This meeting was the last meeting of Hackney Council for the 2024/25 municipal year, and included a wide-ranging set of reports, a review of the proposed budget for 2025/26 and a number of motions submitted by the Green and Labour groups.

2025/26 Budget and Council Tax Report

The report pack contains a report about the proposed budget and council tax for 2025/26. The report describes the significant financial pressures facing Hackney Council, especially in relation to the increased cost of Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, and the provision of temporary accommodation. It is proposed that a 4.99% increase to council tax is implemented in order to help mitigate against these pressures.

Across the country, councils are facing unprecedented financial pressures. Increased demand for services, and the growing cost of delivering them, has meant more local authorities seeking emergency help from the government or asking to raise council tax far above standard increases.

The report goes on to say that the council will draw down £10m from reserves in order to balance the budget. The report also includes a summary of how the council plans to invest in its priorities for the 2025/26 year, including £55m to maintain and improve council homes and £135m towards temporary accommodation. The report also details how income will be generated from fees and charges and outlines the Council’s capital programme for 2025/26 to 2027/28. This is to inform the Council’s financial plans and borrowing requirements over the medium term.

Renaming of the Rhodes Estate & Rhodes Community Hall

The report pack contains a report about the proposed renaming of the Rhodes Estate and Rhodes Community Hall in Dalston. The report includes a summary of Cecil Rhodes’ legacy as a white supremacist and how this sits at odds with the Council’s approach to diversity.

In 2020 the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, on both sides of the Atlantic, was galvanised by the murder of African-American, George Floyd, by police officers in the USA. This was compounded by the growing evidence of pandemic data highlighting its disproportionate impact on Black and Global Majority communities due to health and wealth inequalities and the continuation of systemic racism across the UK.

The report describes the findings of a two-stage consultation process with residents on the estate and recommends that the estate be renamed ‘Dalston Gardens Estate’ and that the community hall be renamed ‘Dalston Gardens Community Hall’. The report also proposes that an interpretation plaque be placed on the estate to explain why the name of the estate has been changed and the role that residents played in deciding upon the new name for their estate.

Children and Families Service Full Year Report 2023-24

The report pack contains the Children and Families Service Full Year Update Report to Members 2023/24. This report provides a summary of activity in the service in the year to March 2024, outlining the main activities, challenges and successes. The report reflects on feedback from the recent Ofsted ILACS inspection and sets out the ongoing areas of improvement for the service. The report also includes data on Children in Need plans, Child Protection Plans and Looked After Children.

Polling Districts and Polling Places Review

The report pack contains the final report on the recent review of polling places for Parliamentary elections. The report details the statutory requirements for the review, its findings and recommendations for Council approval. The review recommends no changes to polling districts and polling places, except in respect of two polling places:

• Baden Powell Primary School in Hackney Downs Ward to be replaced with Clapton Methodist Church in polling district HNHD.
• Colvestone Primary School in Dalston Ward to be replaced with St Mark’s Church Hall in polling district HSKA. The two primary schools have been closed due to school amalgamation.

Pay Policy Statement for Chief Officers 2025-26

The report pack contains a report on the updated pay policy for Chief Officers. The report, Full Council Pay Policy Statement 2025_26, recommends that the updated policy, which is attached as Appendix 1 - Hackney Pay Policy Statement - 2025_26, be approved by Full Council. The statement includes information on how chief officers are appointed, paid and remunerated, Hackney Council’s policy on redundancy and other severance payments, and the relationship of Chief Officer pay to the pay of other staff who are not chief officers.

Decision to publish a Cumulative Impact Assessment under Section 5A of the Licensing Act 2003

The report pack contains a report about the decision to publish a cumulative impact assessment under Section 5A of the Licensing Act 2003, and the evidence base for it. The report recommends that the assessment be approved.

Section 85 Local Government Act 1972 – Resolution To Extend Six Month Rule

The report pack contains a report on a request for dispensation from attending council meetings under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972. This is for Councillor Clare Joseph to accommodate maternity leave.

Appointments to the Children and Young People's Scrutiny Commissions

The report pack contains a report on a number of proposed appointments to Hackney Council committees and commissions. This included a request that Lisa Neidich replace Jo Macleod on the Children and Young People's Scrutiny Commission.

Green Group Motion: Opposing the Two Child Benefit Cap

The report pack includes a motion submitted by the Green Group about the Two-Child Benefit Cap. The motion, 1. Green Group Motion_ Opposing the Two Child Benefit Cap, condemns the cap, outlining its impact nationally and within Hackney.

The two child benefit cap has also had very limited influence on decisions around fertility and, as a result, it has served to push families with three or more children further into poverty (2).

The motion calls for the cap to be reversed and thanks Hackney North MP Diane Abbott for opposing the policy at the national level.

Green Group: Call on Government to Abolish Right to Buy

The report pack includes a motion submitted by the Green Group about the Right to Buy scheme. The motion, 2. Green Motion Call on Government to Abolish Right to Buy.docx, calls for the scheme to be abolished by the national government.

Green Group: Support of the Plant Based Treaty

The report pack includes a motion submitted by the Green Group about the Plant Based Treaty. The motion, Green Motion - In Support of the Plant Based Treaty, condemns the environmental impact of meat consumption and outlines a number of proposed changes to Hackney’s food policy. These changes include a shift towards plant-based catering for council events and meetings, the introduction of at least two plant-based “Earth days” per week in maintained schools, and plans to ensure at least one plant-based meal option is available across Council-run institutions that provide catering. The motion also requests that the Council expands educational opportunities on Council-run sites to inform residents about the benefits of plant-based diets, building upon initiatives like the “Eat Like a Londoner” campaign.

Labour Group: Together Against Violence Against Women and Girls

The report pack includes a motion submitted by the Labour Group on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The motion, 4. Labour Motion VAWG.docx, outlines the Council’s approach to VAWG, and pledges to conduct a review of Hackney Council's VAWG services and work towards preventing the erosion of vital services.

The mental health impact is particularly disturbing; recent research by the National Police Chiefs Council found that shockingly, between April 2022 and March 2023, there were more suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse than intimate partner homicides, and Women’s Aid (2022) found that 45.6% of women in refuge services reported feeling depressed or having suicidal thoughts.

The motion also proposes a pledge to ensure comprehensive education on healthy relationships is available in all Hackney schools.

The report pack also includes the DRAFT Minutes 29 January 2025 from the previous meeting of Hackney Council, a Speaker Update for February Full Council 1 from Councillor Sheila Suso-Runge, Speaker of Hackney, and the following motions: Labour Amendments to Green Child Benefit Cap Motion 1, Labour Amendments to Green Right to Buy Motion, and Labour Amendments to Green Right to Buy Motion 1.