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People of all backgrounds are invited to come together in Hackney Town Hall Square to join the borough’s annual Hanukkah celebrations on Thursday 7 December.Hanukkah is the eight-day Jewish ‘festival of lights’ celebrated with the nightly lighting of a multi-branched candelabra, known as a menorah.A special 12ft menorah will stand in Town Hall Square for the duration of Hanukkah, with one light illuminated every evening over eight nights.Residents can see the first lighting of the menorah and hear a blessing by Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE from 6pm. Visit Love Hackney to tune in to the livestream and for more information.Event details: 6pm: Welcome by Cllr Etti and introduction by Rabbi Gluck OBE 6.15pm: First menorah light switched on 6:20pm: Guests are invited into Town Hall for music by Miles De Cruz and refreshments 6.30pm: Welcome and introduction by Mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley 6.40pm: Speech by Speaker of Hackney Anya Sizer 6.45pm: Speech by Rabbi Gluck OBE 7pm: Music from Simon Marks School Choir and Miles De Cruz plus refreshments Our resident’s safety is a priority for all our event security and staff. To ensure your safety, vigilent security staff will be overseeing the proceedings. Please arrive early to get your security bag check carried out before entering Town Hall. 

Hackney Council tenants are seeing improvements in the way its Housing Services delivers services to them, with improvements across all of its Tenant Satisfaction Measures. The Council is committed to providing better services for people living in its homes and while acknowledging that there is still more to do, the results of the latest tenants satisfaction survey show the steps it is taking are helping towards achieving this.The independent survey, carried out between August and October, shows satisfaction levels among tenants increasing in all  areas since the previous year - with the overall satisfaction level in the service rising from 52% in 2022/2023 to 59%.Over the last year the Council has taken a number of steps to improve its housing services including speeding up its inspections of reports of leaks and damp and mould; bringing in more people to increase its capacity to deliver repairs; and introducing a new online tool for people to be able to report non-emergency repairs to the inside of their home 24 hours a day 365 days a year. It has also agreed a Resident Engagement Strategy to improve the way the Council’s Housing Services talks to, listens to and involves residents in helping to shape its services and put them at the heart of everything it does. Tenant satisfaction with housing repairs increased from 58% to 63%, while 60%  were fairly or very satisfied with the time it took to undertake a repair compared to 52% the previous year.It also found that among tenants:there was an 8% increase saying their home was well maintained - up to 61% from 53%71% felt the Council kept tenants informed about things that matter compared to 56% in 2022/2023there was a 10% increase in those saying the Council listens to tenants views and acts on them - up to 54% from 44% 69% said the Council makes a positive contribution to their neighbourhood - a 13% increase on last yearsatisfaction in the way the Council deals with complaints increased slightly from 26% to 28%There was a 9% increase in the tenants  satisfied with the way the Council deals with anti-social behaviour (61% from 50%) and also in those saying the Council treats them fairly and with respect (70% compared to 61%).Results for all the Tenant Satisfaction Measures are listed in the table belowMeasure2023/20242022/2023Overall Satisfaction59%52%Satisfaction with overall repairs service in the last 12 months 63%58%Satisfaction with time taken to complete the most recent repair60%52%Satisfaction that home is well maintained 61%53%Satisfaction that home is safe63%58%Satisfaction that landlord listens to views and acts on them54%44%Satisfaction that landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter 71%56%Agreement that landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect 70%61%Satisfaction with landlords approach to handling complaints28%26%Satisfaction landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained62%59%Satisfaction landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhood69%56%Satisfaction with landlord’s approach to handling ASB61%50% 

Partners, staff, and community members are coming together in Hackney to campaign to end violence against women and girls as part of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (25 November to 10 December). An in-person launch event is taking place on Monday 27 November with a gathering on the Hackney Town Hall steps between 10 am and 10:30 am. The following 16 days of action will see a programme of events, workshops and activities highlighting the services available to support those experiencing domestic violence. This year’s campaign theme is “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls”. As part of the campaign, the Council is shining a light on improvements that have been made in the last year based on residents’ feedback. This includes better CCTV coverage and improved street lighting, which is now in place at six locations across Hackney, following feedback from local people during a ground-breaking consultation on women's safety two years ago. Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, Hackney Downs, London Fields, Mare Street and Well Street now have enhanced CCTV coverage, increasing the Council’s capacity to deter, detect and respond to anti-social behaviour. Tree pruning has taken place in four key areas - London Fields, Hackney Downs, Dalston, and Stoke Newington - where this was an identified need and the Council commissioned six Environmental Visual Audits (EVAs) of the areas identified as ‘hotspots’.The changes follow the 'Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls consultation' where hundreds of residents pinpointed areas on a map where they did not feel very safe, helping the Council to take action. Based on 634 online survey responses, and working with the Met Police and other stakeholders, the Council has funded enhanced CCTV coverage, improved street lighting and reduced any blockages to light, as part of its work to improve women's safety. Over the past year, the Council has expanded its Domestic Abuse Intervention Service, and: Trained over 500 professionals within the sector on subjects including coercive control, intergenerational abuse, and bystander interventionWorked directly with over 1,300 residents to reduce the risks posed to them and protect them from domestic abuseLaunched the UK’s only Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment with prompts for practitioners around anti-racist practice and intergenerational abuseReceived accredited status from the national Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance for work done to protect Council tenants from abuseDeveloped the new Female Genital Mutilation Protocol for Hackney and the City of London, launching Wednesday 29 NovemberIncreased paid leave entitlement for Council employees leaving an abusive relationship Over the past year, the service has helped 1,300 clients, with 97% of clients who give feedback saying they are happy with the service and would recommend the Domestic Abuse Intervention Service to a friend or family member who needed help. The Council works in partnership with Hackney’s Safer Neighbourhood Board and the White Ribbon campaign, as an accredited organisation, to address the issue of gender based violence. The Council’s Hackney Nights scheme, which supports venues to be better equipped to deal with issues around the sale of alcohol, has also:Trained over 2,000 frontline staff in pubs, bars and clubs to support victims of sexual harassment and deal with issues such as drink spiking and misogynyLaunched a new accreditation scheme which ensures venues adopt safer policies and join the Women’s Night Safety Charter Launched a public awareness #DontCrossTheLine campaign against misogyny and harassmentFind out more about Hackney’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls and response to domestic abuse. Are you experiencing abuse? In an emergency always call the police on 999, or report a non-emergency incident to the police on 101. If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic abuse, call the Council on: 020 8356 4458 to access support, or visit: hackney.gov.uk/domestic-abuse-support for information on the Council’s Domestic Abuse Intervention Service and other agencies that can help. If the incident was on public transport you can contact the British Transport police by calling or texting 61016.You can also report anti-social behaviour in parks and on the streets to the Council’s team by emailing asbteam@hackney.gov.uk  or calling 020 8356 3310.Are you hurting someone? If you are hurting someone, and want help stopping abusive behaviour you can call Respect on: 0808 8024040 or visit: respectphoneline.org.uk  The Council also operates a programme for those who perpetrate domestic abuse to help stop abusive behaviour. 020 8356 4458 to access support, or visit: hackney.gov.uk/domestic-abuse-support

This Islamophobia Awareness Month, Cllr Fajana-Thomas highlights Hackney’s ongoing commitment to community cohesion and addressing religious hate: