The Council agreed to readopt the existing Gambling Policy for a further three years, to change the structure of the committees that make planning decisions, to grant Councillor Concia Albert dispensation from attending meetings, and to set the schedule for the Council's meetings in 2025-2026.

Oxford Street Pedestrianisation

Councillor Paul Swaddle asked the Leader of the Council about the ongoing discussions with the Mayor of London¹ about the proposed pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.

Whilst I can confirm that there has not been a formal response to the letter, discussions have been ongoing at an officer and political level.

Illegal Encampments on Park Lane

Councillor Swaddle asked the Leader of the Council why it had taken eight months for illegal encampments to be removed from Park Lane. The Leader of the Council responded:

We note, obviously, the impact that Perdo was deemed to have at the early stages of this. But we believe we were making the case to move further and faster to come to a fair resolution to the situation.

The Rebuilding of St Mary's Hospital

Councillor Swaddle presented a petition from over a thousand residents about the decision by the Labour Government to put the rebuilding of St Mary's Hospital on hold. He asked if the Council would campaign for it to be rebuilt. The Leader responded that:

... this council will continue to make the case that St Mary's is absolutely right to move forward.

A Burst Pipe on the Lillington Gardens Estate

Councillor Jim Glen asked the Cabinet Member for Housing Services about a burst pipe on the Lillington Gardens Estate on 22 October, and the subsequent difficulties residents had getting a response from the Council contractor, Antivirus. He asked

Given the acknowledged risk of future catastrophic leaks, what is the criteria used to assess the safety of our residents and at what point would the estate be classified as unsafe?

The Cabinet Member agreed to look into this and report back to him. Councillor Glen then asked about the financial model being used to assess options for replacing the PDHU ² system on the estate. He asked if the Cabinet Member was concerned that ACOM, the consultants employed to assess the options for the scheme, had refused to run sensitivity tests on the model.

Access to the Arts

Councillor Angela Piddock asked the Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology and Culture about what the Council was doing to improve access to the arts for residents and school children. The Cabinet Member talked about the work of the City Lions scheme, and a new scheme, Artslink.

A key priority for me is the Cabinet member for culture is ensuring that the many fantastic institutions that we have in Westminster are seen as for the people who grow up here.

Councillor Piddock asked for more detail on how the new Artslink scheme would operate. The Cabinet Member explained:

So the arts link, as a concept, is an arts council endorsed framework to help increase these local partnerships between our educational providers on our cultural institutions. And the key reason that we've established this is to create the system to aggregate the local cultural offer for our Westminster schools, who we find often struggle to build these relationships individually.

Planning & City Development Committee Restructure

Councillor Patrick Lilley asked the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development to provide more detail on the planned restructure of the Council's planning committees. The Cabinet Member explained that the Council planned to:

• Abolish the Planning and City Development Committee
• Widen the remit of the Maidstone Road committee
• Reduce the number of sub-committees from three to two
• Start a new forum for Planning Committee Members

... we are abolishing the planning and city development committee. I've been going to this committee for six years. In that time, it's never made a recommendation or taken a decision.

Cabinet Member Pay Rises

Councillor Ian Rowley noted that cabinet member pay had risen by 53.4% since 2018. He asked:

... how can you justify a 53% pay rise over that period? Is it any element of performance whatsoever?

The Leader of the Council responded that:

... Cabinet member allowances in this council remain lower than any other council in London. They remain half the level of the colleagues in Kensington and Chelsea.

The Autumn Budget

Councillor Sara Hassan asked what the benefits to Westminster were of the recent Autumn Budget. The Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration talked about the funding that had been announced for the NHS, schools, and social care, as well as the increase to the Local Government Financial Settlement.

The budget delivers funding for 2 million NHS operations, scans and appointments a year, capital funding to rebuild schools and build new social homes, the biggest increase in carers allowance, and the ability since which introduced cuts to business-rate bills for struggling retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, all while freezing income tax, VAT and employees' national insurance.

Councillor Ed Pitt Ford asked for more detail on the increase to the Local Government Financial Settlement, and what specific funding Westminster might benefit from. The Cabinet Member explained that:

The Chancellor announced a significant real-terms increase in the local government financial settlement which forms the core central government grant to councils. There is also a £600 million increase in the social care grant, which is additional funding to adults and children's social care, and £233 million extra additional funding on homelessness ...

PDHU Costs

Councillor Pitt Ford asked the Cabinet Member for Housing Services what she thought the maximum acceptable spend on a replacement heating system for a flat would be. The Cabinet Member explained that the £66,000 figure previously circulated to residents was:

... the highest estimate at that time for the largest property on one of the estate.

Councillor Pitt Ford then asked if the Cabinet Member was concerned that the consultants on the project had refused to run sensitivity tests on the financial model. The Cabinet Member said:

I have a lot of faith in ACOM. I think they are doing an excellent job.

Walking Freight in Soho

Councillor Md Shamsed Chowdhury asked the Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality to update the Council on the progress of the Walking Freight initiative with Amazon. The Cabinet Member explained that:

We're working with Amazon at the moment to come up with a three-month pilot test out, walking fried in Soho and the West End during the peak delivery time to support greener and more sustainable deliveries.

Representations to the Chancellor

Councillor Alan Mendoza asked the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration if the Council had made any representations to the Chancellor³ about the budget before it was announced, and if the Council planned to lobby the government for a better settlement for Westminster.

Care Quality Commission Inspection

Councillor Robert Eagleton asked the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care about the outcome of the recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission. The Cabinet Member confirmed that:

... we got a good result. The rating we had was 75%, which is currently the second nationally and the highest in London.

Councillor Eagleton then asked about the impact of the recent pay rise for care workers on the inspection. The Cabinet Member responded that:

I was very pleased that the CQC mentioned specifically their pay rise for home care workers as one of the initiatives that we have done to reduce the inequalities face.

Safety in Abbey Road Ward

Councillor Hannah Galley presented her maiden speech to the Council. She talked about the problems with crime and anti-social behaviour in Abbey Road Ward.

So while our sense of community in Abbey Road might be stronger than ever, it's not halted a wave of crime and antisocial behaviour on our streets. And I'm afraid to say the impact this is on having on our community is huge.

Councillor Aicha Less, the Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Protection, responded that:

... the local police team is fully starved with one sergeant, two PCs and a PCSO.

Councillor Less confirmed that the Council is working to deploy more CCTV cameras in the ward, and talked about the Council's City Inspectors who are tackling ASB issues across the borough.

The City Plan Partial Review

Councillor Geoff Barraclough opened the debate on the City Plan Partial Review. He explained that:

• The Affordable Housing Policy will be modified to promote flat social rents
• A new Retrofit First policy will encourage building owners to bring forward refurbishment projects more quickly
• Four new policies will promote growth at Pimlico, St Mary's Hospital, Westbourne Park Bus Garage, and Royal Oak Station.

... each of the site allocations will help accelerate high quality development at those locations.

Councillor Paul Fisher questioned why the Council was prioritising key worker housing over social housing.

I think the first point to be raised is this administrations insistence on a new 70% social rendered and 30% key worker provision. The Housing Needs Analysis conducted by the Conservative Administration in 2019 showed that very clearly that Westminster was materially undersur in key worker homes.

He also raised concerns about the plan's potential impact on office space in the city, claiming that a report by WPA ⁴ had concluded that there would be a catastrophic decline in office space if the plan is adopted.

Councillor Tim Barnes asked for an assurance that funds allocated for the previous Oxford Street pedestrianisation scheme will not be passed to the Mayor of London.

And I would like to ask the cabinet member for planning and economic development, if it's possible for him to give a guarantee that the Westminster funds allocated for the Oxford Street program that was to be under Westminster City Council's management will not be passed to the mayor for his proposed plan in the disastrous scenario that the MDC comes forward.

Councillor Barraclough confirmed that this would not be happening.

We have no intention of contributing any money from Westminster to the mayor's scheme for Oxford Street. So no.

Councillor Barnes then asked for a similar assurance about licensing, and was told by Councillor Barraclough that there are no plans to pass licensing powers to the MDC.