News & Events: October 2008 to March 2009
November 2008
November saw a unique meeting – the first ever joint meeting of Full Council with the Team Hackney Board, that is, the coming together of the borough’s democratically elected local representatives with the full range of our partners, from the public, private and voluntary/community sectors. This meeting agreed the refresh of our Community Strategy; the high-level document that sets out our vision for the borough over the next decade or so, and how we are going to achieve it. Jules Pipe said: "The Strategy covers a wide range of priorities for us and our partners, but its focus can best be summed up as “tackling poverty and reducing inequality”. Clearly the Council has a huge role to play in this, but cannot do it alone and close working with the police, the health services, housing associations, community groups and so on is essential for progress to be achieved." More information
December 2008
Mayor Jules Pipe made his initial proposals for the 2009-10 Council budget, including a Council Tax freeze for an unprecedented fourth year. Mayor Pipe said: "although these proposals still have to be voted on by Council, I am pleased to be able to propose that Hackney freeze its share of the Council Tax for the fourth successive year - the only Council in the country to be able to do so". More information
January 2009
The Government and the LDA announced that Hackney's campaign to ensure that the media centres for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic be sited in Hackney has been successful. Jules Pipe said: “The Council has been campaigning for both the main press centre and international broadcast centre to be permanent buildings built in Hackney Wick to support a legacy use for digital, media and creative industries. Today’s news is a big step in the right direction towards providing a meaningful and lasting employment legacy for local people. More information
February 2009
The Council and Team Hackney launched a campaign to ensure that all the borough's workers were being paid the National Minimum Wage, with Deputy Mayor Cllr Karen Alcock and Cabinet Member Cllr Guy Nicholson lending their support to the National Minimum Wage roadshow as it visited Ridley Road Market. More information
March 2009
A meeting of Full Council approved the Mayor's Budget, confirming that Hackney's share of the Council Tax would remain frozen for the fourth successive year. In addition, because the Council is now run more efficiently, extra investment can be made into the services most important for residents, including more money for activities for young people, extending our free swimming programme for under 18s and over 60 all year round, and keeping the borough clean. Mayor Jules Pipe said: “In difficult economic times, Hackney Council is on your side – our share of the Council Tax is to be frozen at the same level for the fourth year running, while this is will be the seventh year with no cuts to frontline services. More information
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
.