East London News A Force for the community…
Most Council meetings are open to the public. Going along and seeing your councillors perform is a good way to keep an eye on them and learn about what’s going on. Meetings can move or be cancelled, so check your Council website on the link provided before going to a meeting listed below.
Tower Hamlets
Monday 13th July, 6.00pm: Standards Advisory Committee
This Committee is led by people who are external appointments, though there are some Councillor members. The Committee will be doing some start-of-the-year business items. There is an interesting report on the Register of Gifts. The Mayor and all councillors have to register all gifts received over the value of £25. The Mayor registered receiving a box of dates from a local retailer to celebrate Eid: he declined making any personal use of the gift and donated it to the Speaker’s Charity. The report also deals with the Register of Interests – on which we shall report separately.
Monday 13th July, 6.30pm: Children & Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee
The meeting starts with start-of-year business items. There is one major item: the Cabinet Member and Corporate Director will present a report on the successes, priorities and challenges for the year ahead (the successes are presumably for the last year). This is a weak agenda: a report on your priorities does not really lend itself to scrutiny. There is a report, but no individual priorities have been drawn out for scrutiny. Councillors should be better than this.
Tuesday, 14th July, 6.30pm: Training for the Pensions Committee
We assume this is not open to the public.
Wednesday, 15th July, 3pm: Cabinet
Under the Directly Elected Mayor system, the Cabinet is a bit of a nonsense, as reports will have been agreed before they reach Cabinet, so there is little to discuss. Further, the Cabinet is advisory, with decisions being taken by them Directly Elected Mayor. The papers can be interesting. The meeting is also an opportunity for the Mayor to speak about his priorities or some major item of concern. Mayor Lutfur Rahman is always a pleasure to listen to, so let’s hope he has something up his sleeve for this week. The earlier start time will allow everyone to get home in time for the football.
At this meeting we can look forward to chunky reports on new housing, including financial details. This will annoy Labour. It’s also the first Cabinet for the new Leader of the severely diminished Labour Group: let’s see how Cllr Ullah goes into the attack on this one. There’s also policies arising from the Renters’ Rights Act.
There’s also items on making part of the John Onslow House scheme for new housing into a community premises and the development of St George’s Leisure Centre; contracts for waste disposal; and the fuel contracts.
Thursday, 16th July, 6.30pm: Licensing Sub-Committee
There’s applications to vary the licence for the Holy Carrot in Brushfield Street and for new licenses for Second Home Spitalfields and Lebanese Grill in Brick Lane.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
Newham
It’s all go in Newham this week!
Monday, 13th July, 7pm: Council
The meeting kicks off with a recommendation that the Council appoints Maria Christofi as Chief Executive. Ms Christofi has previously been a Board Member in Newham and the Corporate Director of Resources, so she must know where the ropes are. The Council has already issued a press release saying the Mayor recommends her appointment – let’s hope Council agrees, then.
Five questions from members of the public have been tabled – all on transport issues.
There’s lots of reports. The Chief Executive gets one, as do the Chair, the Mayor, Cabinet Members, the Chief Executive, the Chair of Scrutiny, and “Newham Partners”. Later there are further reports – from the Standards Committee and two Members. Those who survive the excitement can go on to Members’ Questions: 30 questions have been submitted, some on ward issues but most seeking to make party political points.
Still without any substantial reports, the Council meeting then goes on to Motions. There are five: diversity; ethical investment; electoral reform; Free School Meals in secondary schools; and toilets.
Tuesday, 14th July, 6pm: Strategic Development Committee
The main item is the demolition of Carpenters Primary School and the building of a new school on the site.
Wednesday, 15th July, 5.30pm: SACRE
The Council website doesn’t explain what SACRE is. Just in case you’re not a mind-reader, it is the Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education. There’s a range of items on the agenda dealing with faith and education.
Wednesday, 15th July, 7pm: Audit and Governance Committee
It’s hard to sell this Committee – but they discuss important stuff. This meeting is looking at last year’s accounts and various audit issues.
Wednesday, 15th July, 7pm: Officer Key Decision
The agenda says this is not a meeting. It is just a notice that decisions on decarbonisation works on Central Park Primary School have been delegated to officers If you have an interest in this work, contact details of the officer you can speak to are on the website.
Thursday, 16th July, 7pm: Pensions Committee
There’s a series of important technical documents on the agenda.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
Hackney
Monday, 13th June, 7pm: Skills, Economy and Grow Scrutiny Commission
Oh dear. Scrutiny Sub-Committees or Commissions – whatever you call them – are supposed to scrutinise the work the Council or Mayor does. Across East London they seem to work too slowly to be any real use. This meeting will do various start-of-the-year work, after which it will look at… the Libraries Strategy. It will then plan its work for the year ahead. Oh dear.
Tuesday, 14th July, 2pm: Licensing Sub-Committee E
There are two main items to consider: reviews of the premises licences at 4 Decking Areas at Box Park and Sevente in Hackney Road.
Wednesday, 15th July, 2pm: Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee
There’s reports on how a number of activities are to be procured: Baden Powell Primary School, Children’s Occupational Therapy, Children’s Speech Therapy, the Family Group Conferencing Service and the Colville Heat Network. Most of the discussion on these items will be held in private.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
Barking & Dagenham
There’s a session of Member Training in the public calendar – but presumably these are not open to the public.
Tuesday, 14th July, 7pm: Cabinet
Cabinet will be talking about the Change Strategy and Plan: that’s its plan about how its going to develop Barking & Dagenham over the next few years. You have been warned! There’s also a report on the strategy for Looked After Children. Finally, there’s a report on Council Performance over the last four years of the previous Administration. These are ghastly documents, full of data that may or may not be helpful but which consume enormous energy from officers.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
Redbridge
Monday, 13th July, 7pm: Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Councillors are really getting down to work, with a long agenda. There’s a report on “Best Start in Life”, which is a government initiative every Council must follow and a discussion on how the Council delivers Leisure and Culture. There’s some more technical items dealing with performance and finances.
Tuesday, 14th July, 5pm: Shareholder Reference Group
We have no idea what this is. It seems to be something to do with performance and “resilience”.
Tuesday, 14th July, 7pm: Children and young people Committee
This body is part of the Overview and Scrutiny system, but less formal. (Huh?) At this meeting it is going to discuss what it is going to do over the year ahead.
Wednesday, 15th July, 7pm: Planning Committee
There is one item on the agenda, dealing with 38 The Avenue. The meeting is marked as “provisional”, so it may not go ahead.
Thursday, 16th July, 7pm: Cabinet
The Meeting has a number of financial documents to discuss. It will then discuss the Best Start in Life and Leisure reports discussed at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier in the week.
Thursday, 16th July, 8pm: General Purposes Committee
It seems odd that this Committee is meeting at basically the same time as the Cabinet. It is discussing property procedure rules and how to reform the planning Committee. And there’s a report from the Constitutional Review Working Group.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
Havering
It’s a quiet week, out in Havering.
Tuesday, 14th July, 10.30am: Licensing Sub-Committee
An application for a premises licence from the Illirida Café.
Wednesday, 15th July, 7pm: Licensing Sub-Committee
The Committee is holding a review of the Berwick Manor Hotel’s premises licence.
Thursday, 16th July, 1pm: Health & Wellbeing Board
The meeting has been cancelled, with no note on when the next one will be.
Thursday, 16th July, 7pm: Place Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee
The meeting has been withdrawn, with no note on when the next one will be.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
Waltham Forest
Monday, 13th July, 7pm: Integrated meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board and Health & Care Partnership
An odd name, but good topics on the agenda: the Better Care Fund, Promoting Wellbeing in the borough, and a Strategic Needs Assessment, conducted to guide future health planning.
Tuesday, 14th July, 2pm: Cabinet
This is a silly time to hold a Cabinet if you want members of the public to attend. On the other hand, it has a rather brief agenda: the “Safe and Together London Partnership” (14 London Boroughs working together to support children affected by domestic abuse) and a report on last year’s finances. The agenda rather strangely says the item is to discuss the “revenue outturn for 2026/27” – a year which hasn’t happened yet, but the actual paper refers to the outturn for 2025-26.
Tuesday, 14th July, after Cabinet: Shareholder Committee
What this Committee is there for is a mystery – but it looks interesting. There is a discussion on the Joint Venture Group dealing with property services and the built environment. The second item is the Business Plan for Waltham Forest Services, a company through which the Council undertakes various activities.
Tuesday, 14th July, 7pm: Pensions Committee
The usual technical discussions on pensions.
Thursday, 16th July, 7.30pm: Council
The meeting begins with the usual technical items – including Members’s questions, which are not printed on the agenda. It’s then on to motions. There’s just one on the agenda, from the Green Group, which has a majority of seats on the Council. The motion deals with the inclusion of Trans, Non-Binary and Intersex people in Waltham Forest. There’s other discussions on finances and the constitution and Members’ Allowances.
Friday, 17th July, 11am: Licensing Sub-Committee
The meeting is going to review the licence of Duos Lounge in Lea Bridge Road.
•To see the agenda and papers for the meeting, go to the calendar and then click on the meeting:
Calendar
