Councillor Amy Lee

During December 2025, Amy Lee was noted for sending apologies for absence from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on Tuesday, 25 November 2025. Councillor Mohammad Chowdhury attended as her substitute.

During November 2025, Amy Lee sent her apologies for the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on November 25th. Councillor Mohamed Chowdhury substituted for her. While she was noted as a member present at a prior meeting on October 13th, there is no record of her speaking or taking any action during the November 25th meeting.

During October 2025, Councillor Amy Lee actively participated in council meetings. In the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on October 13th, she expressed satisfaction with the progress on Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs), noting,

Yeah, so my question is on EHCPs. So I'm seeing green, which is fantastic. We've been following this for a long time and really sort of questioning this for a long time in this committee. So seeing progress in front of us is really important. So I just want to give whoever, maybe Steve, the opportunity to talk about it, because this is what we want to see.

She also attended the Strategic Development Committee meeting on October 22nd as a Substitute Member, though no specific actions or statements were recorded for her during that session.

In September 2025, Amy Lee was appointed to the Inner North East London (INEL) Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) representing the Labour Group. She was also listed as a Member of the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board, identified as a Stakeholder and LBTH Member . Councillor Lee attended the Appointment Sub-Committee meeting virtually but had no recorded contributions. She sent her apologies for absence from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting.

Amy Lee participated in the Appointment Sub-Committee meeting on August 18, 2025, as a member. However, the available information does not indicate any specific statements or actions taken by her during the meeting.

During July 2025, Councillor Amy Lee attended the Appointment Sub-Committee meeting on July 29th, 2025, and the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting on the same day. In the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting, she declared nothing to declare regarding disclosable pecuniary interests and is noted as a member of this sub-committee. There is no record of her speaking or taking specific action at the Appointment Sub-Committee meeting.

During June 2025, Amy Lee was active in two Overview & Scrutiny Committee meetings. On June 2nd, she was nominated for scrutiny lead for health and adults but was unsuccessful due to a tie-breaking vote. She also seconded Councillor Asma Islam's nomination for the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Sub-Committee and was nominated for a position on the Inner North East London Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee. In the meeting on June 11th, Councillor Lee clarified her voting record regarding the education subcommittee chair and sought clarification on several points within the minutes, including attendance records and the nomination process for the community safety position. She also inquired about the impact of interim domiciliary care arrangements on the free home care commitment and the status of digital transformation plans, specifically asking if digital solutions had been negotiated with interim providers or would be delayed.

During May 2025, Councillor Amy Lee was an active participant in the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board meeting. She strongly advocated for a hyper-local focus in the health and well-being strategy, emphasizing that health needs and service access differ significantly across small geographical areas. Councillor Lee highlighted her commitment to addressing race and gender-based health inequalities, particularly for women from Bangladeshi, Somali, and other ethnic communities, and called for this to be a top priority. She stressed the importance of resident involvement in shaping the strategy, stating,

This strategy does not belong to us, it belongs to the people of this borough.

To achieve this, she proposed moving beyond traditional engagement to targeted workshops over the next six months to involve disenfranchised communities. Councillor Lee also sought to learn from past efforts and benchmark against other boroughs' strategies by asking,

What work have we done on past strategies to compare and benchmark against the health and wellbeing strategies of other boroughs?

She also attended the Appointments Sub Committee meeting on May 6th, though no specific statements or actions were recorded for her during that meeting.

During April 2025, Councillor Amy Lee participated in three council meetings. She was present at the Standards Advisory Committee meeting on April 3rd as a Substitute member and virtually attended the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting on April 8th. While her attendance was noted in these meetings, there is no record of her speaking or taking specific actions. The provided information also references her voting Against on amendments and the main Budget Motion during a Budget Council meeting on February 26, 2025, though this occurred prior to April.

During the March 25th, 2025 Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting, Councillor Amy Lee raised significant concerns about the scrutiny improvement plan. She questioned the methodology for determining activity completion, citing an example where a priority was marked 100% complete based on a single, inadequate activity. Councillor Lee stated that the report's presentation, progress measurement, and wording needed improvement, noting that some information was >not quite accurate < and elements required >tweaking <.

She also followed up on the sunlit uplands and cultural change aspects of the continuous improvement plan, acknowledging it as a substantial challenge that training alone couldn't address. Councillor Lee requested more details on this objective, emphasizing its importance for member experiences.

During February 2025, Councillor Amy Lee was active in several council meetings, representing St Katharine's & Wapping (Labour Party). In the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting on February 3rd, she introduced herself and apologized for attending online. She then raised critical questions regarding the risks associated with proposed changes, specifically focusing on whether nurses would have adequate time to fulfill their duties and the funding allocated for these changes. Councillor Lee also sought to understand how the council had improved processes from the perspective of those involved and what measures were being taken to enhance efficiency and user-friendliness.

At the Reserve Budget Meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on February 4th, Councillor Lee questioned the flexible use of capital receipts, particularly concerning a redundancy scheme. She expressed concern that the scheme, despite its justification, was leading to the loss of experienced officers and asked if it represented best value for residents. Her inquiries also extended to the scheme's impact on frontline services and the safeguards in place to prevent staff from feeling pressured into redundancy decisions. Additionally, she requested clarification on the eligibility criteria for school uniforms.

On February 18th, Amy Lee was listed as a Labour Group nominee for the Health and Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee. While listed as an attendee for the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board on February 27th, no specific actions or statements were attributed to her for that meeting.

During January 2025, Councillor Amy Lee was active in council meetings. On January 22nd, representing St Katharine's & Wapping and the Labour Party, she declared a non-pecuniary interest in the Migrant Care Workers’ Charter due to her employment with Unison. She then moved the motion to adopt the charter and accepted a friendly amendment before its approval. On January 28th, at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Lee actively questioned the definition of casual roles, specifically asking if they involved zero-hour contracts. She also inquired about the learning point on union engagement, suggesting more explicit mention of positive experiences, and probed the reasons for staff transition issues and the union communication plan.

In December 2024, Amy Lee was absent from the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on December 10th. However, she actively participated in the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on December 17th. During this meeting, Councillor Lee raised significant concerns about the council's culture, specifically referencing allegations of intimidation, bullying and harassment. She questioned the reduction of staff within the Mayor's office and their subsequent placement, and sought assurances regarding the integration of former staff into council structures following a best value inspection. Councillor Lee also highlighted a specific instance where staff were allegedly instructed to pre-write questions and answers for inspectors, asking for advice on how to address quite extreme examples of something rotten.

During November 2024, Councillor Amy Lee participated in four council meetings. On November 5th, she declared no interests at the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee. She attended the Appointments Sub Committee virtually on November 12th without making any recorded statements or actions. On November 20th, Councillor Lee seconded Councillor Chiarajal Islam's motion regarding a proposed Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) against dogs. In the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on November 26th, she was nominated for several Scrutiny Lead positions, including Adults and Health Services, Housing and Regeneration, and Children's and Education, but was not selected for any of these roles.

In October 2024, Amy Lee was active in two council meetings. On October 2nd, she seconded an amendment by Councillor Asma Islam concerning the Tackling Poverty Programme. During the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on October 15th, Lee was a prominent voice in the discussion about the LGA corporate PR challenge. She criticized the officers' report for its overtly political and fictional tone, stating,

I think if you're looking for feedback and if I'm being completely honest, I'm surprised at this paper actually and I think it takes an overtly political tone that I don't expect from officers and I think having worked in government, there's a lot here that I think we need to unpack.

She also questioned the use of the word unprecedented regarding internal governance, suggesting it was an overstatement:

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say unprecedented, if I'm being honest. I think maybe it's an overuse or overzealousness of words, but previously there's been exact teams that have been in place. It's not unheard of that. I think the idea of unprecedented I think maybe is a bit much and I appreciate we're put in a positive spin, but the politicians put a positive spin on that.

Lee also felt that diversity and inclusion points, such as Black History Month, represented the bare minimum of things that we should be doing, rather than exceptional achievements. She specifically inquired about the consultation process for the Women's Commission, asking,

My point is, why didn't you concern the women council when you were forming the Women's Commission? That's the point, can you clarify, please?

Finally, she clarified that the two culture approach related to the mayoral function was a point raised by administration members about past working methods.

During September 2024, Councillor Amy Lee was active in several council meetings. At the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee on September 3rd, she declared no disclosable interests. On September 10th, at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, she questioned the Chief Executive Office directorate's budget and expressed concern over a forecasted £0.5 million overspend in legal services, seeking clarification on the causes of this pressure. She also attended the Appointments Sub Committee meeting virtually on the same day. Later, at an Extraordinary Meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on September 30th, Lee inquired about procurement processes for home care and shared her experience of signing in without full information or awareness of a £190 million contract value. She advocated for scrutiny chairs to receive complete reports and explanations before being asked to sign documents.

During July 2024, Amy Lee attended two council meetings: the Strategic Development Committee on July 16th as a Substitute Member and the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on July 23rd as a member. No specific statements or actions were recorded for her in either meeting.

During June 2024, Councillor Amy Lee attended the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting on June 4th. At this meeting, she declared that she had no interests to declare.

During May 2024, Councillor Amy Lee was absent from the Council meetings on May 8th and May 15th, with apologies noted for both. Despite her absence, minutes from a previous meeting (February 28th) indicated her voting record on budget matters, where she voted AGAINST an amendment by Councillor Nathalie Bienfait and the main Budget Motion, but FOR an amendment by Councillor Marc Francis.

At the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on May 21st, Councillor Lee was actively engaged. She raised concerns about the governance and potential instability surrounding the restructuring of Tower Hamlets Homes (THH). Her focus also extended to children's services, where she sought detailed information on proposed improvements to SEND education care plans, drawing on personal experience. She specifically questioned the implementation and monitoring of early intervention and its impact on current service users. In a point of financial clarification, Lee corrected a figure, stating the total for homelessness grants was £6.35 million, not £6.7 million. Additionally, she requested confirmation on whether a serious case review would be initiated for a child protection case where a judge identified serious failures by the local authority that exacerbated domestic abuse patterns.

During April 2024, Amy Lee actively participated in council meetings, focusing on health and wellbeing initiatives. In the Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on April 16th, she raised important questions regarding the uptake of COVID boosters among vulnerable groups and sought information on data availability. She also inquired about plans to enhance support pathways for parents concerned about their children's SEND care and specifically asked, > Are you increasing the staffing on your team who will be acted on this strategy? and > Do you have any plan in place for improving pathways for parents who have concern about the SCND care if their children are receiving? This seems to be a common issue for residents. Do you have any plan for parents? Lee also attended the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee on April 18th and the Licensing Sub Committee on April 23rd, where she declared no interests and made no further recorded statements or actions.

During February 2024, Councillor Amy Lee was present at the Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting on February 20th, attending virtually. There is no record of her speaking or taking any action during this meeting.