Transcript

Well, thank you. Good evening, everyone. I would like to welcome the mayor, all members, and our guests to the town hall, Stratford, for the second of two themed meetings held this municipal year. The theme of this council meeting is our young people, our future. I would like to welcome the members of the public and press who are physically attending and watching on YouTube. I would like to also welcome the young people, continents, attending this evening, some of whom are taking part in tonight's business. The meeting is being filmed for broadcast on YouTube. Please note that cameras are focused on everyone within this meeting. I would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that to enable the council to conduct its business if there are any interruption at this meeting, I will ask the individual or individuals to stop and give a warning. If this continues, I will give a second and final warning. Should the interruption continue, should the disruption continue, I will ask security to remove the person or group from the council chamber and will adjourn the meeting. Members of the council, please, can I ask that you indicate when you wish to speak by raising your physical hands. I would like to advise members in order to comply with the allocated time for speakers. If you go beyond your allocated time, you will be automatically muted. Please, can I ask members and officers to introduce themselves when speaking. I would like to ask that everyone turn their mobile phones to the silent mode. We are not expecting a fire drill this evening, so if the alarm sounds, please remain calm and follow the instruction of the council town hall staff. The fire service points are accessed by the Western Lane. Council, please be advised that there is changes to the order of business item 14 of the theme report will be considered before them. For agenda 11, this is because of item 14 features some of the young people from our borough and would like the item to be completed before they have to return the collection point, which close up to at 9 p.m. In addition, for agenda 14, the theme report was published late outside the five clear days notice required under access of information rules. It is my prerogative as a chair to accept or reject late reports. I have agreed to accept the late report on the basis that it is a substantive report for this themed meeting and cannot be deferred to the next meeting of the council. I am now moving to item 1, apologies for absence. I have received apologies for absence for this evening meeting from councillor Mariam Dodd, Mohamed Ghani. Are there any other apologies for absence? Councillor, to be recorded. Councillor Jennifer Bailey, Manor Park Ward. I have got apologies from Stephanie Garfield. Stephanie is here. Salim Patel, Zulfika Ali and I have got dispensation from Mohamed Ghani and Mariam Dalwood. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Councillor Jennifer Bailey. I am now moving to item 2. Declation of interest. Are there any members wishing to declare any disclosable? I have noted that, yes. Thank you, Councillor Stephanie. Are there any members wishing to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest or any other interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting? Thank you. I am now moving to item 3, minutes of our last meeting. I move the minutes of the meeting of council held on 24 March 2025. Do I have a seconder, please? Yes, Councillor Danny Keeling. Councillor Danny Keeling, Stratford Olympic Park. Could I amend the minutes for motion 2 to the seconder's name in my name, please? Thank you. It would be agreed. Is that being agreed? Thank you. Thank you. All those in favour, please raise your hand. Thank you. All those against, please raise your hands. Any abstentions? Thank you. Agree the minutes now. I am now moving to item 4, deputation. I can inform the chamber that there will be no deputation under Rule 9 of part of 4 of the constitution, so I will move on to the next item. I am now moving to item 5, petitions. Are there any petitions by any members? Councillor Sabia Kamali, please present your petition. Councillor Sabia Kamali from Stratford Ward. I have got a petition on behalf of the resident for the car park behind Town Hall. Thank you. Are there any other petitions? Councillor Jennifer Bailey. Yes, I've got two deputations from Manor Park residents, one regarding the 24-hour bus lane along Romford Road in Manor Park, and one regarding the 24-hour zone from Sherrod Road. Thank you, Councillor Jennifer Bailey. Can I confirm that is the two petitions you are submitting? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any councillors who wish to submit any petitions? Thank you. As stated in our constitution, the petition will be referred to the relevant corporate director for the attention and responses, acknowledging the petition and setting out how the matter will be dealt with, will be sent to the councillor within 10 working days. So, thank you, councillors. I'm now moving to item 6, questions by the public. There are three questions from members of the public accepted under Rule 11 of Part 4 of the constitution. The questions along with the responses are attached on the supplementary agenda published earlier today. Question 1 is from Joshua Okiki, a member of the Youth Empowerment Service. Welcome, Joshua. Is Joshua here? Well, welcome, Joshua. Please ask your questions. So, my question is, our friends with criminal records who are looking to get back into work, what support is the council providing to help young people in this situation? Thank you. I ask, do you wish to respond by reading out your response? Thank you very much, Chair. I do wish to respond, but I don't wish to read out the question, which I trust you've had a chance to read if it's been distributed, but I did want to say this. I emphatically believe that everyone deserves a second chance. I emphatically believe that young people and those that are transitioning into adulthood who may have made mistakes are given the opportunity to remedy and to be supported. I think for too long we have had a criminal justice system that evidently, because the statistics set out, the disproportionate number of young people from communities of colour at the global south in terms of their heritage or origin find themselves in the criminal justice system and that interface between the criminal justice system and the edge of that arena. I think that there's much more that needs to be done through the early intervention preventative route, through our schools, through our youth clubs, through our youth zones and through working with the voluntary community and faith sector, but also in our engagement with young people in ensuring that they are well supported, that they are surrounded by trusted adults that can show them a whole variety of positive things that they can be doing in their lives and that if for whatever reasons, because we know that a number of young people for whom an experience interfacing with the criminal justice system through either youth justice is a consequence of the things that are happening in their lives and they haven't been sufficiently supported. But I do believe that young people deserve a second chance and we've got a raft of opportunities and provision that we provide from across a range of the different council services. I trust that helps for now and happy to speak with you and other friends that are clearly concerned about this issue and I wanted to just also thank you for raising this important matter. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor and Fiers and thank you, Joshua. Question two is from Issa Rafic, Member of Youth Parliament. Welcome, Issa. Please do ask your questions. What concrete actions and strategies does the council plan to implement to better support all young people in our borough, particularly in encouraging development, personal responsibility and positive development, while also addressing the underlying factors that may contribute to disengagement, lack of motivation or involvement in negative behaviour. Thank you, Sir. Do I ask my affairs to... Um, Chair, with your permission, can I co-share this answer and also invite Councillor Sarah Roos to perhaps contribute within the time that we've got? Absolutely. Absolutely fine. Okay, fine. So I'll say a few words and Councillor Sarah Roos, are you ready to say a few things in addition, if you would like? Okay. So firstly, just for those that may not know, Issa is one of our two representatives in the UK Parliament, the children young people voice in our borough. So I wanted to commend him for one, being interested, and two, for achieving the election outcome, and three, for participating because I was updated on the recent debates that you have been having in the House of Commons. So, look, in response to your question, you'll have noted the written statement, and I just really wanted to build on some of the points made. I'm absolutely emphatic that this Council talks truth to what it is that we need to do for our future generations, not just the young generation of now, but also in future years ahead. It is central to the focus of this administration that we place our children and young people at its heart. We want for Noom to be the best place in the world for a child and young person to grow up. It's absolutely important for me that I have an organisation that intentively hears and listens and adopts a practice of not doing to our young people but actually collaborates with, and that's the reason why I'm really proud of the youth participation's team's work in that regard. We organise and host a series of youth assemblies to ensure that, as part of our participatory democracy agenda, their voices heard, and in the report that we're presenting to Council this evening, there's a series of really important recommendations that, if passed tonight, will be a seismic shift in the way in which the Council responds to what is evidently a really important issue and an agenda for us, but also for our young people. And on that note, I'll pass over to Councillor Sarah Ruse. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, it is working. Thank you, Isa. You'll also be really aware, because you obviously participate in our youth services, just what a range of activities they provide. But we also, there are many other things across the borough, so if you look at our parks teams and our resident engagement, so I would hate to think that every young person thought that it was just one part of the Council that they should be engaging with, because actually young people's ideas affect all, the whole of the Council, whether it's housing or having fun or whatever. So, you know, although the response is about youth zones and youth activities, there are many other things that happen in the borough. We have amazing cultural stuff that I know you'll probably be aware of, but looking forward, so just now over the Easter we've had the holiday activities fund, which is an absolute vital part for many of our children, and possibly younger people, but actually it sometimes concentrates a lot on children, but that's really because actually we don't get enough people coming forward to deliver on the holiday activities fund. So, I hope that you've read the answer, and it's interesting that it's longer than the question, but, you know, hey-ho. But, you know, please be assured, you heard what Roxana said, young people are the most important part of our borough, but please don't think it's just about youth services. It is about, we need to hear what your views are on housing. We want to know why you don't use the parks. You know, it's about, what about crime? You know, there are so many other things, and I would be only too happy to come and sit and talk to you about what else I'm responsible for environment and sustainable transport. So, you know, I would be really interested in hearing what young people think around our parks and our sustainable transport strategy. So, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Councillor Serres, and thank you, Issa, for asking your questions. The final question is from Charlie Litna, a member of Youth Empowerment Service. In accordance with the rule 11.7, Anaya Riyaz has been nominated to ask the questions on behalf of her. Anaya Riyaz, please ask your questions. I have been registered as a youth, as a young carer since I was 10 years old, and now that I'm 19 years old and still a carer, for the past few months being registered, for the first few months being registered, there was groups targeted for young carers, but then the organisation changed its management during 2016, 2017. I have seen practically no opportunities or support networks for carers like myself, for both adults and youngers. What support is actually available for young and adult carers in Newham? Thank you, Anaya. Can I ask Councillor Ruiz to respond to this? Yeah, thank you, and I hope that Charlie also gets to see the answer to this question, because it's really important. So, for many, many years, Newham actually had a really good carers network, for both young people and adults, and then it stopped. And I don't think anybody really realised that it had stopped. But about two years ago, our public health colleagues actually commissioned three organisations to provide both for children who are carers and adults who are carers. And they came together as a consortium, so there is the renewal programme who works specifically with children, and then we have Age UK and Subco who work with adults. And Charlie is now an adult, so she is entitled to have an assessment as a carer, and I'm sure somebody will get in touch with her, but it wasn't good enough, and I think it is an awful lot better now, but I think there's still a long way to go. We also need to recognise that, actually, we work very much with those young people who come forward and identify as a carer, but I think there are probably hundreds of young people in this borough who don't see themselves as being a carer as such. They may well have to accompany their parents to a GP appointment or to a hospital appointment, and they are, in many ways, also a carer. And we need to really ensure that they are, certainly that schools, because they are bound to be in school, that the schools actually are aware that they have a caring responsibility, because sometimes life can be really tough, and if you're coming into school having had to get up and provide breakfast or whatever facilities for the people at home, then actually, sometimes you should be given a little bit of slack as to why you're not there, dead on half past eight or whatever time, because also schools can offer some sort of support. And we do need to actually, I think, celebrate the number of young people who are carers in this borough, because without them, it would put a huge strain on our already overburdened finances. So, you know, it isn't as good as it should be, but we're getting there. But I think Neil, my colleague, would like to also add, because it comes not just in children's, but it comes under adults, so I hope that's okay. Thank you, Councillor. Sarah, is Councillor Nielsen? Yeah, Councillor Neil Wilson, Lead Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care. The answer, as written, is that we are, as Sarah has already alluded to, developing this whole system approach, because obviously people go through different council systems so often, and there's an awful transition break sometimes from leaving children's services or what is under children's in age groups into adults. So the important thing I just want to highlight is that we are dedicated to a whole system approach to identifying, as it says in the answer, identifying supporting young carers, however we know where they are, as long as we do know where they are, and their families, enhancing collaboration between the council's adults and children's services. That is a really tough piece of work. Dedicated officers are on it. We were in a discussion by Deputy Councillor Mumtaz and I earlier on about carers' actions plan, and most importantly, it's to make certain, as Sarah said, that we've got an information, a careers assessment, a carers' assessment, sorry, from Adults and Health Service in the second but last paragraph. If people are adult carers, they're entitled to a carers' assessment from our Adults and Health Service. And for more information of that, we've got a look at two videos, co-designed and co-produced with carers, because the important message of this council is to be inclusive as possible and to have things done with people, not to them, and to make certain our services are both inclusive, accessible and seamless. So we're working on that. It's a long way to go, but I hope that answers the question fully. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Nilsson, and thank you Anaya. On behalf of Councillor, can I thank all the young people for their participation at this meeting, and it shows that we are very proud of you and you are part of our democracy process. So thank you. And that concludes the item, and I will now move to the next item. Sorry, if you would like to, if you wish to speak, if you wish to speak, you need to get the permission first, please. I have not given you permission. Sorry. Can I stop you there, please? I did declare the first meeting. I'm trying to... You're interrupting the meeting. I'm going to give you a warning. You are interrupting the meeting. I'm going to give you a warning, and I would like to ask the security to remove these people from the chamber, please. Could I ask the... Could I ask the... Could I ask the security to remove them, please? You're interrupting the meeting. We're trying to conduct a business here. Thank you. This is not what we would like to our young people to witness. I'm going to meet... I'm going to join the meeting. I'm going to join the meeting. Thank you very much, the staff, and my apologies to our public gallery presence, and especially our young people. I'm sure this is not what you like to witness. And I will continue the meeting now. Thank you. Now, moving to item 7, announcement by chair, myself. Public engagement. I would like to inform council that I have attended around 12 public engagements in my role as a first citizen, both inside and outside the borough. This includes the number of citizenship ceremonies held at Eastern Town Hall, where I have welcomed the new citizens to our borough. St. George's Day. When St. George's Day falls between the Palm Sunday and the second Sunday of Easter, as it did this year, it's moved to the Monday after the second Sunday after the second Sunday of Easter, which means the day is celebrated today. And I wish all you happy St. George's Day. V-Day. May 8th is the 80th anniversary of V-Day. The council has sponsored a V-Day community grant program. Through this program, community groups could apply for a grant up to 1,000 to fund projects that promote community engagement, historical reflection, inclusivity, and sustainability. There were 17 successful applications. I send all good wishes to residents who are taking part in these celebrations. Thank you. Condolences, Pope Francis. We have all heard the sad news that Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday. May he rest in peace. The Pope had high hopes for young people, and so I'm delighted that tonight at this special themed council, I have a short tribute for the Pope from Karen Watkins and Davin Oku, who attended St. Bonaventure's Catholic School, Forest Gate. I now invite them to address the council. You have up to five minutes. Thank you. Hello, everyone. My name is Devine, and I'm a student from St. Bonaventure's School. It is a real honor to stand before you today, as a student of a Franciscan school, to speak about a truly inspiring figure, Pope Francis. When he became Pope, he chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, whose life of humility, service, and love for the poor continues to inspire millions around the world. As a Franciscan student, we feel a deep connection to the values that both St. Francis and Pope Francis embody. Compassion, simplicity, and a deep respect for all of God's creation. Today, we are proud to share with you a little more about why Pope Francis's leadership is so important, and how his choice of name reflects his vision for the Church and the world. We will be now taking the next few minutes to remember the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Let us remember with gratitude and go forward with purpose. Ladies and gentlemen, friends in faith and service, today we gather to remember and honor a man whose life has been a living sermon, whose very presence in our world has reminded us of what it means to be truly Christian. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has been more than a spiritual leader. He has been a voice for the voiceless, a challenge of injustice, and a symbol of humility in an age that too often worships pride. From the moment he stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in 2013, Pope Francis captured the world's attention, not with grandeur, but with gentleness. He bowed his head and asked the people to pray for him, before offering his own blessing. In that moment, he reminded us that leadership in the Church is not about power, but about servanthood. As Jesus taught in the Gospel of Mark, anyone who wants to be the first must be the very last and the servant of all. Pope Francis chose to live simply, in stark contrast to his predecessors. Francis rejected the apostolic palace and instead stayed in the modest Vatican guesthouse. He wore plain right robes instead of the elaborate gold-layered robes and red attire, traditionally worn by popes, and rode in a modest car, rather than the papal limousine, and often carried his own bag. These weren't gestures for attentions, they were signs of authenticity. He embodied the Gospel he preached. He once said, I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty, because I've been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy, from being confined and from clinging to its own security. These words were not just poetic, they were prophetic. He pushed the church to go out, to reach the margins, to encounter. He walked with the poor, the migrant, the prisoner, and the forgotten. In the face of the least, he saw the face of Christ. He reminded us again and again of the Gospel of Matthew. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me. One of the great themes of Pope Francis' papacy was mercy. He declared a jubilee year of mercy in 2016, opening the holy doors to millions across the world. He reminded us that God's love is not earned, it is given, freely, without condition. He said, the name of God is mercy. And he called us to become people of mercy. People who forgive, who welcome, who heal. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says, Be merciful, just as your father is merciful. Pope Francis helped us to see that mercy is not weakness, it is divine strength. He was also a global moral compass. In the Datto Sea, his groundbreaking encyclical in Ecology, he made it clear that our care for the poor and our care for the planet are deeply connected. He wrote, We are not faced with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather one complex crisis. In doing so, he brought the church into the heart of one of defining challenges of our time. Quoting Psalms 24, he reminded us, The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. We are stewards, not owners. And with that role comes responsibility. To each other, to the future generations, and to creation itself. Pope Francis used his voice for peace and dialogue, and became a bridge-builder in a fractured world. Whether addressing conflicts in the Middle East, tensions in Latin America, or divisions within the church itself, he always urged dialogue over division. Encounter over exclusion. He was never afraid to sit down with those the world might call enemies and say, Let us talk. Let us walk together. Francis was the first Pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula and to Iraq, establishing friendships with Rabbi Abraham Skorka in Argentina, and the Grand Imam of Al-Aiza Ahmed Al-Tayyab, leader of the Jewish and Islamic faith respectively. What also made Francis' papacy historic, is that unlike his predecessors, he met with LGBTQ people from around the world, and listened to their stories. If a person is gay, and seeks God, and has good will, who am I to judge? He asked a report in 2013. Who am I to judge? This is a level of openness that was unthinkable before Pope Francis. It has been a revolutionary compass, a revolution of welcome, and it's changed the church. It's changed the church's relationship with the LGBTQ plus community. Of course, Pope Francis faced heavy criticisms from inside and outside the church, due to his progressive interactions, but through it all, he remained rooted in faith, resilient in hope, and radiant in love. He modelled what it means to follow Christ, not just in word, but in deed. He once said, Peace is not something which can be brought. It is a gift to be sought patiently, and to be crafted through the actions, great and small, of our everyday lives. In a time when walls, physical and emotional, seem to rise, he reminded us of our shared humanity. Now, as we commemorate his life and leadership, we are left with more than memories. We are left with a mission, to continue what he began, to bring the church ever closer to the world, especially to those who suffer, to love not with words or speech, but with action and in truth, as Wanjong tells us to. Thank you. Thank you very much, Karen and Davin, from St. Bon Adventures Catholic School. Thank you for your time. We also extend our condolences to the family and friends of Loljita Nuzi, who was a local community activist, and CEO of Plastor-based Serperas Program, who passed away earlier this year. I invite Councillor Larissa to say a few words in our memory, please. Hello, everyone. I am Councillor Larissa Zielicka, Green Street East Ward. I have some lovely memories of Loljita Nuzi that I really would love to share with you. I met her in 2022, when I was elected as a councillor, and it was in one of my first events where I was invited as a councillor by our Mayor Roxana Fiaz. It was here in Stratford Town Hall, and it was a Lithuanian conference about the importance of learning home heritage language. And I saw Loljita there. She was standing alone. I was standing alone because I didn't know anyone. I felt stressed. So she came to me. She introduced herself. I introduced myself, and she asked me to come to her table, and there were a lot of resources of those that they use in Spressa to teach the Albanian language. So we were talking, and she was smiling after she said so nice words to me, and I felt much more relaxed. And she said to me, oh, we definitely need to exchange our phone numbers. And she did it so professionally. She took my phone and she typed her name, her phone number. When I looked, it was written, Lieta Nuzi Spressa Program. So she didn't see herself separately from Spressa Program, because it was an organization that she created from scratch when she came in 90s here to the UK as a refugee. So it proves how strong she was. She not even only survived herself with her family with two little children, but she created a huge, one of the best charity organizations here in the UK. And when you look now at Spressa Program, and the organizations that work in partnership with Spressa is unbelievable, unbelievable. So again, a few memories about Lieta Nuzi. We met with her again in a couple of weeks, and it was another event. And again, it wasn't an Albanian event. It wasn't an event for the Albanian community. It was a workshop organized by Newham Council. And it was organized specially for the refugees from Ukraine. So again, I saw Lieta. Again, a table full of different leaflets. When I came, they were different leaflets. They were about English courses that they do in Spressa, about teaching assistant courses that they deliver in Spressa, and not only for the Albanian, for people from the Albanian community, but for people from different communities. So we started speaking again. And I remember her conversation with a lady from Ukraine who was a doctor. I remember because I was translating. And that lady was so stressed. She was so upset. She was actually, she was saying, Oh, what do I do here? I don't know the language. I'm a doctor. I've never done anything in my life just only treating people. And Lieta said, Look, all people here in this country know English. But a little part of them can work as doctors. You have education. You have experience. You have passion. And now you have to do a tiny part to learn the language. And we in Spressa will help you. So she wasn't focused only on the Albanian community, but on the communities and people who really needed help and support. I can speak hours and hours about Lulia Tanuzi. Do I have time chair? I'm afraid no. No. Okay. One little thing to say, and that's actually, it will be like two statements to my colleagues. I haven't mentioned something extraordinary about Lulia Tanuzi. For example, Oh, she created a space rocket that took off from here in Newham. And we are so proud. No, she was a nice person with a kind heart, who really wanted to support and to help people. So a statement to myself, to all of us. She didn't have so many opportunities to help people. But we do. We have. We have opportunities. We have power. So I would encourage all my colleagues to work harder to support our residents and to advocate for them. Next statement. A short one. Now, Spresa program needs a lot of support. So I would encourage all my colleagues to contact them and to ask. And they have Mansfield House. They are actually the only community from Eastern Europe who have their own building here in Plasto. And Council Simon Rush came a few times. Yeah. And met with them. So I would encourage to contact them and to ask if they need some support from us. And one, the last thing. As a resident, as a person, I'm so proud that I had such a fabulous friend. As a councillor, I'm so proud that Spresa program and Mansfield House is in Newham. And as a member of the Labour Party, I'm so proud that she always supported Labour. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. I ask those who can stand for a minute of silence in memory of Lulijita Nuzi and His Holiness Pope Francis. Thank you. I'm now moving to item 8, announcement by the Mayor Roxanne Affairs. I invite Mayor Roxanne Affairs to address the Council to make an announcement. We have up to 10 minutes. Thank you very much. And apologies if I fast speed at some points as we count down to the final minute, because I have a propensity to talk a lot. But that's not a bad thing. And I would encourage young people to carry on talking, because your voice matters. Look, firstly, I just wanted to do a special shout-out to the amazing young people in this room. Thank you, Devine and Kieran, for your really beautiful words about the late His Holiness Pope Francis, to the young people from the Race Equality Network here in Newham, to the pupils from Tommash, who allowed me to sign the book first, and then we took a great photo for our young people, hurtling into adulthood, who have had care experience with us. And I hope that you feel better supported as you navigate through life. And then a special thank you and shout-out to the wonderful young person in the room, who I have watched grow up since she was a tiny little thing. So if Esme, you could kindly just come to the floor, and I will wave at you, and then you can wave back at me. And I just wanted to say thank you so much, precious Esme, for being here with us tonight. Thank you. Bliss. Bliss. So, look, a few things first. Obviously, the saddest of news with the news that His Holiness Pope Francis passed on Easter Monday, and I share the deep sadness of our Catholic community here in Newham and around the world at His death. We rightly should be honouring and remembering His life, His legacy, and His compassion for the poor. And it is His compassion for the poor that really struck me. And for those of you that read my statement, you will have noted that I referred to some words that He had said. He talked often about us being blind to the poor and how we needed to go to the underground. And what he meant by that is for us as people of faith, and also for those of us in our communities that are not of faith, but are for humanity, let's go into the underground, let's roll up our sleeves, get our hands dirty, see the reality, the humanity around the world face because of poverty, and that includes children and young people. And that's the reason why tonight's theme, Our Young People, Our Future, members all know is a subject matter that is very close to my heart. It's been the centrepiece of my administration since day one, Our Amazing Young People. And the presence of young people here tonight is really important. It's a reminder to all of us why we are here and who we are here to serve, even if they don't have a vote yet. Young people are our energy, our potential, and our future. We are right in this borough's future with them, not for them. We need to be involved in them. Our borough is home to one of the largest and most diverse young populations in the country with an incredible energy, dynamism, creativity, and innovation. But it also brings responsibility for us as adults and the obligations that we have to deliver for them. We must keep pace with housing. We heard the protest earlier. Yes, it is right that people protest about the conditions that our young kids are having to endure in temporary accommodation, in small box rooms in hotels, in council homes that are not fit for purpose. And that's the reason why I am driven. It's the reason why, alongside my cabinet and so many council members, we are driven to change things. We need to keep pace with the potential of our young people. And that includes ensuring that we make Newham the best place for them to grow up. And as someone who was raised in Newham and who's accessed our youth provision at the former known Tom Allen Arts Centre, I will never stop working to ensure that our young people have the best opportunities possible. One of my joys is visiting our fantastic youth zone, seeing young people laughing, learning, sharing, and trying new things. But what strikes me most is the atmosphere, a sense of belonging, of being somewhere where it's okay to be yourself and to grow into who you want to be. That's what our youth spaces are for. And they only work because young people help shape them, use them, and bring them to life. And none of this happens without our treasured youth workers. They're mentors, supporters, and in many ways, an extension of family. They not only change lives, but save them. So I wanted to say thank you to all of our youth workers, but also our children and young people's social workers. Last month, I spoke at the National Youth Agency Work Conference, and I spoke about how, as a country, we must secure a sustainable future for youth work, and that youth workers and youth zones must be part of the government's upcoming national youth strategy, which will be co-designed with young people. It was fantastic to see how much this was shared and agreed by others. I've also am delighted, and as part of a first series of announcements I wanted to make, I'm delighted that the government officials from the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport have agreed to visit Newham and see firsthand our approach to youth services and to hear directly from our young people to help them form their thinking as they develop the national strategy with young people. They will see the borough that puts our young people first, not in theory, but in practice. But we know that we can always do more to support and engage our young people, and it's only through engaging our young people that we can start to write the next chapter as a borough, and that requires our young people, those that are here tonight, and those that, for whatever reason, didn't hear about this evening or thinks politics doesn't matter. Politics does. Politics needs you. Politics needs you because you are going to be shaping Newham's future. I wanted to add that we want our young people to see Newham as a place of potential somewhere to put down roots, and that's why we're doing more than ever to make opportunities visible and accessible. It's the reason why I'm pleased to announce that I have accepted a role in the race, equity, and employment and His Royal Highness' Business in the Communities Endeavour. It's a race, equity, and employment taskforce, and it's going to be focused on how to increase employment opportunities for young people between the ages of 16 and 24. It's going to be chaired by Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, and our first meeting is next week. And I give you this promise to the young people in this room that I will always talk frequently, loudly, clearly, and shout from the rooftops about the opportunities that we want for you. I'm also pleased to announce, and this is relevant in the context of the cost of living crisis facing so many households, households that, because of financial pressures, are living really precarious lives and the impact that that has on children. I'm pleased to announce this evening that, in regards to our Newham Money Service, we've secured £700,000 to ensure that the Our Newham Money Service is able to continue to offer targeted early intervention to prevent vulnerable households falling into crisis or further crisis. This will go a long way in helping our children, young people, whose mothers, fathers, carers, need to work extra hours, more jobs, in order to survive. So I trust that this is something that members will be appreciative of. I'm going to conclude by saying that to all of those young people, both in this room, those that may be watching, and albeit I don't think yet we broadcast either on X Live, Snapchat, or TikTok, it's important to say that your ambition matters, your health and well-being matters, your ability to thrive mentally, emotionally, and socially matters. They are all central to our vision, and everything that we do, from early intervention to youth empowerment, from mental health services to skills training, is about making sure that when you look ahead, you see a future that feels exciting and achievable, and a future that feels exciting and achievable here in Newham. And none of this is ours to deliver alone. It belongs to you. The future of Newham is not a plan we hand down. It's a shared endeavor that we both shape with you. One that we build together step by step, decision by decision. So keep sharing up, keep speaking out, keep asking questions, hold us to account. Keep demanding more from us and from yourselves. Because when young people lead, when you are heard, and when your ideas shape our actions, this borough becomes not just a place to live, but a place to belong. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Ruxan Affairs. I'm now moving to item 9, update from cabinet members. Any members of the cabinet who wishes to update council will be allowed. to speak, there shall be no debate or questions allowed. Does any member of the cabinet who wishes to speak? You will be allowed to speak up to three minutes. Thank you. Councillor Miros Patel, Deputy Cabinet Member. Councillor Miros Patel, Deputy Cabinet Member for the Environment, I'd like to thank the young people that have come here today and thank the colleagues in this room for providing such insights. In terms of young people and the investments that would be making in Newham, most recently and notably, over £1 million was used to transform Little Wilford Park, a new cafe for residents for the summer. And by the summer, the park will feature a new kiosk cafe, revamped toilets, a new play area for under 11s, a new play area for older children, six plus, new and revamped gym equipment, new seating and a pergola. Along with that, we've also been revamping our outdoor gym equipment as well, such as Stratford Park and also updated and renewed our play equipment in Priory Park too. Something that I was actually looking at, which I wanted to speak to, because I have a minute and a half left, which was really interesting, I was going to bring this up later, but I think this is a good juncture, actually. There's a lot of things that we do in the East London Waste Authority, which I'm the chair of, such as school swaps. So I'm not sure if the young people in this room have actually benefited from that, but that's something that we actually provide and facilitate as well, which saves money over the long, you know, over the long run. School uniforms are really expensive. I went to Lister school, actually, and my PE kit wasn't that expensive, but now they have new balanced PE kits, which cost in excess of about £140. Children like myself actually grew really quickly. I haven't grew more than about two inches since I was about 15, so I was quite lucky, but others weren't as fortunate. So this is something, one of many things I could explain, repair cafes where you can take any electrical item or any piece of clothing and you can actually get it repaired for free. And these things are available to everyone in Newham and across the East London Waste Authority boroughs like Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham and Havering. So, as I said, I could go on, but I won't. I've got 10 seconds left, but I'll give away. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Miraz Patel. I appreciate that. Any other Cabinet members wish to speak? Thank you very much. I'm now moving to item 10, announcement by the Chief Executive. I invite Abiva Goh, Chief Executive, to make an announcement, please. Good evening, all. Could we just clap for the young people? Because it's not easy to come and speak on a mic and just to be in the room. So... APPLAUSE Sorry, we didn't get to do that before, but I just wanted to thank you, all the young people that are here, whether you are speaking or not, and for the groups that supported other young people to be in the room. Thank you on behalf of myself and the officers of the Council. We're listening, and we really appreciate you being part of today's special meeting. I also wanted to just point out, for those in the chamber, you'll see the beautiful smiling faces around the room and the exhibition that we have around SMAR with some incredible young people. So please, as you're walking in the gallery and downstairs, please take note. So just thank you again to the young people that are here and the groups that have supported them to be here on behalf of the officers of the Council. Thank you, Abhi, Mungo. I'm now moving to item 11. We now return to item 11, all of the scrutiny program and future commissions. Councillor McHulman's update is outlined from the page 31 on the published agenda. Councillor McHulman, you have up to five minutes to present your report, with another five minutes allocated to total for posing and answering questions. Thank you. Mother Chair Scrutiny does appreciate the young people who attended the Council this evening and those who took part. I do recognize some of them in the effort in coming here this evening. You have seen my report contained in the published papers. Overview and Scrutiny has scored into date five decisions of Cabinet, namely the Royal Victoria Dock Bridge, Carpenters Estate, People Powered Places, Popular Living Business Plan. Concerning the popular and living call-in, we made clear constructive recommendation. A five-year strategic business plan, a moratorium on new development, stronger sequences between subsidiaries and the Council budget setting, and even a forensic audit. On Thursday, we called in the Juniper Venture Key Officers' Decision of 15th April, 2025. We are particularly concerned about the possibility of a two-tier workforce and the potential challenges. Call-in are part of the LT Challenge to ensure robust decision-making. We have called in these decisions because we recognize that there is a need for safeguarding public money, fairness, clarity, rigour, and accountability. Madam Chair, this is scrutiny making a difference. Securing better governance, stronger financial stewardship, and a healthy democracy. Across the thematic commission, the same is true. The Crime, Environment, and Transport Commission is owed in Newham Council to account on sustainable transport, major projects, parking policy, ensuring that ambition is matched by delivery. Education, Children, and Young People's Commission is challenging disparity in school attainment, exclusion, and safeguarding. The LT and Agda Social Care Commission is scrutinizing community mental health inequalities, and leisure access, and our procedures for future CEQC inspections. The Housing and Regeneration Commission is examining how we improve our housing management and response to regulations. All this work underscores the same point. Scrutinies matters. I know that the discussion in scrutiny meetings can be tough. Challenge is never easy. But good scrutiny ensures that decisions we make here and in the various places solve the residents' force, not systems. Scrutiny is about testing, questioning, and shaping. And when it works well, it improves the very decision that is critical. On 12th of May, the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny will lead a session on how we can best embed our learning from the last summer workshops as part of the LGA Action Plan for Newham Council. This session will underpin the roadmap we need to move forward. Finally, I would like to leave you with an affirmation that scrutiny is not just an add-on to our democracy. It is the engine of good, healthy democracy, ensuring robust decision, accountability, and transparency. And our new residence deserves much less. Thank you. Thank you very much, Councillor McLemont. Councillor Lee Carlin, are you coming to the accent? My apologies. My apologies. I did mention at the beginning of the meeting that I will be taking the agenda 14 before 11. And my apologies, but the young people need to go home. Therefore, I will be taking the questions later after the agenda of 14. So, I will allow the agenda item to come first, the theme report of our young people, our future. As indicated earlier, the next item will be considered as 14 theme report, our young people, our future. The report is outlined on the supplementary agenda. In accordance with the Council Procedures Rules 2.6a, the mayor or the relevant cabinet member has seven minutes in which to present a motion on the theme, plan, strategy, or policy. I call upon Councillor Sarah Ruiz to speak to the report or open the debate. I'm speaking. Oh, you're speaking. Ma. Is it done before? Yes. I think the mayor is going to start. I have informed that now. Thank you, Councillor Sarah Ruiz. I will invite Mayor Roxanna Fiers to open the report. Thank you. Thank you very much, Chair and colleagues. I know that this was published as a supplementary agenda on Friday, but I really trust that you've had a chance to read the detail. And I'll come to the all-important recommendations shortly. But the substantive point that I wanted to make with regards to this report is the incredible scale and richness of what it is that we're mobilizing through the Council and across the borough for our children and young people. You will have heard from some of the commentary already during the course of this evening through contributions of our young people asking questions as members of the public through some of the other commentary that has been made by cabinet members or by deputy cabinet members as it relates to the things that we are doing. And this report sets out in very clear terms across a number of important areas. The key things that we are doing. So section three talks about Noom's best in class youth empowerment service. It talks to how it's going to help support the mobilization of our young people in that all important national conversation that the government has announced as it relates to the development of a once in a generation opportunity for young people to be at the heart of shaping national strategy as it relates to youth service work. You'll also note the section as it relates to section five, the all important area of ensuring that our young people are healthy, are well, are happy. All of that conforms to our requirements and our demand for our organization that is Noom Council that it delivers effectively for all of our children. And it's not just about the response to the statutory and rightly statutory requirements of keeping them safe, keeping them away from harm, ensuring that those kids that need an intervention either in the context of being a child in need or a child in care, they're absolutely yes supported. But it's also about ensuring that we hold to account our schools and all the other agencies that our young people interface with because we cannot allow for the wider public sector or the private sector to let them down or to give up on them. Every single child has a promise of a bright future. And if that is not being met, that is our failure. We often hear that it takes a village to raise a child. Where is the village? For too long, the village has been absent. We've got adults constantly critiquing, challenging bad behavior of young people. But what about the supportive adults in a young person's life? What about the supportive environments that are enabling of our children, be they in our schools, be they in our youth zones, be they in our parks? It shouldn't be tolerated that our children and young people, if they reach a particular age, they feel fearful about travelling to another part of our borough. That's not acceptable. We have all been horrified at the Netflix drama series, Adolescent. And it's provided us a real insight into the generational challenges facing this generation of young people. This report also talks about the opportunity offer that we've got to accelerate in the area of skills and employment. And it talks about the opportunity that we can seize for our young people in the context of the changes being made by a national labour government through the youth guarantee for a job, work experience, paid job for every single 18 and 21 year old. And also about the really important changes being made to apprenticeships in the context of a new growth and skills levy. And finally, just wanted to draw your attention to the recommendations that are set out on page number six. That's big page number six. And these are really important. And I wanted to also just show and highlight that on 2.7, we'll be looking, calling for an update report to be brought back to full council. And hopefully at that time, amongst an audience of even more younger people to show them in a strong evidence way that we are delivering. Our mantra is building a fairer newham. Our vision, our dream, our aspiration, our ambition is to make newham the best place in the world for a child and young person to grow up. And this is testament to how we are doing it. There's more to come, there's more to do, but we are determined and we are committed. And on that note, through the chair, I'll pass over to Councillor Sarah Ruiz. Thank you, Mayor Ruxanoff, yes. Councillor Sarah Ruiz. Thank you. I hope that I'll be given more than a minute, because I've got more to say. You are seconding, so you have three minutes. Oh, great. Wonderful. Thank you very much. Good evening. Yes, Councillor Sarah Ruiz, and I'm the Cabinet Lead for Environment, Sustainable Transport, Children's Services and Education. And firstly, thank you. I recognise some familiar faces who have joined us this evening. I don't think we've ever had such a full public gallery, so thank you. You will have heard from Roxana about the work with our young people across our borough, but I'd like to talk specifically around two areas of work that our children and young people services do to ensure that our children and young people are safe, happy and live fulfilled lives. Earlier this year, we launched our youth safety strategy for years 25 to 28, that's calendar years, not age years, built on six core principles. The first was working in partnership, tackling racism, inequality and disproportionality, which gives me an opportunity to shout out to the boys from the Smiling Boys project. Yes, you, who also helped sign in tonight. You'll see their pictures, beautiful pictures around the hall. This was, oh, look, now I've lost it. This was a project, Charlene, could you hold that? Yeah. Sorry, this was a project, I had it all here just now, that was a creative arts project using photography, poetry, film and podcasts to address the mental health needs of black boys and challenge the negative portrayal of this demographic in the media. So, it was an amazing project and they do, they don't smile all the time, but actually, what beautiful pictures, so thank you for that. Prevent and intervention, early support and protection, disrupt and deter and create safer spaces. And the creating safer spaces, better give a shout out or I won't, to the My Ends Partnership, which is a partnership of the voluntary sector delivering for young people at risk of offending criminal exploitation. And or becoming involved in violent crime. All of those feed into our youth safety strategy. And then next, for those of you who know me will know that I've had a particular interest in our care leavers. So, when I became cabinet lead in 2019, our care leavers service was in a very poor way. Our local offer was nonexistent, it only applied to people who actually, there was a little clique of people that got various things. But it's much more fair now. And we have actually 540 care leavers. And so you are parents, corporate parents, to 540 young people, as well as other children who are in the children in need and children in care. So, you have every opportunity to support our young people. Thank you, councillor Saruiz. I'm sorry, your time is out. Thank you. Thank you. In accordance with rules of 2.5 and 2.6 B, as approved by the chief executive, the council may hear submission written or from the expert community groups or local representatives, which relates specifically to the theme. The theme. Tonight, we have representation from some of Newham's youth participation group. I invite them to approach the lectern and we'll have five minutes to present your evidence. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Zahra and I'm one of the youth MPs representing Newham on the UK Youth Parliament. I'm going to ask the rest of the group to introduce themselves now. Hello, everyone. My name is Kende and my pronouns is she, her. Hello, everyone. My name is Obed and my pronouns are he, him. My name is Rashaun and my pronouns are he, him. My name is Rashaun and my pronouns are he, him. My name is Rashaun and my pronouns are he, him. We are all a part of the youth empowerment service and we are here today to speak about what we have been a part of through being involved in the youth empowerment services. I've worked with officers in the council to make care experience a protective characteristic. We now have a perfect parenting board which is young person led and I have got onto a youth work apprenticeship. I became a speak person for a national campaign to improve political literacy and call for more diversity in our politicians. This led to the first mass election for under-18s and 23,000 young people took part. Through Sharp for Success, I campaigned to challenge employers' attitude around disability to help more disabled young people into work. As a result, there will be an industry event for the VNA, UCL and Westfield to see what can be done. Can I ask you to pause for a while while the sound has been blocked? Thank you. I'm sorry. Oh, okay. Give it one minute. Oh, no, no, don't go. Just stay here. We're going to give you the opportunity to start again because we didn't get to hear you. Thank you. Thank you. I think you can continue. Thank you. My point is I campaigned to challenge employers' attitude around disability to help young disabled people into work. As a result, there will be an industry event for VNA, UCL and Westfield to see what can be done to increase opportunities. Thank you. Thank you. I have produced youth citizens' assemblies as part of our Today Not To My program, the most recent of which was run last Friday with nearly 200 young people taking part, which looked at youth safety online. I have stood up in Parliament and spoken in favour of VOLTS 416 and also championing the UKYP priority of tackling period dignity. As a youth MP, I am passionate about making sure young people's voices are heard and valued to make sure that there is meaningful change. I get to listen to what young people are saying from across the borough through the People Parliament and Youth Citizens Assembly. Recently, some of the things young people have asked for include empowering youth services and voices, lowering the voting age to 15 or 16, truly listening to young people's ideas and experiences, supporting freedom of self-expression for all young people, prioritising wellbeing and mental health, increasing emotional support services in schools and communities, organising mental health workshops and counselling sessions and addressing young people's fears about the future, especially regarding climate change, creating safer communities, reducing knife crimes and gang violence, getting more young people off the streets through jobs, activities and support, banning harmful street selling by legalising and regulating cannabis safely, building vibrant youth spaces, investing in more youth club centres and safe community spaces like skate parks, expanding free culture activities and evening learning sessions and creating more greener spaces around communities like Newham and increasing support for all young people. Ensuring homes for all is such an important thing, tackling homelessness among young adults, making housing more affordable and accessible and championing equality and inclusion, ensuring there is an equal pay for women and men, challenging stereotypes and tackling racism, providing more support and job opportunities for people with disabilities, supporting immigrant young people with language learning, integration and settling into the community. All of this is being fed into the National Youth Agency strategy. All of this wouldn't happen without us being able to walk through the doors of a youth centre and speaking to our local youth workers. By investing in a voice and the youth service, we are not only catering for young people up to the age of 19, but giving young people a start to their adult life. Roshan is now going to read out a poem by one of our members, Theo, who talks about what youth centres have meant to him. Thank you. Loneliness. It's a thing solved by one conversation. We need congregation and less of hiding problems, feeling terrible until you hear congratulations. The solution is a youth centre where young minds are set free. A place where if you feel trapped or alone, someone's there to hear your plea. A place more like a palace, home or heaven. A temple of acceptance, accomplishment and a chance to grow. Youth centres are what we need. With one in five children experiencing bad mental health, we need a place where we can ask for help. We need a place to escape and exchange. Going through the strains of losing a friend, figuring things out, chasing forlorn hopes for a chance to feel happier. Youth centres are the solution to a world black and dark. Youth centres light up the world like streetlights. This is what we need. Youth centres. Thank you everyone for listening and have a nice evening. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your representation. Now I move to the debate. Does any member want to speak? Councillor Karleen Liebukwui. Councillor Blossom next. Thank you Chair. Councillor Karleen Liebukwui, Palastos South. Thank you everyone for the lovely evening that we're having. But first I do want to say thank you to the young people that have attended this evening. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being heard. But more importantly, thank you for your thoughts and your wants from us, the Council. So I just want to talk a little bit about our themed report this evening. This report comes to Council tonight, but please don't think that this is just it. The work goes on behind the scenes day in and day out, led by our Cabinet members, officers and others of this Council. We have heard from our young people this evening and we understand what they are asking. We understand that they want better outcomes for themselves and it's our duty to make sure this happens. We made clear commitments when we came into this Council back in May of 2018, led by Mayor Roxana Fiaz about this being a borough that was going to be the best place for a young person to grow up. Throughout this borough, youth provision, whether it's statutory, voluntary community or faith sector or uniformed youth programmes, are dedicated to provide good services to our young people. Our youth justice service is there not only just to support but to educate. It enables our young people to divert from criminality and build positive futures no matter what. We are deeply aware of the disproportionality faced by our black and brown children and young people of this borough. And some of those young people are here this evening who presented at our scrutiny committees to talk about their lived experiences. We have invested time, we have invested effort, we have invested the things that are needed in order to do the necessary deep dives into the systematic issues facing them. If Sarah had had the opportunity to finish, she would have spoken about where we have come from and where we are going. Our children are important. They are our future leaders, they are our future young people, they are our future adults. And they matter no matter what. A few years ago, our young people worked tirelessly through the Children in Care Council and the Corporate Parenting Board to develop a Children and Young People's Charter. That charter is to ensure that all young people are part of the conversation. That we as deliverers of services, us as policy makers are listening to what it is that they want when they want it. So this evening I would like to take the opportunity to note the recommendations of this report. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Councillor Tali. I now invite Councillor Blossom Young. Thank you Chair. Councillor Blossom Young, Becton Ward and Cabinet Member for Housing, Landlord and Tenant Experience Improvements. I want to echo the thanks of colleagues to young people who have presented this evening. And I particularly wanted to thank Issa and Zahra and the Youth Empowerment Service. Many years ago, I know I don't look old enough, I was part of a group of adults at the UK Youth Parliament, supporting members of Youth Parliament to convince Parliament to have the right to sit in the House of Commons Chamber. And I was privileged to be in the Chamber for that first debate. So it is wonderful to see 15 years later that young people from Newham are representing and holding such important issues and continuing to convince Parliament of the importance of this. So I really wanted to thank you for coming and continuing to advocate and to all the young people who are shaping our services, not just our youth empowerment services, but our housing services, our park services across the board. And that element of us as councillors listening to young people and shaping services to meet their needs is really important. You know, I've worked in youth work for a very long time before I worked in housing. And I know that there are loads of different models for how we deliver services. And I know that the youth services model and the youth zones model in Newham is a really strong model. It's about wraparound services. It's about early intervention. It's a place where and places where young people can get employment advice, transferable skills, mental health support, career carers support, volunteering opportunities and plugging in to all of the wider services that councils provide. And that's what this administration is delivering. And that is so important. It's evidence based and it's about making real impacts for the young people of this borough. So I really commend this report to colleagues and encourage you to support it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Blossom Young. Now I invite Councillor Steve Brasher. Thank you, Chair. And thank you, young people for coming. And I must declare an interest. I once was a young person too. The government have announced that there's going to be 1.5 million homes built over the course of the next years. And I wanted to ask the young people if they knew who was going to build these homes. It's you. You are the people. You are the future of the building. But building a strong community and building homes takes more than just promises. It takes money. And in order to do that, you need sound governance. That's why the local government, that's why the government via Chancellor Rachel Reeves, announced 60,000 more jobs in engineering, bricklaying, electrical, carpenters, plumbers. We've announced £600 million investment in further education colleges to train these young people. They've announced £100 million to fund 10 new technical excellence colleges. These are all for you, our young people. And the HUD's £165 million of new funding to help colleges deliver more construction courses. £132 million for finding 40,000 industry placements to support MVQs, BTECs, T-Levels and advanced apprenticeships. And new foundation apprenticeships backed by £40 million investment. These are government choices. These are choices our government has made. And you can't do any of those choices if you don't have sound governance and sound finances. Thank you. Thank you. Now I would like to invite Councillor Caroline Adagia. Good evening all. Councillor Caroline Adagia, Deputy Cabinet for Business, Communities Aware and World Building. I just want to welcome you all. I want to say thank you for being an advocate for the youths. OK. And I want to, I would love to invite you all to the apprenticeship for next year. Will be a date with you guys. And I'm going to tell you the benefit of the apprenticeship. Thank you. We, we, we, we, um, we're empowering the, the next generation through apprenticeship fair. In February 2025, we proudly hosted an annual apprenticeship, um, event that actually welcomed over 1,400 residents, 300 children from across Newham schools. We also had over 30 employers around who were there to offer career advice and opportunity to those who were available for it. We also, um, offer apprenticeship to unique blend and experience, practical skills, mentorship, traditional education pathway, um, that always leads to several benefits, bridge of the skills gap, also earning whilst you're learning, mentoring and networking. That's the purpose of this. And also advising on career exploitation. Apprenticeship is always, uh, um, um, a service that we offer that allows you to share your wisdom, insight, gain, gains through your career and not, you know, nurturing inclusive environment, as well as ensuring that opportunity are accessible to all diversity and young people. So I will encourage you all next year, please attend the apprenticeship fair, and you will, I know you will meet several employers who might be able to advise and support you in your pathway. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Karanadija. Now I would like to invite Councillor Rui Dasgupta. Uh, thank you so much, uh, Chair, for allowing me to speak on this very important, uh, report. Uh, what an amazing night to be here, celebrating the unstoppable energy, passion, and power of the young people in Newham. Thank you so much for your kind words. And I know it takes a lot of courage coming here, a space like this and speaking to all of us, but it is very sobering and it has left a lot for us to think about. This borough has always been a place of strength, of dreams and diversity. And this report and the remarks that have been made today shine a bright light on the incredible contributions that our young people are making. Through the work of the Youth Empowerment Service, young people are not just participating, they are taking the lead. They are standing proud, they are speaking up, and they are shaping a Newham that is inclusive. I recently had the opportunity to see the work of CAIA, a youth group that is based in Stratford during LGBT History Month, where they put together a diverse and strong programme celebrating identity, resilience, and youth power. As the Deputy Cabinet Member for Social Justice and Equalities, it would be remiss of me not to mention that we know that today across the UK, LGBT young people still face significant challenge. Research shows that almost half of trans young people have experienced hate crime. That's a reality we cannot and will not ignore. In a climate where national debates too often question their very existence, our young people here in Newham are sending a very different message. As the young speaker from St Bones mentioned in relation to the late Pope about his support for LGBT people, our young people here in Newham are too transcending a strong message. You're welcome, you're valued, you belong. Through the bold leadership of our youth services in co-partnership with various organisations, young people in our borough are seeing are the deep roots of partnership across Newham. Not just creating programmes but building alliances. Therefore the report's recommendation of formalising youth participation practice through participatory democracy that is inclusive and addressing the issues of disproportionality is already within action. Across the different youth zones in Stratford, Shipman, Little Ilford, Forest Gate, Becton and the detached team, the staff and young people who are attending these zones have showed that our administration has a commitment to creating spaces where young people's full selves with all their complexity, joy and struggle are not merely included but are fundamental to how we imagine structure and share space. Newham's young people are showing us that alliances are not an extra but they are rather the foundation. This is not just community work but this is life-saving work and this is the Newham that we are proud to build together. As we celebrate 60 years of Newham and as I look ahead, I will say this out loud and clear. Our young people, in all their diversity and in all their identities, are not just the future, they are the now. I commend this report. Thank you Councillor Rudash Gupta. Now I'd like to invite Councillor Anne Easter. I'm Anne Easter, one of the councillors for Royal Albert Ward and the Commissioner for Interfaith Engagement and Interreligious Dialogue. And I thought you might like to know a little bit about young people and faith. For the past couple of terms, I've been part of a project which is working at debunking religious stereotypes. I bet you can't guess which stereotype I'm debunking but there. And I've been so impressed as I've gone round to the different schools at the obvious importance of faith to our young people. We've already heard an incredibly impressive eulogy to His Holiness Pope Francis from two of our young people. I've seen the motivation that faith gives our young people in charitable giving and some really weird and wacky things they've done to raise money. But that's all part of the fun. I've seen evidence of volunteering and we know how valuable that is towards work and work experience. But also I've learnt how young people like to learn about faith. Did you know that three quarters of our year 11s, that's about 3,000 people, sat GCSE religious studies last year. And of those, 79% achieved grades 9 to 4. That is hugely impressive, I think. I perhaps ought to add that as an ordained priest, I haven't got GCSE RS. So perhaps that's something I ought to get on with at some point when I've got a few minutes. But that was 7% higher than the national average. It means that our young people care about faith, that they have an interest, that it motivates, encourages and supports them. And I'm proud to be part of a borough which supports young people in every aspect of their lives. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other members who wish to speak? Thank you. Mayor, you have the right to reply as a mover of the reporter. Would you wish to speak? You have up to another three minutes. How many minutes? Three minutes. Okay, I'm going to start everyone and get your sleeping costumes on. I'm only kidding. Colleagues, look, I've been really heartened by the contributions by members this evening as a reaffirmation of our enduring commitment to our children and young people. And I trust that for those young people that are in this really impressive historical space, one that has seen through the test of time so many important decisions being made for people, be they for women, be they for those that are marginalized, be they for the working class, that we can demonstrate to you that we want for your voice to be at the heart of what we do. And that brings me on to two final important points that I wanted to raise. One is in regards to the recommendations because they are really, really important. And there's one in particular that I want to draw out. But I wanted to, in the first instance, invite everyone to look at section 3.7, the last bullet point where it talks about equity and inclusion. There is an omission of two words. So if I can ask, with the respect of the chair, at the end of the first sentence, which currently has a full stop after the word needs, if we could include or insert and disabilities, full stop. But the thing that I, in particular, wanted to draw everyone's attention to is in that paragraph, that last bullet point, section 3.7 on big page number eight, as printed, or small six, there's the reference to equity and inclusion. The service focuses, and this is the Youth Empowerment Service, and it has to be something that we should be deeply proud of, both of the young people that are at the heart of that youth service, but also the practitioners who are experienced, who are kind, who are loving, and who are courageous, because it says in this sentence, the service focuses on inclusivity by supporting marginalised groups, including children in clear, and, my emphasis, LGBTQIA plus youth, and those with special educational needs and disabilities, as amended. By promoting intersectional participation, YES ensures that diverse voices are heard and valued, reflecting the national strategy's commitment to equity. Well, actually, when it comes to LGBTQIA plus youth, in light of the Supreme Court decision last week, actually, a national government's commitment to a national strategy, co-designed, co-produced by young people, can't possibly be equitable if, in the context of trans identity, trans rights, determinations have been made by the Supreme Court. I want to say, this is really important, if I may, it's profoundly important, and it goes to the heart of our equality agenda. I want to say that our Youth Empowerment Service should be commended for enabling, supporting, and protecting our young people who identify within this category, and who are trans, and I want for them to continue supporting those young people that are navigating this part of their identity. I'm going to conclude by finally drawing on what I think is a profoundly important recommendation, amongst all the important recommendations. But it states here that the Council is called to put into practice the involvement of young people at every level of its decision-making, and through its, our Newham's Future Place Partnership Innovation Lab, and advocate that its borough partners, including the police, health, schools, and local businesses, do the same. And to support the formalising in 2.3 of youth participation practice and infrastructure across all Council services, to ensure that the voice of children and young people are heard and involved. And what that means is ensuring that we do not, as an organisation, do tick-box exercises, that we're not performative, but we are genuine. So I commend this report for members to wholeheartedly endorse. Thank you. Thank you. We'll now move to the recommendation which I outlined on the page 6 of Supplementary Agenda 2. All those in favour, please raise your hand. Thank you. Thank you. All those against, please raise your hand. Any abstentions? Thank you. The report has been approved. Thank you very much. We now return to item 11 of the scrutiny programme and future commissions where the question part was posed. So I would like to hear from the members who wish to ask questions. Please raise your hand. Councillor Higgins, Nate Higgins. Thank you, Chair. Councillor Nate Higgins, Stratford Olympic Park, and leader of the Green Group. In January 2023, full council unanimously passed my Newham Greens motion in solidarity with our transgender community. We stated clearly, trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary people are non-binary. And we condemn the rising tide of transphobia across the UK. Since then, hatred and fear have only grown. The Supreme Court's recent ruling seeks to erase trans women from the Equality Act's protections for women, despite the intentions of those who wrote it. The so-called Equalities and Human Rights Commission has issued interim guidance that has caused real fear that trans people will be pushed out of public life altogether. Greens stand unwavering in support of trans rights and self-ID. To allow trans people to live lives free from harassment in the gender they know themselves to be, we will not abandon our trans siblings, especially here in Newham, which has the largest proportion of trans people in the country. This guidance must be withdrawn. My motion also called for scrutiny to review the barriers trans and non-binary people face in healthcare. Two years later, this still hasn't happened. Will you commit to finally delivering this urgently needed review in the next year? Thank you. Councillor Tonya McClellman. Thank you, mate, for your question. At this stage, I don't even know whether I'll be standing there next year. However, we have heard your ask, and what I will do is ensure that it is placed in the work program for discussion. And I know you are a vocalist in scrutiny. All of the Greens are very active in scrutiny, and I know you would push for it to be included in the work program. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Mayor Roxana Fiers. Thank you very much, Chair. I wanted to just build on the contribution by Councillor Nate Higgins, and I wanted to also commend Councillor McClellman for ensuring, or agreeing to ensure, the issue of health equity as it relates to our trans community here in Newham, in the health system locally, it will be an area of examination. And I wanted to just add to that, in my role as the Chair of the Newham Health and Wellbeing Board, I give an additional commitment, and I appreciate this is not scrutiny, but I think this is such an important issue that I give a commitment in line with our health equity pledge promise practice that we additionally on the Statutory Health and Wellbeing Board will look into the matter as well. And I open up the invitation to all those members and members of staff at Council, and those interested members of our trans community in our localities, to have a series of conversations with me in terms of what the impediments issues are as it relates to equal access for them in our health system. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any questions? No, thank you very much. I now move to item 12, update from Newham Partners. For our partners update this evening, I am pleased to welcome Dr Khalid Ahmed. And my apologies for delaying. Your local time was around 7.20. As you can understand, we had a big agenda item in the business. Therefore, we will start to give you the time now. Dr Khalid Ahmed is a consultant and psychiatrist working for the NHS in East London. He is an anthropologist and a filmmaker who works with Queen Mary University to support young people undergraduate with their transitions into university and coping with adulthood. And has been dealing through his practice, the themes highlighted in the adult lesson series. Councillor Islam, would you? Chair, point of clarification. What time is this meeting finishing? At 9.30. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. My name is Dr Khalid Ahmed. I am a consultant psychiatrist working at Elft in NHS in your neighbouring borough of Tower Hamlets. Thank you for the invitation to talk today about young people's mental health. But just to add, like other people have, it's so impressive to hear young people's voice here today. I was really impressed by that. And just to say that I've got an old connection to Newham. I was born in Plasto and spent the first seven years of my life in Forest Gate. I work in adult mental health services and in our team we see a lot of young people. I work with Queen Mary University and I see a lot of university students too. I don't need to tell you that young people are struggling a lot and their mental health is often not good. In adult services and also child and adolescent mental health teams we are getting record numbers of referrals. So what is going on? In 2023 NHS England published that one in five eight to 25 year olds had a probable mental illness. And as you know there are record numbers of adults who are off sick from work because of mental health problems. Everybody's childhood and their mental health as adults is linked. And further there are lots of societal factors which are direct causes of mental illness. At every stage of child development there are processes that lead to maturity and ability to cope. The teenage years are especially important in how a young person learns how to manage their emotions, how to connect and in their relationship with others. We are essentially social animals and our development is completely bound up with our connection to other people. There are many things interrupting this development now. That means that when somebody turns 18 already their ability to cope is being impaired and their ability to adjust and cope with an already difficult world. I think we've already had mention of the cost of living crisis and we're still not far from the pandemic and the young people we see now are coming up from that. I often see young people who arrive at university and they often immediately go into crisis and spiral downwards. Now social media is obviously a big factor. I think this gains a lot of attention to the media and rightly so. Young people are spending more and more time online and what happens online is often damaging as well. There's a lot of negativity, there's a lot of toxic things which are happening and this leads to negative perceptions of society and adds to people's struggles. So young people are of course asking the question what is their future in a very obviously unstable world. They are surrounded by burnt out adults often who can't give them the attention that's needed to help them through these problems. I think being alienated and disconnected has a profound negative effect on everyone's mental health. Some of the fractures and polarizations we see in society are really confounding this sense of alienation and I think this has a direct effect on mental health. So what we need as is being done today in a very impressive way actually is to pay attention to how young people actually are. As somebody who works in the NHS and as a doctor and a psychiatrist I can say that we in the NHS we can't fix what is happening. We're often dealing in a firefighting way or putting sticking plasters on and we're doing our best. But I think what's crucial to understand I think the word intersectionality has come up a lot. Obviously issues to do with race, social inclusion, poverty. I think the social determinants of health are very well established and what we need to do like everybody is doing here today is to think collectively about young people. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much Dr. Ahmed. Are there any questions for Dr. Ahmed for many members? Thank you very much. Firstly thank you for your partner contribution Khaldun. You made reference to burnt out adults in the lives of young people and children. What's your message to those burnt out adults that are meant to be playing such an important influential role in young people's lives in terms of guidance for them and being present? And then my second question, apologies through the chair, I'm going to take advantage right now. You talked about intersectionality. What is it that we are needing to do at a wider societal level, because you also talked about the NHS can't fix it, that addresses issues of intersectionality particularly as it relates to religion, race and also gender identity? Yeah. Thank you. The first thing about burnt out adults, I mean I think we know why we're burnt out. I mean it's very very obvious. I mean people are struggling. I think the adults are really doing their best. Often what we see with young people is, you know, we're seeing people in distress, people in crisis, young people self-harming. All of this is a communication that things are not right. And I think the biggest issue is actually of attention. Everybody is competing for attention and when people are exhausted, they're not able to give attention to the younger people. So I think this is a very very difficult thing. We can't ask adults to individual families or parents to have the responsibility. I think this is a societal thing. And as you say, Roxana, this is an intersectional issue. So I think all of the, it's sort of obvious really. I mean it's obvious that poverty causes mental illness, that marginalisation, being alienated, feeling, not being connected to society. And this, you know, gender aspect as well. You know, the people, LGBTQ minorities, they really have this minority stress, which has a direct impact on their health and their mental illness. So, I mean, we know these things. So I think part of it is sort of appreciating that and building that into everybody's responsibility. It's, you know, it's all of our responsibility. Thank you, Dr. Ahmad. Councillor Neil Olson, you wanted to come in? Yes. So I've already introduced myself, Cabinet Lead for Health and Adult Social Care and was a Governor of Health for quite a few years. My question is more around the issues that were highlighted in the report that we're talking to about. The mental health provision for children and young people is notorious waiting times for CAM services. You're talking about whether it's, you know, a younger cohort going from the school-based system where I was in Tower Hamlets, by the way, for 25 years or so. That issue has not improved. The situation in terms of mental health services, which are disproportionately affecting and has been known, particularly black Caribbean, black African young men, reinforced by not just the effects of COVID, but now all sorts of other issues that you've talked about in terms of social media. That navigation, I think, is an important dimension of how, if we're truly honest about an integrated health and care space system in terms of whatever is the future's hold for integrated care boards and all of that, it's about a close working relationship. And we've developed a really good relationship and we've developed a really good one, I feel, with East London Foundation and the Council. But it's about how do we get those messages across. More importantly, that it's not a deficit model. It's about how we support families who are struggling often to give that attention with a media age, which is so powerful, how we give that positive messages that it's not just the school teachers or the people at Elft or whatever. It is that holistic approach. Sorry, it's a long question in there, but it's one thing I think we keep to struggle with. Thank you, Councillor Neil Olsen. Can I remind members, please, no statement, just the questions. Thank you. I appreciate that. Councillor Mumtaz Ham, then Danny Keeling. Our time is very limited. Time is already out. I'm extending another minute, so... Thank you, Chair. My question, Doctor, is around children who witness domestic abuse. The message to our parents... Well, actually, I'm going to ask again. The young people and children that we work with, when they experience domestic abuse in their environment, we know that it has a huge impact on their education, on their mental health and general wellbeing. What would your message be for our parents in Newham? Yeah, I mean, I think the main thing is for all people who are working with the children to be aware of these things and pick them up. I mean, it's often what happens is that these things are not picked up and it's the whole family and the whole system that needs support, not just a child or just one adult. I'm going to take the last questions from Councillor Danny Killings. Thank you. What is ELF and partners doing about this societal stigma around people of colour not coming forward for mental health issues? Yeah, I mean, this is a major, major issue. And this is something I've done research as well into. I've done research into mental health and ethnic minorities. I mean, there are so many factors at play. I mean, we saw a lot of these come up during the COVID pandemic as well. You know, people trusting services, you know, relationship between different communities and health services and accessibility. I mean, the health service is not equally accessible to everybody. I mean, depending on language, on your ability to interact with statutory services, all of these, these are challenges. I mean, I think, you know, where I work in Tower Hamlets is similar to Newham. I mean, there are huge challenges to do with ethnic minorities and health. I mean, mental health and physical health, and they all need to be addressed. And but there are certain things. I mean, it was mentioned earlier, the mental health of British black people. I mean, that that's been majorly up on the agenda for, you know, 20 years. I started working in psychiatry in London 2006, and it's still a major issue. You know, black people are detained under the mental health section much more often. They're in psychiatric intensive care or the, you know, the higher intensity units. And this is not therapeutic. And I really think this has been an urgent issue for many, many years. And unfortunately, you know, I think systemically, we're not doing enough, all of us. Well, we know that you are extremely busy, and we appreciate you giving up your time to speak to us this evening. Thank you so much, Dr. Ahmed. We appreciate that. I'm now moving to item 13, members' questions. Under Rules 12 of Part 4 of Constitution, I can inform the chamber that there are three questions received and accepted by the chief executive. The questions with the published responses can be seen in the water paper published earlier today. The questions are from Councillor Nate Higgins, Arik Chaudhry, and Shantu Ferduz. Question one, I call upon Councillor Nate Higgins to ask your question. Thanks, Chair. In September 2024, on behalf of the Green Group, I brought a Child Poverty Action Plan to Newham Council, calling for the abolition of the two-child benefit cap, the introduction of universal free-school meals for all school children, and the restoration of the universal credit uplift. Our plan noted that 50% of children in Newham are growing up in poverty, and around a third are facing food insecurity. The policies in our plan could credibly reduce child poverty levels in Newham, but sadly, the Labour Group rejected our plan, with one Labour councillor calling the action plan a handout. What is the administration's alternative strategy to reduce child poverty in Newham, including any targets for reduction within the strategy, i.e. what is the target to cut child poverty in Newham to by May 26? Thank you. I invite Rukhsan, may Rukhsan Affairs, to respond to these questions, please. Thank you very much. Councillor Higgins, can I kindly direct you to the written response in the papers? I would say this. It is evident in the context of the policy direction of this administration, a central feature is the addressing of systemic and structural impediments that impede the equal equitable life chances of our residents. It's about lifting up, helping, supporting, and the totality of our strategies are all set out in the Council's performance framework that's predicated on tangible outcomes, and I can certainly task and invite officer colleagues to pull those together in order for you to have a clear sense of what the strategies, as they interface, will lead to in terms of tangible, practical outcomes. And as you all know, those are reported each quarter. They're presented to formal meetings of Cabinet, and they are also subject, if it is the will of over-mean scrutiny, to examination. And they are presented to overview and scrutiny. So I would very much say that there is a credible evidence base that is demonstrating that outside of those higher income bracket households, either moving into the borough or because of their privilege being able to access those high-skill, high-income jobs, we are slowly but surely doing the right thing for our communities here. Often, communities that are marginalised because of structural racism that exists in the labour market. And it's the reason why I was pleased to announce, during my announcement bit of this evening's proceedings, that I have accepted the honour, actually, of being a member of the Business and Community and Race Equity in the Workplace Task Force, that's going to be chaired by Mayor Andy Burnham, because it's specifically going to be looking at those structural issues that impede and hold black communities back. And I use the term black in its political sense, but specifically with a focus on young people, because we can't allow for the ongoing holding back people and sustaining the levels of poverty that we see. Thank you, Mayor Kusanna Pierce. Councillor Nate Higgins, do you have a supplementary question? I do. Thank you, Chair. I asked what the targets are for reduction, because without targets there aren't accountability. We don't know what you expect your policies to deliver, because you haven't said. I welcome the commitment to getting that answer from officers that could have been in the written answer and it isn't. I also know that I was given a commitment at last for Council to get follow-up information in response to my question, and that hasn't happened either, so I hope that that does happen this time. My supplementary question is, you said that, you know, the totality of your policy is to commit to reducing child poverty, but you must understand that the impacts of national government, the actions of national government here, are tying your hands behind your back on this. When was the last time you spoke to national government on policies like the two-child benefit cap? Okay, so Councillor Higgins, I will certainly look into why, following your contributions at the debate, and I understand it would have been the full Council meeting in September when there was the motion that you presented, why that wasn't provided. Don't worry about a point of clarification. Whatever time month it was, that's fine. I will find out from officer colleagues why that hasn't been provided. I think you're absolutely right. I similarly wish that the answer that I got late to reviewing, because I've been on leave, which is an important entitlement for workers, but it didn't cover the very questions that you're asking. But I guess the point I'm trying to make is this. The performance baseline exists, outcome targets exist, otherwise there's no point of having an outcome-based performance framework, and that document is available for every single member, regardless of whether or not you sit on overview and scrutiny, to examine each quarter, and there is nothing stopping any member from asking me, or any of my other colleagues that work with me in my portfolio areas around our progress against those outcomes, as it relates to those performance measures in their totality, that are all individually but independently seeking to address poverty, and to reverse the stagnation of income levels in this borough. I have often spoken about the mean average income of households in this borough relative to the London average, being something outrageous, of some £19,400 per annum relative to the London average, which is £29,000 or thereabouts. And that is the reason why we had, back in 2018, advanced our mission around inclusive growth and community wealth building, and that is having impact. And as for your broader comments around being impeded by national policy, actually, no, not in the context of, number one, our local growth plan and strategy for Newham, because it's all about ensuring that we're absolutely able to tackle issues of fundamental structural poverty, because notwithstanding the work that we do around income optimisation, and I announced earlier this evening that I was pleased to let colleagues know that we have identified £700,000 to continue the important work that the our new money service undertakes in income optimisation for our residents. And I can provide you a breakdown of what that has resulted to in material real ways in the pockets of some of our lowest income households. But the best route for those households, because, like me, I'm sure you do not want a low-income household to be remaining in a situation of such financial insecurity, not least in this age of seismic change, of an economic structure that is leading to more and more people being impoverished. You would want for people to be lifted out. And yes, there are a whole range of policy interventions that national government can pursue, should pursue, but I know this, locally, we are doing the right thing for our residents. Yes. Thank you, Mayor Rukhsana appears. Yes, Councillor Islam, you would like to extend the time, or? That's what I was going to say. Can we suspend standing orders by 30 minutes? By 30 minutes. Do all the members agree to extend the times by another 30 minutes? Yes. Yes. Yes. Please raise your hands. All are in favour. Thank you. Thank you. Do I continue? Question two. I call upon Councillor Arik Chaudry to ask your questions, please. Under recent Labour government proposals, 18 to 21-year-olds with long-term illnesses or disabilities will lose access to the health top-up to universal credit. They also plan to raise the age at which people can claim personal independence payment, or PIP. Disability Rights UK has described these reforms as brutal and reckless cuts, not genuine supports for disabled people. The Resolution Foundation says the changes are driven by short-term saving goals rather than long-term reform, warning of a major income shock and a financial cliff edge for low-income households. Inclusion London has labelled the proposals ill thought out, harmful and penalising to some of the poorest in society. For young disabled people in Newham, these changes would be devastating. Does the Council agree with the concerns raised by experts and disabled communities, and will it commit to writing to the Government to oppose these deeply damaging proposals? Mayor Oksana, do you wish to respond, please? Thank you very much. Councillor Arik Chaudry, I would kindly direct you to my written response in the papers that have been published, and I just really wanted to draw attention to some aspects of your question, because, you know, obviously, this evening's meeting is a themed meeting, where we talk powerfully and passionately about how our young people are our future. And you will note, and I'm going to read this out, because I, in fact, I can't read it out, because I can't see the responses. They're not printed. I don't have a printed version. But what I would draw your attention to is the section of my response, where I set out really clearly, and in the spirit of what we've approved, in the Our Young People, Our Future paper, that you have endorsed wholeheartedly, the important point of our young people being very much at the heart and central to decision-making, and we don't do things to our young people. So I know that young people will be talking about this issue. I know that young people will be supported in talking about this issue through our youth assemblies and through our youth participation work, and I think it's right that they are empowered and enabled to give voice to how they feel about these issues. And as they have said in my response that I am happy if they so wish for myself to pass on a letter that they compose that I will support to the relevant government department. And I have also set out very clearly, I trust you would agree, that this administration that I lead is an administration that doesn't think that those that are in seek of benefits and notwithstanding the welfare reform being proposed, that this administration believes in the entitlement and the dignity of all of our people, including those that are disabled and unable to work, and we do not pursue a nasty, vicious approach. In fact, we have often and always want to demonstrate our compassion and care in order to be able to lift people and help them advance in their lives and to enable them to reach their aspirations. Thank you, Mayor Rukhsana Fias. Councillor Arik Chaudh, do you have a supplementary question? Yes. Thank you for the written and subsequent oral answer. It is very disappointing that the Council won't be opposing these damaging, brutal and unnecessary cuts to the welfare payments received by young disabled people across Newham and the country. It is also bizarre that the Council appears to be suggesting it would defer the responsibility for such opposition to members of the UK Youth Parliament. As a former representative many years ago myself, I am very supportive of such important youth participation initiatives. However, residents expect their elected Council, not the UK Youth Parliament, to represent their interests. On this, can the Council confirm what number of young disabled people across Newham are expected to be impacted by the Government's proposals? And a short answer will suffice. Thank you. No, I am going to use the full amount of time that I have got ready to respond to your supplementary question. And I must say, actually, I find it really disappointing that you cast the activity of young people in our UK Youth Parliament in such derisory ways. And if you read the section... Could you please not interrupt, Chair? Could you please ensure that I am not interrupted? Thank you. Councillor Chaudry, you had the opportunity to ask your questions. Now, can you allow the Mayor to respond to your questions? Thank you. I appreciate that. So, if the member would read the actual paragraph, which I am tempted to read out very slowly, but I shan't. It says it's about enabling our young people to give voice to what they think. We don't do things to our young people. We enable them. We empower them. Surely you should subscribe to that. You voted in favour of the previous full council support with a recommendation that states very clearly, precisely enabling young people to be at the heart. And as for the figures that you request, you will be, I hope, not unsurprised that we're currently working through as part of our policy response to the welfare reforms. The impact that that will have on a multiple number of our resident cohorts, including young people. And one of the things that I am very clear as sit out in this published response, is that disabled people aren't lazy, aren't weak, and, you know, are not only directed to work. And that young disabled people should be also valued. And there are some real risks in regards to some of the welfare reforms for our young disabled people. Not least risks as it relates to their safeguarding, because there is anecdotal evidence that suggests, in some and certain types of households, the benefit that they receive is seen as a real premium. And if that's taken away, that could expose them to risk. So we take these issues seriously. For the member concerned, any other member, you know, in this room, or who's not in this room, watching this debate, that suggests that we're in ignorance of impact, it's a very foolhardy thing to suggest. Thank you, Mayor. Question three. I'll call upon Councillor Shantoufer to ask your questions, please. Good evening, Chair and all, and thanks to all young people who joined here earlier. My question to colleague Mayor Fiers. New Home Council wants to ensure that all young people receive the best support, regardless of their learning needs. Children with special educational needs and disability, generally receive educational support from 0 to 25 years old. We believe that if they have become self-independent, they will be more independent. In New Home, we have limited sixth form college for SE&D students. But we don't have enough special college for SE&D young people who are 19 and older. in the near future. Is LBN planning to build a specialist college and SE&D training centre for individuals, aged 19 and honours in the near future, as our young people are our future? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Councillor Shantouferdos. I'm going to direct you to the Britain response in the agenda pack on page 18 and 19. I just wanted to reiterate some of the words expressed by Councillor Sarah Ruiz in terms of the really important value that we place on our children and young people with neurodivergent needs. And our recognition that there's a lot more that we need to be doing to improve their experiences across all factors of the spaces and arenas that they access, be that schools, because you'll be aware that we had a written statement of action as it relates to our SE&D service. And so we're looking at, you know, continuing our journey of improvement. But thank you very much for the question. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. I don't have supplementary. Thank you. Thank you. I'm now moving to item 15, a new local plan for Newham, building a fairer Newham submission documents. The report is outlined on the supplementary agenda. Mayor Fiers to present the report. Yeah. And you have up to five minutes. We have only half an hour left for... So, I've noted that we've got 30 minutes left and thank you for the hint. Colleagues, this has been a long time coming. As you will all know, we commenced with this, what was meant to be an early review of the local plan back in December 2018. And we were intending to rightly accelerate because the local plan that we adopted in December 2018 was the consequence and culmination of a five-year thereabouts journey of policy development as it relates to a whole series of research that needs to be undertaken in order to provide clarity. And an evidence base around the spatial needs of Newham as a borough in response to growth and the policy priorities of the council. So, given the emphasis placed on genuinely affordable housing, various manifesto commitments, we needed to announce an early review. So, following the adoption of the new London plan and taking into account of COVID-19, there had been a bit of a slow pace on the current local plan that we present before you, which is going to be going to the inspector. And we're at the final stage, having undertaken some really important and significant conversations across the borough in each and every one of our neighbourhoods, amongst a number of different stakeholders and with councillors. Now, we think that this local plan that is before you, it is very responsive to a whole number of important strategies that we've amplified and brought to the court for under this administration. Not least, our response to just transition, our ongoing design determination to ensure as many genuinely affordable homes that meet our residents' needs, including family-sized homes, are accelerated and are enabled through our planning policies. We've also taken into account the importance of gender-relevant, spatial strategies, and also our burial provision in the context of the present need and future need. And there is the ability through this local plan to be able to work through the burial need of what is a very richly diverse and religiously wide, should I say, local community. So, I'm going to basically ask that you all embrace this local plan. It's going to be going through a formal process of a final consultation of six weeks. It's a statutory consultation before it's submitted to the inspector. And you'll note in the recommendations a series of really important matters as it relates to what we're asking you to agree. But I commend this report. It's really robust. It is going to enable us to really realise the vision that we have for this borough in a year that we mark its 60th anniversary. And this will really put it in great stead as we look to the next 60 years ahead. But please be aware there will be at least 15 local plan reviews over that period, no doubt. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor Oksana Fiers. Do I have a seconder, please? Thank you, Councillor John Wentworth. We now move to the debate. Any members wish to speak? Councillor John Wentworth. Okay, yes. Surrender. We are not debating it yet. Councillor John Wentworth, West Ham Ward. Cabinet Member for Air Quality and Climate Emergency. I would like to second the Mayor's commendation of this local plan submission. You've all seen the huge volume of documents. I won't ask if you've read them all. But they do show... Oh, there's one person we could count on, Terry. Thank you. Well done. But it does show the huge amount of work that has gone into this, particularly by the planning officers. But all those across the Council have collaborated in its production. And, as a result, the local plan fits with the joint waste management plan. It aligns with the Just Transition Plan. And, of course, it reflects the goals of building a fair annuum. The members gave input in this. The Mayor mentioned that. And so did scrutiny members as well in their interrogation of the regular 19 draft plan. And, of course, the Council members tried to represent the wishes and the concerns of their constituents. This local plan document, then, I think, shows a fine example of one Council approach, with the various parts working together towards a shared goal. The residents and the Council's partners were also able to contribute to the shape of the plan in the Regulation 19 and Regulation 18 consultations. Some of the notable elements in the plan, the Mayor's mentioned some of them. We haven't got time to go through them all. But I will say that we have an ambitious target to increase the number of new homes during the life of the plan. Though this is subject to the construction of the necessary infrastructure at the same time. And we have in the plan a requirement of 50% of residential units in new developments to be for social rent. The plan also sets out the requirement for these new homes to be built to be energy and resource efficient. not using fossil fuels and having greater resilience against inevitable climate change. It seeks to ensure a healthy living environment on new major developments with the obligation of developers to increase net diversity by at least 10% on the site. With the quality of green space and allotments in Newham being lower than the London average, the plan aims to increase them in line with the rising population. The young people raised this question of green space earlier. In accordance with the sustainable transport strategy, development should prioritise walking, cycling and public transport in order to improve health and reduce air pollution and carbon emissions. The last part of the regulation 19 document deals with the 17 neighbourhoods. Thank you. They will become well connected. Thank you. I will just finish by saying that the plan is regarded as sound. It's coming up before the examination in public. And perhaps the inspector may ask for revisions, but we believe that it's an ambitious and progressive document guided by the principles and policies of building a fair annuum. Thank you very much. And it's designed for the benefit of the residents of the borough. Thank you. Councillor Nate Higgins. Councillor Nate Higgins, Stratford Olympic Park leader of the Green Group. Newham Greens are supportive of this draft local plan, which builds on battles we have fought alongside residents for social housing, for community space, for fairness. I'm proud of establishing the local plan task and finish scrutiny commission that interrogated this plan. Thank you to Councillor Paul, former Councillor Sasha Descupta, and others for their hard work on that scrutiny commission. I'm also proud that thanks to this council and the work of the Green Group, the plan commits to 50% social housing, real social rent homes, not just so-called affordable housing. But we must be clear, that commitment is at risk. The Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has already raised objections, questioning whether our social rent targets are deliverable. But let's be honest about what deliverability means in this system. Viability assessments are fundamentally rigged. They often assume no serious public investment, no grant funding, no meaningful subsidy for social housing. And then they tell us it's undeliverable, because they baked failure into the model from the start. Social housing hasn't failed viability tests. Viability tests have failed social housing. This plan finally makes clear that developers cannot use inflated land prices as an excuse to dodge social housing, and we must hold them to it. Social housing has never been delivered without public subsidy. We know it never will be. If Labour in government and at City Hall do not stand with us, if they side with developers over residents, we could see the very heart of this plan ripped out at examination. And I want to be absolutely clear. Any change to the 50% social housing commitment must come back to full council. In December 2023, this council overwhelmingly backed a Green Party motion demanding that the local plan include a commitment to 50% social housing. Officers and Cabinet must respect that democratic mandate. Our residents struggling with sky-high rents and years on waiting lists cannot afford yet another broken promise. We've seen before what happens when public need is treated as optional. The London Legacy Development Corporation set up to deliver a lasting Olympic legacy failed my ward of Stratford Olympic Park. They let Get Living, the main private landlord, wriggle out of providing a permanent community centre for East Village. Today, thousands of residents have no council-owned library, no youth centre, no warm hub, no community hall. And when it comes to face spaces, there's nothing. No mosque, no church, no temple. In one of the most religiously diverse boroughs in the country, that's a disaster. Residents, including the Girl Guides, E20 Muslims, and our local church are desperately looking for space. We've seen leases that explicitly ban faith institutions from renting space. This failure is an academic. It's real, it's personal, and we must not repeat it. If we are serious about building a borough where every resident can thrive, we must be serious about delivering on the promises we make today. Social housing is not negotiable. Homes are not negotiable. Our future is not negotiable. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. And before I say move to the vote, I'm accustomed to I am to public speaking. I'm Councillor Terry Paul. I'm the scrutiny chair, which Nate referred to the report. Caught slightly surprised by your comments and quite political speech, Nate, my understanding of our scrutiny commission, but we were consensual. We agreed on the 50%. We actually discussed the issue of religious space, Olympic Park, and we also agreed on the issue of clarification of burial space for certain communities and also to help religious communities, especially the newer communities, to get religious spaces. We had a very consensual committee. By your speech, it's as if it wasn't consensual. And I think it would be remiss of me not to put on record. As you know, in my committees, we are consensual. The whip doesn't apply, but we are focused on meeting the needs of residents. And I just want to correct the record that I will go back tonight and I'll read the report, what we wrote, which was no minority report. And I just want to put on record the speech you put there was slightly political and maybe for political purposes that is your right. But I think it's remiss for the other members who are here to say we are much more consensual. But we had the mayor who came down and we had two sessions with the mayor and officers, and it was the most consensual meeting we had. And I think you would not want me to leave tonight to let you have the last word on a very political speech, you must say. And I will say on the scrutiny commission, it was very consensual. By your tone, Nate, I didn't get that. Can we move to the vote? Thank you, Councillor Terry Paul. Councillor Annamulislam. Chair, can I propose that we go straight to a vote? Can I take a vote? Do members agree to go straight to vote? Can you raise your hands, please? Thank you. Now we move to the vote. All those in favour, please raise your hands. Thank you. All those against, please raise your hand. Any abstentions? Any abstentions? None? Thank you. That's when the report has been approved. Thank you. I am now moving to Item 16, Member Statement. In accordance with the Part 4 Rules, Procedures of the Council Constitution, Paragraph 13. One statement has been accepted from Councillor Karlyn Lipoki on World Autism Acceptance Month. You have up to five minutes. Thank you, Chair. Good evening, Council. Tonight, I want to speak about autism. But let me be clear, what I intend to say goes for all children with special education needs and disabilities. Because while diagnoses may differ, the challenges, the barriers, the delays, the frustrations are shared by many families across Newham. As Autism Awareness Month comes to a close, I speak not only as an elected member of this council, but as a parent of a child with complex autism. In our home, autism is not a theme for April. It is every morning, every school drop-off, every sleepless night, every letter to the council, every therapy session missed because the system is too overwhelmed. Autism is not just a diagnosis, it's a daily reality. And I am far from alone. Newham is home to a diverse population. A population we are proud of. A population we celebrate. We are home to more than 86,000 children and young people. And nearly 20% of those with special education needs in our borough have autism as their primary need. That is among the highest rates nationally. Since 2015, the number of autistic students in our schools has more than doubled. And by 2027, we have projected to have over 2,000 autistic students in our education system. These children are not numbers. They are our sons, our daughters, our nieces, our nephews. They are bright, joyful and full of potential. But that potential is often held back. Not by their autism, but by the system and the barriers we have yet to remove. We have bought and made progress. Our SEND inclusion strategy has bought 4.7 million pounds of investment. We have strengthened school inclusion and created more specialist provisions going forward. And we have listened. We have worked with families, professionals and the wider community. And I am, for one, proud of that. But let's be honest. Progress is not the same as perfection. We are not there yet. Families are still waiting. Waiting for educational psychologists to access for their children. Waiting for speech and language therapy. Occupational therapy. Services that are not luxuries, but lifelines. And the wait for CAMHS, frankly, is unacceptable. The mental health of our children. The stability of our entire families hang in that balance. When my child began to show signs of distress, it took months to get answers. It took longer still to get support. And every delay deepened the gap between what he needed and what was available. Early intervention isn't a buzzword. It's a difference between a child who thrives and one who struggles. And it's our job. Our moral responsibility. To ensure that families in Newham aren't left without access. Without answers and without hope. Autism Awareness Month is not just an acknowledgement. It's action. It's about building a borough where autistic children are not merely accommodated, but celebrated. Where they are not just placed, but included. Where they are not just spoken about, but heard. Supporting a child with autism or any disability means supporting their whole ecosystem. Their parents, their siblings, their teachers, their peers. Inclusion is not a policy document. It is a lived experience. And in this chamber, we have the power to make a difference. To make it better. So tonight, I ask you, let's not just raise awareness. Let's raise the bar. Let's commit to reducing waiting times. Let's invest in frontline services that actually reach our families. Let's ensure every child with a special educational need or disability in this borough has the chance to thrive. Not someday, but now. Because our children can't wait. And neither can we. Thank you, council. Thank you, councillor. Okay. I will now move to the next item. Okay. We've got almost 13 minutes to conduct our three motions. So you have to be very much supportive with this time. And I'll appreciate that. So I'm now moving to item 17. There's three motionless to concentration of this meeting. Protecting our young people of our future. Support from the Zanes Law, from the Green Group. Invest in youth. Invest in our future from the Newham Independence Group. Making Newham safer for our young people from Labour Group. I'll remind members of the council procedures rules, I call up on Councillor Nate Higgins to propose his motion, which is outlined from page 44 on the published agenda. Thanks, chair. You have up to five minutes. Thanks, chair. This motion's really important. I've been in conversation with the Zanes Law campaign and with Kai, Zanes' father, and Zanes' mother, about this motion. And they're really keen that we bring a version of this motion that has unanimous support across the council. It isn't a political issue. It's about keeping our people safe. And I also know that where other councils have discussed this motion, that they'd like to be in attendance. And I know that Kai actually has a historical link to Newham as well, and very much would like to be in attendance for the discussion of this motion. And for that reason, I'd like to, with council support, defer this to a future meeting, so that we can have a conversation between the groups. I was surprised by the Labour Amendment, and I want to understand what the disagreements are on this, so that we can bring a version of it that has unanimity. Because I know that many Labour figures are supportive. It's been unanimous in places like the London Assembly and so on. So, with council support, I'll bring a version of this in the future. And we can go on to discussing the Newham independence motion, if that's okay. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Nate Higgins. Do I have a seconder, please? Nate. I was deferring it. Oh, sorry. I didn't pay attention. I was looking at the other agenda. So, thank you for doing that. Yeah. Thank you. Now, moving to a motion to invest in our future from the Newham independence group. Councillor Nakfi, Sophia. Thank you. Councillor Sophia Nakfi for Plaston North. Good evening, everyone. First of all, thank you to the young audience we had. And this evening, we're here gathered under a banner that says it all. Our young people, our future. But those words are not just a slogan. They are a call to action. Because here in Newham right now, we are failing that future. Under the current Labour Administration, led by Mayor Roxana Fiaz, essential youth services have been shut down. Outreach work has been slashed. And programmes that once offered young people hope, purpose and safety have been dismantled. And let us be clear. This is not just a mistake. It's a short-term thinking that will have devastating long-term consequences for our young people, for our communities and for the future of this borough. We know from national research that every £1 invested in youth work, society saves between £5 to £7. Not just through reduced crime, though that is crucial, but through improved education, better employment opportunities, stronger mental health and more resilient communities. When we cut youth services, we are not saving money. We are shifting the costs onto the police, onto the mental health services, as mentioned by the report by Dr Khalid Ahmed, onto our schools and ultimately onto the very young people we are supposed to lift off. Cards today are creating crises tomorrow. Our young people deserve better. They deserve real investment, not empty promises. They deserve services that are stable, ambitious and shade with them, not imposed upon them. This was echoed through the beautiful poem, The Power of Youth Centres by Theo Williams. That is why this motion calls onto the Council to act. To reverse the damaging cuts made to youth services in previous budgets. To develop a long-term youth investment strategy led by young people themselves. To ensure that every ward in Newham has access to high-quality, fully funded youth provision. And to demand full transparency from the Mayor's Office on how youth services funding is allocated, both now and the future. Colleagues, it is easy to speak about hope. It is harder and far more important to invest in it. Our young people are not a burden. They are our greatest resource. They are the future of doctors, engineers, teachers, artists and leaders of Newham. But they cannot build that future if we strip away the foundation they need today. Tonight we have a choice. We can continue down a path, manage decline, hallowed slogans and broken promises. Or we can choose something better. We can choose to believe in our young people and back that belief with real investment and real action. I urge every councillor across every party to stand with me tonight. Because our young people are watching. They deserve more than our words. They deserve our commitment. They deserve our action. Newham Labour is failing the young people of our borough. The people of Newham are tired of empty promises, broken commitments and a leadership that talks about change but delivers only disappointment. It is now time to change that trend and support this motion. And this can be seen outside. I'm sure everyone has case works. I'm sure everyone is going outside talking to youth. You will see youngsters standing on the streets because they have no place to go. When you speak to the Met, they will say one thing. These youth need only one thing. They need a room where they can spend time there. Thank you. Thank you, councillor Sofia Nagmi. Do I have a seconder, please? Councillor Mahmoud Mirza. Councillor Mahmoud Mirza. Councillor Mahmoud Mirza. Councillor Mahmoud Mirza. Councillor Mahmoud Mirza, Berlin Ward. Madam Chair, thank you. We've got six minutes, so I know you have the right to exercise your three minutes, but I would appreciate it if you make it shorter, please. I'll try my best, Chair. Madam Chair, thank you very much for allowing me to second this important motion proposed by councillor Sofia Nagmi. In recent months, the Labour Administration made cuts to our youth services in Newham. These cuts have a real impact on our community. Our young people feel this every day. With fewer clubs and programmes, many have lost opportunities. Teenagers have fewer safe places to go after school or in the evening. This limit is not just fun. It limits their chances to learn new skills, make friends and feel supported. Cut-through youth services also put our young people at more risk. When youth clubs and centres close or shrink, children and teens can be left without supervision or guidance. They may end up on the streets, street corners or online where bad advice and negative influence can find them. Do we want our young people wondering with nothing else to do? Or we want them to engage in positive programmes? There is also serious effect on their mental health. Young people rely on youth workers, friends to talk about their problems. Losing those services mean more stress, anxiety and depression. Youth services often act as a lifeline. Without them, more young people will suffer in silence. Why do the youth services matter so much? Because they help our children grow. They teach them teamwork, responsibility, self-confidence. They offer tutoring, sport, arts and mentoring. They build community and real communities. When we invest in our youth services, we invest in Newham's future. I strongly support this motion for new investment. Thank you. All right, Chair, thank you. I formally propose to second this motion. Thank you, Councillor Mohamed Mirza. Yes, Councillor Danny Keeling. I would like to make a speech for this motion, please. I'm afraid we don't have much time, therefore I'm going to… We have four minutes. Four minutes. There's another motion left, so I would like to go straight to the vote. I'm afraid I won't be able to allow you to debate on this motion. So, all those in favour, please raise your hands. The motion of Independence Group. Thank you. All those in against, please raise your hands. Thank you. Any abstention? None. None. Thank you. Can we have our vote recorded in a minute, please? Yes, we'll do that. Thank you. The last motion, we have only three minutes to go, so if members can be supportive, I would like to ask you to propose your motion very shortly, very briefly. I'll appreciate that. And then if I can get the seconder ready, please. Thank you, Chair. I'll try and be incredibly brief, because I'd like to get to Councillor Lee Parkway. Yeah, it's a motion that we've had further discussions on with colleagues around Labour Group, and those have been really valuable, and I'm very happy to invite councillors to vote for the motion as amended. Thank you. Thank you, Liz. Councillor Lee Parkway, please. Thank you, Chair. I would like to second this motion this evening. I had lots to say, but I'm not going to say it. Can we please move to a vote, Chair? Thank you very much. Appreciate that. All those in favour, please raise your hands. All those in favour, please raise your hands. Thank you. All those against, please raise your hands. Any abstinence? Thank you. The motion has carried. So, Council, this was the last Council meeting of the monthful year. The next meeting will be the annual Council meeting on the 22nd of May. Thank you, everyone, for attending this meeting and watching on YouTube. I appreciate that. Have a safe journey to home. Thank you.