This week in Lewisham:

• The Licensing Committee approved a variation to the premises licence for Catford Rhum, allowing them to extend their hours for selling alcohol.
• The Standards Committee discussed adopting a revised Councillor Code of Conduct based on the Local Government Association's (LGA) Model Code, and reviewed the rules around declarations of interest.

Licensing Committee - Tuesday 08 April 2025

The Licensing Committee met to consider the minutes of the previous meeting and an application for a variation to a premises licence. The committee approved the minutes from the meeting held on 2 April 2025 and granted the application for a variation to the premises licence for Catford Rhum with some modifications to the conditions.

Catford Rhum - 48-49 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PH

The committee considered an application from Catford Rhum Limited for a variation to their premises licence at 48-49 Deptford Broadway. The applicant requested permission to extend the hours they are licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The requested extensions were: Monday: 22:00 - 23:30, Tuesday: 23:00 - 23:30, Wednesday: 23:00 - 00:30, Thursday: 23:00 - 01:00, Friday: 00:00 - 01:00, Saturday: 00:00 - 01:00, Sunday: 22:30 - 23:30.

Two representations were received from members of the public objecting to the application. The concerns raised related to the prevention of public nuisance, public safety and the prevention of crime and disorder. Residents were concerned that extending the hours would lead to increased noise disturbance from customers inside and outside the premises, particularly when leaving late at night. They also raised concerns about the combination of customers from Catford Rhum and The Bunker, another late-night venue on Deptford Broadway, creating larger groups and more noise.

The report presented to the committee outlined the options available to them, which included granting the application as is, granting it with modified conditions, refusing to specify a designated premises supervisor, or refusing the application altogether. It also highlighted the need to consider the Licensing Act 2003 and the four licensing objectives: Protection of Children from Harm, Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Prevention of Public Nuisance, and Public Safety.

The report also noted that decisions should align with the council’s corporate strategy, specifically Building an Inclusive Local Economy and Building Safer Communities.

The committee decided to grant the application, but with the condition that the applicant installs noise monitoring equipment.

Declarations of Interest

The committee considered a report outlining the requirements for members to declare any personal interests in items on the agenda, as outlined in the Council’s Member Code of Conduct. The report detailed the different types of interests, including disclosable pecuniary interests, other registerable interests, and non-registerable interests. It also explained the process for declaring interests and the impact of such interests on members’ participation in discussions and voting.

Standards Committee - Wednesday 09 April 2025

The Standards Committee of Lewisham Council met on Wednesday, 9 April 2025, to discuss a new Councillor Code of Conduct and to review declarations of interest from members. The committee was also scheduled to confirm the minutes of their previous meeting.

Model Code of Conduct

The committee was scheduled to consider a report recommending that the council adopt a revised Councillor Code of Conduct.

The report noted that the Localism Act 2011 requires the council to maintain high standards of conduct by its members by adopting a code of conduct. The council was undertaking a constitutional review to ensure that its constitution, including the Member Code of Conduct, was fit for purpose.

The Local Government Association (LGA) published its Model Code of Conduct in 2020, and the Standards Committee held a workshop on 21 January 2025 to review it. Feedback from the workshop indicated that Lewisham's existing code was overly legalistic and difficult to read, whereas the Model Code provided clearer explanations of expected standards. Further workshops were held on 12 February 2025, and attendees were supportive of adopting the Model Code. The Governance Committee also endorsed the adoption of the LGA's updated Model Code of Conduct at its meeting on 13 March 2025.

The revised Code of Conduct followed the Model Code of Conduct, with minor amendments including: Adding to section 3(c): “I will take account of the views of others but will reach my own conclusions and act in accordance with those conclusions.” Adding to section 3(d): “I will give reasons for the decisions I make in accordance with any statutory requirements and any reasonable additional requirements imposed by the Council.”

The report stated that there were no specific financial, equalities, climate change, environmental, crime and disorder, or health and wellbeing implications arising from the report.

The seven principles of public life, also known as the Nolan Principles¹ are listed in Appendix A of the code.

Declarations of Interest

The committee was asked to declare any personal interests they had in any item on the agenda. The report outlined the three types of personal interest as defined in the council’s Member Code of Conduct: disclosable pecuniary interests, other registerable interests, and non-registerable interests.

Disclosable pecuniary interests include employment, sponsorship, contracts with the council, beneficial interests in land in the borough, licenses to occupy land in the borough, corporate tenancies, and beneficial interest in securities of a body with a place of business or land in the borough.

Other registerable interests include membership or a position of control in a body appointed by the council, any body exercising public functions or directed to charitable purposes, or any person from whom a gift or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £25 has been received.

Non-registerable interests arise when a matter would affect the wellbeing of a member, their family, friend, or close associate more than it would affect the local area generally.

The report reminded members that failure to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest is a criminal offence, carrying a fine of up to £5,000.

This week in Lewisham:

• The Children and Young People Select Committee discussed school standards, race inequalities in education, and elective home education.
• The Licensing Committee considered a variation application for the Tea House Chinese Restaurant, a temporary event notice for Deptford Market Square, and a protocol for remote meetings.
• The Public Accounts Select Committee discussed financial monitoring, the 'No Wrong Front Door' programme, and the digital strategy.

Children and Young People Select Committee - Tuesday 01 April 2025

The Children and Young People Select Committee met to discuss school standards, race inequalities in education, and elective home education. Councillors were also scheduled to review the committee's work programme.

The committee received a report on the validated 2024 results for Lewisham schools, which showed improvements in several areas, including the proportion of pupils achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) at the end of Reception and the average Attainment 8 score for Lewisham pupils. However, the report also highlighted challenges, such as Year 1 phonics and gaps in achievement for certain groups of pupils.

The committee also received an update on the work schools and the council are doing to address race inequality and improve educational outcomes for Black Caribbean heritage pupils. The report noted that young people with a Black Caribbean heritage constitute nearly a quarter of the school population in Lewisham, and that there are significant variations in outcomes for different ethnic groups.

The committee also received an annual report on Elective Home Education (EHE) for 2023/24, which showed that there were 540 children and young people on the EHE list at the end of the academic year, 118 more than at the end of the last academic year. The report noted that reasons for EHE included mental health, health concerns relating to Covid-19, dissatisfaction with the school, bullying, and philosophical or preferential reasons.

Finally, the committee reviewed its completed work programme and considered priorities for the 2025/26 work programme.

Licensing Committee - Wednesday 02 April 2025

The Licensing Committee considered a full variation application submitted by Sam Ho Sin Ltd for the Tea House Chinese Restaurant at 13A Deptford High Street. The applicant was seeking to add the provision of late night refreshment from 23:00 to 04:00, Monday to Sunday. Seven representations had been received from local residents, raising concerns about the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. The applicant offered conditions, and following representations from the licensing authority, additional conditions were agreed. The licensing authority subsequently withdrew its objections.

The committee also considered a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) application for an event at Deptford Market Square. The applicant, Owen George Baker, was seeking permission to sell alcohol for consumption on and off the premises and to provide regulated entertainment in the form of live and recorded music via a sound system for up to 300 people, from 09:50 to 22:00 on 10 August 2025. An objection to the TEN had been received from the Metropolitan Police, citing concerns about public safety and the prevention of crime and disorder. The police stated that they had received several complaints about the event and the organiser in the past, including a robbery where a male was stabbed at the event in 2024.

The committee also agreed a protocol for how it conducts remote hearings. The protocol sets out criteria for holding an in-person hearing, fully remote hearing or hybrid procedure, and what constitutes valid attendance by members of the committee, parties to the hearing, officers and members of the public. The protocol states that the default position of the council is to hold remote hearings unless the Chair determines that it is in the interests of justice to hold a hybrid meeting or a meeting in person.

Public Accounts Select Committee - Thursday 03 April 2025

The Public Accounts Select Committee met to discuss financial monitoring, the 'No Wrong Front Door' programme, the digital strategy, and the select committee's work programme.

The committee discussed the council's financial forecasts for 2024/25, as of 31 January 2025. The General Fund (GF) had a forecast net overspend of £22.9m. The three main reasons for the overspend were an increase in temporary accommodation (TA) service users and the cost of housing them, increased costs due to the complexity of need of children supported in Children's Social Care (CSC), and increased demand and inflationary cost of care increases in Adult Social Care (ASC).

The committee also received an update on the 'No Wrong Front Door' (NWFD) project, which was launched to provide a corporate foundation and coordination to improvements and changes needed to ensure the council delivers on the Mayor's ambition for Lewisham to be the most accessible Council. The report pack stated that the council had identified a number of issues with its current customer service arrangements, including multiple routes for residents to make payments, a number of phone lines into services, and two post rooms and a multitude of emails for residents or customers to contact the council.

The committee also received an update on the development and intended delivery approach of the Digital Strategy. The Digital Strategy is a vehicle to drive authority wide our approach to adopting new technologies and building on existing technology estate. The Digital Strategy will provide a joined-up approach to data, technology, and processes.

Finally, the committee discussed the completed work programme for 2024/25 and to propose draft themes for the committee’s work programme for 2025/26.

This week in Lewisham:

• The South East London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss sickle cell services, the reconfiguration of cancer treatment services for children, and dentistry across South East London.
• The Standing Advisory Council of Religious Education (SACRE) met to discuss religious education at St Bartholomew's CE Primary School, the role of Lewisham's Young Mayor, and the adoption of a self-evaluation tool for schools.
• The Lewisham Central Assembly was held, but no transcript has been made available.
• The Housing Select Committee was scheduled to discuss repairs updates from housing providers and the options appraisal for the expiry of the Brockley Housing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract.

South East London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday 25 March 2025

The South East London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (SEL JHOSC) ¹ was scheduled to meet on 25 March 2025 to discuss sickle cell services, the reconfiguration of cancer treatment services for children, and dentistry across South East London. The meeting was also scheduled to include the election of a chair and vice-chair, and a review of the committee's work programme and terms of reference.

Sickle Cell Services

The committee was scheduled to review services provided to support patients living with sickle cell disorder. According to the report pack, South East London has the largest sickle cell disease (SCD) patient population in the UK, with around 3,000 people affected.

The report pack included details of an enhanced sickle cell community service, which aims to expand support for children and adults with SCD by increasing the number of Community Nurse Specialists (CNS) and adding 13 full time equivalent (WTE) staff to a broader multi-disciplinary team (MDT). The CNS teams can be contacted via email, and GPs can refer patients to them.

The report pack also mentioned a peer mentoring programme run by the Sickle Cell Society for children and young people aged 10 to 24.

An urgent and emergency care bypass unit was launched in Lewisham and Greenwich on 30 January 2024, and is scheduled to be fully operational 24/7 from 1 April 2025. There are also plans to expand urgent care access to King’s College Hospital and St Thomas’ ED in 2025/26, subject to resource confirmation.

The report pack also mentioned Universal Care Plans (UCPs), which are digital tools that allow people with SCD and their doctors to create a personalised care plan. According to the report pack, 89% of care plans have been uploaded in South East London.

The report pack also included details of a staff awareness campaign and training, with a new e-learning course available to South East London health and care professionals on the KHP Learning Hub.

Reconfiguration of Cancer Treatment Services for Children

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on plans to implement the reconfiguration of cancer treatment services for children in south London.

The report pack stated that Principal Treatment Centres (PTC) are regional units that lead the diagnosis and treatment of children with cancer. The current service is provided in partnership between The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in Sutton, and St George’s Hospital in Tooting.

The national service specification states that Principal Treatment Centres must be co-located with paediatric intensive care units, which the current Principal Treatment Centre does not meet. As a result, NHS England (London and South East regions) led a process, including a public consultation, to inform their decision on the future location of the service.

In March 2024, a decision was made that Evelina London Children’s Hospital, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, should be the future Principal Treatment Centre, with conventional radiotherapy to be provided at University College Hospital, part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in central London.

The report pack stated that the benefits of the move to Evelina London include: giving the best quality care by meeting the national service specification requirements, bringing together expert staff from the current service at The Royal Marsden and St George’s Hospital with Evelina London’s specialist teams, being capable of offering cutting-edge treatments that need intensive care on site, ending hospital transfers, providing more care on the specialist cancer ward, providing more services on the same site, supporting new kinds of research, and helping the future centre keep and attract new staff, and making it easier for different specialist teams, including specialist paediatric teams treating the same child, to work closely together and learn from each other.

The report pack also included a timeline for the safe and sustainable transfer of services, with the first patient transfer scheduled for no earlier than October 2026.

Dentistry

The committee was scheduled to review dentistry and access to services. The report pack stated that on 1 April 2023, the Integrated Care Board (ICB) took delegated responsibility for the planning and contracting of dental services from NHS England.

According to the report pack, South East London has 193 primary care dental providers, 2 community dental providers (Bromley Healthcare and Kings College Hospital), and 2 secondary care dental providers (Kings College Hospital and GSTT).

In 2024/25, NHS England required ICBs to ring fence their dental budgets. SEL ICB invested this resource in: additional units of dental activity (35k), investment in advice and guidance to support primary care clinicians to manage their patients closer to home, additional investment to reduce waiting list for surgery for those children with complex needs, and funding to continue the ‘tooth fairy’ initiative which supports children and young people.

The report pack also included data on the number of contracted General Dental Services within South-East London ICB in 2024/25:

The report pack also noted that the NHS dental contract is facing challenges, with concerns about access, workforce shortages, and the current contract's ability to incentivize both dentists and patients.

SEL JHOSC Work Programme and Terms of Reference

The committee was scheduled to review its work programme and terms of reference. The report pack included a schedule of previous meetings, as well as potential topics for future scrutiny, including: London Ambulance Service (LAS), Mental Health, Dentistry, System Sustainability across SEL's ICS’, Children’s Cancer Care – Substantial Variation Update, and Sickle Cell and services to support better care.

Standing Advisory Council of Religious Education (SACRE) - Thursday 27 March 2025

The Lewisham Standing Advisory Council of Religious Education (SACRE) met on 27 March 2025 to discuss religious education (RE) at St Bartholomew's CE Primary School, the role of Lewisham's Young Mayor, and the adoption of a self-evaluation tool for schools. The meeting also included a review of the previous meeting's minutes and an update on the Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC).

Agreed Syllabus Conference

The meeting included an oral progress report on the Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC).

The SACRE Annual Report 2024 noted that discussions and plans for a syllabus review began in 2024, as the SACRE had previously voted to postpone the decision to ask the local authority to review the syllabus.

Revised Self Evaluation Tool for SMSC²

The council was scheduled to discuss, amend, and/or agree to the revised advice document for schools, titled Revised Self Evaluation tool for smsc. The tool is designed to help schools review their existing provision and plan for future developments in pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

The self-review audit tool is split into sections: Spiritual Development, Moral Development, Social Development, and Cultural Development.

Each section contains a series of questions for schools to consider, such as: Do pupils explore values and beliefs, including religious beliefs, and the way in which they impact on peoples' lives? (Spiritual Development), Is there a clear moral code in school which forms a basis for behaviour, is promoted consistently through all aspects of the school and understood by pupils and their families? (Moral Development), Does the school identify and promote key values and principles on which school and community life is based? (Social Development), and Does the school provide opportunities for pupils to explore their own cultural assumptions and values? (Cultural Development).

The tool also references the promotion of fundamental British values, stating: Schools should promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Compliance to Teach RE Letter

The council was scheduled to discuss a letter regarding compliance with the duty to teach RE. The letter, from Neil Lawson of the Department for Education, outlines the requirements for state-funded schools to provide religious education, and the steps to follow if these expectations are not met.

The letter clarifies the requirements for both maintained schools and academies, noting that all academies must provide RE for all registered pupils from age 5 to 18, except for those whose parents exercise the right of withdrawal. Academies with no religious designation must teach RE that reflects that the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.

The letter also addresses the issue of requiring schools to teach an accredited Religious Studies qualification, stating that while the law requires schools to follow the agreed syllabus, it does not specifically require schools to teach a full or short course RS GCSE or other accredited qualification.

Other Matters

• RE at St Bartholomew's School: Daniel Meyer, Headteacher at St Bartholomew's School, was scheduled to speak about RE at the school.
• Young Mayor's Manifesto: Shane Grant, Lewisham's New Young Mayor, was scheduled to explain his manifesto and talk about his vision for his year as Young Mayor.
• Annual Report: The council was scheduled to discuss the Annual Report. The report includes information on standards in RE, collective worship, and links with other agencies.
• Holocaust Memorial Day: The council was scheduled to discuss Holocaust Memorial Day.
• SACRE and ASC Code of Conduct: The council was scheduled to discuss the SACRE and ASC Code of Conduct.
• NASACRE Conference and AGM: The council was scheduled to agree on delegates to the NASACRE³ Conference and AGM.
• Dates of Future Meetings: The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 17th June at Catford and Bromley Synagogue.

Housing Select Committee - Thursday 27 March 2025

The Housing Select Committee was scheduled to meet on 27 March 2025 to discuss repairs updates from housing providers, the options appraisal for the expiry of the Brockley Housing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, and the select committee work programme. The meeting was also scheduled to include declarations of interest and approval of the minutes from the meeting held on 14 January 2025.

Options Appraisal for Expiry of the Brockley Housing PFI Contract

The committee was scheduled to review a draft report for the Mayor and Cabinet regarding options for the future management of the 1,829 council homes and associated land on estates covered by the Brockley PFI contract, which was set to expire on 3 June 2027.

The report outlined several options: no change (discounted as the PFI contract ends with no option for extension), in-house management (the recommended option), transfer stock to an existing registered provider (not recommended), transfer stock to a new resident-led housing provider (also not recommended), negotiate a new contract with Regenter B3 (not recommended), and negotiate new contracts with the current subcontractors (also not recommended).

The report noted that government guidance states that any change in housing management should be subject to a test of opinion. It was proposed that consultation and engagement with residents be carried out during the summer.

The report also considered financial implications, noting that the current Housing Revenue Account (HRA) business plan assumes that the stock and land being managed by the current contractor will transfer back to the council.

Repairs Update from Housing Providers

The Housing Select Committee was scheduled to receive updates from four housing providers: Hexagon Housing Association Limited, Housing For Women, L&Q, and Notting Hill Genesis.

The updates were scheduled to cover key issues such as: key performance indicators (KPIs) relating to repair cases, complaints, and disrepair cases, the impact of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 on repairs services, use of Schedule 2, Ground 8 of the Housing Act 1988 in rent arrears cases, performance on tenant satisfaction measures, and challenges facing the repairs service.

Each housing provider provided data and descriptive answers to questions posed by the committee.

Hexagon Housing Association Limited reported a total of 4,449 properties across all their housing stock, with 1,387 in Lewisham. They noted that disrepair claims were the issue impacting most on their repairs service. They also provided EPC ratings for their properties, with the majority rated C or above.

Housing For Women reported 211 properties in Lewisham and 829 across all their housing stock. They listed KPIs related to their repairs service, including emergency responsive repairs completed on time, end-to-end time for completion of responsive repairs and voids, and complaints received. They identified challenges such as increased legislative requirements, budget constraints, skills shortages, damp and mould, and increased scrutiny by the Housing Ombudsman.

L&Q reported 5,674 tenanted units in Lewisham with 24,144 tenants, and 1,592 leasehold units. They reported 21,540 repair cases in Lewisham for 2024-25 so far, with 70% completed in time. They also reported 326 complaints arising from the repairs service in Lewisham. L&Q stated that the impact of the Social Housing Act 2023 had been limited as they continued to work to improve the service and customer journey. They also noted that 652 homes in Lewisham were included in the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) with the goal of increasing their energy efficiency to SAP C.

Notting Hill Genesis reported 623 properties in Lewisham and 67,953 across all their housing stock. They reported 904 repair cases in Lewisham for 2024-25 so far, with 629 completed in time. They also reported 19 complaints received regarding their repair service in Lewisham. Notting Hill Genesis stated that the establishment of a dedicated Repairs Delivery Department had resulted in measurable improvements, such as a reduction in the average number of days to complete a repair.

Select Committee Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to discuss the completed work programme for 2024/25 and propose draft priority themes for the 2025/26 work programme. Key issues covered by the committee in 2024/25 included the Regulator of Social Housing’s response to Lewisham’s self-referral, private rented sector landlord licensing, the Building for Lewisham Programme update, annual statutory Housing Ombudsman reports, the Housing Retrofit Strategy, and temporary accommodation supply and pressures.

The committee was asked to consider suggestions for the 2025/26 work programme, taking into account the committee’s terms of reference and the council’s corporate strategy for 2022-2026, particularly the ‘Quality Housing’ priority.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors were asked to declare any personal interests they had in any item on the agenda, as required by the Council’s Member Code of Conduct.

This week in Lewisham:

• The Audit and Risk Committee met to consider the external auditor's report on the council's 2023/24 accounts, which identified two significant risks related to the valuation of land and buildings, and the risk of management override of controls.
• The Health and Wellbeing Board approved the draft Better Care Fund Plan for 2025/26, discussed the draft Lewisham Health and Wellbeing Strategy for 2025-30, and received an update on plans to improve health in Forest Hill ward.
• The Sustainable Development Select Committee received updates on the council's waste services, flood risk management strategy, and climate emergency action plan, and considered a proposal to update the council's Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule.
• The Community Housing Task and Finish Group met for the first time to discuss its work investigating the possibilities for community-led housing in Lewisham.
• The Brent, Lewisham and Southwark IT Committee was scheduled to receive a performance update from the Shared Technology Service and discuss the service's cyber security status.

Audit and Risk Committee - Tuesday 18 March 2025

The Audit and Risk Committee met this week to discuss a range of issues relating to the council’s finances and risk management. The committee received a report from KPMG, the council’s external auditor, on the 2023/24 accounts, discussed the work of the council’s internal audit function, and reviewed the Corporate Risk Register.

2023/24 Audit

The Committee received KPMG’s report on the completion of the 2023/24 external audit. The report identified two significant risks in the council's accounts:

• Valuation of land and buildings: The report highlighted that a £23.2m adjustment was made to the valuation of council dwellings because of changes to the index used between January and March 2024. It also noted an error in the way that property numbers were disclosed.
• Risk of management override of controls: This risk related to the Housing Revenue Account, which is the part of the council’s budget that deals with council housing. The report did not provide any further details about the nature of this risk.

External auditors are appointed by the council to provide an independent opinion on whether the council's accounts give a true and fair view of its financial position.

The committee also received a report on KPMG's early reflections on the external audit risks for 2024/25. The report highlighted that the risk in relation to IFRS 16 ¹ disclosures had increased because of control deficiencies identified in the 2023/24 audit.

Internal Audit

The Committee also received an update on the work of the council’s internal audit function, which is responsible for providing independent assurance to the council that its governance, risk management and internal control processes are operating effectively.

Internal audit is an independent function that provides assurance to the council that its governance, risk management and internal control processes are operating effectively.

The Committee were told that the internal audit team are currently in the process of adapting to the new Global Internal Audit Standards, which will become mandatory in the public sector in April 2025.

Corporate Risk Register

The Committee also reviewed the Corporate Risk Register, which sets out the key risks facing the council and the actions being taken to manage them. The Register identified three risks as being of the highest priority:

• Failure to achieve full regulatory compliance for Council Housing Stock. This risk relates to the failure to meet statutory health and safety requirements following the transfer of the Council’s housing stock from Lewisham Homes in April 2022, and the ongoing remedial actions that are being taken by the Council.
• Significant Cyber Security Breach. The register did not include further details about the nature of this risk.
• Loss of overall financial control. This risk relates to significant overspends in the council's revenue budget that are proving difficult to bring under control.

The register also noted that a new risk had been added, relating to the accuracy and completeness of data held on the council’s new Housing Management Software.

Health and Wellbeing Board - Wednesday 19 March 2025

The Health and Wellbeing Board met this week to discuss a number of issues relating to health and social care in the Borough. The most significant items on the agenda were the draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which sets out the board’s priorities for improving the health and wellbeing of Lewisham residents over the next five years; and the draft Better Care Fund Plan, which sets out how the council and the NHS will work together to integrate health and social care services for adults in the borough.

Sustainable Development Select Committee - Thursday 20 March 2025

The Sustainable Development Select Committee met this week to receive an update on the council's waste services, flood risk management strategy and climate emergency action plan. The committee also considered a proposal to update the council's Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule.

Community Housing Task and Finish Group - Tuesday 18 March 2025

This meeting of the Community Housing Task and Finish Group was the first time that the group had met since it was set up by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2025. The group was set up to investigate the possibilities for community-led housing in Lewisham.

Community-led housing is a way for communities to have a greater say in the type and affordability of housing in their local area.

Brent, Lewisham and Southwark IT Committee - Tuesday 18 March 2025

The Brent, Lewisham and Southwark IT Committee met this week to discuss the performance of the Shared Technology Service, which provides IT services to the three boroughs.

Shared services are arrangements where two or more councils come together to deliver a service jointly.

The committee received a report on the service's performance, and discussed its cyber security status.