Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were recorded for Councillors Achilleos, Akwaboah, Aziz, Bremner, S Bright, Butt, Chand, Channer, Geddes, Gill, Haroon, Jamu, Jones, Keller, Lumsden, McCarthy, Miles, Rahman, Ramsay, C Rice, L Rice, E Rodwell, Twomey, L Waker and P Waker who were unable to attend the meeting due to the social distancing arrangements within the Council Chamber.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2021 were confirmed as correct.

The Assembly received and noted the minutes of the JNC Appointments, Salaries and Structures Panels held on 3 and 13 December 2021.

The Leader will present his statement.

The Leader of the Council presented a verbal statement updating the Assembly on a range of matters since the last meeting:

Government: The Leader confirmed that on 20 May 2020, he was busy in meetings with the Borough Commander and holding similar meetings on behalf of the borough focusing on how to tackle rising Covid rates.  No parties were held in the Town Hall and nor had they since then.  In March the Council would be agreeing the budget for the coming year. Once again, there were no plans to cut frontline services, despite that for every £1 received in government funding a decade ago, the Council received just 35p today. 

Inquest:  The Inquest had concluded into the police investigation following the deaths of four young men, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor.  The Leader thanked officers for securing the Town Hall for Inquest, and for their work in supporting the families, the coroner and others while it was being held.  The Inquest revealed fundamental failures and shortcomings from the very beginning of the investigation, with the Jury concluding that the failings of the police investigation “probably” contributed to these young men’s deaths.

Policing in the Borough:  The Council secured a new police team in Barking Town Centre just before Christmas made up of 25 officers selected because of their local knowledge and community engagement skills

Illegal Travel Encampments: There had been success in the Court of Appeal where the injunction secured a number of years ago banning illegal Traveller encampments was upheld.  As a result of the Court of Appeal’s findings, the council’s final injunction against a number of named defendants, and persons unknown, now remained full force.

Achievements over the last four years:  Highlights of the achievements made over the past four years included

·  2,000 affordable homes built in the borough;

·  Attracting two film studios, three markets of London and new technology companies, such as UCL Pearl and NTT - all amounting to £4bn of investment;

·  Had the largest increase in children going into higher education; and

·  Helped residents with the rising cost of living through BDCAN+, our Community Food Clubs and our Homes & Money Hub.

HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee:  This summer, the Country would celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee marking 70 years of public service by Her Majesty.  The council plans to hold a series of events as part of its popular Summer of Festivals to give everyone a chance to let their hair down.

Freedom of the City of London:  The Leader had recently been informed that the City of London were to bestow Freedom of the City on him and other Leaders for how they had led London during the Pandemic.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration then gave an update on the current COVID-19 situation.

The Cabinet Member advised that in the week to 19^th January, the Barking and Dagenham case rate fell from 1,021.0 cases per 100k residents to 715.1, which represented a 30% fall.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

The Labour Group Secretary will announce any nominations to fill vacant positions on Council committees or other bodies.

There were no appointments.

The Assembly received the Barking and Dagenham (BAD) Youth Forum and Young Mayor’s Annual Report, introduced virtually by the Head of Participation, Opportunity and Wellbeing, who then handed over to representatives of the Youth Forum, who also joined the meeting virtually.

The report detailed the achievements of the BAD Youth Forum during the past 12 months outlining the work of each of the sub-groups, their aims and the impact of the work completed.

There were no elections in 2021; however, 13 new members joined 30 returning members following online recruitment via the One Borough Voice platform.  Meetings were held online until restrictions were lifted nationally and members felt safe to meet in person.

Community Action Sub-Group:  The Sub-Group focussed on

·  Parks and outdoor spaces;

·  Mental Health;

·  Physical Health;

·  Contextual Safeguarding;

·  Crime and Safety; and

·  Social Responsibility.

Young Mayor Sub-Group:  The Young Mayor of Barking and Dagenham picked Refuge as their chosen charity for 2021.  Fundraising activities took place over the course of the year and at the time of the meeting £1999.71 had been raised by the sub-group. The Young Mayor attended several events over the course of the year and was supported by the Leader of the Council and the Mayor of Barking and Dagenham.

Young Inspectors Sub-Group:The Sub-group adapted their processes over the past year by undertaking pharmacy inspections for the Come Correct Condom Distribution scheme, particularly in the first part of the year when the country was in lockdown.  Members started to undertake pharmacy inspections again in August however once the pharmacies became busy with flu jabs and COVID booster doses, it was felt better to undertake inspections via telephone.

Additional Events:  The Forum took part in other activities during the year which included:

·  Consultations;

·  Meetings with the Police;

·  Street doctor sessions;

·  Young Women’s Vigil; and

·  The Youth Parade.

Following the presentation, a number of Members congratulated the Forum on their excellent work and inspirational projects during such difficult times.  The Chair thanked the Forum Members for their presentation.

The Assembly resolved to note the BAD Youth Forum Annual Report for 2021, as set out at Appendix A to the report.

The Interim Deputy Chief Executive and Strategic Director, Law and Governance, introduced a report on the appointment of a Church representative (Roman Catholic) and a Parent Governor (Secondary) representative to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Nominations to fill the vacancies were sought by Governance Services in September 2021 which resulted in one application for the Church Representative (Roman Catholic) position and two applications for the Parent Governor (Secondary) position. The Roman Catholic Church re-nominated Glenda Spencer to fill its position, which had been held by the nominee in various forms since 2005. Following an election for the Parent Governor (Secondary) position, Sarfraz Akram was nominated on behalf of parent governors.

The Assembly resolved to agree the appointment of the following nominees to their respective co-optee positions on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, for a term of four years:

· Glenda Spencer: Church Representative (Roman Catholic); and

· Sarfraz Akram: Parent Governor (Secondary).

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced a report on the appointment to the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Lifeline Community Resources, on behalf of the BD Collective in which it was a partner, had requested to join the Board. The BD Collective included a project called Reimagining Adult Social Care, which was a cross sector partnership that sought to design adult care social programmes to ensure that adults received assistance when they needed it, and to maximise the use of resources across the Borough.

The Cabinet Member advised that the request was considered at the meeting of the Board which took place on 12 January 2022. The Board discussed the proposal and Members expressed support; agreeing that it would be a positive step in assisting the Board in discharging its duties

The Assembly resolved to appoint Elspeth Paisley, as representative of BD Collective, to the Health and Wellbeing Board with immediate effect.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced a report on the Council Tax Support (CTS) Scheme 2022/23.

The Assembly was advised that the CTS scheme for 2022/23 required no further changes due to the administrative improvements implemented within the 2021/22 CTS scheme. Those changes improved clarity, alignment with other welfare benefits, primarily Universal Credit, and enhanced access for those eligible for entitlement. There were expected to be new regulations published in January 2022 relating to the prescribed requirements for the pension age scheme. These would be incorporated into the Council’s CTS prior to publication.

The Assembly resolved to:

i) Agree that the Council Tax Support Scheme implemented for 2021/22 remain unchanged and implemented for 2022/23; and

ii) Note that any changes to the prescribed requirements for the pension age scheme shall be incorporated into the CTS before publication.

The Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety introduced the draft Statement of Licensing Policy for the period 2022-2027.  The policy had been subject to public consultation and had been endorsed by the Cabinet on 18 January 2022.

The Cabinet Member advised that the updated policy set out how the Council intended to discharge its responsibilities, as a licensing authority, in relation to the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment and late-night refreshment.  A number of changes were proposed to the Council’s existing policy, which included new sections on entitlement to work in the UK, illegal working and the responsibilities of operators, ‘Safe for All’, COVID-19 and security and terrorism, as well as updates in relation to the use of outside areas and noise control, Public Spaces Protection Orders and licence fee payment arrangements. 

With regard to ‘Safe for All’, the Cabinet Member explained that the Council was committed to ensuring that venues in the Borough were safe and inclusive and that operators and their staff were able to identify and deal with cases of harassment, sexual violence, discrimination and hate crime.  The Council was, therefore, promoting the Mayor of London’s Women’s Safety Charter, as well as other initiatives such as ‘Ask for Angela’, allowing people to discreetly indicate to venue staff that they felt vulnerable or threatened, ‘Ask for Clive’, which promoted inclusion and welcoming environments for the LGBT+ community, and the Council’s own Safe Haven campaign.  Operators would be encouraged to sign up to those initiatives and, in return, would benefit from training support.

The Assembly welcomed the changes to the policy, in particular those around the ‘Safe for All’ initiative, which would help to protect the boroughs residents and visitors.

The Assembly resolved to adopt the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Statement of Licensing Policy 2022-2027, as set out at Appendix A to the report.

The Interim Deputy Chief Executive and Strategic Director, Law and Governance, introduced a report on Policy Districts and Polling Places Review 2022.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) had recently carried out an electoral review of Barking and Dagenham and published its final recommendations on 31 August 2021.  The LGBCE recommendations were approved by Parliament via the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (Electoral Changes) Order 2021 on 13 December 2021.

The LGBCE review had resulted in the number of wards in the Borough increasing from 17 to 19 and there had been boundary changes to all but one of the current wards. The number of councillors across the 19 wards would remain at 51, with 13 wards having three councillors and six having two councillors. The new ward arrangements would come into effect from the Local Council Elections on Thursday 5 May 2022.

The Strategic Director advised that as a consequence of the review, the Council was required to carry out its own review of the polling districts within each ward and the location of polling places / stations to serve each polling district. That exercise was commenced following the publication of the LGBCE final recommendations. The proposals were subject to a four-week consultation with relevant interested persons / organisations and the local community, of which commenced on 20 January 2022.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Approve, subject to (ii) below, the review of polling districts and associated polling places as detailed in Appendix A to the report; and

(ii)   Delegate authority to the Strategic Director, Law & Governance, in her capacity as Returning Officer (RO) and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), to approve any amendments to the polling districts and/or polling places that (a) may be deemed appropriate following the public consultation, and (b) are deemed necessary for the efficient delivery of an election.

There are no motions.

There were no motions.

There were no questions with notice.