The Overview and Scrutiny committee were scheduled to discuss how the council responds to anti-social behaviour, how it could support community-led housing, and the Mayor's response to the committee's recommendations on how the council could adopt a trauma-informed approach to delivering its services.

The meeting also received the final report of a 'task and finish group' that had been set up to look into how scrutiny in the council could be improved.

Anti-Social Behaviour

A proposal to set up a new 'task and finish group' to look into anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the borough was included in the report pack. The proposal suggested that the task and finish group should investigate the causes of ASB in the borough, and what the council's response to it should be.

The proposal suggested that the group should meet over 8 months, gathering evidence from council officers, residents and external partners. The proposal suggested that the group could benefit from hearing from the Youth Justice team in Lewisham.

Community-led Housing

A proposal for a 'task and finish group' to look into how the council can support community-led housing initiatives was included in the report pack.

The proposal identified three particular types of community-led housing that the group could look into, including:

• Co-operatives
• Self-build schemes
• Community Land Trusts

The proposal suggested that the group should look into what support community-led housing groups require from the council, as well as how the council can ensure that community-led housing schemes are high quality and sustainable.

The proposal suggested that the group could gather evidence from existing community-led housing groups in the borough, as well as organisations that have experience of supporting them.

Delivering Homes in Partnership

A proposal for a 'task and finish group' to look into how the council can deliver homes in partnership with private developers and financial institutions was included in the report pack.

The proposal suggested that the group could gather evidence from other councils about how they have successfully delivered housing through partnerships. It also suggested that the group should look into alternative financial models, such as social impact bonds.

Mayor and Cabinet response to referrals

Trauma-informed approach

The meeting considered the Mayor and Cabinet's response to the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny committee on adopting a 'trauma-informed approach' to the delivery of council services. The response was provided in a report titled 'Response to the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on adopting a trauma-informed approach to delivery services'.

The report included a definition of 'trauma-informed practice':

Trauma-informed practice is an approach to health and care interventions which is grounded in the understanding that trauma exposure can impact an individual’s neurological, biological, psychological and social development.

The report highlighted the council services that have already adopted a trauma-informed approach, including:

• Housing Needs & Refugee Service
• Children’s Social Care
• Adult Social Care

The report also set out the council's plans to implement a trauma-informed approach more widely. The council intends to deliver trauma-informed training to all staff, as well as managers. The council also plans to encourage its partners and contractors to adopt a trauma-informed approach.

The response also set out the council's plans to engage with the Lewisham Strategic Partnership on the issue.

Task and Finish Group Reports

Improving Scrutiny

The meeting received the final report of the 'Improving Scrutiny' task and finish group.

The report, which was agreed by the group at their meeting on the 24th July 2024, contained a number of recommendations on how scrutiny in the council could be improved. The group noted in the minutes for their final meeting that:

It was recognised that many of the things that had been identified as good practice were already within the remit of scrutiny members to adopt and implement.

The minutes of the meeting went on to highlight the importance of public engagement with scrutiny, noting:

The importance of public engagement with scrutiny.

The meeting also received the final reports of task and finish groups that had been set up to look into Youth Provision and the Private Rented Sector in Lewisham, but the substance of these reports was not included in the public report pack.