The Overview & Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss a range of topics, including updates from the Mayor, the Women's Commission, and the council's waste services. The committee will also review forthcoming decisions and consider pre-decision scrutiny of cabinet papers.

Tower Hamlets Women's Commission Update

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will receive an update on the work of the Tower Hamlets Women's Commission¹, including initial findings from community engagement and formal public meetings. The report pack states that the committee will be asked to provide feedback on the work of the commission and identify any gaps.

The Women's Commission was established in 2024 to investigate and address inequalities affecting women in the borough. According to the report pack, the commission is responding to the fact that outcomes for women fall behind men in areas such as health, employment, and representation in local government.

The commission has identified four key priority areas:

• Community Leadership
• Health
• Employment
• Safety

The commission has undertaken consultation with residents across the borough, including a survey, community workshops and supplementary workshops. The report pack notes that a total of 303 women shared their lived experience with the Commission.

The commission has also held formal public review meetings with partners, community organisations and senior decision makers in the council across the four themes.

The report pack includes initial findings for each of the four priority areas. For example, in relation to community leadership, the report pack states that 63% of women felt excluded from both community leadership and local decision making.

In relation to health, the report pack states that many women report that their health concerns are dismissed or minimised, leading to delayed diagnoses and reactive care.

In relation to employment, the report pack states that there are barriers to job opportunities, including fragmented job listing pages, discouraging language in adverts, unclear application processes and limited flexible opportunities.

In relation to safety, the report pack states that women feel unsafe particularly at night, avoiding certain routes and areas due to harassment, poor lighting, antisocial behaviour.

The report pack also includes initial draft recommendations for each of the four priority areas. For example, in relation to community leadership, the report pack states that there should be more long-term support and representation of women, especially mothers and women from minoritised backgrounds.

Waste Services

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will receive a presentation on waste services in Tower Hamlets. The report pack states that the presentation will provide an update on the waste reorganisation, the implementation of Keep Britain Tidy Group inspections, and the procurement of new vehicles. The presentation will also provide an update on the time banded collections trial and its impact, and resident communications in the recycling plan.

The report pack notes that time banded collections commenced in August 2024 and operate twice daily, seven days a week, clearing all major high streets and town centres of waste.

The report pack also includes data from the Tower Hamlets Annual Residents' Survey, which shows that satisfaction with waste collection, street cleansing and recycling services has improved since last year.

The report pack states that in the first quarter of 2025, 97.5% of independent Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) street cleansing inspections were graded at or above the 92% acceptable standard.

The report pack also includes information on missed collection reporting and assurance processes, and the reasons for missed collections.

The report pack notes that the recycling rate is 19.82%, an increase of 4.12 percentage points compared to April to June 2024-25.

The report pack also includes information on communications and engagement activities, including social media posts and events.

Mayor's Spotlight

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will hear from Mayor Lutfur Rahman as part of the Mayor's Spotlight. According to the report pack, this is an opportunity for the mayor to highlight progress against strategic commitments, reflect on areas where external factors and conditions continue to test resilience, and set out the forward focus needed to sustain and or improve delivery in a complex and changing environment.

Forthcoming Decisions

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will review forthcoming decisions expected to be taken by the Mayor from the Executive Forward Plan and identify any areas for further scrutiny for the committee.

The Forthcoming Decision Plan includes the following topics:

• Allocation of Holiday Activity and Food Programme Grant Funding Christmas 2025/26
• Amendments to Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy Approach
• Annual Equality Report 2024-2025
• Annual Resident Survey (ARS) 2025 results and analysis
• Anti-Social Behaviour Policy
• Community Engagement Recognition Policy
• Community Safety Partnership Plan
• Community Spaces Design and Delivery Guidance
• Determination of Admissions Arrangements for 2027/28
• Extended Placement Programme and Healthcare Horizons Programme
• Free School Meals Action Plan – Scrutiny Report Response
• Future of the Domestic Abuse Case Management Service (Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate (IDVA) Service)
• Hate Crime Reporting Journey – Response to OSC Scrutiny Challenge Session and Action Plan
• Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) – Notification of grant funding allocations for 24/25 and delegated authority for grant funding allocation for 25/26
• Mayor's Community Grant Programme (MCGP) Performance Report
• Partial Update to the Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document
• Planning for School Places 2025/26 Review and Recommendations
• Reduction and Recycling Plan Progress Report – Quarter 2, 2025-26
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Improvement Report 2024/25
• Strategic Delivery and Performance Report Year 4 Quarter 2
• Strategic Vision – Our Tower Hamlets 2035
• Teviot Estate Regeneration Scheme - Resolution to make a Compulsory Purchase Order and associated land matters
• The (draft) CIL Partial Review Draft Charging Schedule - Consultation
• The Maternity Care Action Plan Response, including Maternity Care and Support for New Mothers in Tower Hamlets Scrutiny Report
• Tomlinson Close Mini Regeneration Housing Scheme
• Tower Hamlets Digital Inclusion Action Plan
• VCS Funding Awarded Under Delegated Authority
• Voluntary and Community Sector Strategy 2025-2029 and Compact
• Young Tower Hamlets Strategy 2024-2027

Pre-Decision Scrutiny

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee will consider the agenda of the Wednesday 26 November 2025 meeting of Cabinet and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions and comments.