Council - Wednesday 20 May 2026, 7:00pm - Tower Hamlets Council webcasts

Council
Wednesday, 20th May 2026 at 7:00pm 

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  1. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
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  1. Shupriya Iqbal
  2. Mr Matthew Mannion
  3. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  4. Shupriya Iqbal
  5. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  6. Shupriya Iqbal
  7. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  8. Shupriya Iqbal
  9. Cllr Faysal Ahmed
  10. Shupriya Iqbal
  11. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  12. Shupriya Iqbal
  13. Cllr Bodrul Choudhury
  14. Shupriya Iqbal
  15. Cllr Bodrul Choudhury
  16. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  17. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  18. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  19. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  20. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  21. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  22. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  23. Mr Matthew Mannion
  24. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  25. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  26. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  27. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  28. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  29. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
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  5. Mr Matthew Mannion
  6. Mr Stephen Halsey
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  2. Mr Stephen Halsey
  3. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  4. Mr Stephen Halsey
  5. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  6. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  7. Cllr Maium Talukdar
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  1. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  2. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  3. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  4. Cllr Abdal Ullah
  5. Shupriya Iqbal
  6. Cllr Abdal Ullah
  7. Shupriya Iqbal
  8. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  9. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
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  1. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  2. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  3. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  4. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  5. Cllr Peter Golds
  6. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  7. Cllr David Edgar
  8. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  9. Mr Matthew Mannion
  10. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  11. Mr Matthew Mannion
  12. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  13. Mr Matthew Mannion
  14. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  15. Cllr Maium Talukdar
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  2. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
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  5. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  6. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  7. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  8. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  9. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  10. Cllr Abdal Ullah
  11. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  12. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  13. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  14. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
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  19. Cllr Maium Talukdar
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  3. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
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  5. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  6. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  7. Cllr David Edgar
  8. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  9. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  10. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  11. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  12. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  13. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  14. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  15. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  16. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
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  1. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  2. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  3. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  4. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  5. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  6. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  7. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
  8. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  9. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  10. Cllr Maium Talukdar
  11. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  12. Cllr Kabir Ahmed
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  1. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  2. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  3. Cllr Rupert George
  4. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  5. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  6. Mr Matthew Mannion
  7. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  8. Mr Matthew Mannion
  9. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  10. Mr Matthew Mannion
  11. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  12. Mr Matthew Mannion
  13. Cllr Suluk Ahmed
  14. Mr Matthew Mannion
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Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:00:48
Good evening and assalamu alaikum everyone.
This is an annual meeting.
This is a special meeting for the Council to elect a new Speaker of the Council,

1 ELECTION OF SPEAKER

appoint councillors to serve as Chairs and Members of committees for the forthcoming year.
Consider any report necessary.
I would like to thank everyone for attending, including the online participants and the
members of the public in the gallery.
I trust that you will show courtesy.
In particular, I want to remind all members of the public that you must not shout out
or otherwise disrupt the meeting.
If anyone does disrupt the meeting, I will ask for them to be removed from the meeting.
I will now pass to the Monitoring Officer, Supriya Ekbal, to say a few words.
Supriya.
Thank you, Speaker.
Good evening, Members.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:02:17
Congratulations to all Councillors for being elected and a special welcome to all new Members.
Thank you.
Before we begin, I would like to set out some expectations for members.
To keep all contributions brief and relevant to the subject matter under discussion.
To not stand or speak until the speaker has called you.
To speak through the speaker and do not address comments to other members or the public gallery.
To not interrupt each other or make comments whilst other members are speaking.
And to be respectful to each other at all times.
Do not criticise officers during proceedings and most importantly, if the Speaker, the
Chief Executive or I stand, all members must sit down and be quiet.
Although only used as a last resort, the Speaker may ask for the removal of any member or visitor
should their behaviour become disruptive.
Also if any member has a point of order to make, a reminder please that you must start
your intervention by stating which point of the Constitution or the law has been broken.
Finally, I remind you that it is a legal requirement for all Members to make declarations of interest
ahead of any decisions being made and ensure that your Register of Interest remains updated.
The Speaker will select Members to speak on items from all sides of the Chamber and in
with any submitted lists. He will also look to those indicating during the meeting, but
most agenda items have strict time limits and so not all those who request may be able
to speak. The Speaker will also look to vary the members we hear from so he may not take
requests in the order received. I now pass on to Matthew Mannion, Corporate Head of Democratic
and Governance Services to cover some procedural matters.
Thank you.
Thank you, Shabria.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 0:04:25
Mr Speaker, if it's okay, I'll remain seated.
I often have to make notes during my bit.
Good evening, everyone.
We have a number of papers published tonight for the meeting.
Just to cheque, everyone has seen everything.
There was a main agenda published last week.
There's been an amendment to the allowances report.
There have been some tabled memberships for various committees as well, so hopefully everyone
has got all of that from the website.
We have a few paper copies as well if anyone needs a copy, but not many, so please use
your electronic devices as much as you can.
When we get to the nominations I will run through a couple of things and make sure we
have everything we should have on that one.
A note for the new members on voting.
Before the main meeting in July we will run through a lot of the procedures for Council
but this is one we will be running today.
So for voting, sometimes we will just have a general consensus that everyone is happy
and the Speaker will just ask is everyone in favour?
And we will hear a general yes.
If everyone isn't in favour and they would like a formal vote, they just say no at that
point and we will have a formal vote.
We will sometimes have a formal vote which is yes, all those in favour, all those against,
all those abstaining, we ask people to raise their hand in the relevant moment and keep
it raised for a little bit so we can make sure we have noted down the numbers.
Hopefully that will be straightforward when we get to them.
I don't think there are any motions or proposals to amend procedures or anything tonight so
I think we can probably skip that bit.
So I will now hand back to the speaker.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:06:07
I would now like to hand over to our monitoring officer.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:06:18
Before the Council is asked to elect a new speaker, the current speaker of the Council
will address the meeting on his term of office and his work over the last year.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:06:30
Just want to share some of my experience.
I have had a wonderful year as a speaker and first citizen of the town of Hamlets.
It has been a privilege to represent this bar as its civic ambassador.
I would like to thank the Mayor, Mayor Luthar Rahman, and all of you, my colleagues, for
giving this opportunity.
You put your faith in me and I have done my very best to carry out my duties in a fair
an impartial way and to shine a light on the bara, wherever I go.
I choose to promote the Watjafjall Mission as a charity for the year.
A truly wonderful organisation I visited myself.
I did my best to tell people about them and their work throughout my term.
and promoted them through the banners in Town Hall and at our Civic Awards ceremony.
I would encourage you all to continue to support them.
They are just down the road.
if you want to pop in and chat to them or see their work first hand.
I have tried to attend as many events as I can in community celebrating,
milestones and achievements with the people of Tower Hamlets
and visiting their organisations to see their work they are doing.
It has been an absolute pleasure and I thank them for their warm welcome and hospitality.
I have also regularly attended citizenship ceremonies and welcomed new citizens in the
borough, speaking to them and learning about their lives.
This is important for the first citizen and I was happy to be invited to join in.
We had a successful Civic Awards event a couple of months ago where we celebrated people who
live, work and study in Tower Hamlets and who have gone above and beyond to improve
the lives of our residents and make the borough a better place.
The nomination for next year's award will open later in the year, so please keep an
eye out to make sure to nominate those people who you know of deserve to be recognised.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my consort, my son,
and who have supported me at a number of events.
I hope they have also missed one of my consort,
who also supported me throughout the many events as well.
I hope they also enjoyed the past year.
Going forward, I will be enjoying my role as a Councillor serving my residents,
who I would like to thank for electing me for the third term.
Thank you. To serve them for another four years.
I want to especially thank my family who supported me,
especially my wife sitting here at the back, Rana,
because you know that without the family support,
Without the family support, it is almost impossible to achieve anything in life.
So thank you my wife and my family. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:11:23
Thank you Speaker. Does any member wish to respond to the Speaker's address?
I am conscious of time, for I propose to take only four contributions, around four contributions,
and speeches are for three minutes each.
So I'll take some names now.
All right, thank you.
So, Councillor Talukdeo, please.
Thank you, thank you.
Mr Speaker, congratulations for re -electing yourselves and your colleague,
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:12:04
for so much work on Spital Vinay Manglatau.
That's my first message.
And also, thank you very much for all your dedication and commitment.
You're a sports person, you've done a lot for the borough in terms of sports,
and I've enjoyed many events with you during your role as the first citizen.
So, yeah, and hopefully you can go back and carry on with your sports,
improving the schools borough wide. So thank you very much. Thank you very much
for everything that you've done and you will be remembered. Thank you.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:12:41
Thank you Councillor Aulte. Councillor Sabina Osternek. Thank you. Thank you
Cllr Faysal Ahmed - 0:12:47
Mr. Speaker. So the role of a speaker is one of great responsibility and you have
carried out your role with huge respect, dignity and you have been available for
people of this borough. So the work that you have carried on throughout the year has been
noticed and we all have valued you a lot. I know your family, Auntie is here as well,
she has really sacrificed and the family, the support that you have been given. And
also that your hard work, your commitment will be, you know, here in Tahemetz will be
remembered and we really wish on behalf of everyone here, really successful for your
future as well. And also the Speaker to be elected, hopefully he can carry on with your
good role model that you have set up. So a huge congratulations to you and you've been
a milestone. Thank you.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:13:36
Thank you, Councillor Taltig. Councillor Kibiramit next.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:13:41
Thank you. Mr Speaker, it's been a privilege having meetings supervised by yourself and
chaired. I think it's really important for everybody to also understand that election
year is quite a challenging year to carry out your duties as Speaker.
And it was a testing period.
So I thank you for the hard work you've put in, the dedication you've put in, and also
with the charity of your choice, Whitechapel Mission.
It's an important piece of work that they do in the borough, supporting the homeless,
and I hope you continue to support the Whitechapel Mission as well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Councillor Ahmed.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:14:27
I will take finally Councillor Gulan Kibrechow.
Thank you, Speaker.
Cllr Bodrul Choudhury - 0:14:36
I would like to thank for your dedication, fairness and step -by -service over the past
year.
You have carried out the role with dignity, professionalism and deep commitment to democratic
values.
your calm leadership, wise judgement and your ability to bring together, especially during
the challenging moment you have been appreciated by the members.
We are sincerely grateful for your service and wish you every success for the future.
Thank you.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:15:11
Thank you members for your contributions.
I will now return proceedings back to the speaker.
Mr Speaker.
Cllr Bodrul Choudhury - 0:15:18
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:15:25
The first item of business for decision this evening is to elect a
Councillor to serve as a
Speaker of the Council.
May I please have
have nominations for the position of Speaker of the Council for 2026 -27.
Councillor Maynjalakdua.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:15:56
I would like to propose Councillor Mustak Ahmad.
Thank you.
Thank you. It's noted.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:16:02
Is there a seconder?
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:16:12
I would like to formally second the proposal of Councillor Mustak Ahmed as Speaker.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:16:18
The full Council will now vote on the proposed...
So I just left to ask, are there any other nominations?
No? I thought so.
Thank you.
The full council will now vote on the proposed nomination to elect a speaker of the council for 2026 -27.
All those in favour of the nomination to elect Councillor Mustaq Ahmed as speaker of the council for 2026 -27.
Any against?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:17:14
Any abstentions?
None.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:17:27
I therefore declare that the Councillor Mr Ahmed is duly elected to serve as the Speaker
of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for 2026 -27.
Thank you.
Congratulations to Councillor Mr. Karmath.
Could I please invite Councillor Karmath to come onto the dais
and the proposer and the seconder of the nomination to join him
to witness the speaker signing the Declaration of the Acceptance of Office.
Will the photographer please come forward to record the signing of the new speaker of
the Council.
I guess it's Danny.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 0:28:42
Sorry, can we just have that light turned off at the back?
That's rather blinding.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:29:02
As -salāmu ʿalaykum wa -rahmatullāhi wa -barakātuhu.
Good evening and a very warm welcome to you all.
Tonight is a moment of deep honour, deep humility and profound responsibility.
I want first to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Executive Mayor, Mr. Luther
I thank all of you, Mr Rahman, for the confidence, trust and generosity shown to me through the gift of this Speakership.
I also wish to thank my fellow Councillors for their support and confidence in electing me.
And above all, the people of Tower Hamlets, whose democratic mandate makes public service possible,
and whose trust remains the greatest honour any elected representative can ever receive.
In particular, I want to express my deepest appreciation to the residents of Bethnal Green West,
the word I have the privilege to represent.
Thank you, Bethnal Green West.
Your faith in me, your encouragement and your trust in electing me as your Councillor will
never be taken for granted. I remain deeply conscious that public office does not belong
to the individual who holds it, but to the people who place their trust in them.
Over recent days I have received countless messages, prayers and words of encouragement
and hope from residents across our borough and I have been deeply moved by the warmth
and kindness shown to me.
Tonight, as this chain of office rests upon my shoulders, my thoughts are not with ceremony,
titles or status.
My thoughts are with the people of this borough, because in the end the true weight of this
office is not the chain or gown themselves.
It is the trust, the amana of the people, a responsibility to protect the dignity of
this chamber, uphold democratic principles and safeguard the rights and voices of every
resident represented within these four walls.
There is something profoundly humbling about standing in this chamber tonight and reflecting
on the journey that has brought me here.
Like so many residents of this borough, my own storey began far from these walls.
I came to this country as a young man from Silet, Bangladesh, carrying with me the values
of faith, humility, hard work, respect for others and the belief that service to people
is one of life's greatest responsibilities.
My early years in Britain were shaped by ordinary work, long hours and the quiet determination
familiar to so many immigrant families.
I worked in restaurants, built in business and later returned to education as a mature student whilst raising a young family.
Those experiences gave me a deep appreciation for the dignity of work, the importance of opportunity and the sacrifices quietly made day by day by ordinary people whose contributions are not all.
always recognised publicly.
Over the years, through law, public service and community work,
I have had the privilege of meeting people from every background,
every faith and every work of life.
And one lesson has remained constant throughout,
that public life is always at its best when it is guided not by ego or division, but by humility, fairness, patience and respect for others.
Those are the values I will strive to uphold as speaker of this Council.
Tahemlitz is one of the greatest examples of modern Britain.
Diverse, resilient, ambitious and deeply rooted in community.
Not because of the buildings behind us in Canary Wharf,
not because of statistics or headlines, but because of the people.
People from every background, every faith, every language and every culture
living side by side and proving every single day that diversity is not a weakness in Britain.
It is our strength and despite every challenge, our communities
continue to rise with resilience, dignity and hope.
That resilience deserves leadership worthy of it, leadership grounded in humility, leadership
grounded in accountability, leadership grounded in service.
Whatever our political differences, we are united by one shared responsibility, one common
goal, that is serving the people of Tower Hamlets.
As Speaker, I will uphold the dignity of this Chamber, protect fair and respectful debate,
and serve all members and residents with impartiality, integrity and respect.
In a time when public trust in politics has been shaken across this country,
we have a duty to show people that public life can still be guided by decency, seriousness and respect for others.
This chamber will have disagreements, sometimes passionate disagreements.
That is healthy, that is democracy.
But the residents watching us expect something more than noise.
They expect seriousness, expect maturity, expect integrity.
And above all, they expect us to focus less on ourselves
and more on the people outside these walls whose lives are affected by the decisions we make.
and they are right to expect that of us.
I am also deeply conscious that no one reaches a moment such as this alone.
Whatever I have been able to achieve has only been possible through the prayers,
support, kindness, encouragement and sacrifices of so many people throughout my life.
I remain especially grateful to my parents, whose values continue to guide me every day,
to my family for their unwavering support, and to the communities of this borough who
continue to place their trust in those chosen to serve. And perhaps that is one of the greatest
strengths of Tau Hamlets.
So let us move forward together with humility, with purpose and with confidence in what this
great borough can continue to achieve.
Because history will judge us not simply by our speeches but by the character of our service
and the impact of our leadership.
Tonight, I accept this office with humility, with gratitude and with a sincere commitment
to serve this chamber and all residents of our borough with fairness, impartiality and
respect.
Before I finish, I would like to announce that my concerts for the year are my daughter
Ms. Malihamed, my daughter -in -law, Ms. Jasminakthar, and my junior legal colleague, Ms. Nursava
Nusrat Chaudhary. I will be formally announcing my charities at the next Council meeting.
Thank you.
APPLAUSE
Now, before we turn to our agenda for this evening, I would remind members of the comments of the monitoring officer earlier this evening,
and would also remind members to keep all contributions brief and relevant to the debate.
I will be looking to enforce the three minutes rule by banging the gavel once when you have
ten seconds of your speech time left. I have obtained a list of speakers for each item
and I will follow this list. If any other member wishes to speak, please raise your
hand, but I cannot guarantee that I can accept your request.
The second item of business for decision this evening is to elect a Councillor to serve
as Deputy Speaker of the Council for 2026 -27.
May I please have nominations for the position of Deputy Speaker of the Council for 2026 -27?
Yes, Councillor Maynthup.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:39:58
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Once again congratulations. I would like to propose
Councillor Iqbal Hussain for the Deputy Speaker.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:40:05
Is there a seconder? Yes, Councillor Kobi -Rahman. I would like to formally second
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:40:11
the nomination for Councillor Iqbal Hussain as Deputy Speaker.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:40:17
Thank you. Are there any other nominations?

2 ELECTION OF DEPUTY SPEAKER

Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:40:30
Unless anyone else wishes to speak, the full council will now vote on the proposed nomination
to elect Deputy Speaker of the Council for 2026 -27.
All those in favour of the nomination to elect the proposed councillor as Deputy Speaker
of the Council for 2026 -27.
All those against?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:41:03
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:41:06
Any abstentions?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:41:07
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:41:17
I am pleased to declare that Councillor Eric Bailão -Sain is duly elected to serve as Deputy
Speaker of the London Borough of the Hamlets.
I now pass to Matthew Manion, Corporate Head of Democratic and Governance Services, to
go through the procedural items on the agenda.
Over to you.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 0:42:00
Right.
Agenda item 3 is apologies for absence.
I've got apologies from Councillors Abdomonsour and Belal Uddin.
Are there any other apologies tonight?
Ahmad Udukbeir.
Thank you very much.
No others?
Excellent.
Right.
Thank you.
Item 4 is declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest.
Any member of a disclosable pecuniary interest on any item on the agenda please indicate.
Item 5 is minutes of the previous meeting.
Draught unrestricted minutes of the council meeting held on 25 March 2026 circulated with
the agenda.
Are the minutes agreed as a correct record?
The next item is announcements.
I will hand over to the Chief Executive for announcements.
Mr Stephen Halsey - 0:42:59
Good evening, members, colleagues and guests.
Welcome to this Annual General Meeting following the recent local elections.
Firstly, congratulations to the Speaker on his appointment and to all members who have
been elected or re -elected.

6 TO RECEIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS (IF ANY) FROM THE SPEAKER OF THE COUNCIL OR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Representing your community is an important responsibility, particularly at a time when
the issues facing residents are complex and often very immediate.
I also want to recognise those councillors who are not returning this year.
Public service takes a real commitment and their contribution to the borough should be
properly acknowledged.
Can I also take a moment to reflect on the elections themselves?
This year, once again, Tower Hamlets delivered elections under a level of scrutiny that very
few authorities experienced. Around 800 staff supported by over 100 polling stations at
the count alongside our partners. I am genuinely proud of how that was delivered. The feedback
we have received has been strong, particularly given the complexity with voter ID, new systems
and a very high turnout. That is down to the professionalism, resilience and hard work
of colleagues across the Council and the electoral registrations team.
As officers, our role remains clear. We are here to support all members equally and professionally
while supporting the delivery of the Administration's priorities. That balance is fundamental to
how we work. Since our last addressable Council, we have strengthened our senior leadership
capacity at an important point for the Council. We have welcomed a number of interim colleagues
who are already making a difference, including Santinder Jass as interim Director of Compliance
and Sarah Davies as interim Director of Transformation. We are also recruiting permanent roles, including
the Corporate Director of Resources, the Corporate Director of Communities and the Director of
These are critical roles for the future of the organisation, but it is important to say that they are currently in safe hands, with experienced interim leadership providing stability as we move through that process.
I also want to take a moment to recognise Abdul -Razak Kassim.
Abdul Razak has made a very significant contribution to the Council over a number of years and
particularly in recent months. Stepping into the interim Corporate Director of Resources
role at a time of real pressure is no small ask. He has done so with professionalism,
integrity and a steady leadership that has helped the organisation through a challenging
period. He is widely respected across the Council and I know many colleagues will recognise
the contribution he has made. We are grateful for his commitment and everything he has given
to the borough and I want to wish him every success in the next stage of his career.
Turning to the wider context, this is an incredibly challenging time for local government. Demand
on services is rising, financial pressures remain significant and as members you see
first hand the impact that has on residents. Tower Hamlets is not immune to these pressures
But it is also a time where the collective impact of public service, members and officers
working together, really does matter.
We are on an improvement journey as an organisation.
We have made progress but this is about sustained improvement over time rather than quick fixes
or quick wins.
We do also want to briefly acknowledge the role of the ministerial envoys.
Their continued oversight and challenge is an important part of that journey and we value
the constructive way they are working with us.
Looking ahead, there are two areas I want to highlight to members.
The first is how we work together, both members working together and also with officers.
At his heart, this is about civility, respect and collaboration.
It is about creating the conditions for constructive challenge, where debate is robust but conducted
in a way that enables good decision making and maintains trust.
The Member's Pledge is just one but an important part of that.
What matters, just as much as the Pledge itself, is that it was developed collaboratively by
members.
Drawing on independent expertise and reflects a shared understanding of the standards we
want to set for how we work together.
Alongside that, we are putting in place member empowerment protocol to ensure all councillors
receive increasingly consistent professional support from officers, regardless of role
or political affiliation.
These are practical steps, but they speak to something bigger – the importance of
strong relationships and a shared commitment to working well together.
The second is our organisational culture.
We are working to build a more open, accountable organisation, one where people feel ever more
able to speak up, where feedback leads to action and where there is clarity about expectations.
Through the Your Voice work, which is about how our response to the staff survey with
thousands of staff shared their experience, we are strengthening how we listen to staff
and respond to what they tell us and building more consistent engagement and communication
across the organisation.
At the same time, through recruitment to permanent CD roles, we are working to provide greater
stability in our leadership capacity.
Across both of these areas, the message is the same.
Progress depends on how we behave, how we work with one another, how we handle the challenge
and how we stay focused on outcomes for residents.
The year ahead will not be straightforward and there will be difficult choices and continued pressure on services,
but I am confident the Council can respond to the ambitious agenda that has been set by the Administration.
This meeting marks the start of a new municipal year, including the establishment of the Council's leadership and governance arrangements.
From an officer perspective, you have our deep commitment that we will support all members in carrying out your roles, effectively and professionally,
continue to deliver the administration's agenda and to do so with the well -being of residents as our key priority.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:49:41
We now turn to Item 7, which is the Mayor's Cabinet and Executive Appoundments for 2026 -27.
The report appendix has been tabled and has been published on the Council's website
and through the MoTgov app.
I'll ask the Mayor to introduce this report and move the recommendation for three minutes.
Thank you, Mr Smita.
I would like to propose the recommendation.
Mr Stephen Halsey - 0:50:09
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:50:15
Mr Stephen Halsey - 0:50:16
Mr Speaker, I formally second.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:50:19
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:50:22
So it's been proposed and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.
I'm proposed by Councillor Mayim Talguta and seconded by Councillor Kabir Ahmed.
Do you wish to speak, Councillor Mayim Talguta?
You have three minutes.
That's fine.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:50:41
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:50:44
Thank you.
Does any other member wish to speak?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:50:55
So does the council note the Mayor's Executive Scheme of Delegation?
// Yes.
// Noted.
// Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:51:08
I don't see any objections, so we will take this as noted unanimously.
Moving on to item 8 on the agenda is proportionality and establishment of committees.
Can Councillor Maimtal, the Deputy Mayor, introduce the report?
Thank you, Mr Speaker.

8 GROUP ALLOCATIONS, PROPORTIONALITY AND ALLOCATION OF PLACES ON COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL 2026/27

Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:51:31
I would like to introduce the report as tabled, subject to the proportionality arrangement.
However, we would like the report to return to July Fool's Council,
because we believe a lot of the committees are quite large,
so we want the constitution working group to look at it and then bring it back on July Fool's Council,
so then we can agree on the final proportionality.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:52:08
I call on Councillor Kobi -Ramsey to second the report.
You have three minutes.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:52:15
Once again, Mr Speaker, I formally second the proposal.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:52:20
Does any member wish to speak?
Thank you.
Councillor Abdullah.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Cllr Abdal Ullah - 0:52:31
First of all, before I start, can I congratulate you?
I look forward to hearing a very well -spoken oratory from you.
I know you speak very well in this chamber and I'm sure people watching at home will
enjoy your wonderful speech and your heartfelt speech when you started your tenure as the
Speaker was very profound and moving and it reflects a lot of people in this chamber,
their storey and the storey of this borough's success as a
Gateway to the for the immigrant community for many years. So I want to I look forward to seeing you and
Develop and hold this office with great pride. Can I just before on this?
Can I just ask for clarity from the monitoring officer? We we note there is an absent of particular council
I was selected in Lansbury. I don't want to bring name or any other
Can I ask for clarity on how that will act on the proportionality of the current position
of this Council?
Thank you.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:53:39
Thank you, Councillor, for the question.
The member that you are speaking of is still in the group, as far as I understand, so it
does not affect the proportionality calculations.
Cllr Abdal Ullah - 0:53:55
Sorry, Mr Speaker, with permission, is the Monitoring Office saying that the Councillor
who was duly elected on suspension still remains on that political group aspire?
Yes, he is in the group.
Shupriya Iqbal - 0:54:07
Can we move on now, please, to the actual item on the agenda, because this question
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:54:11
My question has been answered and I think we should move on to the agenda.
Thank you, Councillor Abdulla.
Can we now agree the recommendation as amended in the report to approve the calendar?
Agreed.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:54:32
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:54:35
I don't see any objections and so we'll take this as agreed unanimously.
Moving on to item 9, which sets out the nomination to committees of the Council.
The list of groups and other nominations has been published as a supplement on the Council's
website and through the Madgov app.

9 APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES AND SUB-COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL 2026-27

Can Councillor Maham Talaqda, Deputy Mayor, introduce the report?
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I would like to formally move the report as tabled.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:55:08
Thank you.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:55:12
Can Councillor Kobi Raphaet second the report?
Once again, Mr Speaker, I formally second the report.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 0:55:18
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:55:20
Thank you, Councillor Kobi Raphaet.
Does any member wish to speak?
Councillor Peter Gold?
Cllr Peter Golds - 0:55:28
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I rise for the first time very much to congratulate you
on taking office. We much appreciate what you have said and we look forward to working
closely with you over the coming municipal year. Very, very simply, the licencing committee,
which is the largest committee of the council because it does an enormous amount of work,
is extremely important because of the regulatory work we do and I note that we are missing
a nomination from the Green Group and the Labour Group.
I've very quickly spoken to the Green Group leader and I understand that Councillor Parker
will be joining the committee and I just wonder if Councillor Rossellini could, who will be
joining from the Labour Group because we were coming to the point when we have to do the
mandatory training and it would be very helpful to have a forecast with us.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:56:27
Councillor Debbie Lutga.
Cllr David Edgar - 0:56:34
My, thank you Speaker, my hand wasn't seen when I put it up for the last item but it
sort of flows into this one.
So what seemed to be being said, and I wasn't clear about it, was something about reviewing
the proportionality of a size of committees.
Clearly the proportionality is as it is and so is it the case that the appointments that
made today may be changed at some point in the future but there will be proposals to
the July meeting which change the size of the committees.
I wasn't quite clear what was being proposed under the last item but which clearly has
implications for this item.
Over to you, Matim.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:57:05
Mr Matthew Mannion - 0:57:09
Yes, so we're looking at the proportionality as set out for the numbers we have as they
stand for all of the committees.
So we are active with whatever we agree tonight.
But then as I understand it, we'll be taking a report to the Constitution Working Group
just to look at committees generally, sizes, numbers, and so things might change in the
future.
But at this moment, we are agreeing what we're agreeing today.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:57:33
Okay, thank you, Les.
Move to the next.
Before I move on to the next item, full Council will be asked to confirm the appointments
as have been tabled.
But first I'll ask the Corporate Head of Democratic Services, Matthew Manon, to set out any final
clarifications or nominations that are required.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 0:58:00
I think we're pretty much there this year, so thank you everyone for getting your nominations
in.
A couple of things to highlight.
I'm missing some substitutes on some of the committees, so we'll be looking for the groups
to nominate those later.
and some members from the Aspire group on over the screen as well.
Labour have given me their second person on licencing, which is Victoria Fleur -Lupton,
I think.
Is that right?
Yeah.
So that committee is now up to speed.
I note the green nomination as well there.
I assume that's correct.
So I think something else that may be new for ungrouped members as well is that you
You are now allowed to nominate one substitute for you if you are appointed to a committee.
So for overview and scrutiny, for general purposes and for standards, you can both nominate
somebody as a deputy should you wish.
As far as I know, that Councillor Kahn and I will be substituting for each other.
Okay.
Thank you.
We'll note that.
And looking, I think that's...
I also have a late nomination on the corporate parenting board from David Edgar.
I think that's right.
Excellent.
Thank you.
I don't think there was anything else.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:59:23
If you are okay, speaker, we will ask the council chamber to accept the nominations
as set out.
Is the chamber happy to accept the nominations as set out?
Thank you.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 0:59:30
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:59:31
Moving on to item 10, which is the calendar of council and committee meetings for the
2026 -27 year.
The report asks members to note the revised calendar including the changes set out in
the report.
Can Councillor Mayim Talagda introduce the report?
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I propose the report as tabled.

10 COMMITTEE CALENDAR 2026-27

Cllr Maium Talukdar - 0:59:54
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 0:59:57
I call on Councillor Kabir Ahmed to second the report.
Second the report.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 1:00:02
Does any other member wish to speak?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:00:04
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:00:09
Can we agree the recommendation in the report to approve the report?
Agreed.
Agreed.
Thank you.
We have item 11 is to agree the appointment of political advisors.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I would like to propose a report as tabled.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 1:00:36
Thank you.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:00:39
Colin, Councillor Kobi Rahmat, your second report.
Once again, I formally second the report.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 1:00:44
Thank you, Councillor.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:00:46
Does any other member wish to speak?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:00:53
I will now ask Matimanyan, how do you think the report will be proposed?
Thank you.
Can I make a point
that
Cllr Abdal Ullah - 1:01:06
your wonderful speech
,
and it is a fresh start for the Hamlets,
there are many people here
who have been elected,
it is an absolute privilege
and honour to serve the people of this
borough.
I know
as the mayor has been duly elected,
many of us here have been re -elected,
some have returned.
I think it is important
I'm going to acknowledge that we've been elected to serve the people with distinction and with purpose.
And for that to happen, I believe the political parties need to have support.
And I'm asking that this council, particularly through your chair, that we find the way to support the leadership.
I know, and I'm not speaking for our newly elected Green colleagues who are new to this council chamber,
and I'm sure there are those in this audience who have never been to the council chamber,
don't honestly understand the process and so forth.
Some of us have had the privilege and honour to be here for a number of years.
I would ask the council to consider, and through you to the chief exec,
I know the envoys are here, the whole world is looking at a time for clarity and governance,
that we extend and look at appointing both the agreed and the Labour Party a full -time political advisor.
Is there a seconder for the proposal?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:02:22
If I may speak, I would like to formally second.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:02:31
We now go to the vote on the amendment.
All those in favour?
All those against?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:02:42
It falls.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:03:05
We now vote on the recommendations in the report to approve the appointment of political advisors to the three groups of the Council.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:03:22
All those in favour? All those against? Any abstentions?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:03:28
It carries.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:03:34
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:03:46
We have Item 12 to approve the Members' Allowance Scheme.
An updated proposed scheme has been published and circulated for consideration and approval.
Can Councillor Maimthal, the Deputy Mayor, introduce the report and the amendment?
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 1:04:03
Thank you, Mr Speaker. When we came to office in May 2022,
the Aspire Group, under the leadership of Mehrlut Rahman, got to work for the people of Tawah Hamlets.
Today we are one of the most active councils in the country, delivering some of the most
ambitious anti -poverty programmes, anywhere programmes that are making a real difference
in people's lives.
To do this we had to change the way lead members traditionally work.
Cabinet members are now expected to work most of the week on council duties, reducing hours
in their regular employment and focusing their time on residents and their portfolios.
For four years, members' allowances in townlets have been frozen. In previous years,
allowances rose annually with significant jumps every few years. From May 2016 to May
2021, the previous administration increased the mayor's allowance from 67 ,000 to 83 ,000
while cutting vital services.
Mr Speaker, in 2022 we chose to freeze the allowance until we had transformed the council
from one of those cut services to one that invests in our community.
We are proud of what we have delivered and 2026 election results shows residents feeling
the benefit and support this continued delivery.
Now that we have reversed Labour's cut, introduced unprecedented investment in services, we have
reflected on the concerns that have been raised about our allowance being the lower than comparable
councils.
At our last AGM, our colleague from the Green Party, Councillor Natalie, made an important
point that members' allowance was one of the factors that led her to reconsider for

12 MEMBERS' ALLOWANCES SCHEME 2026-27

running for Council. We have reflected on those concerns that our Council allowance
being the lower than other similar authorities could discourage working class residents from
standing for election to council and join the public service.
Our basic members' allowance remained below Hackney,
Lewisham and Newham, and below level they're recommended
by the independent panel.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:06:37
Councillor, you have 30 seconds remaining.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 1:06:40
But the mayor's allowance is also below the member
of Hackney, Newham and the independent recommended panel.
So therefore, Mr. Speaker, I recommend that I propose the recommended amendment to the full council to consider. Thank you very much
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:07:00
Thank you, Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mayim Taligdar. I call upon Councillor Kobi Rahmat to second the report and the amendment.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:07:10
You have three minutes if you want. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't take up the whole of three minutes
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 1:07:14
I just want members and the public to draw themselves to page 74 of the report, which
highlights the disparity between members here in Tower Hamlets and elected members in Newham,
Hackney, Lewisham, which are other meredities as well.
And it's really important to understand that the level of work that is put in by members
in terms of committee meetings, various quasi -judicial bodies, as well as outside bodies, clearly
there is a big difference between what the allowances here in Tower Hamlets are
and what the allowances are in other boroughs and as a result of that the
independent remunerations panel have clearly identified that we are as a
council lagging far behind and I think it's important as Councillor Talukder
has pointed out that in order to encourage a more diverse background of
candidates coming forward, we also have to make sure that they are suitably compensated
with the level of work that they put in and the hours they put in.
We do have a very lively and demanding local authority, as in Tower Hamlets, but with that
comes lots of hard work as well.
And I think we should equally share the level of salary or allowances that Hackney, Newham and Lewisham as well as Croydon get as well.
And we are still behind all of those local authorities but this kind of brings it up slightly more to be closer to them. Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:08:55
Thank you, Councillor Kabir Ahmed. Does any other member wish to speak?
Councillor David Edgar. Thank you, Speaker. In my final speech in
Cllr David Edgar - 1:09:09
2022, I said that I might be back and it's a great pleasure to be here again. Thanks
to the people of Limehouse. It's nice to be in this new town hall and it's great to be
the council chamber which doesn't have a massive concrete pillar in the middle.
So I recognise that there is a need for an increase in the council allowances and the
various responsibility allowances.
There has been no increase for four years and so there clearly is need to do something.
But I think that the scale of the increase is really quite surprising.
The highlights or lowlights of those scale of increases are 35%, 63%, 34%, 70%.
Those are very, very big increases in allowances.
And what we also have is an additional two roles called
ambassadors to pay positions.
And I think that all of us, all of us,
councillors and the mayor, are ambassadors for this council
and this borough.
And we don't need to have two additional posts created
for that purpose.
But I also note that there are new roles
of deputy cabinet members.
And I really think those aren't necessary.
when we've got a full set of cabinet members, each being paid, if this paper is passed,
35 ,500 up from 21 ,754. And I think it's possible, I've done the sums, I've looked at the numbers,
I think it's possible that the proposals will be passed, but that would be a very substantial
increase. And I think that we need an increase, but I believe that people across the borough,
when they look at the scale of this increase, the number of these increases, they will not
welcome them and that will be particularly true for those people who are suffering financially.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:10:56
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:11:06
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:11:11
All those in favour?
Against?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:11:22
Any abstentions?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:11:26
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:11:33
Let's carry it.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:11:39
I will now hand over to the Corporate Head of Democratic Services, Matthew Mannen, to
support with the voting for this item, which has been done now.
We are moving to the agenda item number 13, which is to approve the Council's constitution
for the year 2026 -27. Can Councillor Mayim Taligda introduce the report?
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 1:12:11
Thank you Mr Speaker. I would like to propose the report as tabled.
I call upon Councillor Kobi Rahmic to second the report.

13 COUNCIL'S CONSTITUTION 2026-27

Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:12:17
Once again Mr Speaker, I form a second the report.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 1:12:20
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:12:22
Does any member wish to speak?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:12:27
Can we agree the recommendations in the report to approve the
for the year 2026 -27.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:12:38
Item 14, which sets out the dispensations
under Section 33 of the Localism Act,
proposed by the Monitoring Officer.
Can Councillor Mahantalibda introduce the report?
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to propose a last table.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 1:12:57
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:12:59
I call upon Councillor Kobi Rahmat to second the report.
You have three minutes if you wish to speak.
I once again formally seconded.
I won't need the three minutes, Mr Speaker.
Thank you.
Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 1:13:06
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:13:09
Does any member wish to speak?
Any other member wish to speak?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:13:19
Does the Council endorse the dispensation set out in the report and approve that the
Standards Advisory Committee received reports on dispensations
granted by the Monitoring Officer.
Going for voting, all those in favour?
Against?
Any abstentions?
Carried.
Item 15, which sets out the years of special urgency provisions
for the year 2025 -26.
Once again, Councillor Maitre, would you like to introduce the report?
Thank you, Mr Speaker, I will stay bold.
Thank you.
Cllr Maium Talukdar - 1:14:03
Councillor Kobi Rahmat to second.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:14:05
And once again, Mr Speaker, I second the report.

15 USE OF SPEICAL URGENCY PROCEDURES 2025-26

Cllr Kabir Ahmed - 1:14:09
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:14:12
Does any member wish to speak?
Councillor Rupert George.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:14:20
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Cllr Rupert George - 1:14:25
And can I say that I agreed with so much in your speech and there is much for the Green
Party to agree with, with Aspire's anti -poverty measures.
And I think those measures are really important in this borough, for life in this borough.
And I think that the JP Morgan deal is of such significance it's in the national press
quite regularly, as many of you have probably read.
And I would like to say that I really hope that as this passes through the decision -making
process of this Council, that all of us in this Chamber are able to constructively and
effectively scrutinise that process to ensure that the people of Tower Hamlets are sure
that the best deal is made and that those policies which so many of us, we copied your
policies into our manifesto because they're great policies but they need to be paid for
and we need to ensure that that JP Morgan deal is the best possible deal for the people
of this borough.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:15:31
Thank you, Councillor Rupert George.
Does the Council note the report on the use of special agency provisions?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:15:51
I would now pass it to Matthew.
My name is Matthew.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 1:15:59
Apologies, Mr Speaker. I just realised on the appointment earlier that I missed Victoria off pensions, which I think was another one. Is that right?
Just have that noted as well. I appreciate it's going back a couple of reports, but just to make sure it's in the minutes. Thank you.
I'll let you carry on.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:16:12
Thank you, Matthew.
That concludes the business of the Annual Council meeting and I thank you all for attending
and for your contributions.
Can everyone please stay seated for a short Administrative Human Resources Committee meeting?
Can the newly appointed members of the HR committee please stand up?
If you can't remember who you are, it's Kamal Hussain, Faizal Ahmed, Shafi Ahmed, Kabir
Ahmed, Abu Taler Chowdhary, Jonathan Purcell and Amina Ali.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 1:16:57
I'm reading the general purposes committee.
That would help wouldn't it?
Haran Meer, Said Ahmed, Shafi Ahmed, Faisal Ahmed, Mayim Talukta, Mads Churchhouse and
Abd al -Ullah.
I know what I'm doing.
Amina you can sit down, apologies.
I'm just checking you're awake, that's all it is.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:17:19
Mr Matthew Mannion - 1:17:20
Haran Meer, Said Ahmed, Shafi Ahmed, Faisal Ahmed, Mayim Talukta, Mads Churchhouse and
If you would stay standing, please.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:17:32
We have all the councillors present.
If you could stay standing, please, those members who are in the HR committee.
Mr Matthew Mannion - 1:17:41
We are going to quickly go through the items of business.
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:17:42
Mr Matthew Mannion - 1:17:43
If members are happy, could they propose and second me as an administrative chair?
Mayim, are you prepared to propose?
Can I propose my own telector, please?
I was going to ask if you would propose me.
No, seriously, I was asking if you would propose me.
Great, Matthew, yes, I'll propose Matthew.
Just as an administrative to share, I should point out, I have no vote in this.
OK, so just very quickly, business, apologies for absence.
Have we got any apologies? I think we've got everyone here, haven't we?
We will know any apologies and I don't think there are any declarations of interest.
First up, there are three items of business we want to quickly get through.
First one is an update on senior recruitment which is just around a couple of extensions.

3 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

I would say if members want to talk about this they can do it at the HR Committee which
is in a couple of weeks.
Can I have a proposer and a seconder for the recommendations?
Councillor Jaramillo, Councillor Mijan -Tulut.
Thank you.
All in favour?
Any against?
No.
Okay.
Brilliant.
That's carried.
The next one is appointments, subcommittee, terms of reference and establishment.
So we're establishing the appointment subcommittee for the year so we can get on with some of
our recruitment.
Can I have a member to propose the recommendations of the report to set it out?
Thank you, Councillor Chaffee.
Seconder?
Oh, one of you.
Thank you.
That will do.
All those in favour?
All those against?
We don't need everyone else to vote.

9 APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES AND SUB-COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL 2026-27

Finally we have the employee appeals subcommittee terms, references and establishments.
Can I have somebody proposing that one?
Seconder?
Councillor O 'Louy is seconding that.
All those in favour?
All those against?
Just from the HR Committee, I should stress.
Okay, thank you very much.
That concludes that particular HR Committee meeting.
You may sit down and I'll hand over to the speaker to formally invite you all on to other things.
Mr Speaker, can I maybe suggest that we do this regularly since we get the business down quicker when we stand up?
Cllr Suluk Ahmed - 1:20:15
Thank you very much.
.
.
Mr Matthew Mannion
Head of Democratic Services
Tower Hamlets
View profile Mr Matthew Mannion