Minutes:
Question 1
From Councillor Freeborn
“Can the Leader explain what the Council is doing in response to MOPAC’s (the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) proposals to close Dagenham Police Station together with the remaining front counters that help provide a visible police presence in the borough?”
Response
The Leader advised that under new proposals announced by MOPAC, Dagenham Police Station in Rainham Road South would be sold off as part of cost-cutting measures imposed upon the Metropolitan Police. If implemented, the proposals would leave just one 24-hour counter open to Borough residents at Barking Learning Centre, with the counters at Chadwell Heath and Farr Avenue also closing.
The Leader outlined some of the actions taken so far in response to the proposals, which included:
- Residents, Members of the Council, Jon Cruddas MP and London Assembly Member Desai Unmesh staging a protest outside Dagenham Police Station;
- Letters sent to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, outlining concerns about any proposal to downgrade police presence in the borough; and
- A meeting with the Deputy London Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, to repeat opposition calls to the closure proposals.
Question 2
From Councillor Freeborn
“Can the Leader let me know what action the Council has taken to tackle the under performance of the East Base Command Unit (EBCU), the tri-borough police pilot being shared between Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering?”
Response
The Leader referred again to the letters sent to the London Mayor voicing concerns about declining police numbers and the Borough Command Unit Area East’s ability to respond to the policing challenges faced in Barking & Dagenham.
Meetings had taken place with Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, with Councillor Jas Athwal to discuss ways of improving the BCU.
Three issues were raised at this meeting:
· The need for joint tasking with the Council to improve outcomes;
· The need to strengthen the leadership of the BCU to make it work more efficiently and effectively; and
· And the need to secure additional police resources to ensure that the Borough had the right number of officers.
Question 3
From Councillor Haroon
“Could the Cabinet Member Educational Attainment and School Improvement let me know her view on the progress being made by the Borough’s schools following the publication of this year’s GSCE and A level results?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement commented that she was delighted to have the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievement of the Borough’s young people. A Level results had held up well under the new grading arrangements.
The Borough’s schools collectively improved by 3% on the crucial English and Maths results against what appeared to be a national drop and specific mention was made of the continued improvements
Question 4
From Councillor Haroon
“Can the Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development let me know what the Council has done to oppose the closure of Dagenham Job Centre?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development advised that a consultation response on the proposed closure was sent to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 27 February 2017 calling for a dialogue on how a Job Centre Plus (JCP) presence in Dagenham could be maintained. That request was rebuffed by JCP District officials on the basis that they could not enter any discussion until a decision had actually been made by DWP Ministers.
A further letter was sent to David Gauke, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on 8 August 2017 after the closure had been confirmed. This again called for a halt to any movement of staff or claimants to the Barking JCP until meaningful discussions had taken place on dedicated employment support for Dagenham residents.
A meeting was due to be held with the JCP District Manager for East London on Thursday 14 September to discuss the closure and wider partnership issues.
Question 5
From Councillor Miah
“Can the Leader explain if the Council has taken any action to raise commuters’ concerns about the continuing delays on the Gospel Oak line due to the delayed electrification works?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development advised that the Leader wrote to Sir Peter Hendy, the Chair of Network Rail, on 9 August explaining that residents and businesses had already endured eight months of disruption on the line and to argue that the Borough’s residents should not continue to experience delays to their journeys.
Sir Hendy responded on 18 August and apologised for the continuing disruption and Network Rail had subsequently made some key changes to the way it was managing the project to end further delays. This included changes to the senior project team and more rigorous scrutiny of the works.
The works were due to be completed by Spring 2018, thereby enabling the introduction of the much-needed fleet of new trains which, from 2021, would also serve the Barking Riverside area.
Question 6
From Councillor Miah
“Can the Cabinet Member for the Environment and Street Scene let Members know what action the Council is taking to make the streets of the Borough cleaner?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Scene advised that a new cleansing regime for the Borough was being designed, based on lessons learnt from an ambitious deep cleaning exercise recently undertaken by the Council.
The managers and supervisors within the Public Realm service would also be receiving training on how to obtain evidence from fly tipping, which would support the Council’s drive to undertake prosecutions and issue fixed penalty notices.
Question 7
From Councillor Choudhury
“Will the Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development let me know what progress is being made with the long-running campaign to secure a direct bus route to Queen’s Hospital for residents of the borough?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development advised that this had been a top priority for the Council and, following a successful campaign led by the Council and Margaret Hodge MP, Transport for London had implemented a revised route for the No. 5 service from 26 August 2017 which took it to Queen’s Hospital.