This meeting of Hackney Council was scheduled to include the results of recent by-elections, public questions to the Cabinet, the annual update on the Climate Action Plan, the adoption of a policy on Disclosure and Barring Service Checks for elected members, the annual report of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, appointments to Outside Bodies and the consideration of six motions.

London Fields and Stoke Newington By-Elections

The results of the London Fields and Stoke Newington By-Elections were scheduled to be announced.

Council Climate Implementation Plan 2023 - 2026

The Mayor was scheduled to provide a progress report on the Council Climate Implementation Plan 2023 - 2026, which is a three-year rolling plan to guide and manage the Council’s own climate response.

The meeting was also scheduled to hear about an independent assessment of UK councils undertaken by Climate Emergency UK. The assessment uses a range of criteria to assess progress towards net zero based on a scorecard approach. Hackney’s score was 56%, which placed it 5th among London Local Authorities and 6th among single-tier authorities in the UK.

The report pack mentions a Citizens' Jury that was held earlier in the year.

This year, we ran a citizens’ jury where a panel of independently selected residents from different backgrounds worked together collaboratively, listening to external experts and then deliberating, resulting in a set of key recommendations for the Council and others to better protect our most vulnerable residents from the immediate impacts of climate change — extreme heat.

The jury's discussions resulted in nine key recommendations for the Council, these included looking at how to better protect vulnerable residents from extreme heat. It was noted, however, that replicating this approach would be resource intensive.

The report pack included details of Hackney Light and Power's¹ Community Energy Fund, which has so far distributed nearly £1m to 39 local community groups in the past two years to help install clean power and energy saving measures.

The meeting was scheduled to receive details of Hackney’s Green Infrastructure Strategy² and the Local Nature Recovery Plan³ , both of which were adopted in the previous year.

Policy on Disclosure and Barring Service Checks for the Elected Mayor, Councillors and Co-Optees

The meeting was scheduled to consider the adoption of a new Policy on Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks for the Elected Mayor and Councillors and Co-Optees, this follows on from the recommendations made by Mr. Simon Bailey in his Independent Review of the Disclosure and Barring Service (February 2023).

The report pack for the meeting sets out the Council's reasons for proposing the policy:

It is essential that the public has full confidence that the Council is doing all it can to ensure the safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

The report pack also sets out the Minister for Local Government's position on DBS checks for elected members:

Government strongly supports the recommendation and I urge an enhanced DBS check to be adopted as best practice for all councillors being considered for appointment to any committee which discharges education or social services functions. Such roles are eligible for enhanced DBS checks, and it is within the power of relevant authorities to implement this best practice. My clear view is that there is reputational benefit in councils being both consistent and robust on adopting this best practice recommendation given the high profile of cases, rightly so, when things go wrong.

The Policy proposed that an Enhanced DBS Check would be mandatory for the Elected Mayor, all Councillors and all Co-Optees⁴ and would be the subject of an annual update.

Scrutiny Annual Report 2023/24

The meeting was scheduled to hear about the activities of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel for the previous municipal year. The report pack contained the Overview & Scrutiny Annual Report 2023/24.

Appointments to Outside Bodies

The Council was scheduled to agree appointments to three Outside Bodies: The Kench Hill Charity, the Hackney Parish Almshouse Charity and the South Hackney Parochial Charity.

The Outside Bodies each requested that one Councillor be appointed to each of their governing bodies.

Opposition Sponsored Business: Using all Levers to Address the Housing Crisis Locally

The Green Group was scheduled to propose a motion to discuss the Council's response to the current issues in Housing Services, these include:

• The Housing Ombudsman's special investigation.
• The Regulator of Social Housing's finding of serious failings.
• Failure to meet targets for surveying reports of damp and mould.
• Failure to develop an integrated housing IT system.
• The slow pace of retrofitting council housing.
• The poor quality of work undertaken by contractors.

Labour Motion: London Charter to End Rough Sleeping

A motion from the Labour Group was scheduled to be heard. It notes:

Despite the Government’s commitment in 2019 to end rough sleeping by 2024, estimates show there has been an increase in rough sleeping in all regions of England, with London and the south-east accounting for almost half of the rise.

It also notes the impact of the cost of living crisis, a lack of affordable housing, and a punitive welfare system.

The motion proposes to support the Mayor of London's Rough Sleeping Charter, which seeks to improve the quality of life for rough sleepers in London. It also asks the Mayor of Hackney to sign the charter. The motion sets out commitments to call on the Government to take action on housing and homelessness.

Labour Motion: Ending Stigma and Discrimination of the Care Experienced Community

A further motion from the Labour Group was scheduled to be considered. The motion notes that care experienced people face stigma and discrimination, and that councillors should commit to acting as mentors to looked after children. It calls on the Government to introduce legislation to recognise care experienced people as a protected group.

Hackney Independent Socialist Group Motion: The Need to Review Twinning Relationships, Including Hackney's with Haifa in Israel

This motion was scheduled to be put forward by the Hackney Independent Socialist Group. The motion notes:

Haifa is the third largest city in Israel and is the headquarters of Elbit Systems, the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles which have and continue to be used in the killing of Palestinian civilians.

It also references the recently published report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry of the Human Rights Council which found that Israeli authorities were responsible for violations of international law in Gaza from 7 October 2023.

The motion proposes that all of Hackney's twinning relationships should be reviewed and that the relationship with Haifa be paused pending the outcome of that review.

Green Group Motion: Support of a Wealth Tax to Fund Public Services

The Green Group was scheduled to propose this motion to address the budget deficit that the Council faces as a result of austerity policies:

Over the next three years, the council is forecasted to face a deficit of more than £50 million, due to the long-term impact of growing demand, rising costs and over a decade of national austerity policies by successive Conservative governments.

The motion proposes the introduction of a wealth tax of 1% annually on assets above £10m, and a 2% wealth tax on assets over £1bn. It also proposes that the Government improve data collection on high wealth individuals.

Hackney Independent Socialist Group Motion: End the Hostile Environment Against Migrants

This motion was scheduled to be considered. It condemns the Government's hostile environment policy:

The Conservative Government said it introduced its Hostile Environment policies to deter migrants from coming to the UK. The policies also had the effect of making life difficult for migrants already in the UK, especially those without a confirmed immigration status.

It proposes that the Mayor and Chief Executive write to the Home Office seeking changes to visa fees, processing times, and a new route to regularisation for undocumented migrants. It also calls for grant funding to support migrant organisations.

Green Group Motion: Opposing the Two Child Benefit Cap

A motion from the Green Group was scheduled to be heard. It opposes the two-child benefit cap:

In April 2017, the Conservative government implemented a policy to restrict means-tested social security support to the first two children in a household (a ‘Two Child Benefit Cap’), for children born after 2017.

It calls for the Government to scrap the policy and requests that local MPs commit to doing everything they can to reverse it.