The meeting agenda includes a number of topics that are significant to the public, including the new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy (2024-2029). It also covers provision of support to the borough’s young people, with an update on the ‘Young Tower Hamlets’ service transformation programme, and an update on the Council’s position against the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards.

Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy

A report is being presented to Cabinet on the new ‘Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024-2029’. The report explains that [t]he council as a local housing authority, is required by legislation, (the Homelessness Act (2002) and the Homelessness Reduction Act (2017)), to carry out a periodic review of homelessness in its District and to publish a homelessness and rough sleeping strategy based on the results at least every five years. The Council’s current strategy has expired and so needs replacing. It is intended to deliver the Mayor’s ambition that [e]veryone in Tower Hamlets lives in a good quality home that they can afford. This will be achieved through six new priorities identified to combat homelessness and rough sleeping in the borough. The priorities are:

1. Working with people earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless and to reduce the use of Temporary Accommodation.
2. Provide good quality accommodation for people who are at risk of, or where they become, homeless.
3. Improve customer service and the individual’s experience.
4. Making sure that people have access to the right support services.
5. To prevent rough sleeping but where it does occur, it’s rare, brief and doesn’t happen again.
6. Boost staff resilience and well-being.

A separate delivery plan outlines the activities to deliver these priorities.

The report includes a review of the causes of homelessness in the borough. The review considers the supply of housing in Tower Hamlets. It is reported that [t]he average price paid by first-time buyers was £441,000 in February 2024 (provisional). This was 5.4% lower than the average of £466,000 in February 2023 (revised). Furthermore, p[rivate] rents rose to an average of £2,185 per month in March 2024, an annual increase of 13.2% from £1,929 in March 2023. This was higher than the rise in London (11.2%) over the year. The council is now able to place families in [Temporary Accommodation] outside of Greater London and will use ‘zones’ when allocating [Temporary Accommodation].

A new project is underway funded through the Government’s ‘Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme’, which is a ‘housing first’ approach. The council is working with Notting Hill Genesis Housing Association to deliver up to 24 new homes.

The council also ran a public consultation for 8 weeks on the strategy. Over 1,200 stakeholders and residents were engaged through this consultation process which included an online survey and meetings with residents and stakeholders. A total of 359 completed responses were received.

Young Tower Hamlets Progress Update

The ‘Young Tower Hamlets Progress Update’ is a report on the progress of the youth service’s transformation programme. The report explains how the Mayor’s strategic plan included a pledge to [t]ransform and improve services for young people in the borough. The report outlines the key achievements of the programme, including the development of a new staffing structure, new youth service provisions, and increased safe spaces for young people. The service has opened 14 safe spaces for young people across the borough, and the service [is] scheduled to open an additional three sites throughout November 2024, another three in December 2024 and one in February 2025. Any remaining sites will be open before summer 2025.

As part of the transformation, the service [secured] an additional £488k in grant funding from the Youth Investment Fund and a new communications strategy.

Housing Consumer Standard Compliance

A report has been submitted to Cabinet on compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) Consumer Standards. The report outlines the relevant context for compliance, and how the Grenfell Tower tragedy led to widespread changes in the law and regulatory regime relating to social housing, with the government introducing the:

 Building Safety Act (2022), which introduced more stringent regulation around fire and building safety in England and Wales and established new bodies to oversee this more robust regulatory approach,

 The Social Housing Regulation Act (2023), which strengthened the powers of the Regulator of Social Housing, in particular the increased scope of enforcement and the requirement for social housing landlords to provide evidence of their compliance.

 The Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards, which set out what the Regulator expects of social housing providers. These standards came into effect on the 1st April 2024.

The council brought its housing landlord functions and services back under its direct control from Tower Hamlets Homes on the 1st November 2023. To assess the service against the new standards, the Council commissioned two independent reviews from the Housing Quality Network and Pennington Choices. Both reviews identified several gaps in service performance. The report highlights that the most significant issue identified by Penningtons is the outstanding fire risk assessments and the backlog of high risk fire safety actions that are overdue for completion.

The report explains how, in response to these reviews, the Council self-referred to the RSH on 4th October 2024, and it includes the self-referral letter. A new Regulatory Assurance Action Plan has been developed which will be reviewed by the RSH.

To strengthen its governance arrangements around housing, the report proposes that a new Housing Management Cabinet Sub Committee be established. The proposed membership of the Sub Committee is to be the Mayor (who will chair the sub-committee), the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housing, and two additional Cabinet members yet to be determined. The sub-committee will also have up to three independent advisors co-opted, who will be experts drawn from the housing sector.

Planning for School Places 2024/25

The annual report on the Council’s review of its school place planning is being presented to Cabinet. The report explains that demand for school places is affected by birth rates, levels of migration, and housing development, and how the demand for places has significantly decreased over the last decade. The report provides details of the current and projected school rolls for all school types in the borough - nursery, primary, secondary, and post-16. The key findings are that:

 Demand for nursery and primary places has fallen, and is projected to fall further,

 Demand for secondary places has peaked and is now anticipated to fall,

 Demand for post-16 places has increased.

To deal with the oversupply of primary places, the LA has set up two Area Working Groups in partnership with schools to address the risks to school sustainability. The groups are exploring a range of options for dealing with the surplus, including:

 reducing the Published Admission Number (PAN) for schools

 changing a school’s age range, for example by adding a nursery class

 amalgamating schools (merging schools together)

The report explains how a separate review of provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) was undertaken in 2023. The report is included as an Appendix. The review found that there is a shortfall of specialist provision for these pupils, and proposes a new pilot programme for Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARPs). Six schools have been identified for the pilot scheme, which will provide places in the following categories:

 Autism / Communication and Interaction (primary and secondary)

 Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) (primary and secondary)

 Severe Learning Disability (secondary)

The LA is also considering plans for the longer term. This includes reviewing sites that could be developed for new schools in future. As part of this, the Council will be considering the new Local Plan, the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, and the Council’s plans for housing development.

Stepney Greencoat CE School Expansion

The proposal from the Governing Body of Stepney Greencoat CE Primary School to permanently change the school’s age range to include a new nursery class is being presented to Cabinet.

The school has been running a nursery class as a pilot project for the last two years. The pilot project has proven successful, and as a result the Governors are asking for the provision to be made permanent. The report explains that in order to implement the change, the statutory requirements for making ‘prescribed alterations’ to schools must be followed. These require the Council to determine the request after consultation with the relevant stakeholders. The school is proposing to add 30 new places for nursery-aged children.

The school’s proposal, which includes its statutory consultation document, is included as an Appendix. The document explains that the school has [been] reassigned as a classroom to accommodate Year 1. This enables the Reception and Nursery cohorts to split between two separate rooms, meaning there will be no reduction in space for other school pupils.

The public consultation was open for six weeks. It included a meeting at the school, and was promoted through a range of channels. The consultation was well attended, with 29 completed responses received. The consultation responses are summarised in Appendix B. The main findings are that:

 There is strong support from parents of the school,

 The pilot has been successful,

 There is demand for a church school nursery in the area.

The report is recommending that the proposal from the governing body be approved.

Neighbourhood Planning: Determination of Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Forum

An application has been submitted to the council from the Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Forum to be re-designated as the designated neighbourhood forum for the Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Planning Area. The Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Area encompasses Roman Road in the Bow area of the borough.

The report explains how neighbourhood planning allows local communities to shape development in their areas, through the production of a neighbourhood plan. Once a neighbourhood plan has been approved by a referendum of local residents, it becomes part of the Development Plan. This means that it must then be used by the local authority when determining planning applications in the area.

The Forum submitted an application for redesignation last year, but the Mayor in Cabinet refused it on the basis that the Forum had not demonstrated that its membership was diverse and reflected the local community. The report explains that the forum responded to this by:

… expanding their outreach and brought a wider range of local people into the Forum, including changing the makeup of the executive committee to better reflect the diversity of the area.

The report includes the Forum’s application for designation, the Neighbourhood Area Map and the Forum’s constitution, and concludes that the Forum should be redesignated.

Continuation of Business Rates Pooling

The report is recommending that the Council renew its membership in the 8 Authority Pool for Business Rates with seven other London Boroughs for the financial year 2025-26. The other boroughs in the Pool are:

 Barnet

 Brent

 City of London

 Enfield

 Hackney

 Haringey

 Waltham Forest

The report explains that each year local authorities have the option of joining a business rates pool. Through pooling their business rates income and growth, local authorities can potentially benefit from a levy from the pool, which would otherwise be payable to central government.
The current pool has saved the council an estimated £8m since it was first set up. Tower Hamlets has been a member of the 8 Authority pool since it was first established in 2022. The report is also seeking approval for the Corporate Director of Resources to have delegated authority to agree membership in future years.

Child Healthy Weight Scrutiny Challenge Session: Action Plan Response

A report is being presented on the Council’s response to the recommendations of the Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee (CESSC), following its challenge session on child healthy weight, held in November 2023.

The report includes the CESSC’s report as an appendix. This report explains how child obesity is a major health issue nationally and particularly in urban boroughs like Tower Hamlets which have high rates of deprivation and child poverty. The committee considered:

 The current picture of child healthy weight

 What can be done to address excess weight in children.

The CESSC visited several schools in the borough to observe meal time and exercise facilities. The members also met with the Our Time SEND Ambassadors Forum. This is a group of young people with special educational needs who champion inclusive education.

The CESSC’s report includes a summary of its findings and makes eight recommendations: three around food, one around physical activity and four around psychology and culture. A further Appendix outlines the action plan developed to implement these recommendations.

Disabilities Peoples Access to Sports and Exercise Provision

The report is the Executive’s formal response to the recommendations of the Health and Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee (HASS), following their review of provision for people with disabilities.

The report includes the HASS’s report, which explains that people with disabilities and/or long-term health conditions are less likely to be physically active. This can result in poorer health and mental wellbeing.
The review covered:

 Levels of participation in sports and exercise,

 Awareness and education campaigns,

 Policy improvements, and

 Representation and empowerment.

The HASS held a community engagement workshop with local disabled residents. They also met with representatives from local organisations and the Council’s leisure services team. The report sets out six recommendations to improve the Council’s provision in this area.

Following the insourcing of leisure services, a new service called “Be Well” was launched. The report explains that Be Well is being used to:

… improve the lives of residents through new targeted leisure initiatives with a focus on inclusivity.

A further Appendix provides the Service’s action plan in response to the HASS’s recommendations. This action plan details several steps that will be taken in order to improve the service offer. This includes:

 Reviewing the representation of people with disabilities in the workforce

 Reviewing data on access and usage

 Engaging with disability groups to develop awareness campaigns

 Establishing a new sports and exercise forum to review the service offer

 Developing partnerships with health services and community organisations

 Improving access to mainstream services for people transitioning from specialist gym facilities

The report is recommending that the Service’s action plan be approved.

Be Well Leisure Capital Investment Proposals

This report presents an overview of the potential opportunities for further investment in the Borough’s leisure and fitness facilities, through the Be Well service. A feasibility study exploring three key areas has been conducted:

 Refurbishment of the gyms at Mile End Leisure Centre and Whitechapel Sports Centre

 Expansion of sports facilities at Mile End Park, including new pitches and an outdoor gym

The report includes the feasibility study and sets out a proposed investment package of around £6m in order to deliver these improvements. Subject to the agreement of the proposals, funding will be sought via a combination of capital grant, income from Section 106 agreements, and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts.