This week in Camden:

• The Schools Forum discussed proposals for the local school funding formula in 2025-26 and the allocation of High Needs Block funding.
• The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss safeguarding, Councillor Anna Wright's annual report on health and adult social care, and screening programmes.
• The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education was due to consider an application from Gospel Oak Primary School to renew their determination on collective worship.
• The Planning Committee discussed changes to planning processes and received updates on national policy reforms.
• The Licensing Panel B was due to consider a new premises licence for Bidborough Works, and to carry out an expedited review of the licence of the Golden Lion Pub.

Schools Forum - Tuesday 05 November 2024

The Schools Forum is a statutory body which advises the local authority on the planning, provision, and funding of education in the borough. It has representatives from schools, early years settings, the council, and other stakeholders. The Forum must meet at least three times per year.

This meeting's agenda included the formal approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, a report on school place planning, an update on the High Needs Block and the Camden Local Inclusion Fund, discussion of the Schools Funding Formula for 2025/26, and the recommended terms of reference for the High Needs Block Subgroup.

No transcript of the meeting was available at the time of writing.

Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday 05 November 2024

This meeting was scheduled to consider a number of reports relating to health and adult social care in Camden.

No transcript of the meeting was available at the time of writing.

Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) - Thursday 07 November 2024

The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) advises Camden Council on matters related to religious education in schools.

This meeting was scheduled to include discussion of the provision of religious education in the borough and the work of the Camden Faith Forum, as well as the renewal of Gospel Oak Primary School's application for a determination on collective worship.

No transcript of the meeting was available at the time of writing.

Planning Committee - Monday 04 November 2024

The Planning Committee is responsible for making decisions on planning applications. The committee is made up of 14 councillors, who are appointed by the full council. The committee meets every four weeks.

This week the Planning Committee was due to discuss a range of issues relating to planning in Camden, including updates to planning processes, a review of national policy changes, and data on the performance of the planning service.

No transcript of the meeting was available at the time of writing.

Licensing Panel B - Thursday 07 November 2024

Licensing Panels in Camden determine applications for licences for things like pubs, clubs and restaurants. There are three panels, A, B and C.

This meeting of Licensing Panel B was scheduled to discuss an application for a new premises licence for Bidborough Works, at the former Camden Town Hall on Judd Street, and an expedited review of the licence of the Golden Lion pub on Royal College Street.

No transcript of the meeting was available at the time of writing.

This week in Camden:

• The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel discussed the Council's fire safety performance in the first quarter of 2024/25.
• The Standards Committee talked about whether councillors should be allowed to make decisions on matters that could affect their finances, like Housing Benefit and Council Tax.
• The Corporate Parenting Board met on Tuesday, but no information about the meeting has been made available.

Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel - Tuesday 22 October 2024

The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel met to discuss a number of fire safety related issues, including Camden's performance on fire safety in council homes in the first quarter of 2024/25, and the findings of an independent audit of Camden’s fire risk management system.

Fire Safety Performance in Camden Council Homes

The Panel received a report on the Council's fire safety performance, including updates on compliance with fire, legionella, asbestos, gas, electrics and lifts (FLAGEL) for the first quarter of 2024/25.

The report also provided an update on the progress made in completing fire safety actions and the delivery of fire risk actions.

One of the areas where there have been problems in previous years is lift safety. You may remember from previous emails that in 2023, residents of the Ampthill Estate in Swiss Cottage complained of frequent lift breakdowns.

Building Safety Case Files

The report also provided an update on the progress made in completing Building Safety Case File submissions. Building Safety Case Files are required for higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022. The report noted that the first five Building Safety Case Files were submitted to the Building Safety Regulator in Q1 2024/25. These buildings were 9A York Way, 1-80 Dalehead, 1-80 Oxenholme, 1-80 Gilfoot, and 1-161 Burnham.

Independent Audit of Camden's Fire Risk Management System

The Panel also received a report on an independent audit of Camden’s fire risk management arrangements against the BSI Fire Risk Management System BS9997 criteria.

The report set out the findings of the Audit, and the actions that the Council will be taking in response.

In general, the audit found that the council has a good fire risk management system, though it did identify several areas where it could be improved.

Fire & Building Safety Charter Annual Report 2023/24

Finally, the meeting received the annual report on the Fire & Building Safety Charter, which sets out the council's commitments to working with residents to keep them safe in their council homes.

The report details the council's performance against its five charter commitments, and highlights some areas for improvement in 24/25.

Standards Committee - Monday 21 October 2024

The Standards Committee met to discuss a number of standards related issues, including a proposal to update the form that Camden Councillors use to declare their financial interests, and an annual report on the number of complaints that have been made about councillors. The Committee also received an update on recent standards news and noted the standards guidance that had recently been issued to councillors.

Revising the Register of Interests Form

The Committee discussed a report on a proposal to change the form that Camden Councillors use to register their financial interests.

Councillors are required by law to register their financial interests, and to declare those interests at any meeting where they are present and the matter under discussion could reasonably be regarded as affecting their financial position or the financial position of a close associate. This is so that residents can be confident that councillors are not making decisions for personal financial gain. The rules on when councillors have to declare interests, what they have to declare, and what happens if they fail to declare an interest are set out in law. The relevant legislation is the Localism Act 2011.

The existing Register of Interests Form has been in place since March 2022, when it was last revised. The main change proposed in the report is the addition of new columns to the form so that councillors have to separately list their own interests, and those of their spouse or partner. You can see the proposed new form here: Appendix B_ Revised Register of Interests Form.

General Dispensation for Members

The Committee considered the question of when councillors should be permitted to participate in decisions on matters in which they have a financial interest.

Under the law, councillors are generally not allowed to participate in discussions or vote on matters in which they have a financial interest. However, councils are able to make exceptions to this rule by granting what are known as dispensations. This is provided for by Section 33 of the Localism Act 2011.

Since 2012, Camden has given all councillors a general dispensation allowing them to participate in decisions on housing, school meals and transport, and statutory sick pay. This is on the grounds that councillors are also residents of the borough, and so these decisions affect them in the same way as members of the public. The meeting agreed to renew this dispensation, and to extend it to cover Local Council Tax Support Schemes.

Annual Monitoring of Code of Conduct Complaints Against Members 2023-24

The Committee received a report from the Borough Solicitor, Andrew Maughan, on the number and nature of complaints made about Camden's councillors between June 2023 and June 2024. Eleven complaints were received, none of which were judged to require a formal investigation.

Update on Standards Matters - October 2024

The Committee received a report from Andrew Maughan, the Borough Solicitor, summarising a number of standards issues that have been in the news since the last meeting of the committee.

This report covered a range of issues, including:

• The use of council resources for political purposes.
• The conduct of councillors on social media.
• The role of the Monitoring Officer.
• The relationship between councillors and officers.

Standards Information and Guidance Record

The Committee received a report on all of the standards guidance that had been issued to councillors recently. This mostly consisted of guidance relating to councillors registering their interests.

Corporate Parenting Board - Tuesday 22 October 2024

The Corporate Parenting Board met on Tuesday 22 October 2024. Unfortunately, no information about the meeting has been made available.

The Corporate Parenting Board is responsible for overseeing the council's duties towards children in its care. These duties are set out in the Children Act 1989.

This week in Camden:

• The Council was scheduled to meet on Monday, but no transcript of the meeting is available.
• The Disability Oversight Panel discussed an update to Camden's Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2022-27.

Council - Monday 14 October 2024

The Council was scheduled to meet on Monday 14 October 2024. Unfortunately, no transcript is available for this meeting.

The Council is the main decision-making body of Camden Council. It is responsible for setting the council's budget, agreeing its policies, and making key decisions about how the council is run. The Council is made up of 54 councillors, who are elected by the residents of Camden every four years.

Disability Oversight Panel - Tuesday 15 October 2024

The Disability Oversight Panel met to consider an update to the implementation of Camden Council's Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2022-27.

The Disability Oversight Panel is a committee of Camden Council that is responsible for scrutinising the council's work on disability issues.

The meeting's agenda included the formal approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, and a report on the implementation of the council's SEND strategy.

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy Implementation Update

A report was presented to the meeting by the Director of Education Commissioning & Inclusion providing an update on the implementation of Camden Council's SEND Strategy 2022-27.

The report began by outlining the challenges facing the council in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND, noting that:

Nationally and locally, we are seeing increases in the number and complexity of the population of children with SEND. Funding is set nationally and local authorities across the country are struggling to meet needs within the budget provided.

These challenges are not unique to Camden. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of children and young people being diagnosed with SEND. This has put a strain on local authority budgets, as the cost of providing support for children with SEND has also increased.

The report highlighted that 76.3% of new Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) were issued within 20 weeks. This is above the national average of 54%, but lower than the 90-97% previously achieved by Camden.

EHCPs are legal documents that set out the special educational, health and social care needs of a child or young person aged up to 25 with SEND. Local Authorities have a statutory responsibility to provide the support specified in a child's EHCP.

Strengths of Camden's SEND Offer

The report highlighted that 97% of schools in Camden are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, including 37% of primary schools that are rated outstanding.

It went on to describe Camden's approach to inclusion, noting that a high proportion of Camden pupils with EHCPs - nearly 50% - attend mainstream settings¹.

The government's ambition is for as many children and young people with SEND as possible to be educated in mainstream settings.

It also pointed to the success of Camden's Exceptional Needs Grant (ENG) scheme, which provides schools with funding to support pupils with SEND without the need for an EHCP. The report noted that this scheme has been praised by the Department for Education (DfE) as an innovative approach to support schools to meet needs earlier.

Areas For Development

The report also highlighted several areas where it was suggested improvements could be made to Camden's SEND offer.

The report proposed taking a holistic approach to improving the education provision continuum in Camden in order to ensure that all children are able to access the right education for them. The phrase education provision continuum refers to the range of different educational settings that are available to children and young people, from mainstream schools to specialist schools and colleges.

Noting that families are currently waiting too long to get a diagnosis, the report proposed continuing to work with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to reduce waiting times for diagnosis. ICBs are responsible for planning and delivering health and care services in their local areas.

Acknowledging feedback from families that they do not feel that they are effectively worked with as partners by professionals, the report proposed to maximise the opportunities available from the newly formed Centre for Relational Practice to provide high quality workforce development.

The Planning Committee was scheduled to meet on Thursday 01 August 2024.

Planning Committee - Thursday 01 August 2024

Details: Meeting link

This meeting was scheduled to consider planning applications for the change of use of a vacant office building to an apart-hotel at 14 Bedford Row, and the construction of a roof extension to an office building at 40 Bernard Street.

14 Bedford Row, 12-13 Jockey’s Fields, and 14 Jockey’s Fields

The application for 14 Bedford Row concerned a proposal to change the use of the existing office building to an apart-hotel, providing 65 bedrooms.

The report pack prepared for the meeting suggested that because of the site's location in the Central Activities Zone (CAZ), it was likely to be highly desirable for residential development. Camden Council's Local Plan states that in such cases, 50% of the new floorspace should be for residential use. A payment in lieu of on-site or off-site provision of housing was proposed instead, as the change of use would only affect the upper floors of the building. This echoes a similar decision made at the Planning Committee meeting on 27 June 2024, when an application for a change of use from office to residential at 245 Euston Road was granted, despite not meeting the 50% requirement.

Section 106 legal agreements, commonly known as S106 agreements, are a mechanism by which local authorities can secure financial contributions from developers in association with the granting of planning permission. These contributions, known as Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), are used to fund infrastructure projects that support the development, such as transport improvements, affordable housing, or public open space.

The report pack proposed that such an agreement should be used to secure funding for cycle storage, electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) and sustainable drainage.

The report pack concluded that subject to conditions relating to the S106 agreement, and other conditions relating to noise, waste and drainage, the development would not harm neighbouring amenities, the local transport network, or infrastructure.

40 Bernard Street

The application for 40 Bernard Street concerned a proposal for the refurbishment of the fifth floor of the building, the addition of a sixth floor roof extension, and the relocation of plant to the roof. This would increase the amount of office floorspace by 960 sqm.

As with the application at 14 Bedford Row, the report pack noted that Camden's Local Plan requires 50% of new floorspace to be used for residential development where development involves the creation of more than 200sqm.

The report pack proposed a payment in lieu of on-site or off-site provision of 480 sqm of residential floorspace, calculated at a rate of £1,500 per sqm, resulting in a total payment of £720,000, to be secured through a Section 106 legal agreement.

The report pack concluded that the proposal would provide a high standard of design and finish, and was sympathetic to the surrounding area. It recommended that the application be approved subject to conditions, including a restriction on the hours of use of the roof terrace, and requirements for noise mitigation measures.

This week, Camden Council held two meetings: the Corporate Parenting Board and the Holborn District Management Committee.

Corporate Parenting Board

Date: Tuesday 02 July 2024
Details: Meeting link

Unfortunately, no transcript is available for this meeting. The Corporate Parenting Board is responsible for overseeing the council's duties towards children in its care. This includes ensuring that looked after children have access to the same opportunities as their peers, and that they are safeguarded from harm. The Board also monitors the performance of the council's Virtual School Head and the Director of Children's Services.

Holborn District Management Committee

Date: Tuesday 02 July 2024
Details: Meeting link

The Holborn District Management Committee met to discuss a number of issues including the Housing Transformation Programme, fire safety works, parking, and anti-social behaviour. They approved a funding request from the Medway Court Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) for barriers and gardening tools.

District Management Committees (DMCs) provide a forum for local residents to raise issues with Councillors. There are seven DMCs in Camden, which meet on a rotating basis. Each DMC covers a different geographical area within the borough, and residents are encouraged to attend the committee that covers their area.

Housing

Councillors heard complaints about the repairs service, including that repairs reported during a walkabout of the Tybalds Estate in November 2023 had not been undertaken, and that residents of the Brunswick Estate were unhappy about major leaks, broken garage doors, and high heat levels in the summer months. There were also concerns about the way that out-of-hours messages from residents were being dealt with by the repairs contact centre.

Camden's housing stock is currently undergoing a major programme of repairs and improvements under the Housing Transformation Programme. This programme, which was launched in 2020, aims to improve the quality of life for residents by bringing all homes up to a good standard. As part of the programme, the council is investing £1.2 billion in repairs and improvements to its 24,000 homes.

Fire Safety

Concerns were also raised about fire safety works. The meeting heard from residents of the Brunswick Estate, who were unhappy about the Council's requirement to have hardwired fire alarms installed in their homes. Currently, both battery powered and hardwired alarms meet the relevant British Standards, though hardwired alarms are generally considered to be more reliable. It was noted by the meeting that the London Fire Brigade had agreed that battery powered alarms were suitable in this case. Camden Council is the leaseholder for the homes at the Brunswick Estate.

Residents of the Brunswick, Dudley Court and Gamages Estates complained about the conduct of the Council's contractor, Mulalley & Co, who were carrying out the fire safety works. There were allegations that appointments were not being made in advance, that demands were being made to be given entrance, and that residents had received threatening letters. In one instance, an elderly resident at Brunswick Estate became housebound after getting their arm stuck in a new fire door.

Parking

Complaints were made about parking, with residents expressing concerns about the number of people sub-letting their parking bays through the website JustPark, and calling for more clarity about the waiting list for parking spaces. The Principal Caretaking Manager agreed to investigate the sub-letting allegations and help residents navigate the waiting list system.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Anti-social behaviour at Winter Garden House was also discussed. A lack of a TRA in the building was highlighted as a barrier to sharing vital local intelligence, but it was noted that CCTV was now operational. Residents of the nearby Powis House complained they had not been consulted about the issues at Winter Garden House, despite being affected by them.

The meeting also discussed the upcoming Residents Conference, including the proposed budget for the event. The committee agreed to note the briefing and funding request.

The Holborn District Management Committee meeting highlights the important role that local residents play in holding Camden Council to account. It also shows the value of having a forum where residents can raise their concerns directly with their elected representatives.

This week, the Camden Council held several meetings, although not all provided detailed information or proceeded as planned. Here's a summary of the meetings:

Camden Town District Management Committee

Date: Wednesday 26 June 2024
Details: Meeting link

The Camden Town District Management Committee convened this Wednesday. Unfortunately, no transcript or summary of the meeting is available. District Management Committees typically address local issues and community concerns, providing a platform for residents to engage with their councillors.

Licensing Committee

Date: Wednesday 26 June 2024
Details: Meeting link
Status: Cancelled

The Licensing Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled. This committee usually oversees the granting and regulation of various licenses within the borough, including those for alcohol, entertainment, and taxis.

Gospel Oak District Management Committee

Date: Thursday 27 June 2024
Details: Meeting link

The Gospel Oak District Management Committee also met this week, but similar to the Camden Town meeting, no transcript or summary is available. These committees play a crucial role in addressing hyper-local issues and fostering community engagement.

Licensing Panel C

Date: Thursday 27 June 2024
Details: Meeting link
Status: Cancelled

The Licensing Panel C meeting scheduled for Thursday was cancelled. Panels like this one are responsible for deciding on specific licensing applications and ensuring compliance with local regulations.

Understanding the workings of your local council is essential for active community participation. District Management Committees like those in Camden Town and Gospel Oak are vital forums where residents can voice their concerns and influence local decisions. Licensing Committees and Panels, though not meeting this week, play a significant role in maintaining the standards and safety of services within the borough.

Stay tuned for more updates and insights into Camden Council's activities and decisions.