Transcript

Good evening and welcome to this meeting of the Executive. My name is Councillor Simon Hogg and I'll be chairing this meeting. Members of the Executive, I'm now going to call your names in alphabetical order. If you could please switch on your microphone to confirm your attendance. Councillor Akinola. I think we have apologies. For Councillor De Kedem. Councillor Gasser. I think we have apologies for. Also, Councillor Henderson. Present. Councillor Ireland. Evening. Evening. Councillor Stock. Good evening. And Councillor Yates, who I think also has sent apologies. Are there any declarations of interest? No, if not we'll move on to the matters for decision and you'll be aware we have business from both the housing and the finance committees, both on 17 July, but because of the general election, particularly finance also handled items from other committees as well. So there will be quite a range of papers. And grateful to have cabinet members here to say a few words of introduction to those. Using the discretion granted to the chair, I'd just like to move the discussion of the exempt paper 24169A to the end of the agenda. This is about the Winstanley estate regeneration and we're going to discuss that in private just because it contains, you know, financial information, commercially sensitive information, so we'll be doing that at the end of the meeting in private. So if it's all right, we'll move on to item number 2, which is the Alton renewal plan. Councillor de Katerm, would you like to introduce this? Yeah, so this is a combination of two years' work, two years' engagement on the Alton estate. The proposals are that we return with a new plan, the Alton renewal plan, which increases the amount of council housing and reduces the number of council homes demolished and offers a kind of retrofit and increased shopping ballast road down Danbury Avenue. The timeline for the renewal plan is that now that this has passed committee, we'll do a further year of master planning with architects and designers and alongside residents and resident groups feeding into that and that final master plan will come back to committee in a year's time and that will begin the process of a six-month ballot whereby we give the residents of the Alton estate a vote on whether this plan goes ahead. So it's a really exciting investment from the council. It's a very, very big scheme. It will kind of define the next decade for that neighbourhood and it's something that was actually discussed in a really collegiate manner at committee and got the unanimous support of the council representatives at that committee. So a long journey ahead and one that is going to fundamentally rest on the democratic mandate from the people of the Alton estate. Brilliant. Thanks very much and congratulations. Any other comments or questions on that paper? Chancellor Henderson. Very quickly. Congratulate Councillor Dickerton for coming forward with a plan which so far has certainly had a very good reception from pretty much everyone including opposition councillors. I think to achieve that is quite a significant success. So I congratulate him on that. Also thanks to him as a ward councillor. That's very kind of you to say. So can we take it that is agreed? Agreed. Excellent. Congratulations. And if it's all right, Councillor Dickerton, if you could speak to the housing annual resources paper. Great. So this is the yearly update on the temporary accommodation figures and temporary accommodation finances as well as reported projections on homelessness within the borough. Like the last ten years it's a very harrowing read in terms of the situation facing homelessness but for the first time in roughly a decade we've got the first projected reduction in temporary accommodation which just has not happened for any of the times I've been on committee or read this paper. So the programme that we enacted when we first took over is starting to slowly but surely work. We're starting to see a turnaround in the number of placements. We're starting to see an uptick in preventions and overall we've got this now projected overall reduction in TA placements which is the first time, like I say, in a decade. The challenge we face though is costs are rising. So we might be in a situation whereby even though we are reducing TA numbers the cost is going up and one of the kind of more exciting parts about the changing government is how we can try and make national representations to see if we can change that. One thing discussed at the housing committee was pan London rates building up the monopoly power of London purchases of TA, particularly nightly paid accommodation. So that's something that me and officers are going to go and work on. But that's basically the housing annual resources paper. Thank you. Any comments or questions on that paper? Is it agreed? Excellent. And next is the report on the local government and social care ombudsman's findings on a housing complaint. So this is a historic case that started before our administration but is a very important one because it highlights some of the work that we've done in the interim to try and make sure that something like this never ever happens again. The specificities of the case are all published in the report. Specifically it was to do with someone being placed in temporary accommodation that was not suitable to their needs or the needs of their child. And there was a kind of cross recommendation that hit both the housing team and also the children's services. One of the things that we've done to try and ameliorate this is that it's very clear that the overloaded caseloads meant that the case officer involved wasn't fast enough at kind of picking up on the complaints that were being made by the resident. And the ombudsman has been very kind of serious in the financial penalty given to the council. It's one of the largest ones I've seen, so £10,000. So this is a really important reminder that the work that we do here is scrutinised, there's a strong regulatory function and temporary accommodation and the scandal of temporary accommodation is one in which this council has to make sure that it's providing the best service for those vulnerable residents.

Thanks very much. Councillor Stock. Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to comment really as this also had recommendations in relation to children's services, as the family affected had a child with special educational needs. So just from my perspective in children's, the children's directorate, we've acknowledged the recommendations made by the ombudsman and taken into account the actions and undertaking those actions. And I think one important takeaway from my perspective that I'll follow up with the team and across the council is making sure that there's always good information sharing across directorate when we have families with additional needs. Thank you. That's really helpful. Is that report agreed? Yeah, agreed. >> Thank you. So we'll continue with the housing proposals. We have the Wandsworth corporate plan, actions and KPIs. And back to Councillor Di Ciano. >> This is again a paper we expect every year. It highlights some of the successes and the areas where we need to strengthen our performance. The ones that I would pick out are despite being red in the KPIs, our preventions in temporary accommodation placements has actually jumped by 100, which is a successful metric. You might relook at some of those metrics. I have to say Wandsworth corporate plan and the asset management strategy weren't discussed at the housing committee meeting because of the guillotine. So I can't really report back on any major details other than the fact that there was points that were raised prior to the committee meeting were to do with continued challenges with downsizing. So that's where we try and offer residents who are underoccupying moves that they consent to. And so that's something that, you know, to get our housing stock really efficiently used, we need to have a really good offer on that. So that's something to take away as a council. And then if I move on to the asset management strategy, that's a broad document. Again, there wasn't much debate because of the guillotine at the committee, but it's a paper that is really outlining the major policy decisions that were outlined when we passed our corporate plan about a year ago relating to the major key themes of housing, which is, you know, our housing homes program, our renewal and maintenance of existing stock, our licensing scheme and other key priorities of the administration. Thanks very much. Are there any questions for Councillor Di Ciano, either of those papers? If not, the corporate plan actions and KPIs agreed. And the asset management strategy agreed. Thank you. So we'll now turn our attention to matters for decision from the finance overview and scrutiny committee, although as I say, quite a wide range of items went through here, so I may draw on some different cabinet members. I think the first paper was around the London Borough of Culture 2025. Unfortunately, Councillor Akinola isn't here, but this is obviously a key project. It's ongoing. That update is on the record now. Are there any comments or questions about the borough of culture? Is that agreed? Thanks very much. Next was another of Councillor Akinola's papers on the voluntary and community sector infrastructure. This was both updating on the great work we've done to improve our relationships with charities and voluntary organisations and also proposing an increase in the sort of central support that's there for those bodies. Is that supported? Yes. Thank you. And next we have the schools breakfast program. Councillor Stock. Thank you, chair. Yes, this paper went to finance committee. It's a paper being brought forward by the children's directorate. Thank you for finance committee for considering it. So this recommendation is really about doubling school breakfast program. Currently we've got a pilot program with 20 schools in the borough and now this is extending the offer to all schools in the borough who want it and that will be 40 schools, at least twice as many children will be enjoying free school breakfast in September. So this is a continuation of our work partnering with Magic Breakfast and part of our broader school food strategy to tackle food insecurity and to make sure that all children have access to nutritious and fresh foods and that they are fed and ready to learn each and every morning. This part of our ambition to make sure that every child, whatever background they come from, have access to good food and so that no child is expected to attend school on an empty stomach. So I think which has been said, they need to have hungry minds, not hungry stomachs. So it's concerning locally and nationally to see levels of food insecurity rising. And we want to make sure that this partnership with Magic Breakfast means that no child doesn't receive breakfast without having to face barriers or stigma. So we had a really successful pilot that we've learnt from, more than 3,000 children received breakfast during that pilot, about 60% of children in each school took part. We had really positive feedback from head teachers, 90% of schools said that it had a positive impact on children's readiness to learn and 82% said it improved pupil attendance and punctuality. So we're really pleased to be able to extend this scheme, it very much complements other work, broader work in relation to cost of living for families in the borough who are in receipt of free school meals, such as supermarket vouchers that they'll receive during the holidays, school uniform vouchers to make sure that they're smart as they start a new school, automatic enrolment of free school meals and I'm really excited for all children who'll be able to participate in our holiday and food programme over the summer holiday as well and I hope they have a good holiday and come back to school in September and enjoy our breakfast clubs. Thank you. That's an excellent explanation of a wonderful policy. Any questions for Councillor Stockton, Councillor Ireland? Thank you, Councillor Stockton. It was very pleasing to me that the proposal was agreed unanimously in the committee, included by the minority party, shows how popular it is. Thank you. So is that proposal agreed? Agreed. Thanks very much. If it's okay if we can turn to supported housing acquisition next, I think Councillor Henderson, if you could introduce this. Thank you, Chair. This is an absolutely tremendous opportunity to acquire 56 much needed sheltered accommodation units in an excellent location at what actually represents less than half the cost that it would normally cost to build some facility like this. That is largely because of section 106 agreement in place with the Springfield development site, which has enabled us to agree with the developer's really opportunistic price. It really is something that no one in their right minds could possibly turn down. But I mean, apart from the actual cost itself, which really is a bargain, cost has only agreed with the developer at £11.2 million including council costs. That actually means a cost per unit of about £200,000, which as I said is considerably lower than what it would cost on the open market. But it also delivers so many other very important objectives within social care. Not only is it projected that we will need those 56 units and already we have demand pressures. This will take us two years or two to build, but certainly the projections of increased demand, particularly from mental health and disabilities and the old age community do make it vital that we do actually accept this. More than that, it also touches a number of other issues. It will actually save us a considerable amount of money. Far too many people actually spend time outside the borough, so this will actually be an opportunity for people to live much closer to their communities, to be much closer to their relatives and friends. I don't think you can actually put a price on that. It will also save us a considerable amount of money. The property will also generate revenue as well. Those two would far exceed certainly current interest, mortgage costs, et cetera, on taking out a loan to cover the property, but as I said it's far too good an opportunity to turn down. It will also enable us to reduce our reliance on spot purchasing, which is not only grossly inefficient, but also incredibly expensive. So for a wide range of reasons, many financial, but also in terms of improving the offer to people who require shelter housing, this I think is a proposal that not only would I commend, but I think is one that, as I said, you'd be pretty stupid to turn down anyone. Thanks. Thanks very much, Councillor Henderson. I think that's a really clear case. Any comments or questions on that? If not, shall we agree the proposal? Agreed. Thank you very much. Next up is Wandsworth Council's leisure strategy, and I'm sorry that Councillor Gasser isn't here to talk to this, because I know that she and Mr Edie and others have put in a huge amount of work on this very impressive document, which will widen access. It will make sure we've got top quality facilities for years to come, so I'd encourage everyone to have a look at what's deliberately been made quite an accessible document. I think that the public could benefit just from picking it up and reading it. But for this evening, are we okay to approve that paper? Thanks very much. Next is Access for All, which is a policy framework on supporting residents to access our services. I don't know, Councillor Ireland, would you like to say a few words? This is a very good initiative. We are using the underspend in the financial statements you hear about in a minute to benefit our residents who need it most, so I'm very pleased to support that. Yeah, absolutely, and I think this is a really important policy that we're going to hear more about in the months and years ahead, making sure that every resident has access to the incredible opportunities that our borough creates. Does the Executive support that proposal? Indeed. Thanks very much. Next is the Borough-wide Infrastructure Investment. This is a paper that I've helped to pilot. I'll just say a few words. It's basically unring fencing the sill from 9 Elms, so sill is just a way of talking about the contributions that property developers make, and the previous administration had a set of rules where all of the benefits from the development in 9 Elms were kept in that one area, and we've just changed the rules, so millions of pounds now is free to be spent across the borough, to be spent across Battersea and Putney and Tooting, where I think it will do a huge amount of good. Are there any comments or questions on that proposal? Is it supported? Thank you, and next we have the Wandsworth N-Sill, so N-Sill is neighborhood sill, which is a sort of slice of this bigger strategic developer contribution sill, and we'd sort of moved forward with changes to the boundaries there previously, so this was an update paper sort of saying how our listening exercise of going out into neighborhoods and saying what benefits would you like to see from these property developer contributions? Would you like better playgrounds or roads or nicer, safer underpasses, whatever it might be, we've been out listening in a problem-solving way. Any thoughts or comments on that paper? Is it supported? And next we have the Affordable Housing Viability Guidance. I don't know, Councillor De Kedem, if you want to contribute on this, or I can say a few words. I think it's basically to deliver our goals of genuinely affordable homes for local people as our top priority, and making sure that alongside building and buying homes ourselves, we're requiring property developers to deliver as much affordable housing as they reasonably can. I think it's really important to state that for many years this council used public money and subsidised housing from a higher end intermediate product as opposed to a social rent product, and this paper is about rebalancing that because social rent is the tenure that's in the most demand at the sharpest end. So this is an attempt to follow in the same direction that we're doing with our direct bill programme in delivering council housing and social rent housing to bring that same ethos to private sites. Thanks very much. If that's okay with everyone, is that supported? Thank you. Now we'll move on to the Wandsworth corporate plan actions and KPIs. So this is the finance version of it. So would it be okay, Councillor Ireland, if you said a few words? Of course. This is the Wandsworth corporate plan. We developed that to ensure delivery of our priorities for the council, and it sets out how we will deliver a fairer, compassionate and more sustainable Wandsworth, and the plan includes four-year objectives to be delivered by March 2026, and these are supported by these key performance indicators. One thing to say about it is that across all committees, over half showed an improvement against the previous year, and just over three-quarters are on target or higher. There are a couple of areas where we need to do more work, but we're confident that the ongoing work, including the change programme, will help to improve those. So a selection of KPIs which have improved on the previous year are physical visits to libraries per 1,000, the percentage of assessments in children's social care completed within 45 working days, the percentage of education, health and care plans completed within the statutory time scale, the percentage of repairs completed in target times across all priorities, overall tenant satisfaction with the housing service, and overall leasehold satisfaction with the housing service. There are many more. That's just a few. That's all I have to say. Thank you. Thanks very much. Any other points for Councillor Ireland, or are we okay to approve that report? Thank you. So, Councillor Ireland, do you mind moving on to the next item, which is the Council's financial results for 23/24? These are the financial reserves of year-end out term for the year 23/24. A couple of things to say, really. We continue to experience sustained and rising demand for the Council's services. This is as a result of really a hangover from COVID. And this applies particularly in children's services, adult social care, housing and transport. In children's services, demand for support for disabled children through placements in residential schools and looked after children. Additional costs in these were partly offset by renegotiating contracts. We managed to achieve savings there, so very well done to the officers and my colleague, Councillor Stock. Then support for older people with physical disabilities and those with learning disabilities and mental health issues. Again, the market is very hard and it's increased demand. It continues to put a pressure on our budgets. Additional homelessness demand and, in particular, a steep rise in the unit costs of providing temporary accommodation. And I'd say in transport and planning, it's behavioural change, again, accelerated by the pandemic, that there's less demand for our planning services and reduced income from parking. So many service areas overspend, but through active treasury management, taking advantage of higher than expected cash balances, we've raised additional investment income which has fully offset those additional costs from service demand and inflation. And we've achieved an underspend of 4.85 million. As referred to earlier, we're using that to create a reserve for access for all, because we are very aware that there's more than one Wandsworth. There's lots of health inequalities in Wandsworth. There are areas in Wandsworth that are among the most deprived in the country. For instance, over 10,000 households earn less than 20,000 pounds a year, and that's just not enough to pay the rent. We know that 20% of children in our schools are eligible for free school meals. And a terrible statistic, residents in the most deprived areas die seven years before those in the least deprived areas. Now, we are very mindful in the past few years, the cost of living crisis has had a detrimental effect on the lives of our residents, plus the pandemic. It's caused a lot of hardship and a mental health crisis. And we froze council tax to help our residents, and we continue to invest in our borough. And we feel that setting up this fund will enable us to help our residents even further. And the idea is that all residents will benefit from the opportunities that Wandsworth has to offer. Just a few more points, sorry. Looking forward, while inflation has fallen to around 2% in the last few months, we are still experiencing the delayed impact of inflation on our contracts. And the cost of living crisis continues to affect many of our residents, and we will continue to support them. It's very pleasing that the auditors expressed their approval at the Audit Committee a couple of weeks ago, saying how well Wandsworth is run. And I would like to thank officers, particularly budget holders, and Mrs. Mary, Ms. Burston, Ms. Wilson, Mr. Giuliati, Mr. O'Sullivan and their colleagues, and department directors and cabinet colleagues for all your hard work in managing this budget and in completing the accounts. Thank you. Well, yeah, no, thank you so much. Your work's really appreciated. Any comments or questions for Cancer Ireland? So, yeah, no, I would just genuinely like to say, you know, your work's appreciated. It's been a really tough year for local government, and really proud to say in Wandsworth not only have we found that money to support all our frontline services, but we've been able to freeze council tax. Residents pay Britain's lowest council tax, which is a great cost of living help. But you've also been able to create Britain's biggest cost of living support fund, and it's incredible now, also that £4.8 million for access for all to support, you know, our lowest income residents so they can have fantastic opportunities too. So it's really appreciated. Thanks for your work, and of course all the people you've named there as well. And wonderful the council still has very low debt and substantial reserves as well, thanks to sound financial management, which will always be at the heart of what we do. Is that paper supported? Thank you. And I think we only have two more to go. So revision to disposals policy, which was to finance committee. My colleague, Councillor Dickerton, is more an expert on this. Would you like to? Please, thank you. Yeah, so this is just amending existing policy that we passed a year ago, putting it into a more formalised way, which is that previously, if a freehold, we would sell the last flat in certain buildings where the leasehold or the freehold had been reduced to a low number of flats in that policy, and given that we no longer sell off council homes unless it's, you know, very, very specific circumstances, this is a kind of routine change to that policy, so it's not an automatic process. So the board headline is this council does not sell council homes. That's understood. Any comments or questions on that paper? Is it agreed? Excellent. Thanks so much. And so finally for this open part of the meeting, Councillor Island, we have our budget variations paper. Thank you. This paper just reflects the adjustments to the budget as a result of decisions made in the housing committee and in the finance committee and includes adjustments to do with the Alton regeneration scheme, schools breakfast project and the acquisition of supported housing in Springfield Village. Thank you. Thank you. Any comments or questions on that paper? Is it agreed? Wonderful. Thank you very much for those really helpful updates and huge amount of work, really important work for the public we've got through in the past month or so. If it's all right now, just because of the confidential financial information contained in the next report, I'm going to move that the press and public are excluded from the remainder of this meeting by virtue of paragraph 3 of part 1 of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and that's due to the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person, including the authority holding that information. Just wondering if I could have a seconder to that. Seconded. Councillor Di Cidam. So thank you. Therefore that concludes the public part of the meeting. [BLANK_AUDIO]