Agenda item
Questions from Members of the Public
6.1 To the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services from Kofo David
Has there been an increase in Hate Crime, Anti-Semitism or Islamophobia within the borough since the Israel and Gaza conflict and how is the Council dealing with it?
6.2 To the Mayor from Heather Mendick
As a Jewish resident I am appalled by the actions of Israel and I want to see Hackney's twinning with Haifa ended. How would the Mayor explain the Council’s failure to do this?
6.3 To the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport from Ruth Jenkins
Would the Council act to safeguard children of Southwold Primary School and park users, as parents have repeatedly requested over at least 5 years, by either installing a zebra crossing between Millfields Park North across Southwold Road towards the school, or putting in place a school crossing patrol / lollipop person?
6.4 To the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport from Theo Hinton-Hallows
As an alum of Hackney New School, I would like to know why the council is prioritising car parking over providing children with safe means to cycle to school by not choosing option 2 for the Downham Road redesign, despite the council’s commitment to reducing car use in the borough.
6.5 To the Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation from Leslie-Ann Saunders
Can the Cabinet Member for Housing please provide an update to the achievements and outputs of the Better Homes Partnership over the past 12 months and its plans for the next year?
6.6 To the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport from Ifeoma Mkparu
Please could you explain why the recycling bins, located opposite St. Mary’s of Eton Church, Eastway E9 have been removed and what the Council’s plans are to combat the continued dumping of rubbish within the vicinity and nearby estate?
Minutes:
6.1 To the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services from Kofo David
Has there been an increase in Hate Crime, Anti-Semitism or Islamophobia within the borough since the Israel and Gaza conflict and how is the Council dealing with it?
Response from the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services
Cllr Fajana-Thomas noted the conflict in Gaza had touched residents in Hackney and deepest sympathies were conveyed to all those affected. The national counter terrorist threat level remained substantial which meant an attack was likely in the UK. This category remained unchanged since before the Hamas and Israeli conflict.
Since 7th October 2023, London and Hackney had seen an increase in reported hate crimes for antisemitism and to a lesser extent Islamophobia with community tensions in both communities moderately heightened. Thanks were expressed to the wider community and faith communities across the borough who had worked together throughout this time in support of community cohesion. During December 2023, the number of reported anti-semitic and Islamophobia incidents had started to reduce, however, it was noted that the incidents had remained higher than in previous years.
The Council prioritised maintaining social cohesion and had undertaken a number of activities to support this objective. This included: the relaunch of the No Place for Hate campaign which was attended by Mayor Woodley, the Chief Executive, faith groups and the wider community standing in solidarity with affected communities. Additionally, No Place for Hate posters had been installed around the borough. The Council and the police had held weekly meetings with community leaders from the Jewish community and responded to their feedback. Subsequently there were 250 council enforcement patrol hours around schools and synagogues since the beginning of the conflict, 2 sergeants and 12 constables dedicated daily, to Stamford Hill and Upper Clapton areas to respond quickly to reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The police had set up a Hate Crime Response Unit in the Borough Command Unit (BCU), and officers from the Community Safety Team had been included in Jewish WhatsApp forums helping to dispel rumours and offer support and reassurance. The Council had regular contact with mosques across Hackney and had provided them with a named community safety contact that ensured a fast response to concerns raised. Weekly meetings in conjunction with the police had been offered to Muslim community representatives and low key patrols had been provided. The CCTV team had supported police investigations into hate crime incidents and in December an individual had been charged with an offence.
Supplementary Question:
Has the Council set out specific funds for these projects?
Cllr Fajana-Thomas noted that the costs for activities were contained within the Community Safety budget.
6.2 To the Mayor from Heather Mendick
As a Jewish resident I am appalled by the actions of Israel and I want to see Hackney's twinning with Haifa ended. How would the Mayor explain the Council’s failure to do this?
Response from the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Delivery, Inclusive Economy and Regeneration
Deputy Mayor Nicholson noted Councillors present in the Chamber who had been past Speakers and had led on twinning initiatives which had built strong working relationships with Haifa. It was noted that twinning was non-political, non-sectarian, and inter-faith. The relationship with Haifa started in 1968 and had, for 30 years, been a relationship based on knowledge, experience and practices in healthcare between the Homerton Hospital and the Rambam Hospital in Haifa. This relationship included exchanges between nurses and practitioners from both hospitals and it was considered important these relationships had been maintained even through the current challenging times. Haifa and Hackney had diverse progressive communities that had brought friendship through healthcare. Tthe relationship with hospitals in St George’s Grenada was noted which had built collaborative relationships for people in both communities.
A supplementary question was asked which was disallowed by the Speaker as it had not arisen from the original question. The Speaker asked if there was a question that related to the original question. There followed a disturbance from public attendees. Having given warnings, the Speaker notified the Chamber that the meeting was to be adjourned and the public gallery cleared in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.
Meeting adjourned at 19.26
Meeting resumed at 19.35
6.3 To the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport from Ruth Jenkins
Would the Council act to safeguard children of Southwold Primary School and park users, as parents have repeatedly requested over at least 5 years, by either installing a zebra crossing between Millfields Park North across Southwold Road towards the school, or putting in place a school crossing patrol / lollipop person?
Response from the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport
Cllr Coban explained that the safety of children was a priority of the Council. Hackney Council had the most ambitious School Streets programme in London. Three programmes had been launched this week. Safety was an overarching theme that was taken into account in every decision taken that affected residents. Officers had met with residents and Cllr Rathbone to discuss the need for a crossing at this junction. Officers had undertaken a full assessment to identify the crossing needs and the traffic surveys in January 2023 had indicated that a crossing was not required at this location. Councillors recognised residents’ concerns and had continued to engage with them to identify funding for a scheme at this location.
Supplementary Question:
How many primary schools in Hackney have neither a school zebra crossing or school crossing patrol to ensure safety?
Cllr Coban indicated that the Council had undertaken a wider study of child safety in schools as part of the Low Traffic Neighbourhood implementation plan. Data that outlined measures to help keep children safe was available to be shared and noted that he wanted to work with the resident going forward.
The Speaker noted that the questions submitted at 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6 had requested the responses be read in their absence.
6.4 To the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport from Theo Hinton-Hallows
As an alumni of Hackney New School, I would like to know why the Council is prioritising car parking over providing children with safe means to cycle to school by not choosing option 2 for the Downham Road redesign, despite the Council’s commitment to reducing car use in the borough?
Response from the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport
Cllr Coban noted the Council had launched the 51st School Streets initiative at Hackney New Primary School this week and acknowledged the importance of providing safe conditions for cycling. The Council had ambitious plans to further improve cycling which was detailed in the local implementation plan published in January 2023. This included Cycleway 23 that runs across the borough from Lea Bridge to Dalston and was due for completion this year. The Council had recently consulted on 2 options for Downham Road and held 2 engagement events before the formal consultation with the local community. Independent consultants had been commissioned to provide analysis of the options and indicated that option 1, which had not proposed segregated cycle tracks, provided marginally improved benefits. This option had also been the preferred option by people attending the engagement events prior to formal consultation. Option 1 provided a better sense of place and also provided safe cycling conditions. A final decision on the scheme had not yet been made and was anticipated by the end of May 2024.
6.5 To the Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation from Leslie-Ann Saunders
Can the Cabinet Member for Housing please provide an update to the achievements and outputs of the Better Homes Partnership over the past 12 months and its plans for the next year?
Response from the Deputy Cabinet Member for Private Rented Sector and Housing Affordability
Noting the shared responsibility with Cllr Etti, Cllr Moema advised that the Better Homes Partnership operated as the forum for housing associations and Registered Partner organisations (RPs) in Hackney. It was designed as a networking forum that discussed strategic issues and was chaired by the RPs. Historically there had been 2 sub-groups in the Partnership; the Development Sub-Group and the Management Sub-Group. The Development Sub-Group discussed housing development and supply, sites of opportunity and planning matters and the Management Sub-Group discussed matters related to housing management.
It was noted that the partnership was not a Hackney Council forum and had not enforced or overseen matters related to contracts, performance, or casework. Annual one-to-one meetings had been held between the Mayor of Hackney and the Chief Executives of the RPs to discuss strategic items such as damp and mould, repairs, funding and development opportunities, and fire safety casework. The partnership had not set group outputs, monitored performance, or made comparisons. Discussions over the past year had focused on damp and mould, fire safety, domestic abuse, and the cost of living crisis and the support available to tenants and leaseholders.
A review of the Hackney Housing Association Compact was on the agenda this year. The Compact held together the approach to partnership working. It was proposed that the Better Homes Partnership was relaunched as a physical meeting in Spring 2024 with the terms of reference, the future of the sub-groups, and the agenda for the coming year to be discussed.
6.6 To the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport from Ifeoma Mkparu
Please could you explain why the recycling bins, located opposite St. Mary’s of Eton Church, Eastway E9 have been removed and what the Council’s plans are to combat the continued dumping of rubbish within the vicinity and nearby estate?
Response from the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport
Cllr Coban noted the bins were part of the public recycling sites designed to be used by all residents to recycle a range of items in different bins which included recycled electrical items, textiles, and dry mixed recycling. The bins faced repeated misuse and often contained wrong items which hindered the recycling process. The electrical recycle bin was removed in July 2022 and the recycling bins moved to Lavington Close. The move resulted in continued misuse of the bins with regular dumping of items. The bin for dry mixed recycling was removed in November 2023. The textile bin was generally used correctly and remained at the Eastway location.
Eastway was cleared of rubbish dumped in the area on a daily basis and officers had been asked to contact Metropolitan Housing who had responsibility for removing dumped items on the estate. Residents continued to receive household recycling services and recycling dry mixed items was available from home. The Council maintained over 70 public recycling sites that had over 130 bins with 18 sites available for recycled electrical items. The Eastway textile bin was to be monitored for fly-tipping over the next few weeks. Alternative locations may be considered if the textile bin attracted dumping. Residents were encouraged to report dumped residential rubbish to the Council through the Council Report a Problem page on the Council website or the Fix My Street App. The Council considered fly-tipping a serious issue and a team monitored hotspots, followed up on complaints raised and undertook enforcement action when necessary.