Government urged to take action on building fire safety following recent fire
Mayor John Biggs and Councillor Eve McQuillan, Cabinet Member Leading on Planning and Social Inclusion, have written a joint letter calling on the government to take urgent action on fire safety following the recent fire at New Providence Wharf. In the letter they told the Secretary of State that ‘people go to sleep each night […]
New research reveals scale of Covid impact on council budgets
New research from the union UNISON highlights how badly local government finances have been hit by increased spending to deal with Covid-19 and a reduction in income because of the pandemic. Huge increases in spending needed required to fight the pandemic, coupled with a massive hit to council income streams, meant that in December 2020, […]
New report reveals impact of two-child limit after 4 years
A new report into the Government’s two-child limit estimates ‘that at least 350,000 families and 1.25 million children have now been affected by the policy’ since it started 4 years ago. The report, from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), urges the Government to lift the two-child limit. Since 6 April 2017, parents having a […]
Tower Hamlets Council says aftermath of Sarah Everard protests ‘must be a moment for change’
Tower Hamlets Council this week (17th March) agreed an urgent motion addressing the aftermath of the Sarah Everard protests and setting out a series of actions for the council to take to bring about cultural change. The motion highlighted the impact and extent of violence against women and girls, the culture of misogyny in society, […]
Sarah Everard
We have all been moved and saddened by the brutal killing of Sarah Everard. She was a daughter, a friend, a colleague and she had her life ahead of her. It feels so unfair that she should choose to walk and never return home. The apparent randomness is painful and worrying – she could have […]
Mayor and councillors call for action to keep our NHS public
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs, Deputy Mayor Cllr Rachel Blake and Scrutiny Chair Cllr Gabriela Salva Macallan have written to the Heath Secretary Matt Hancock MP raising concerns about the sale of a number of GP surgeries in Tower Hamlets to an American pharmaceutical firm. They are calling for the matter to be […]
Mayor of Tower Hamlets responds to Levelling Up fund announcement
Commenting on the Chancellor’s Levelling Up fund announcement which puts Tower Hamlets in the lowest category of need, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs said: “Despite six in ten children growing up in poverty in Tower Hamlets, Rushi Sunak believes we are the lowest priority for his ‘levelling up’ fund designed to target places with […]
Labour budget protects council tax discount for low income households
Tower Hamlets Council’s Labour administration is protecting support for the borough’s poorest residents through its council tax reduction scheme (CTRS), despite the huge financial challenges facing the local authority. Tower Hamlets Council has had to make £200m in savings since 2010, with budgets cut by the Government and squeezed by additional demand. The council also […]
Mayor Sadiq Khan and Mayor John Biggs announce they will invest in additional police officers to tackle crime and ASB
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, visited Bethnal Green this week to announce his intention to invest a further £30 million – bringing his investment in policing to £1.08 billion – to ensure that more than a thousand Met police officers funded by City Hall will continue to patrol the streets of the capital for […]
Chancellor urged to support early years providers to prevent local closures
Mayor John Biggs and Cllr Asma Begum have written to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, outlining their concern about the lack of proper financial support for childcare settings during lockdown in Tower Hamlets and called on the government to step in with a financial lifeline. Since the onset on the pandemic, early years providers have seen […]
