This meeting of the Executive will consider a range of issues covering council finances, adult social care, housing and public health. It includes a report providing an update on the current financial year’s budget, reports outlining the council’s ambitions for purchasing homes and building new council homes, and a report recommending the continuation of a contract to provide sexual health services in Islington.

Supporting Survivors of Non-Recent Child Abuse

The agenda includes an update report on the council’s budget.

The Quarterly Budget Monitor 2024/25 Quarter 3 outlines the forecast year-end position for the council’s General Fund, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), and the Capital Programme.

Within this report, the council is forecasting a drawdown of £1.170m from reserves to fund approved in-year support payments for survivors of non-recent child abuse in Islington and a further £2.074m for operational costs, which are split between staffing costs, legal expenses, and running costs.

The report also notes that the council is presently forecasting a transfer of £1.068m to Public Health Reserves at the end of the current financial year. Public Health Reserves presently stand at £1.591m.

Tackling Homelessness in Islington

The Executive is scheduled to discuss two reports that relate to providing homes for homeless people.

The first report, Purchasing circa 193 Ex Right to Buy properties to accommodate homeless households in Islington, sets out a proposal for the council to purchase circa 193 former council homes that were sold under Right to Buy¹ legislation, using a combination of grant funding, Right to Buy receipts and borrowing, and to use those homes to house homeless families.

The report describes how the number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation in Islington has risen sharply. This is in part due to a lack of affordable housing in the borough, but also due to a wider national housing crisis and cost-of-living crisis, as well as the financial fallout from Brexit.

Islington Council is currently accommodating 1,737 homeless households who are living in temporary accommodation. This is the highest level of homeless households living in temporary accommodation since records began to be collected by central Government and this increase is due to a combination of the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, and the financial fallout of Brexit.

The report pack includes a memorandum of understanding between Islington Council and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that describes how £9.870m of government funding has been allocated to Islington Council, to purchase 33 properties for homeless households. In addition to this, Islington Council will also use £4.635m of the council’s own Right to Buy receipts to purchase a further ten properties for homeless households.

The council has already secured £36m of funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to purchase 150 properties to house homeless families.

The report also sets out that a further fifty-two properties are expected to be completed before 31 March 2026 using funding that has already been secured from MHCLG.

This would result in the purchase of 245 properties before the end of March 2026, bringing the total of ex-Right to Buy properties purchased by Islington to 907.

The second report, Delivery Strategy for the New Homes Programme, including the Procurement Strategy for New Build and Major Construction Contracts, outlines the council’s longer-term strategy for building new council homes, with the aim of delivering more genuinely affordable homes to help tackle the housing crisis in Islington.

The report notes an assessment of potential sites for new council homes is underway, with those sites having the potential to deliver up to 570 homes. The report pack also includes a list of sites which have been approved for direct delivery and those that are presently under construction.

One of the sites approved for delivery is the Finsbury Leisure Centre. The approved budget for the redevelopment of this site is £158.354m.

The report describes how, in 2021, the Council committed to starting construction on 750 new homes by December 2027. The council has recently completed several schemes, delivering a total of 590 homes. These schemes include Dixon Clark Court, Park View, Windsor Street and Andover Estate. Construction is also underway on new homes at Parkview Estate, Beaumont Rise, Elthorne Estate, and St John’s Mansions.

Since 2021, the cost of building new homes and risks associated with construction have increased significantly, with the introduction of new building safety regulations, interest rate rises and cost inflation providing unprecedented challenges.

Because of these cost pressures, the council is looking at a range of partnership options for delivery of the new homes. These include Development Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, and site twinning through the planning system.

Delivering the Connect to Work Employment Programme

Councillor Santiago Bell-Bradford, Executive Member for Inclusive Economy, Culture & Jobs, will present a report asking the council to accept grant funding to deliver the Department for Work and Pensions’ Connect to Work programme.

The DWP / Central London Forward Connect to Work Employment Programme report asks the Executive to agree for the council to deliver the programme in-house by expanding the council’s existing supported employment team, while also using a portion of the funding to commission specialist packages of support to plug any gaps that may arise during the programme’s operational phase.

Connect to Work is a five-year programme designed to help people with health conditions or disabilities to access and retain employment. The total grant funding allocation to Islington Council for the five-year period is estimated at £3.661m.

The report pack also includes a draft delivery plan.

The council currently delivers a supported employment service supporting residents with global learning delay and refugees and the report sets out that the introduction of Connect to Work and the subsequent expansion and extension of our current approach to employment support “is a natural progression”.

The Government’s Get Britain Working identifies the need for more alignment between work and health programmes and Connect to Work is the first step in this direction, presenting an opportunity for the council to develop local capacity and expertise to secure future funding.

The Connect to Work programme requires participants to achieve certain employment outcomes. The report pack states that “the programme’s key performance indicators require up to 300 profiled starts in peak delivery years and a conversion of 50% of those on programme to enter or sustain their employment outcome.” To manage any risk around delivering these outcomes, the report suggests “the delivery profile adopts a phased approach which sees a gradual increase in performance to reaching peak delivery in years 3 and 4”.

Reviewing the Local Development Scheme

The Executive is also scheduled to review its Local Development Scheme (LDS). The LDS is a formal work programme setting out how the council will prepare and review its Local Plan² and other planning guidance.

The review of the LDS will consider the timescale for the Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan review, timescales for the preparation of new Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and the revision of existing SPDs.

The council is currently undertaking an early review of its Local Plan, focussing on the Gypsy and Traveller policy. The updated LDS provides a timetable for this review. It is presently scheduled to be submitted to the Secretary of State in autumn 2026, and to be adopted in autumn or winter 2027.

The updated LDS includes timescales for the preparation of the new Climate Action SPD. This document “sets out guidance on how to implement key climate action policies within Islington’s adopted Local Plan.” It is scheduled for formal consultation in January or February 2025 and is planned to be adopted in summer or autumn 2025.

The LDS also sets out when existing SPDs will be reviewed, including the Holloway Prison Site SPD, adopted in January 2018 and the Urban Design Guide SPD, adopted in January 2017.

In addition, several Supplementary Planning Documents are proposed for cancellation, as they are out of date or have been superseded by the Islington Local Plan (2023). These include:

• Preventing Wasted Housing Supply SPD (2015)
• Finsbury Park Development Framework SPD (2015)
• Finsbury Park Town Centre – Joint SPD by Islington, Hackney and Haringey (2014)
• Cally Plan SPD (2014)
• Mount Pleasant SPD (2012)
• Archway Development Framework SPD (2007)
• Nag’s Head Town Centre Strategy SPD (2007)
• King’s Cross Neighbourhood Framework SPD (2005)

Publishing the Procurement Pipeline Notice

The Executive will also review the council’s first Procurement Pipeline Notice for contracts with a whole life value of more than £2m to be published on the Find a Tender Service website in April 2025. The Pipeline Notice covers anticipated procurement activity for the 18 months from April 2025 to October 2026.

The Procurement Act 2023 requires councils to share more information with suppliers about their planned procurement activity to improve transparency and accountability, and publishing a Pipeline Notice is one of the new statutory obligations the council must comply with.

The Procurement Pipeline Notice sets out a list of anticipated procurements. This includes the direct award of two new contracts for new build council homes, at Bemerton Estate and at Vorley Road, both planned for June 2025. The report also includes a contract for the refurbishment works at Harvist Estate, presently planned for June 2025.

Continuing Support for the Islington Survivors Trauma Service

The Executive will consider a report asking the council to approve an agreement to enable the continued provision of the Islington Survivors Trauma Service.

The S75 Agreement with NCL ICB for the Islington Survivors Trauma Service report asks the Executive to approve an agreement for the council to make an annual financial contribution of £318,000 to the North Central London Integrated Care Board, to fund the service.

This service has been delivered since 2018 by the North London NHS Foundation Trust (previously known as Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust), to support people who were abused as children in Islington’s care.

We have apologised before for the council’s failure to protect vulnerable children in its care in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and today we repeat that apology.

The report pack states that patients usually stay with the service for at least 12 months, and so it is important for the service to continue to be provided in a way that ensures those who need support can continue to access it.

Continuing to Provide Integrated Sexual Health Services

Councillor Flora Williamson, Executive Member for Health and Social Care, will present a procurement report recommending the awarding of a new contract to continue to provide Integrated Sexual Health Services in Islington.

The Procurement Strategy and Award Report for North Central London Integrated Sexual Health services report sets out that the council, working in partnership with Barnet, Camden, and Haringey councils, is proposing to award the contract to Central North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust, the existing provider, under the Provider Selection Regime direct award process C.

The report pack includes an assessment of CNWL’s delivery of the current contract, which started in July 2017 and is due to expire in June 2025.

With a relatively young and diverse population, Islington has high levels of sexual health need in relation to STIs, contraception, HIV prevention and related health promotion activities.

The report describes how CNWL’s Sexual Health services have been rated “Outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission, and that service users in Islington have reported high levels of satisfaction with the care they receive.

The report recommends that the contract is awarded for an initial term of 36 months, with two optional extensions of 12 months each, meaning the contract could be in place for up to five years.

The report also recommends that two smaller contracts presently held by the Council are brought together into the Integrated Sexual Health contract. The first of these smaller contracts, for Independent Domestic Sexual Violence Advocates (IDSVA), is presently funded through Public Health via an annual grant of £60,000. The report pack notes that feedback on this service has been positive since it was introduced in 2020.

This was introduced into the service in 2020 and provided important access to help and support during Covid when there was a significant increase in need and other access limited, and we believe was the first such service to be based in sexual health services in the country.

The second contract being integrated into the main contract is for the provision of condoms in primary care.

The report sets out that the Archway Centre on Holloway Road provides integrated sexual health services for Islington residents.

The service offers a mix of walk in (for those who meet the urgent criteria), and bookable appointments through an online booking system or their central booking number which operates at certain days/times of the week.

Adult Social Care Support at Pentonville Prison

Councillor Flora Williamson, Executive Member for Health and Social Care, will also present a report relating to social care support for eligible prisoners at HMP Pentonville.

The Approval of S75 for Social Care support at Pentonville Prison report asks the Executive to agree for the council to enter into a Section 75 agreement with NHS England for a period of five years from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029, with the option to extend for a further two years, to provide for the delivery of social care support at the prison.

The report pack notes that the number of prisoners requiring social care support has historically been low.

The number of prisoners drawing on long term social care support whilst in prison at any one time is very low.

Since May 2023, NHS England has commissioned the provider, Practice Plus Group, to provide social care support to care act eligible prisoners, in addition to health services. Before May 2023, the contract was directly commissioned by Islington Council.

The report sets out how Practice Plus Group is well-placed to deliver the service, because it can flex up and down to meet fluctuating demand, and is already well-integrated into the prison’s health and social care system.