Agenda and decisions

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 26^th February 20201

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record.

Question from Reiner Tegtmeyer to the Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm

What are the “Measures of Success” the Council is using to annually examine whether plans are successfully implemented and monitored, i.e. are progressing as planned, and whether and how these measures contribute to the Council’s aim to deliver net zero emissions across Council functions by 2040? 

Question from Rita Krishna to the Mayor

Shoreditch Park secondary academy, is on a temporary site adjacent to Haggerston Park. 

In September there will be 541 pupils on our constrained site. We need a formal arrangement for access to the Multi Use Games Area owned by Hackney Parks

Can the Council help to broker a formal arrangement?

Question from Zoe Garbett to the Cabinet Member for Planning Culture and Inclusive Economy

A recent high court ruling has highlighted the council’s failings in planning practice. What is the council doing to ensure that councillors abide by the planning code and ensure objections are heard? 

Question from Jan Kuiper  to the Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm

The Climate Emergency Declaration commits to 'an annual Citizens assembly' comprising representatives of local residents to allow for effective scrutiny of the Council's progress. Could Councillor Burke give details by whom, when and how the selection of these representatives is determined and what their scrutineering powers are? 

Question from Alex Armitage to Mayor Glanville

There is minimal analysis of upfront carbon emissions associated with construction in Hackney. There is also no analysis of embedded carbon emissions that could be saved if buildings were refurbished instead of demolished and replaced. Will you commit to conducting these analyses to shape planning policy around the Climate Emergency?

Question from Feodora Rayner to Deputy Mayor Rennison

The government suggest landlords “offer support and understanding*” to tenants who have seen a loss of income during the covid-19 pandemic. Is the council able to offer any more tangible support to Hackney renters (both residential and commercial) having to choose between paying wages, buying groceries or facing eviction? 

*https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities pg 7, Guidance for landlords and tenants

Question from Alastair Binnie-Lubbock to the Cabinet Member for Housing Services

Seaton Point residents in Hackney Downs have been told they must accept front door replacements that are "as good as, or better" than their current ones. What assessment was done on existing doors installed as part of refurbishment in 2005, indicating they are no longer safe?

Question from Cllr Garasia to Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources

In light of the recently published ONS statistics as well as the follow-up report from Public Health England report looking at the impact of COVID-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, published on 20 May, coupled with the recent BLM campaign, can the cabinet member set out what steps is the council taking to ensure staff are protected as they carry out their work? Will she also explain how the council intends to continue to deliver workforce progression for staff with protected characteristics?

Question from Cllr Snell to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy

How will the Council support businesses in Hackney emerging from lockdown and in particular the hospitality and cultural sectors which will be particularly affected by social distancing rules?

Question from Cllr Lynch to Deputy Mayor Rennison

Throughout the Covid crisis it has been apparent that Hackney is home to many of those key workers who have kept London running from our staff within the NHS, to those who drive our buses and deliver our online shopping. What is the council considering to recognise their contribution particularly around priority for housing?

Question from Cllr Hayhurst to the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and Leisure

Please can the cabinet member for health provide an update on using our local health partners’ laboratory facilities (i.e. Barts Hospital) to test all care home staff for Covid on a regular and rolling basis?

Question from Cllr Race to the Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources

Given the huge strain that the Covid-19 lockdown has put OJ the local economy, how can hackney council ensure that we will build back better, supporting people who have found themselves unemployed and in particular ensuring they have the skills to find new work, in and out of our borough?

Question from Cllr Patrick to the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Policy, and the Voluntary Sector

At the last Living in Hackney meeting we heard about trust and confidence in the Police, and according to MET Police's own statistics and categorisation, Black and Asian Men have been disproportionately stopped and searched. How can we collectively tackle systemic racism and disproportionality across the criminal justice system, and hold the Police to account to ensure that policing in Hackney is policing by consent?

Question from Cllr Wrout to the Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm

Can I ask the cabinet member responsible for the environment to pass on thanks to the Parks team for the outstanding work they have done to keep our green spaces open, clean and safe during the Covid crisis and could he outline some of the costs involved? 

Question from Cllr Rathbone to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy

Would the Cabinet Member outline how the council has managed to support the Borough’s markets through the crisis and what will be happening to Hackney's markets in the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

RESOLVED: To note the update on progress with decarbonisation commitments.

RESOLVED: To approve the adoption of Hackney’s Local Plan and Policies Map in accordance with the Planning Inspector’s Report June 2020 and Schedule of Main Modifications.

This report is dependent on key information which at the time of publication was not yet available and is therefore marked as ‘TO FOLLOW’

RESOLVED: To note the recommendations agreed by Cabinet.

RESOLVED: To agree the report and the Members’ Allowance Scheme for 2020/21.

RESOLVED: That the Council, in accordance with Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972, approves Councillor Joseph’s non-attendance at meetings until the Council AGM in May 2021 to accommodate her maternity leave.

Hackney Council recognises the systemic racism and inequalities that still exist in the UK today, and that the murder of George Floyd on 25th May in Minneapolis, at the hand of the Police, resonated with Black communities in Hackney.

Hackney Council stands in solidarity with Black communities in Hackney, the UK, and across the world who face systemic racism every day.

Hackney Council states unequivocally that Black Lives Matter.

Hackney Council notes that Black people are almost 10 times more likely to be stopped and searched according to the government’s own statistics and 40 times more likely under Section 60 powers.

At the same time, the use of handcuffs by the Police has increased across the Met and by 158% in Hackney over the last three years.

According to a 2018 study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, 35.7 percent of ethnic minorities in the UK were living in poverty.

Black Caribbean and Mixed White/Black Caribbean children have rates of permanent exclusion about three times that of the pupil population as a whole.

That a recent Public Health England report found that the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 ? people from Black, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian backgrounds were all up to (1.9x) twice as likely to die from coronavirus compared to white people.

Hackney Council acknowledges that while it has a good track record of fighting for equality, it can always do more. This track record includes:

?  The recently created Inclusive Leadership Training to improve diversity in the workplace, especially at senior levels of the organisation, tackle unconscious bias and to report the council’s ethnicity pay gap.

?  Launching the review of public spaces that glorify historic figures that were pinnacle to the Transatlantic slave trade and plantation owners.

?  Continuing the Young Black Men programme ? a ground-breaking 10-year long initiative aiming to tackle inequalities for young Black men in the borough.

?  Supporting the work of Hackney’s Youth Independent Advisory Group (Account) in holding the local police to account.

?  Annual programme of events for Black History Month, including last year’s record-breaking attendance for the Hackney Museum’s exhibition.

?  Champion and campaign against the injustices faced by the Windrush generation.

?  Achieving an ‘excellent’ rating through the Local Government Equality Framework peer challenge.

Hackney Council believes the early progress made by the Police on implementing the Macpherson recommendations 20 years ago have been seriously marred, and measures to transform the attitude of the Police towards race relations and improve accountability have not gone far enough.

Hackney Council commits to being an anti-racist organisation ? one that does not just tackle inequality, but actively fights racism in the borough.

Hackney Council resolves to:

1. Publish its anti-racism programme of work from across council service in one publicly available report, and ask it’s partners and anchor institutions to pledge their commitment to anti-racism in the borough.
2. Further strengthen the partnership between the Council and youth representatives to hold the local Police to account such as the Youth IAG (Account), work with them  ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

RESOLVED TO:

1.  Publish its anti-racism programme of work from across council service in one publicly available report, and ask it’s partners and anchor institutions to pledge their commitment to anti-racism in the borough.

2.  Further strengthen the partnership between the Council and youth representatives to hold the local Police to account such as the Youth IAG (Account), work with them to take forward the recommendations of the Hackney Young Futures Commission and campaign for policing by consent.

3. Provide guidance and tools to Hackney’s schools to create a diverse and anti-racist curriculumn that educates children and young people on Britain’s role in upholding sytemic racism, and our borough’s local diverse history.
4. Better reflect Hackney’s diversity and anti-racist history in the borough’s public realm.
5. Improve the diversity of the senior leadership of the Council, building on the Inclusive Leadership Training, and maintain the ‘excellent’ rating in future Local Government Equality Framework peer challenges and work with partners to improve diversity across the public sector.
6. Lobby for an independent inquiry into the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether their actions helped or hindered the protection of Hackney’s Black communities.
7. Engage with any future Government commission on racism in the UK, but also resolve to lobby the Government to implement outstanding recommendations in: the Lammy Review (2017), the Dame Angiolini Report (2017), the Windrush Lessons Learned Review (2018), the McGregor-Smith Review (2017) and the Macpherson report (1999).
8. Acknowledge the UN resolution 68/237 International Decade for People of African Descent, implement initiatives and activities to raise awareness, educate on the history of people of African descent, and promote their contributions to contemporary societies.

RESOLVED:

1.  To approve the appointment of Councillor Gregory and Councillor Adams to the Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission.

2.  To approve the appointment of Councillor Lynch to the Audit Committee.