The Cabinet noted a projected overspend of £14.038 million in revenue expenditure, but did not need to make any immediate decisions as a result. The Cabinet agreed to put out for public consultation a series of changes to the council's 'pay to park' parking restrictions scheme, including extending the charging hours to 8.00am - 6.30pm, seven days a week. The Cabinet also agreed to lease London Walthamstow Hotel in Lea Bridge Road, and Waterside Lodge in Southern Leytonstone to use as temporary accommodation for homeless families.

Finances

The Cabinet noted that the council is currently projected to overspend by £14.038 million against the budget it set for 2024-2025. This is primarily due to increased demand for social care services for both children and adults. In particular, a combination of inflation, increased demand for services and national policy changes mean that Adult Social Care services are currently projected to overspend their budget by £8.924 million, with the majority of the overspend being a result of the increased cost of providing care packages. The Cabinet noted that the recently appointed Strategic Directors for Adult and Children's Services are developing plans to mitigate the overspends in their respective directorates and are working with the Strategic Director of Resources on the ongoing transformation programme.

The Cabinet also noted that the council had to use a specific homelessness reserve of £4.5 million to meet the increased cost of providing temporary accommodation to homeless families, primarily in commercial hotels.

To help improve the council's financial position, the Cabinet approved requests to allocate £2.853 million from the Budget Strategy Reserve (BSR) to fund the delivery of a number of one-off initiatives in 2024-25, including £0.170 million to fund the Inclusion Action Plan; £0.392 million to fund three new Business Intelligence posts for three years; £0.015 million to fund a Mosaic Health Check; and £0.258 million to fund initiatives that will help deliver the council's serious violence reduction strategy. The Cabinet also approved a request to allocate a further £3.084 million from the BSR to support the delivery of three large transformation programmes in 2024-25 and beyond. This includes: £0.831 million for additional resource to support the delivery of the wider transformation programme; £1.837 million for the Resident Experience programme, which is focused on improving the council's website and online services; and £0.426 million to support the delivery of the Family First programme. This leaves a forecast balance of £9.611 million in the BSR. The Cabinet noted this balance did not include any provision to meet the predicted revenue overspend or to reduce future budget gaps.

Alcohol and Drug Harm

The Cabinet noted the work the Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP) has been doing to reduce the harm caused by alcohol and drugs in the borough. The CDP was established by the council in October 2022 to meet the requirements of the government's From Harm to Hope strategy.

The CDP is led by SafetyNet, the council's Community Safety Partnership, and by the Health & Wellbeing Board. It works in partnership with Change Grow Live (CGL) who have been the providers of the borough's substance and alcohol use treatment services since 2017.

The CDP is focused on delivering three 'pillars' of work: 'Treatment and Recovery'; 'Prevention'; and 'Continuity of Care and Criminal Justice'.

The Cabinet noted that the CDP had received praise from Professor Dame Carol Black, who led the initial review of drug harm that led to the From Harm to Hope strategy. The Cabinet also noted the CDP had received positive feedback from service users, the police and partner organisations for its innovative approach to addressing local issues. In particular, the Cabinet noted that the CDP, together with CGL and the Metropolitan Police, had been able to reduce anti-social behaviour linked to drug dealing in Leyton by 80%.

The Cabinet agreed to directly award a new five-year contract for the provision of substance and alcohol treatment services to CGL. This decision was made using the Direct Award option provided for under the Health and Care Act 2022's new Provider Selection Regime. This decision was made on the basis that CGL are exceeding the expectations of the existing contract and are already a key partner in the delivery of the CDP's ambitions.

Serious Violence Strategy

The Cabinet agreed to adopt the council's new 'Serious Violence Strategy: A partnership approach to keeping our young people safe from violence'. The new strategy details the council's response to the government's Serious Violence Duty, which legally requires public bodies to work together to prevent and reduce serious violence. The strategy focuses on reducing the occurrence of serious violence, and in particular knife crime, amongst under 25 year olds. This decision was made because the council's Strategic Needs Assessment showed that whilst serious violence in general was relatively low in Waltham Forest when compared to other London boroughs, knife crime among young people is increasing at a faster pace.

The strategy seeks to address serious violence through a 'public health' approach that focuses on early intervention and prevention as well as on enforcement. It is focused on delivering change across four domains of activity:

• Strengthen - Building the resilience of communities and young people to prevent them from becoming involved in violence. This includes providing early support for families to help them build stronger relationships, and working with schools to give young people the knowledge and skills they need to avoid risky behaviours. It also includes giving young people access to safe, inclusive spaces, and giving them a voice in the way services are designed and delivered.
• Support - Providing early targeted support for those who are most vulnerable to violence. This includes providing trained chaperones to walk alongside children travelling to and from school, and extending the borough's network of 'safe spaces'. The strategy also seeks to build on the strength of local organisations and services by providing more sports and physical activities in areas of high deprivation, and by making sure that young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system get the support they need to overcome the challenges they face.
• Treat - Making sure that those exposed to violence receive the support they need to aid their recovery and divert them away from violence. This includes placing trained mentors in police custody to help young people who are arrested for violence related offences access support services. The strategy also commits to working with the families of children and young people affected by violence, providing them with therapeutic support and training to build confidence and family cohesion.
• Curtail - Using shared intelligence, technology, planning and legislation to predict, prevent, deter and disrupt serious violence. This includes making sure that community safety is considered as part of all development and regeneration projects. It also includes investing in CCTV, and working with partners to identify and challenge irresponsible retailers who sell knives and weapons to young people. The strategy also commits to working with the Metropolitan Police and the Probation Service to disrupt local gang activity, using gang injunctions to prevent young people from engaging in gang related violence.

Social Value

The Cabinet noted the council had achieved £8.7m of demonstrable social value benefits from its contracts in 2023-24. This means that since its creation in December 2020, the council's Social Value function has secured £48.5m of benefits from its contractors, £40.8 of which have already been delivered.

The Cabinet also noted that the council's Social Value Annual Statement had been revised to reflect the council's new Mission Waltham Forest strategy. The statement describes how the council will use social value to help it achieve the six missions it has set out in its new strategy:

1. Ensure every family and child are given every opportunity
2. Build an economy that works for everyone
3. Make Waltham Forest a great place to live and age well
4. Tackle the housing crisis head on
5. Lead the way for a net-zero Borough
6. Safe, green neighbourhoods where everyone can thrive

The statement details how the council will use its Social Investment Fund to support the delivery of the six missions. The fund is made up of money and resources donated by the council's suppliers. The Cabinet noted that the fund has already distributed £205,482 to projects that are helping families and children to access services and support; £12,311 to initiatives that support older people, disabled people and vulnerable residents; £179,630 to community projects; £4,843 to initiatives that help create healthier, safer and more resilient communities; and £249,075 to organisations that work with the community. It has also helped secure 765 sustainable jobs for residents.

Pay to Park Restrictions

The Cabinet agreed to put out for public consultation a series of proposals to change the way the council's pay to park parking restrictions scheme operates. This includes:

• Changing pay to park operating times across the borough to 8.00am to 6.30pm, seven days a week.
• Removing the one-hour free parking period that currently operates between 1pm and 2pm.
• Removing the 15 minutes of free parking that is currently available to all drivers.

These changes are being proposed to make the council's parking restrictions more consistent across the borough, to bring them more closely into line with neighbouring boroughs and to improve air quality.

The Cabinet noted that surveys carried out by the Parking Services team show that current arrangements are encouraging people to use their cars. For example, 23% of drivers who use pay to park bays remain in the bay for the entire hour of free parking between 1pm and 2pm. The surveys also show that 29% of drivers remain in bays for the entire duration of the currently uncharged periods before 10am and after 4pm. The Cabinet noted that the high volume of free parking is making it harder to enforce parking restrictions, and is resulting in vehicles hogging bays for long periods. The Cabinet believes that freeing up more spaces will benefit local businesses by making it easier for customers to park.

The Cabinet has asked Debbie Porter, the Strategic Director for Neighbourhoods and Environment, to consider the consultation responses and to take a decision on whether to implement all or any of the proposed changes.

Temporary Accommodation

The Cabinet agreed to lease two former hotels to provide 245 new homes for use as temporary accommodation for homeless families.

This includes leasing the 221-room London Walthamstow Hotel on Lea Bridge Road from London Walthamstow Ltd. for five years. The council has the option to break the lease after 18 months by giving six months' notice. The lease requires the landlord to manage and maintain the property and to undertake any works required to ensure the rooms are self-contained.

The Cabinet also agreed to lease the 24-room Waterside Lodge in Southern Leytonstone from Smart Capital Ventures Ltd for three years. The council will manage the property and will be able to purchase the freehold at any time during the three-year lease.

The Cabinet noted that whilst leasing the two properties will be expensive, it will cost the council significantly less than continuing to accommodate homeless families in commercial hotels. This will reduce the projected overspend in the General Fund in 2024-25 by £700k and in 2025-26 by £4.5 million.

The Cabinet also noted that increasing the number of self-contained homes available for use as temporary accommodation will reduce the council's reliance on placing families in shared accommodation, which is particularly problematic given that legislation requires the council to move families out of shared accommodation within six weeks. The council is currently housing 205 families in shared accommodation beyond the six-week limit, with ten families having been in shared accommodation for more than nine months. The Cabinet noted that Enfield Council had recently been fined £6,000 by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for breaching the six-week shared accommodation rule.

The Cabinet has asked Joe Garrod, the Acting Strategic Director of Place, to agree final terms for both leases. It has also asked him to agree terms for the acquisition of the freehold of Waterside Lodge, should the council decide to proceed with a purchase.