Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the meeting of Mayor and Cabinet. I'm Mayor Brenda Dakers and I shall be chairing tonight's meeting. I would first like to welcome the Cabinet officers and members of the public watching in person or on the internet at home. This meeting is being recorded and webcast live on the Council websites. There are a few housekeeping matters to bring to the attention of members and officers involved to ensure the smooth running of this meeting. Please ensure that your microphone is set to mute unless you are speaking. If Cabinet members wish to speak at any point during the meeting, please indicate this by raising your hands. We are not expecting a planned evacuation tonight. If the fire alarm sounds, please leave your belongings and exit the building quickly via the nearest fire exit and assemble opposite the cost of coffee on Catford Broadway. Some members may be participating online. Virtual attendance does not count for the purposes of section 85 of the local government at 1972. Are there any apologies for absence? Okay. Thank you. Item one is the minutes and I move that the minutes of the last Mayor and Cabinet meeting be agreed as a correct record. Are these minutes seconded? Thank you. Are the minutes agreed? Thank you. Item two, decoration of interests. Does anyone have an interest to declare in respect to any of the items on the agenda? Okay. Take that as a no. Thank you. Item three, matters raised by screwing other constitutional bodies. There are three screwing matters tonight. The first two are referrals from the OVUE and screwing committee relating to asset management and taking a trauma informed approach. Councillor SMIT, Chair of OVUE and screwing committee, please introduce your referrals who have up to five minutes to speak on each one. Good evening, Mayor and Cabinet. Thanks for the introduction, Brenda. I'm bringing two referrals before you this evening. The first one I'd like to talk to is taking a trauma informed approach to delivering services. Let me just put my clock on so I can stick to that five minutes. So in November 2023, the Office for Budget Responsibility reported that the UK households are suffering the worst period in living standards since modern records began. Indeed, this is the legacy of 14 long years of austerity. As local Councillors, we see this firsthand how this plays out. The strain upon residents increases year-on-year as do the pressures on those who work hard to deliver our services. Despite these challenges, we can be proud that Lewis and Council has worked consistently towards better outcomes for residents and mitigates against some of the chaos and distress caused by austerity. From our Council House building program to the cost of living response to our funding to support school infrastructure to deliver free school meals, a trauma informed approach acknowledges the long-term impact of distressing experiences on well-being, behaviour and emotional responses. This may be caused by a single event or as we often see repeated stressful experiences over a longer period. Trauma informed work acknowledges the prevalence of trauma and its impact on people's everyday experiences. When applied to services, this looks not at what we deliver but how we deliver and aims to create spaces, services and organisations that support well-being of residents and staff. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities organises this approach into six key principles, safety, empowerment, trust, choice, collaboration and cultural considerations. We're lucky to have numerous examples of best practice in Lewisham. Our school's inclusion strategy takes a trauma informed view to ensure a fair and consistent approach to behaviour management. Our Borough of Sanctuary program sees a trauma informed approach as integral to its work and is set for it to form a part of mandatory training for all new staff and our award winning youth offending system whose bespoke trauma informed anti-racist restorative approach saw them reduce first time entrance into youth justice system by 20% in 2023 to 24, well below the, well above I should say the reduction was well above the London and UK averages. However, while there are pockets of excellent practice, there isn't a present, a unified approach that could see this work embedded across the delivery of all services and partners. There is therefore a risk that some services will adopt this approach to different standards and other services who routinely work with residents experiencing distress may not adopt it at all. This strategic importance has a growing national recognition. Thrive London is a public health partnership funded by the Mayor of London, NHS and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, an office free term resources. Can we out those online to be muted, please, thank you, please do continue. Thrive London is a public health partnership funded by the Mayor of London, NHS and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and offers free trauma informed training to organisations and individuals. The Scottish National Trauma Transformation Programme is a major and long-term change programme which aims to help services and organisations embed this approach across policy and practice and the West Midlands combined authority is working to embed an overarching framework across a multitude of partners and services. Informing our recommendations, we collected supporting evidence from our brilliant youth offending service and supporting evidence from Michael Preston Shoots, the outgoing chair of the Adult Safeguiding Board, Hannah O'Khalley from Partners in a Community Interest Company made up of psychotherapists and clinical psychologists and Trishana Osborne, an independent consultant that works to embed this approach across health and legal settings. All the experts we spoke notes are advocated for a consistent, worldwide approach and for training and advocacy to start at the most senior levels and to be cascaded across all levels of organisations and services. To end, I won't read the recommendations in full, but I would add that they ask the following questions. What opportunities are there to make spaces, processes, language and language safer for residents? What new opportunities are there to support staff and members who experience secondary trauma and what opportunities are there to build on existing best practice and to support its dissemination across services and partners so that the experience of resident staff and elected members is at all times trauma-informed. Thank you. And you've got another referral? Yes, and the other referral on the asset management strategy I've actually presented on this at Marin Cabinet in October, so I won't add to that, but I look forward to liaising with Councillor Warsh and Patrick Debeck, who's here to discuss the strategy before it comes to Marin Cabinet in July. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Schmidt. The third, so is there any questions or comments for anybody? Then we'll bring forward the third matter, which is the comments of the House in select committee on the use of schedule to ground eight of the House in Act 1988 by House and providers in addition. I invite Councillor Pemfolds. And you have five minutes to introduce your referral, thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I did send everybody a little note on Saturday evening, has everybody got that okay? I've got paper copies of people need it. So this is a referral by the House in select committee. The committee saw in March the five main housing associations active in Loursham, namely Hyde, London and Quadrant, Southern, Peabody and Clarion. The House in select committee was concerned that all these housing associations, to a greater or lesser extent, use ground eight in possession proceedings for renters against general needs tenants. All the housing associations say that they use it rarely, but the fact remains that they do use it, and Councillor Cooper will be aware of a case in New Cross Gate, which is giving us calls for concern, where Hyde is using ground eight. So to explain, ground eight is a mandatory ground for possession due to renters. I want to put this in context. Ground eight does not apply to secure tenants. So secure tenants are council tenants. And the ground for possession that the Council would use for renters is ground one in schedule to the housing act 1985. And this simply says that possession proceedings can be brought where some rent is lawfully due from the tenant. Now this is a discretionary ground. And deciding whether to make a possession order, the court will look at the circumstances of the case. They'll look at the level of arrears, how long it is taken for the arrears to accrue, and the reason for the arrears. The court also has several options available to it. For instance, it could make a suspended possession order, which is when a possession order is made, but it's suspended on terms, such terms typically been at the tenant-paced current rent plus five pounds a week towards the arrears. And if they stick to those terms, once the arrears have cleared, the order falls. So local authorities are the only landlord which can issue secure tenants. All other registered social housing providers have to grant a short or a short short hold tenant. And in that way, registered social landlords are treated exactly the same as a private landlord when it comes to the grounds they can use for possession proceedings. The grounds for possession of rent arrears for a short and short, short hold tenant is a set hour and it's go to the housing at 88. And this gives three grounds, which I've, I've sent to you, there's ground eight, ground ten and ground eleven. As you see, ground ten and ground eleven, as well as being discretionary grounds, are extremely widely drawn. Ground tenant just says that some rent lawfully due from the tenant is unpaid on which the proceedings for possession of a gun and, well, unpaid at the date of the service of the notice. And ground eleven says whether or not there is any rent in arrears at the date the proceedings for possession of the gun, the tenant has persistently delayed paying the rent, which has lawfully become due. So they're very widely drawn, but they're discretionary grounds. So as with a secure tenancy, the grounds ten and eleven, the court will look at the circumstance of the case when they decide to make a possession order. Again, the court has other remedies available to it. For instance, suspended possession orders. This is not the case with ground eight. This is a mandatory ground. If the ground is made out, then the court must order possession irrespective of how the arrears have arisen. No, for instance, it's no good for the tenant saying, well, it's my fault. The DWP have marked up my universal credit claim. I haven't had universal credit for two months, so I haven't had my rent paid. That is no interest of concern to the court. This is a mandatory ground. There is more than eight weeks arrears if the rent is paid weekly or two months arrears if the rent is paid monthly, then the court must order possession. Furthermore, it must be an outright possession order. With ground eight, the court has no discretion to make any kind of suspended or postponed possession order. It is a view of the housing select committee that the ground eight is not an appropriate ground for general needs tenants. They can be some of the most vulnerable in society whose lives can be chaotic and troubled. The housing select committee that believes that ground ten and eleven are very widely drawn and gives enough power to the landlord. There is a view of the housing select committee that social housing tenants are the very type of tenant who should be protected by the court hearing the circumstances of the case before deciding whether their arrears justify them losing their home. Housing associations can have a policy on this, or they can write into general needs tenancy agreements that grounds a possession upon which they will be relying and in that event specifically exclude ground eight. I personally know cases where there has been a stock transfer from a local authority to a housing association and it has been that ground eight will not apply. Although this is a slightly different scenario, the housing select committee asked Mary Cabinet to ask officers to look at whether there can be a provision within the nomination agreements we have with housing associations that when they house general needs tenants from our allocation list, ground eight is excluded. Thank you. Thank you so much, Councillor Penfield. Is there any members that wish to speak on these matters? Yes, Councillor CUM. I just wanted to thank Councillor Penfield and the housing select committee for also bringing real examples of things that have happened to residents in Lewisham and trying to format our policies around that to make sure we are protecting some of the most vulnerable people in our borough and social housing tenants and I look forward to having conversations with officers about their proposal and seeing how we can take it forward. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Smith, Councillor Penfield for your referrals. They have been noted and I will ask the relevant officers to prepare a response to come to a future meeting. Before I move on to item four, I just want to turn back to the apologies and also to welcome Councillor Warshoo's online for joining us, but we also have apologies for letting this fall from Councillor Dureyke and apologies from Councillor Powell and Croupsky who cannot be with us this evening. So thank you. Onto item four, which is the corporate performance report for quarter three of 2023, 24, and I shall formally move this report but us, David Austin, to introduce the report. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Just to say this is the regular performance report that you get quarterly and this is the Q3 report to December, obviously somewhat delayed due to periods of pre-election meetings not being held. The report covers the normal ground. The two things I would note are that it does this time include some additional housing indicators that we have added to this quarter because with Lewis and Holmes coming in on the first of October, this is the first quarter that that company's normal performance reporting is not available so we've incorporated it into the Council's reporting. We'll be bringing forward in July the year-end, out-term performance report and we'll also be undertaking a review at that point because this will be the end of the second year we've been running this report to ensure that it's fit for purpose for the Administration and its priorities going forward. But otherwise the report is before you to note and then if agreed this evening we'll publish it on the website. Thank you so much for that introduction. Does any other member wish to speak on this? Okay. Are the recommendations seconded? Thank you. Are the recommendations agreed? Thank you. I confirm that the recommendations have been agreed. Item five concerns change of age range at Brentnell's school, permission to consult, I invite Councillor Barnum to move and introduce the report. Thanks very much, Mayor. Colleagues will recall that we have a strategic commitment which was highlighted in the Labor Manifesto in 2022 to promote inclusion in education through improving capacity to meet our children's needs locally and we've been adding capacity in special schools and in mainstream schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities. This report concerns Brentnell which provides for children age four to 16 with complex social communication and interaction difficulties including autism. Brentnell is rated as a good school and it will surprise no one here if I point out that all of Lewis' special schools are rated good or outstanding by Oxford. But however good a particular school is, there are often challenges when children face transitions and the transition at age 16 to further education can be difficult for all young people and particularly difficult if children have special educational needs and need additional support. So for the past two years the Council has been working with Brentnell on a pilot program in which the school has continued to educate a number of vulnerable year 12 children who have passed the age of 16 to help that transition into adulthood and access local college provision and that pilot has gone really well. All but one pupil successfully transferred into local college provision last year and so to build on that we're now proposing to formally change the age range of the school to allow 17 year olds to be formally part of the school role and to allow that work to continue and we would envisage commissioning places from the school for a number of over-aged children currently over-aged children to do that transitional support. So this report seeks agreement to a statutory consultation after which we'll get further advice and confirm or not our decision on that probably at our July meeting so I recommend that we agree the recommendations in the report. Thank you very much. Thank you Councillor Barnum and I think that this is really sort of worthy work because it isn't easy for those who have additional needs to transfer from primary to secondary, from secondary to college and into life in general and to give that extra year and that support is really good so definitely welcome this report and the consultation that should be agreed this evening be going forward. Are the recommendations seconded? Thank you. Does any other member wish to speak on this matter? Are the recommendations agreed? Thank you. I can confirm that the recommendations have been agreed. Item six, the authority to consult on a local enforcement plan. I invite Councillor No, I shall move this report and invite Councillor Walsh to introduce it. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mayor Dakers. I hope that you can hear me okay. As a labour level authority, I'm proud to say that we are pro-development but not at any and on costs. The purpose of this report is to seek authority to carry out public consultation on a local planning enforcement plan for tuition. Local enforcement plans are encouraged by the government as a means providing clarity and transparency around planning enforcement processes. The local planning enforcement plan will support the Council's local planning authority in its enforcement duties by explaining to the public being both complainants and those subject to the enforcement action, the range of discretionary powers available to us, how we prioritize enforcement cases and the range of actions that we can and will take for those who break our rules. Comments from the public consultation will be considered and incorporated into an updated local planning enforcement plan which is planned. That's quite a lot of plans to be represented to Mayor and Cabinet in the autumn. So this report is setting out and asking for authority to go and consult ahead of a full report coming back with public consultation about how Lewisian residents would like us to make sure that those who are undertaking development within our borough are acting accordingly with our rules and regulations locally. Thank you Councillor Warsh. Are these recommendations seconded? Thank you. Does any member wish to speak on this matter? Thank you and thank the officers for what they've done so far. Are these recommendations agreed? Thank you. I can confirm that the recommendations have been agreed. Item 7 is the implementation of a public space protection order. I invite Councillor Campbell to move and introduce the report. Thank you Mayor. Firstly I'd like to thank the officers that put the work in to make sure that this public space protection order is ready for implementation on the 1st of June. The only comment that I really want to make is to confirm that this PSPO journey will firstly be about education, there will be about behaviour change and it will be out support with enforcement being the last resort. I ask the Mayor and Cabinet to agree the recommendation to implement the PSPO. Thank you. Thank you Councillor Campbell. Are these recommendations seconded? Does any member wish to speak on this? Thank you Councillor Baum. I'd just like to say it seems a long time ago now and it was a long time ago that I can remember launching the consultation on the public space protection order. I think it was February 23 and I know there's been a few bumps in the road since then but I just wanted to say I'm really grateful to Councillor Campbell for seeing this through because in the ward I represent and I know in other parts of the borough a lot of people have been quite distressed by what appears to be a rise in anti-social behaviour. That's not to suggest that things are out of control in lotion because they're not but there are there's a minority of people who behave in a way that causes upset to other people and we need to send a strong signal that that's not what our community wants and I think this will help to do that. So thanks very much. Thank you Councillor Baum. I'd just want to add that I agree that it is about behaviour supporting and trying to redirect people so that our officers are able to do that prior to sort of going to the final enforcement process but it is important to recognise that you know where we do have elements within the borough where we have anti-social behaviour that our officers are able to act swiftly and quickly to deal with that. So thank you for bringing this report forward. So are these recommendations agreed? Thank you. I can confirm that the recommendations have been agreed. Item eight is an annual progress update on the Autism Strategy Action Plan and I invite Councillor BELL to move this report. Thank you Mayor Dakers. The Lewisham All Age Autism Strategy 23-28 presents our collective vision for the borough and describes the priority areas we will work on over the next five years. The strategy is established action plans which together outline the route map to make sure that Lewisham is more autism inclusive borough to live and work. The strategy is developed in collaboration with autistic residents, carers, guardians and local professionals. The Lewisham Autistic Partnership Board or LAPB is responsible for overseeing the strategy's action plans and projects particularly the All Age Autism Support Service and Steering Groups. This report provides an update on the implementation of the strategy and the action plans. As Mayor and Cabinet know autism is a spectrum condition that impacts the way autistic people interpret the world, communicate and regulate their emotions. Autistic people often experience discrimination and isolation as a result and consistently report a lower quality of life than the general population. There are currently just over 4000 people diagnosed with autism in the borough but the number is probably a lot higher than that because of the waiting times for diagnosis and autistic people face significant inequalities and because of that often have worse outcomes than neurotypical peers. Whilst the strategy aligns with the government's national priorities as set out on the paper referred to, several consultation processes have been undertaken during the various stage of the development to ensure the strategies orientated around what's important to our local community. In order to ensure the strategy remains a living working set of priorities and deliverables the LAPB includes the Council's strategic partners, providers and community members and people with lived experience. The role of the Board will be to oversee the development, mobilization and delivery of the strategy as I previously spoken about. The strategy's summaries contained in section five of the report. The fourth strategy can be contained in Appendix A, the Steering Group which oversees is contained in Appendix B in terms of the action plans and the equality analysis assessment can be found in Appendix C. Finally, I am delighted that my cabinet advisor Councillor Laura Cunningham will be working with me on the autism strategy. Laura has extensive experience and has been a great support in the development of the strategy when it was launched last year. Subject, any questions Mayor and Cabinet may have, I ask you to agree the recommendations as set out in section two of the report and thank officers for all their hard work in putting together this update and previously in creating and enabling the strategy and the Steering Group and the Board to function. Thank you very much. Thank you Councillor Bell, this report is an update is most welcome and I really look forward to seeing its journey and coming to fruition. Are these yes, are these recommendations seconded? Thank you and does any member wish to speak on this item? Thank you once again. Are these recommendations agreed? Thank you. I can confirm that the recommendations have been agreed before I move on to the next item just once acknowledged. Councillor DRIKE, join us online and welcome her to the meeting. Thank you. Item nine is award of contract for interpreting, translation and transcription services. I invite Councillor Barnum to move and introduce this report. Thank you. Thanks Mayor Dakers. As Brenda said, this report recommends awarding a contract for interpreting translation and transcription services. These are services that the Council has a legal duty to provide, one to ensure we meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, but also these are services we would probably want to provide anyway to make sure that all of our residents can get access to the service and support they need. It provides face-to-face interpretation. For example, when a social worker needs a language interpreter to ensure good communication with a client or sign language services, it also provides telephone interpreting and document translation. It's a whole Council service. It currently sits within children and young people's service. I must confess that was news to me when this report was being prepared, but that makes sense because about 80% of the Council's need is located with children and young people's services, although other big users are in housing and community services, for example. Obviously, the needs that this service meets are varied and complex. As a result, there's quite a complicated funding model, but we only pay for what we actually require, so we're not committed to pay for services that we don't get out of this contract. So I recommend agreement. My thanks to the officers for their work on the tender and this report, especially Morgan Donahove, who I think is online and is available to answer any difficult questions or indeed any questions. Thanks very much. Thank you, Councillor Barnum. Are these recommendations seconded? Thank you, Councillor Cooper. Does any other member wish to speak on this item? There is a part two close report associated with this item. Does any member wish to discuss the information in the confidential report under item 13? Okay, I'll speak in no. Are these recommendations therefore agreed? Thank you. I can confirm that the recommendations have been agreed. Item 10 is the re-precuminant of the domestic abuse and violence against women and girls community and refuge service. I'd like Councillor Campbell to move and introduce this report. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Domestic abuse and violence against women and girls remains a priority in the Lewisian Council, and the Council recognises that domestic abuse includes economic abuse, non-physical abuse and corrosion. It's essential that Lewisian residents are provided with a service that will offer quality support to victims and survivors of all types of gendered violence, including domestic abuse. This will empower those impacted by ensuring that victims' experiences are validated and that they're supportive of the community. I recommend that Mayor and Cabinet agree to the recommendation to go out the tender for the re-precuminant of the domestic abuse and violence against women and girls community refuge service, which will be a single point of access for crisis management that includes advocacy, it includes support, services for victims of any former gendered based violence. The tender, I think, is really important to say, will also include a specialist emergency service for women and children fleeing from abuse. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Campbell. Are these recommendations seconded? Thank you, Councillor Hearn. Does any other members wish to speak on this item? There is a part to close reports associated with this item. Does any member wish to discuss the information in the confidential report at item 14? Okay, those are the part one and part two recommendations agreed. Thank you. I can confirm that the recommendations have been agreed. Item 11 concerns the Millwall Football Club lease. I formally move this report and invite Councillor Warsh to introduce it. Thank you again, Mayor Dakers. This report and a subsequent part two report underlines how the Council is going to proceed with its relationship with Millwall Football Club and the independent charity, Millwall Community Trust, in order for us to unlock and realise the potential in the Surrey Canal Triangle, whilst adding safeguards for the trust, who I am sure are in support of the proposals set out tonight. As the new Cabinet Member for Inclusive Regeneration and Planning, I am committed to ensuring our principles set alongside a clear and ambitious vision for this area for the north of the borough need to guide us in the way that we act. As an authority, we want to see this area realise the potential to deliver good quality homes alongside being a cultural and sporting hub with good community infrastructure whilst returning a reasonable income to the Council in the long term that is both fair and for sustainable for all parties, including the London Borough of Lewisham. When thinking about this regeneration scheme, it's important to keep in mind the things that we value as a Labour-led authority, our commitments in our Malafesto and I'm sure that those values are being put into practice with the report being brought forward by officers today. I know Mayor and Cabinet will be cognizant of this, but for members of the public, when reviewing the report put before us tonight, we're primarily looking at this as the local authority and freehold landlord, rather than the planning authority, where there are separate processes that this will also need to adhere to and respect. However, I hope that members will be reassured that we're achieving a reasonable and good return on our asset, whether that be commercial, i.e. the rent returns or the broader social value, or in this case, both. And I would highlight that independent assessments have been engaged to ensure that we as a local authority are achieving best value for our residents. I want to thank officers and their teams that have been involved in the detailed negotiations to get us this far, and also highlight Mayor Dakers in her previous role as cabinet amendment for regeneration, in her unwavering commitment to finding solutions and mutual satisfaction for all parties involved over a protracted period in achieving the proposals put forward to Mayor and Cabinet tonight. Thank you, Councillor Borsch. All these recommendations seconded. Thank you, Councillor Barnum. Does any other member wish to speak? Councillor Barnum. I just wanted to echo what Councillor Wolfe said there. I mean, some of us with long memories will remember the tangled history of plans for development on this site, and I think it's absolutely vital that the Council was able to move forward with a robust agreement with the club, because we want them to flourish, and we also want development to happen in that area where it's much needed. So I echo his comments about how welcome it is that we've made our way through this so far, and fingers crossed for the future. Thank you, Councillor Barnum. I'd just like to give a special thanks to one of our officers, Patrick DeBek, in particular, other members of the team, but also like to thank Milwaukee, can you just move a football club? Because this has taken a long time to get to the point where we have an agreement which is able to realise not only the potential for the club, but also get a real return that is, as a public body, sort of meets the criteria that we and the duty that we owe as a public body to our residents regarding leases, and particularly for this area. So I just want to thank the officers and everybody who's been going back and forth regarding getting to this point, and I look forward to whatever happens in the future there, so thank you all. So if I just move on to, there is a part two close report associated with this item as Councillor Warsh mentioned. Does any member wish to discuss the information in the confidential report at item 15? Thank you. Are these recommendations agreed? Thank you. I confirmed that the recommendations have been agreed. With that being said, with no part two items to discuss, we could therefore close this meeting. Now thank you for joining us whether you are at home, on the internet or in person here this evening, and thanks to all the officers. Thank you and good night.