The General Purposes Committee of Tower Hamlets Council convened on Tuesday, 04 June 2024, to discuss several key issues, including local authority governor applications and updates to the council's constitution. Decisions were made on the nomination of local authority governors and amendments to the constitution, reflecting the council's ongoing efforts to ensure effective governance and representation.

Local Authority Governor Applications

Lorraine Feyi-Shonubi, Governance and Clerking Manager, presented the Local Authority Governor Appointment Report June 2024. The report detailed applicants for the position of local authority governor at Tower Hamlets maintained schools. The committee discussed the ambiguity in the application form regarding the length of residency in the borough, which had led to varying interpretations by candidates. Lorraine Feyi-Shonubi assured the committee that the form had been amended to rectify this issue.

Committee members welcomed the steps taken to increase applications and diversity among school governors. However, some members expressed disappointment that the report did not sufficiently address how the council could ensure that local authority-nominated governors represented the local community, why many applicants were from outside the borough, and the selection criteria for governors. Despite these concerns, the committee approved the nominees as listed in the report.

The form had since been amended and the problem rectified, said Lorraine Feyi-Shonubi.

The committee resolved to nominate the applicants to the available positions for local authority governors at maintained schools in Tower Hamlets.

Constitution Updates

Matthew Mannion, Head of Democratic Services, introduced the General Purposes Committee Terms of Reference 2024/25 report, which proposed changes to the terms of reference for several committees and provided an update on the work of the Constitution Working Group (CWG). The CWG had been developing initial workstreams and had requested the Association of Democratic Services Officers to review the constitution for legal compliance and suggest improvements.

A meeting of the CWG was scheduled for 12 March 2024, but this date might need to be reconsidered due to the recent departure of the council’s Monitoring Officer. The committee discussed the inclusion of political proportionality in addition to the existing provisions for ethnicity and gender balance in the terms of reference.

The committee agreed to the updates to the constitution as set out in the Appendix 1 GPC ToRs May 2024 and Appendix. 2 for General Purposes Committee Terms of Reference 2024/25. They also noted that these changes would come into force for the new municipal year and requested further advice on the implications of implementing political proportionality in appeal sub-committees.

Further advice on the implications of implementing a political proportionality element to any appeal sub-committees within the terms of reference of General Purposes Committee, was requested by the committee.

The meeting concluded without any urgent business or the need to exclude the press and public.