            That foster carers are dedicated individuals, who work tirelessly and provide the highest levels of care and support for some of our most vulnerable young people.

 

3.            That child protection and safeguarding is a complex area but this nuance and sensitivity has been lost in the distorted and sensationalist media coverage.

 

4.            The reporting in the Times article and its reinterpretation by other media showed a crude and judgemental stereotyping which we see as being Islamophobic, by attaching prejudices and implied motives and using intrusively stereotyped views of a foster carer who happened to be of Muslim faith.

 

5.            Foster carers deserve to feel safe, supported and valued.

 

This Council welcomes:

 

1.            The caution exercised by the political and corporate leadership in engaging with the public debate, to protect the safety and identity of the child first and foremost.

 

2.            The public statements from Mayor John Biggs in support of our foster carers and calling out the Islamaphobic tone of much of the media coverage.

 

This Council resolves:

 

1.            To welcome the work Mayor John Biggs and the Lead Member, Cllr Whitelock Gibbs, have undertaken to show support for our foster carers. 

 

2.            To continue to support foster carers in their vital work and to work with them to promote the positive difference they make in our borough and to our young people.

 

3.            To instruct the Chief Executive to report the Times and the Daily Mail to IPSO on the grounds of Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 2 (Privacy), Clause 6 (Children) and Clause 12 (Discrimination) 

 

 

12. 12Motion regarding on NJC Pay

 

Councillor Rachel Blakemoved and CouncillorDanny Hassell seconded the motion as printed in the agenda.

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

This Council notes that:

 

1.            NJC basic pay has fallen by 21% since 2010 in real terms

 

2.            NJC workers had a three-year pay freeze from 2010-2012

 

3.            Local terms and conditions of  many NJC employees have also been cut, impacting on their overall earnings

 

4.            NJC pay is the lowest in the public sector

 

5.            Job evaluated pay structures are being squeezed and distorted by bottom-loaded NJC pay settlements needed to reflect the increased National Living Wage and the Foundation Living Wage

 

6.            There are growing equal and fair pay risks resulting from this situation

 

This Council therefore supports the NJC pay claim for 2018, submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers and calls for the immediate end of public sector pay restraint. NJC pay cannot be allowed to fall further behind other parts of the public sector. This council also welcomes the joint review of the NJC pay spine to remedy the turbulence caused by bottom-loaded pay settlements.

 

This Council also notes the drastic ongoing cuts to local government funding and calls on the Government to provide additional funding to fund a decent pay rise for NJC employees and the pay spine review.

 

This Council therefore resolves to:

 

1.            Call immediately on the LGA to make urgent representations to Government to fund the NJC claim and the pay spine review and notify us of their action in this regard;

 

2.            Call on the Mayor to write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting the NJC pay claim and seeking additional funding to fund a decent pay rise and the pay spine review;

 

3.            Call on the Mayor to meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and the pay spine review.

 

 

Motions 1-3 and 5-11 and 13-19 were not debated due to lack of time.