The Cabinet noted Southwark Council's award of Borough of Sanctuary status and approved a framework for supporting asylum seekers and refugees. The Cabinet also discussed progress on the Climate Change Strategy and the Biodiversity Duty, reviewed and approved the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, agreed minor changes to the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy allocation process, noted the Revenue Monitoring report and approved the use of compulsory purchase powers to acquire the remaining properties in phase 2 of the Tustin Estate redevelopment.

Borough of Sanctuary

The Cabinet received a report on the Council's award of Borough of Sanctuary Status¹ and approved a four-year grant programme, funded by central government, to support the voluntary sector in working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

That the four-year grant programme for voluntary community sector (VCS) organisations working with refugees, asylum seekers and disadvantaged migrants with a total budget of 100k per year be approved. This will be paid by the local authority through a number of grants already received from central government.

Report Borough of Sanctuary Framework and Sanctuary Action Plan, Southwark Council, 16 September 2024

Pauline Nandoo from Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers, Sally Causer and Madeleine Kelleher from Southwark Law Centre, Eltayeb Hassan from Southwark Refugee Communities Forum, and Mazan, an asylum seeker who has received refugee status, all provided comments to the Cabinet on the report.

Climate Change

The Cabinet received the Council's annual report on the Southwark Climate Change Strategy. The report details the progress the council made in the last financial year on tackling climate change, and updates the Climate Change Action Plan.

The Cabinet noted that new investment has been secured by officers to support tackling climate change, but also:

the significant cost of addressing climate change, and the lack of resources which have been made available by central government in recent years to reduce carbon emissions and expand climate adaptation.

Report Climate Change, Southwark Council, 16 September 2024

Biodiversity Duty

The Cabinet considered a report on the duty, placed on local authorities in England by the Environment Act 2021, to further the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity when carrying out their duties. The Cabinet noted the new reporting requirements of the Environment Act, including a new requirement to publish a biodiversity report every five years. The first report is due in January 2026.

Local Flood Risk Management Strategy

The Cabinet considered the proposed Local Flood Risk Management Strategy. This strategy sets out how the council, in its statutory role as Lead Local Flood Authority, will manage the risk of flooding from all sources, including from rivers and seas, groundwater, sewers and surface water. The Cabinet approved both the strategy and its implementation.

Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy

The Cabinet approved some minor changes to the process for allocating funding from the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)².

In future, project allocations of funding will be made in the ward or neighbourhood in which the funding is generated, and assessed against the Southwark 2030³ goals. There will also be a minimum level of project funding, and a streamlined approval process in place. The Cabinet will consider a report setting out a draft revised allocation process in March 2025.

Revenue Monitoring 2024-25

The Cabinet received a report on the Council's Revenue Monitoring for 2024-25. The report notes the following budget pressures:

• Demand pressures in temporary accommodation,
• Increased costs for those who have ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’
• Increased costs in children services driven by the increased placement costs for children with complex needs and shortage of available foster placements
• Lower than expected income in Planning & Growth
• The cost of maintaining void properties.

The report also notes an overspend in Customer Services due to the need to address capacity issues in the contact centre.

Tustin Estate Phase 2 CPO

The Cabinet considered a report on the proposed use of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)⁴ for the acquisition of the remaining properties on Phase 2 of the Tustin Estate regeneration.

The Council entered into a development agreement with BY Development Ltd (trading as Linkcity) in November 2022 to deliver 295 new homes, and a planning application for the development was submitted in August 2024. The council has acquired 13 leaseholder interests in Heversham House by agreement, but is seeking to use a CPO to acquire the remaining 15 leaseholder properties.

The Cabinet agreed in principle to the use of a CPO.

Motions Referred from Council Assembly

The Cabinet considered three motions referred from the Council Assembly:

Renewing our borough: a strategy for building the homes and infrastructure we need

The Cabinet noted this motion, which was a statement of support for the Council's housing policies and its efforts to deliver new homes and infrastructure.

Declaring a Housing Emergency

The Cabinet noted this motion which, amongst other things, praised Southwark Council's record of building new council homes.

Southwark Council is the largest builder of new council homes in the country with over 3,000 built or on site being built which is more than at any time since the 1970s.

Motions from CA 240717, Southwark Council, 16 September 2024

The motion also called on the government to take action on housing by, amongst other things, building more social rent homes.

Debate Not Hate

The Cabinet noted this motion, which called for action to tackle the abuse and intimidation of councillors. The motion called on the council to sign up to the Local Government Association's 'Debate Not Hate' campaign, and to work with the police and others to provide better protection to councillors.

Ending the Lower Road Chaos

This motion noted problems with a new cycle lane on Lower Road in Rotherhithe, and resolved that the Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets and Waste should continue to work with others to resolve the situation.