Tower Hamlets Council has agreed to reduce the size of two key committees, a move that has sparked debate over proportionality calculations and transparency. The council voted to approve recommendations to shrink the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the General Purposes Committee during a meeting on Friday, 4 September 2026.

The decision followed concerns raised by councillors regarding the methodology used to determine committee sizes and the allocation of seats. Councillor Rupert George questioned the basis of the committee calculations, stating they appeared to still include an ungrouped member. I'm still awaiting some clarity on that as are other members of this chamber, he said. The specific calculation method being questioned relates to committee proportionality, with Councillor George noting that the figures are still based on numbers that include a member who is a member and is neither a member of a group at the same time. While the meeting documents detail established proportionality calculations based on the proportion of seats allocated to each political group, the exact deviation from these procedures due to the ungrouped member's inclusion remains unclear.

Councillor Syed Tareq Abdullah echoed these concerns, raising issues of transparency and accountability. He suggested that an ungrouped councillor had been carved out of a position, arguing that their inclusion would serve good governance, accountability, openness, and transparency. Councillor Abdullah expressed his belief that an ungrouped councillor staying on this role because it serves good governance, it shows accountability, it shows openness and transparency.

Councillor Maium Talukdar, Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and the Cost of Living, Improving Customer Services and Voluntary Sector Engagement, responded that discussions had taken place at full council and that all members had been invited to the Constitution Working Group meetings. Councillor Jonathan Purcell also sought further clarification on Councillor George's specific question regarding the committee calculations.

The Constitution Working Group (CWG) reviewed the size of the council's committees and recommended the reductions. The CWG's mandate in this instance was to review committee sizes and propose amendments. While the group's exact composition is not detailed, it was noted that all members, they were invited at the constitution working group meetings.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be reduced from 11 to 9 members, plus two co-optees. This reduction is intended to make it easier to focus on key issues, as the larger size was hindering detailed discussions. The General Purposes Committee will be reduced from 9 to 7 members. This change is due to the discontinuation of sub-committees, meaning the committee no longer required its previous size.

The overall aim of these changes, as recommended by the CWG, is to make committees more focused and effective.

The council meeting on Friday, 4 September 2026, agreed to the proposed changes. The recommendations were to Agree to the changes to Committee sizes proposed in Paragraph 3.4 and Agree the consequent review of proportionality set out in Paragraphs 3.6-3.7. The Speaker noted, I do not see any objections and so we will take this as agreed unanimously.

Further details on the council's agenda and reports can be found in the Updated Agenda Pack, the Agenda frontsheet, and the Public reports pack.