Transcript

Hello, and welcome to this meeting of Wandsworth Council's Cabinet. We'll start by asking, are there any apologies this evening? We have an apology from Councillor Yates. And are there any declarations of interest? Good. Well, if it's okay, hopefully you've got the agenda in front of you. But as always, I'll just give a few updates on our key priorities. And we've continued to get out and about around the borough listening to residents. Most recently, on Saturday, when I was on Trinity Road for one of our monthly drop-ins, hearing from residents about their concerns about safer streets around crime, but also the popularity of our seven days, seven rings guarantee. On seven days, seven rings, I always ask people when I go into public meetings if they've been kept on hold for more than 20 minutes by the council this year. And when I was going around doing the same wards last year, more than half of the people would put their hands up. But this time around, it's only one or two people each time who put their hands up. So thank you very, very much to all the council staff who now pick up the telephone, who have improved customer service and made seven days, seven rings such a success. Other recent highlights. Some of us were with Sadiq last week as we opened Springfield Park. That's London's biggest park since the 2012 Olympics. Looks absolutely fantastic. Also spent a morning in Tooting Bec with the local MP and Council officers thinking how we can improve and invest in that neighbourhood going forward. And also a lovely afternoon at Battersea Arts Centre hearing from many local schools about the fantastic and creative things that they've been doing in partnership with Apple. And it was a pleasure to announce another £340,000 of investment from Apple, taking to more than £1 million now, their investment in our local children. We had Country on the Common a few weeks ago. And I know many of you in this room managed to turn up alongside 9,000 other people who got to enjoy themselves. And it's wonderful that more than £1,000 tickets went to our access for all residents as well. We're opening up these opportunities to everyone. In fact, it was lovely. We had a resident get in touch afterwards to say she was really reluctant to go initially because she was disabled and she was very nervous about accessibility at the event. I think you've seen this one. But she said in the end she was thrilled with the music, with the vibe, with the helpfulness of the staff and how well we'd made sure everyone was included in this great experience. So that's a key part of what drives us. We want those absolutely best-in-class, you know, world-class experiences and make sure that everyone can be involved in them. So we'll just have a look at a few charts now, just to update on our key services. So first we're looking at Access for All. And you'll remember recently we had a big launch of Access for All. This is Britain's best concession scheme. Low-income residents who are on any welfare benefits get 50% off council services and 100% off council services which they just have to access. And we're also expanding this to other private sector opportunities. As I say, more than 1,000 tickets for Country on the Common were Access for All. And at Tootingbeck Lido, already this summer, more than 1,000 Access for All residents have had free access there. All in, more than 100,000 sessions of gym and swim have been taken by Access for All residents. And I don't know if I should tell you this before tomorrow, but tomorrow we're launching our Access for All offer with the e-bike operators. So all of those e-bikes and e-scooters you see around the borough, they'll be 50% off for our low-income residents as well. So we'll be making sure that e-bikes are accessible to everyone, but they are used fairly and considerately. And, of course, there are penalties for individuals and companies that don't respect the rules and strict safety measures across the board. And there's a lovely video on our website about weddings. You can now get married in the town hall for half price under Access for All. Please watch the video of Hamid and his special day there. I mentioned the seven-days, seven-rings guarantee earlier. So every week on our website, every month in these meetings, we report on how well that guarantee is going. And for the month of June, we removed 100% of graffiti within seven days, fixed 100% of dangerous potholes within seven days, replaced 61% of broken street signs within seven days. And 56 street signs were replaced in total throughout June, which I think is the highest total for a long time. So hopefully you can see in your neighborhood those street signs are looking a bit fresher than they were. And if you think your street sign isn't as smart as it should be or if it's broken or defaced, tell us. Hello at Wandsworth or on our 6,000 number. We will replace it within seven days. And looking at the seven-rings guarantee, it's fantastic that fully 87% of calls were answered within seven rings, and that's for the whole month, that average. That's an improvement on May's average of 82%, which I said at the time was good. But we always want to see improvement. So we'll look for further improvement, but very happy to see the direction of travel here. And finally, just looking at our free bulky waste collections, incredibly popular policy, continues to deliver. More than 11,000 residents now have taken advantage of free bulky waste collections from their own homes. So really popular policy and hopefully having a real impact on cleaner streets. So just to say, hopefully the priorities we're talking about are your priorities. We spend a huge amount of time listening to residents, going out and taking their views. And we've heard that safer streets, cleaner streets, being a more responsive listening council, and faster housing repairs are top of the list. So you've told us and we'll listen and you can expect us to deliver on those priorities. So if it's all right, we'll now move on to the items on the agenda. And first up is our corporate plan, annual refresh. Are there any comments or questions on that paper? If not, is that agreed? Thank you. And second up, we have our quarter four outturn report, a finance paper. Councilor Ireland. Thank you. We've had the results of the year of the finance results for the year 31st of April 2024 to 31st of March 2025. Highlights on this, we've achieved a 99% of expected general fund capital, which is a significant improvement. And as on previous years, the forecasting has improved immensely. And this is as a direct result of the revised approach to approving forecasting and reporting on individual schemes during the year. We've experienced continuing demand for statutory services and above average inflation cost increases in providing these services. However, we achieved additional income from treasury investments, which helped offset the overspend, which is less than 1% of net spend, £1.3 million. Now, I think this is an excellent result. And I'd like to thank all the budget holders, including the executive directors, Mrs. Mary and her finance team, including Ms. Burstyn, who's here this evening. They've worked very hard to manage demand and mitigate cost increases, and it's very much appreciated. Thank you very much. Now, budgets remain under pressure. It's national demand pressures, really, particularly in homelessness and social care. These are not Wandsworth's specific. I'm very proud of the work that Wandsworth has done to contain cost increases. If you look at the overspends across London, it's £500 million. So, Wandsworth has done particularly well. Of that £500 million, £330 million is due to temporary accommodation costs overspend. And we will continue to manage these demands. And thank you very much, Mr. Wirth, for all your work, too. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Ireland. Are there any comments or questions on this paper? I can see Councillor Henderson. Thank you, Councillor Ireland, and thank you for your excellent stewardship of our finances. I must admit, I do receive leaflets through the door from time to time, claiming that Wandsworth's Council is racking up an enormous amount of debt, is in serious financial difficulties. What would you have to say to that, thanks? Thank you, Councillor Ireland. Thank you, Councillor Ireland. So, yes, we will be borrowing money, but it's to invest in the borough, and we will have assets to show for it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Ireland, and thanks, as Councillor Henderson says, for your sound stewardship. Is that paper agreed? Thank you. Item three is our events in parks policy, and we'll start with the usual cabinet member institution. Introduction, and then we'll take a deputation from the Friends of Tooting Common. Councillor White. And it's great to have Friends of Tooting Common here tonight, Peter. And hopefully we're going to be adding another Friends of very, very shortly at Springfield Park. So, good stuff. So, anyway, we're committed to making the borough a fairer, more compassionate, and more sustainable place. Our year is the London Borough of Culture. 2025 is called Welcome to Wandsworth. Places, culture at the heart of developing a people-led approach to boosting health, happiness, and equality of opportunity. Our parks are for everyone, and we value them as places for relaxation, recreation, sport, play, connecting with nature, and as havens for biodiversity. We are, therefore, investing in them. Springfield Park is a new 32-acre public park being developed in partnership with the NHS and developers in Tooting. It was formally opened earlier this month. We have secured planning permission for a new pocket park on Swoffield Road, and we'll be starting construction later in the year, investing £400,000. The park will include new play equipment, sensory planting, and biodiversity improvements. Our play strategy sets out the roadmap for transforming spaces across the borough, including in our parks. We have dedicated 4 million of the council's capital resources to implement the first phase of improvements, and we'll start consultation on the first projects after the summer. We are working on plans for Tooting Triangle, making this northern part of the common more accessible and resilient. So far, we have allocated £600,000 of investment for the site, and we will start engagement with communities around the triangle in the autumn. Events in our parks, commons, and open spaces play a significant role in achieving our ambitious goals of Parks for Everyone. We want to enable access to events in parks and open spaces across the borough, reaching all communities. Earlier in the year, we carried out a review of the events in parks, commons, and open spaces policy that was adopted in 2014. Since then, both community expectations and environmental standards have evolved significantly. As a listening council, in March, we approved a draft policy for consultation. Before we made the decision on the final policy, we wanted to hear from as many people as possible. Over 800 people responded to our online survey. We held two dedicated sessions with our Green Spaces stakeholder groups and ran several focus groups with young people through our youth service. We have made multiple changes to the final policy based directly on consultation feedback. These are shown in paragraph 3.30 and Appendix 1 shows how the policy has evolved from the 2014 version to the version in front of you today. Changes include explicitly banning events over 10,000 attendees except in Battersea Park. Prohibiting large events on Wandsville Common for over 2,499 people. Strengthening ecological protections and clarifying noise controls. The policy also introduces more public consultation and Cabinet oversight. These are not superficial changes. They reflect a genuine effort to respond to the concerns raised and to strike a better balance between community events and the protection of green spaces. I recommend to my Cabinet colleagues that we adopt the recommendations set out in Section 1. Thank you. Thanks very much, Councillor White. If it's all right, we will have a discussion of that. But I think if it's all right, if Mr. Rommel, if you want to come up and address the Cabinet for up to five minutes, and then if it's okay, we'll ask you questions if any occur. Over to you. So if you can press the button on the speaker in front of you. Thank you very much. Thanks for this opportunity to bring Friends of Tooting Commons comments on the new events policy. And this focuses particularly on changes which are now made in this latest version, which was issued on the 7th of July. Generally, Friends of Tooting Commons considers that occasional large events on the common can be a benefit and interest to a range of common users and local communities, and I think here of a particular country on the common as a recent example, and that occasional large events can be a good use of the common. But there need to be robust and appropriate safeguards to protect the common and also the interests of other common's users. An excessive number of large events would be very detrimental. We were surprised and rather puzzled by the additional statement now included in the latest version, which Councillor White has alluded to, that no large events, events over 2,500, will be permitted on Wandsworth Common. Surprised particularly since the paper gives no clear indication as to the reasons for this decision, nor does it propose specific restrictions on other green spaces. We would ask for some explanation. We also need to ask for an assurance from the Council that this decision will not lead to increased pressure for more large events on Tooting Common than would be reasonable, given that 2,000 in common is the other large green space in the borough aside from Battersea Park, which is dealt with elsewhere. Aside from that point, in general, we feel that this new events policy is definitely an improvement on the 2014 policy. But there are several points where we think further improvements and clarifications could be made in the interest particularly of transparency. We consider that the number of large events called Category B and C, the events over 2,500, which in total could be up to 10 event days, we think it's too high. And our concerns on this are heightened by the decision now made to exclude such events from Wandsworth Common. We note the response from the Council to our earlier comments, and we're grateful for that response, that the reason for specifying a figure for large events higher than is likely is to allow for, and I'll quote, major international sporting events, which will be regarded as extraordinary. But we would suggest that it will be helpful in the interests of transparency and for administering the policy to make that point explicit in the policy rather than just as an explanation. Turning to the provision about events on consecutive weekends where the policy says there will be no Category C or B event days at any site on consecutive weekends unless this can demonstrably reduce the duration of events infrastructure being on site compared to non-consecutive weekends or unless this can provide increased social impact benefits. We wondered if the Council could clarify what was meant by increased social impact benefits and how the Council and Enable would assess these in administering the policy. We were also not sure about what the wording about events infrastructure being on site would mean in terms of perimeter fencing. We would have concerns if this resulted in perimeter fencing being left in place for a number of weeks to cater for events on consecutive weekends and each one being justified by being more hassle to take down than put up. That would definitely be detrimental to other Commons users. So with these considerations in mind, we think that an additional sentence should be added on the lines of in any case there will be no Category C or B event days at any site on more than two consecutive weekends. We are grateful for a number of changes which have been made in the policy including the requirement that events organisers need to minimise the number of set-up and removal days. But we do think that there are a few changes which will be helpful. We think there needs to be an additional clause at the end saying this policy will be fully reviewed including a public consultation every, we suggest, six years, but we're not wedded to that particular figure. But we do think there ought to be provision for an overall review. The old policy has been in place for 11 years, which is a long time in most people's reckoning. We also think the policy should include explicitly two statements, which may sound obvious, but they're the sorts of things that people get very concerned about. One is to say, among other things, all event organisers should ensure that litter is cleared from the site completely following the event. The other is to say, events will be appropriately policed to minimise any social, antisocial behaviour. Now, it may be that those points are covered in other documents, but we do think that this policy, as a statement by the Council as to how events should be run and will be run, it would be helpful to make those points explicit. Finally, a technical point on definition. I've sent this to, I think officers are aware of this and I can enlarge on it, but that the section which deals with event size and attendance, we think could be clearer. So the policy states that there are two definitions of event size, depending on whether events are just generally open to the public or there's a particular attendance requirement. That's all fine, but we think the explanation of that would helpfully be in the policy itself. Those are the comments that we've had. We've got, thank you very much for listening. Well, no, thank you for giving up your time and being here this evening. And if you have a little more time, are there any questions from the Cabinet? If we can come to Councillor Gasser and then Councillor Ekinola. Yeah, thank you very much for your comments. And I'll leave Councillor White to come back and it's not my area anymore. But we've recently had country on the Common, and obviously I've taken a great interest because it's right next door to my ward. And I'm aware of a couple of complaints about noise. That's all that I've received. It's all nothing about litter, nothing about bad behaviour, nothing about people leaving. On the whole, my perception is it was a huge success. I just wondered if you had that same perception. Yes, that's also our perception. I've had a lot of very positive feedback, but there have been several comments about noise levels. But in general, very positive feedback. And certainly no problems of litter or damage to the ground or anything like that. Thank you. And Councillor Ekinola. I just wanted to just follow in on from what Councillor Gasser had said, actually. Because obviously it's not a new idea to have events on Toot in common because there were lots of events. The Rolling Stones, I think, or something, played there. Many, the police, sorry, the police. Right, it was before my time. I wasn't born. So there's been big events on the common before. And we did just have country on the common, which was important so that we had something in that side of the borough for people during London Borough of Culture. So what are your suggested improvements to events? Because we would potentially like to look at doing other things on the common. So what are your suggestions for improvements we can make to events moving forward? Well, we do think it's very important that there's an understanding about issues such as litter, such as policing in particular, which is why we're suggesting that that should be made explicit in the policy. We also do, as we indicate, have concerns about if there were an excessive number of events. Ultimately, of course, there's a matter of balance and recognizing the needs and interest of different commons users. But we would be concerned if there is an excessive number, which is hence the comment we've made. Thank you. If it's all right, it's turning into question time. We've just got two more questions for you, if that's okay. Councillor Henderson and Councillor Dekater. Yeah, thank you for your presentation. Very interesting. I mean, you talk about excessive number of events. You particularly focus upon events two or more weekends following. But over the course of the year, what would you actually consider to be excessive or not excessive in terms of frequency? Thanks. Thank you. The revised policy sets out an overall limit of up to 10 big events days, six days, six events between 2,500 and 5,000, and four events over 5,000 up to 10,000. No, we do think that that is excessive. Because the longer-term effect on the common can begin to be noticeable. So we do feel that that should be reduced somewhat. And partly in that connection, as I say, we know that there are to be no such events at all on Wandsworth Common. Councillor Dijk, then. Yeah, I think this is a really important point. I don't know if you were aware of the controversy around Lambeth. All my friends were very – there was a hot discussion in my WhatsApp group about public space and festivals and balancing between, you know, lots of young renters who might like events and also people in the neighbourhoods. And I guess what would be really helpful for me is that – I think you're right that public space is commons. They are for everyone. And if they are, there is a form of privatisation when there is a ticketed event. Is there – does access for all and our ability to try and target events that are specifically for local people rather than generating London-wide demand, is that something that the friends are supportive of? Is there a way in which we can try and make sure that the events that we do in Wandsworth are really for people that kind of live in Wandsworth and enjoy the common when there's no events and to try and make sure there isn't that anxiety that this is a financial decision? Because for us, it was really about the borough of culture and it's about trying to make life fun for the residents who live in Wandsworth. So what kind of – in your mind, what are the steps we could be taking to ensure that people understand that that's the process? Thanks. I'm afraid I don't have any immediate sort of – or singing or dancing solutions. But two observations. One is that I think there's plenty of scope for relatively smaller events, what are called in the policy Category A events, less than 2,500, which still does cater for a lot of people and particularly local people. The other issue that has been commented on is the issue of cost. Now, the country on the common went extremely well as an event. The cost of tickets was quite high and certainly there has been comment about that. Now, again, there's no obvious solution to those issues, but something about relatively cheaper events and perhaps smaller ones as well, which would also have less effect on the infrastructure of the common. Excellent. Well, look, thank you very, very much for those really helpful answers to those useful questions. If it's all right, if we could ask you to take your place again, you're very welcome – well, please observe the rest of this discussion, but you're welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting if you'd like to. And please also pass on our thanks to the rest of the friends of Tooting Common because, you know, we love our green spaces, but, you know, the friends of groups do absolutely fantastic work as well. So please pass on our thanks. Cheers. Is it okay, Councillor White, if you respond to what you've heard there and then we can take any other comments about the proposals? Yeah, I mean, thank you for coming tonight and thanks for you and the friends of Tooting Common being so involved in helping us renew and update this policy. And thanks for coming in earlier today where we talked for about 35 minutes around the issues that you raised this evening. We are so lucky to have friends and MAC groups, as the leader just said, that have been involved in this consultation. I think there is a big worry that we're going to move from a position where we have very few events in the Commons to having multi-events, which isn't the case at all. And it's interesting about Wands of Common as well that there are very few events on Wands of Common. So I can't think of any that would be displaced to somewhere else anyway. So, you know, I think that's a worry that can be discounted. In fact, we're working on the biodiversity strategy at the moment and our Commons and Parks will be central to us achieving biodiversity gain. And quite simply, the policy that was in place from 2014, which drew no complaints or worry in this regard, was much more likely to allow more and bigger events. This process has been about tightening up that policy to control how our Commons are used and ensure we have a balance that does not disrupt or undermine our Commons. As I stated earlier, we have gone to great lengths to reassure and have been pleased with the positive inputs and engagements by our residents. In fact, including emails, it's 900 and all, which has allowed us to produce this document. I hope Friends of Tuttingham will remain our critical friends and I'm sure your fears will be allayed and you'll continue to enjoy the Common and see it flourish in the coming years. Thanks very much, Councillor White. So, are there any other comments or questions on this proposal? Councillor Deekton. So, the issue that was raised about displacement doesn't... There isn't a risk of that just because there isn't very many events whatsoever on ones with common as it stands. So, we don't see that as something coming forward in the future. Yeah. No, that's right. And, as I say, as I think you mentioned earlier about in other boroughs, there are mass, big-scale events, but we... There is no demand for that in Wandsworth. So, you know... And so, it's just not something that we are considering at all within this and, you know, we're just making sure that when we have an event that we feel it would be good for the borough-like country in the common, that we'll be able to allow it to go ahead. And not only was it a great event, but it also left very few scars on the common. There was very few rubbish issues. There was no anti-social behaviour. And it's very instructive that 60% of the audience came from the wards that are about the common. So, you know, it was a really, really popular event, and that's the area that we'd like to be moving in, not to mass events. And there was a comment also about the sports, you know... No, yeah, some events that would, you know, that would be... I can't remember what the word was, but, you know, very unusual. And I think one of them might be England getting to the World Cup final, but... Wonderful. Well, let's... Yeah, let's hope England getting to the World Cup final becomes a regular event. But, look, thanks, Councillor White, and I know previously, Councillor Gasser, for all your work on that policy. And I think, as has been noted, it's an improvement from where we were. And thanks for everything you do to cherish and look after our green spaces. So, are those proposals agreed? And next, we can turn to a couple of papers about libraries. So, first, we're looking at our library strategy, which I think is Councillor Gasser. Thank you very much. I'm delighted to introduce this new strategy, which we've been working on for a while, actually. Just the instructions. We have wonderful libraries in Wandsworth. We're so proud of them. We're the top two performing boroughs in London for our library visits, top 10% nationwide for physical and digital visits and lending. So, it's a wonderful success story. But, actually, our libraries do so much more than just lend books. You know, our libraries are the hub of the community in many areas. They offer a whole range of activities, everything from baby rhyme time right through to knit and natter. You know, there's something for everyone. They use from hundreds of young people use them to study at exam time. And they've been really vital spaces for some residents who need somewhere warm or a friendly face during the winter. There are also crucial sources of information about council services. You can pick up recycling bags. You can learn English. You can try a new hobby, like Lego or Dungeons and Dragons or whatever. We've had dance classes in Ballam and Earsfield Library. We've had musical theatre classes in York Gardens as part of London Borough Culture. There is so much going on. And, actually, our librarians are one of the most trusted professions. They're the third most trusted profession after doctors and nurses. So, people go to them for help. And they signpost people to all sorts of support services that our council provides. But we're all conscious that not everybody is actually visiting our libraries. There are certain groups of people in our communities, and it tends to be, you know, those marginalised people, those people that are vulnerable, maybe. And they don't yet feel welcome in our libraries or even know what we're offering. So, this strategy is about making sure that everybody feels welcome in our libraries. Everybody knows what's going on. Everybody wants to use them. They think about libraries first, if they want information, if they want a book, if they want to study, whatever. It's part of our big, wider ambition, actually. You know, this new council, we're reaching out through family hubs. We're reaching out through Access for All. We're reaching out through Play. Everything we're doing is about more opportunities for more residents and particularly focused on the less advantaged people in our borough. So, in the next paper, we'll be discussing the Contract 6 sanction, which, obviously, these two things are very much linked because our current provider, GLL, has been very much involved in planning this new strategy. Very helpful, indeed. And, you know, one of our ambitions is to extend the hours in some of our libraries. And we want to introduce universal library membership for all children. We want a new app to make everything a lot easier. We're going to have all sorts of new classes looking at what people want. But one idea also is exercise classes. We want to make things... The library's completely accessible for people with special needs or disabilities. And we're on the route to being accredited as libraries of sanctuary. Another key aspect of our work, obviously, is for young people studying, particularly exam time. There's massive demand. We have young people queuing, you know, outside the doors first thing in the morning. So we're working with colleagues across the council to try and find more study spaces for our young people. It's clear that there's a huge, huge need for that. So basically, our vision is that our libraries are the first place that anybody goes to for help, for lending, for activities, put on an event themselves. And this strategy is all about how we will achieve that. So I'd ask you to agree it, please. Wonderful. Thank you, Councillor Gasser. Any comments or questions on the strategy proposals? Councillor Henderson. Thank you, Councillor Gasser. Can I say, this is a bit of feedback from the residents of Roehampton. My apologies to colleagues and residents if I appear a bit pro-cure on this. But the extension of, effectively, the restoration of the hours at Roehampton Library, which had been cut by the previous administration, really has regenerated for the community. The library has seen some amazing community events and also, of course, has been very positively used in the winter as a warm space and currently now we have a heat wave as a cool space. So it really has become very much a hub of the community in a way that 73 years ago it wasn't. So this is really just a bit of feedback but just to say that the extension of the hours at Roehampton Library, which has resulted in quite substantial increase in footfall. It really is quite amazing. It's the highest across the boroughs as far as I understand. But just to say that this really is investing in the people of Wandsworth. Thank you. Well, thank you very much. I mean, that's exactly what we want to do, isn't it? And we want to do more of that and in other libraries as well to recreate that success. I'm really delighted that people around are benefiting. Great. So is it agreed, the overall strategy? Agreed. And then, if you don't mind, Councillor Gasser, just going on to the specific contract extension paper. Yes, thank you. So Wandsworth Library Services, a currently delivered through a contract with Greenwich Leisure Limited, which expires on 31st of March, 2026. And so the paper seeks approval to extend this contract for two years from April the 1st, 2026, with the ability to extend for a further 12 months if we wish. After that, we need to start a proper procurement process and thinking about what we might want to do with our libraries. So, yeah, this is what it recommends. And as I said, GLL have been working with us for 12 years. They have been very, very good partners. They have accommodated just about everything we've asked them to do. They've brought more to the table. At the moment, they have a literary foundation. They're supporting local writers in our libraries. And then children can come in and hear these writers talk. There's all sorts of things going on. And as part of the contract extension proposal that is submitted to us, they have offered to increase the hours. So it's to maintain the extended Roehampton hours that we were talking about and to increase the hours in Battersea Park Library and York Gardens Library. Total of an extra 40 hours a week across our libraries and for no extra charge. So I think that's a very good offer from them. And then we can then explore maybe we want to open some of the libraries a bit longer. We'd have to talk about prices. But to be able to increase that much at no extra charge I think is a very great offer. And they are aligned to our values as well. They're doing everything they can to promote our residents coming into our libraries, supporting when they're there, offering all sorts of activities. I'm very confident in recommending this contract for another couple of years. Thank you. Is that agreed? Excellent. Thanks very much. So next if we can turn to item six which is the Wandsworth growth plan. Councillor Deekadam, are you okay to say a few words for this? this falls under strategic planning around areas of growth in the borough with a specific recognition of Clapton Junction as a growth corridor in the London growth plan. And you'll see our submission to the London plan is to fight for that, to stay that way. And also thinking through some of the main areas in which development are likely to take place in the immediate future. So key sites like Wandsworth Town where we've had schemes go through planning applications and the Winsendian York Road regeneration which there's a paper following this one. This isn't just about focusing only on specific area of the growth agenda. So this factors in housing but also employment and skills, local businesses and is a place making approach you know there's a lot of discussion recently about the quality, the type of development that takes place so that it's livable, there are good transport connections, you know people have access to employment but their spaces are also designed in a way in which you know there's ease to get around and given the kind of you know some of the things we're trying to unpick particularly around central Wandsworth this is really really important because we you know we have some infrastructure that if we could go back to square one we wouldn't design it the way that we have and this allows us to think thoroughly and in the long term about what Wandsworth will look like not just in the next political cycle but in the next 10-20 years. Thank you very much. If there's no comments or questions is that approved? Thanks and Councillor Dekodem you mentioned one of the exciting schemes there which is the Winstanley Neighbourhood Regeneration I think that's the topic of our next paper. Yeah so this is kind of really important foundational document following our move away from the joint venture and you know we inherited a joint venture that had stalled and now we have taken the Winstanley York Road regeneration back in house we've taken back control and this document is outlining our commitment in terms of what we plan to deliver but also thinking through the next stages as we move towards a ballot which wasn't going to happen on the previous scheme. In some ways we have good roadmaps because we've done this on the Alton we've successfully taken back control of a regeneration that was meant to be a joint venture and are doing it directly in house and so there are some things you'll recognise from that including you know setting up community panels and working through what we do in the interim periods between build outs but the reason why we did this is so we can move fast so this isn't you know we're not going back to square one this is about delivery this is about bringing down Pentafone house delivering the phases as soon as possible there will be some alterations necessary and we have to think those through and that's because of changes in the dynamic around building safety for instance you know the two stairwells thinking about the cause of buildings now and the ballot process is also something that will help us bring in Grant. Some key headline figures on the housing offer which I know that is always an area of deep concern with the public you know we'll be going from what was going to be a 34% affordable scheme to one that has to be above 50% 50% or above because that's what the London plan asks so there are huge benefits in the process that we're doing in order to in order to improve that area but we've had to do this because of because of fundamentally a kind of an inability of the JV to deliver on its promises and so there's a huge recognition in this paper that this is about delivery now because residents have been waiting too long. Thanks very very much any questions on this. Councillor Henderson. I seem to be asking most of the questions this evening. First of all this certainly reads like an excellent plan much needed. We all know that Winstanley and Yorkers had serious problems completely neglected by the previous administration and I know that Councillor Dick you will be aware like myself that there are certainly concerns on the estate about antisocial behaviour in crime and I just wondered if you could outline how the development in itself through its construction etc can actually achieve to work towards reducing that and also more generally in terms of the other initiatives which are taking place to reduce antisocial behaviour and crime. I think that's a really important point. I mean some of you may be aware that there was a stabbing in the garden by just this Saturday right so and I'm going to be really really frank which is you know if you think back to the origins of the Winstanley York Road regeneration or the aftermath from the aftermath of the riots right and the previous master plan was a joint bench venture that was specifically aimed to try and you know the polish on the previous Tories plan the polish on it was this was one of the worst places to grow up in the country largely because of the privatisation of the housing that cut the estate off from Falken Road right the Falkens and so the aim you know theoretically was to try and improve the life standards and outcomes of the people living on the estate. The delay the dithering the games that took place have meant that in some ways the estate has never been you know has never been less stable because there is now large amounts of temporary accommodation there are vacant buildings there's giant lots in the middle it so that's why we had to take back control and that's why we have to really focus on delivery and those interim measures that we've put down particularly around things like making sure there's proper functioning lighting you know making sure that there's we've got a functioning safer neighbourhood team that can actively go out and support residents when they're when when they're they're pointing out ASB the CCTV that your department has allowed us to use deployable cameras these are the things that are going to in the short term while we build out try and stop some of the some of the terrible antisocial behaviour that is blighting the lives of the people that live there and I think you know if we're really honest about it like you know regeneration was used in the past as a means I think to try and solve issues using the private sector and this is a key a key example of where that didn't function and actually caused worse outcomes and that's why I think this idea that we have municipal control over it that we obviously work with the private sector but we're the ones in the driving seat we contract them we procure and we do direct delivery that means that we can do things at speed because the key thing is that regeneration has forgotten is that we're in the life cycle of human beings you know we just spoke about growth plan the growth plan is in the life cycle of like you know decades but this has to be about real human beings and there are many people who were promised housing that has not been built yet and that's unacceptable and that's why we've got this plan absolutely well said it's an incredibly important and very exciting project so obviously we'll receive further updates on it but I think this is this is an important milestone is this approved thanks very much and next I think again with housing we're looking at pardon me an update on the council's approach to damp and mold yeah so this is kind of formalizing some of the things that we'd already got started we moved very early prior to our Bishak's the law coming in around the tragic tragic death of a young child because of damp and mold and we set up our in-house damp and mold team and this is really the learnings that we have from that damp and mold team and introducing some more useful systems so a tablet system and any see software system and outlining kind of now that we've tested this in house mold team formalizing it into a specific service delivery method you'll see that it fits into the seven days reporting that we that we as a council have committed ourselves to so this is more about you know we moved fast we hired the officers we've tested it out it works now how can we kind of think of improvements to the system the one thing that i will say is you know i'm sure this team will build in the future you know it's it's a team that works effectively we currently for when there's sickness or when we're overloaded we have some some contracting out still and the kind of focus is moving to developing as much of our own capacity as possible thank you if there's no other questions is that agreed excellent and i think um our next item is also from housing around public sector decarbonization scheme phase four award but i think if it's all right uh councillor white if you want to speak to this give councillor deacon a break i think so um yeah we've secured uh 4.7 million pound from central government to use towards decarbonization product uh projects uh these uh upgrades will be cutting emissions by and reducing energy use by uh 92 percent annually uh we've projected annual savings of 198 000 pounds this improves and modernizes uh putney leisure oak dean uh residential uh gwyneth morgan and falcon grove and the town hall extension as well across these sites the projects focus on enhancing uh energy efficiency with upgrades such as roof and wall uh insulation double glazing uh non-remotely managed um uh building uh management systems uh internal uh heating pipe work insulation heat recovery solar pv uh installations led lighting and air to water heat pumps thank you um no comments or questions is that oh one comment just the just for the general public in terms of one of the challenges in wandsworth is lethal density and so the the focus on our housing is often around trying to find projects that we can ensure while they might have clean energy also are reducing bills and not costing too much and i think that's the important focus is to understand that particularly in wandsworth we have some unique challenges to the to the to the um uh the retrofit agenda but that doesn't mean that we can't we can't do things in an in an in an interesting and individual way and that that's why kind of fabric first is i'm glad to see that that's in in the in the plan and also the fact that we're always putting you know residence bills as a priority so we never end we never end up introducing a technology that is going to cost residents more it's about making sure that their homes are warmer safer and more cost efficient yeah and uh um there are different funds for different uh places so this is obviously for uh uh public buildings whereas the social housing decarbonation nice and funds will be for for estates yeah but um yeah that that that does cause us a problem i think we've um spent quite a lot money from um offset money from uh developers as well um i think is i think we've got about a million pound available at the moment but we've got potential to go to about four million pounds if uh the end of um uh the the the end and when when the work's finished uh when that is reviewed so um yeah i mean i i think uh we are benefiting from that but obviously i would prefer that the you know developments were carbon free so we wouldn't get any offset at all so yeah but there you go thank you that's helpful so is that agreed oh sorry one further question councillor henderson my apologies leader um that sounds excellent um but i'm often asked whether i have ones we've got uh in terms of uh climate change commitments i just wondered if you could give us a very brief resume of uh where we got um at thanks you almost didn't get a question in uh councillor henderson but yeah it is a big question there's a lot of stuff but i'll try and be as uh brief as possible so uh um climate action leadership at once a council has been awarded a uh top a grade one of just five authorities in london to achieve the highest score uh we funded 35 projects uh through our climate action micro grants uh scheme and expanded the program uh for 25 26 our air quality monitoring shows that almost all areas are within national standards for nitrogen oxide uh and we want to keep moving i mean we inherited some big problems in putney high street for instance and uh we're now below the uh uh required uh limits 110 additional bike hanger uh spaces installed bringing a total to over 1300 as part of london's largest bike hanger installation program with even more planned uh 1000 uh new trees uh planted along with other biodiversity enhanced enhancements across parks seven parks achieved uh green flag status and ones were spotlighted by good parks for london for supporting nature i'm smiling because anyway there's uh there's more news possibly tomorrow over that um over 40 businesses uh uh supported to become more uh sustainable through the making business greener scheme over 1400 um ev charging points and 50 percent of primary schools benefiting from car-free uh school school streets and a 90 percent reduction in carbon emissions from the council's new waste collection fleet and food waste collections are due to reach almost every home in wandsworth this year as part of our cleaner borough plan i've tried to be as brief as possible thank you um so do we agree uh the proposals in the paper thank you um and we'll continue with housing with the long-term lease agreement with provision for 186 temporary accommodation units yes uh this is the plan uh to purchase into a uh purpose-built uh hotel into in tooting broadway um the the provider has come to the council and said that they would like to use it for temporary accommodation um and there are a number of benefits for us to do this uh one is that it's accommodation in borough which we know is really really difficult to get hold of particularly for temporary accommodation um uh two uh it offers given the nightly paid rates and the spend overspend that we did this year the one when you work out the finances on it this is going to sell us around a million pounds a year um in public money um three self-contained units kitchen unit bathroom you know the kind of accommodation that tries to meet the standards that we want for temporary accommodation uh four there are some pros and cons to this but residents being in the same place where the council can run services can know where people are can check in with uh communal space where we can do homework clubs and and and the like um and then the fifth is and i think we would do this regardless but the fifth is is if we don't procure into this it's very likely another local authority will and so um for us we think it's just a it's a kind of it's a clear opportunity to try and uh focus on both the quality of the accommodation but also savings to the public purse on the huge temporary accommodation bill whilst managing to keep residents in borough and for those residents who might be nervous about the idea of a large temporary accommodation block um you know wandsworth is accountable to you and we will be running this service so it's much better to have your own council rather than another council uh involved in this and and and and and that you know anyone who's nervous please get in touch with me and uh we want to make sure that uh this is a site that works for the local area and works for the families that are placed in it thank you uh cancer acanola i'm just getting in touch to say i'm nervous obviously this is a um uh this is a site that's in tooting broadway ward so i hope to work closely with you while it's being built and um during our sort of um looking after the people that are in there um and obviously for anyone who's from doing broadway that might be watching this myself councillor lawless and osborne will be on hand if anyone has any issues excellent well if there's no other comments um is that proposal approved thanks very much and now uh if we can move towards adult social care and health we have item 11 the accommodation-based needs sorry accommodation-based services for adults with mental health support needs uh councillor henderson thank you either uh in our manifesto we made tackling mental health a priority one of the first things we did um on taking off this was to conduct a mental health needs assessment and on the back of that we also developed a commissioning review report so that it can be built around those needs which were identified uh 35 recommendations in that report uh which the uh scrutiny committee approved in september 20th um september of uh 2023 and which a cabinet uh subsequently endorsed so this particular proposal is very much consistent with that commissioning review the intention of which is to improve services and also to ensure that the properties uh the people uh particularly uh people with mental health needs actually live or indeed have to attend are of a suitable quality we estimate that by 2040 uh the number of people number of residents in onesworth who are likely to be experiencing mental health it's likely to increase in the order of about six percent so this is quite a significant challenge and although we do try to keep people in their homes for as long as possible sadly there are some people with particularly complex mental health needs who need to have uh accommodation accommodation based support so what this contract is actually uh doing is extending the contract for the contract for the current provider uh who are certainly doing a good job but the contract is for three years and it will actually involve an annual review and that's primarily because we want to look at this issue in the whole and um certainly consider what other options that's not necessarily a threat to test here it's more to do with uh potentially reconfiguring the service so that it much more closely meets the needs of um those people uh with mental health difficulties everything we do will be based upon co-production working uh with service users and various organizations who represent them community organizations so this is uh very much a work in progress but um certainly for the time being has the are doing a good job in providing the necessary services for those people we need accommodation based services and so we are proposing to extend this contract for up to three years with an annual review thank you thank you councillor henderson are there any comments or questions on this proposal or is it approved excellent thanks very much and so we move on to onesworth's equality objectives 25 to 29 um councillor ekinola do you mind introducing this absolutely um so this paper really sets out our commitment to equality diversity and inclusion across all aspects of local government in onesworth i think the paper gives key information about our borough's demographics most of which can be found on data wand and the challenges that we faced over the past three years including um cost of living crisis inflation so on so forth the aftermath of covid i think definitely has played a part in this a key aspect of our work has been uh refugee support ending violence against girls and women and girls sorry um and then the paper goes on to discuss how we plan on engaging with our community reducing educational disparities and utilizing family hubs um and tackling health and food inequalities from 2025 to 2029 um we hope to be able to provide some better and more inclusive services um and outlines how our past actions um are really forming our new strategic direction ensuring that equality and fairness fairness are in the heart of everything we do excellent thanks very much um are there any comments or questions on the proposals um so are they agreed excellent good stuff and then if we can move on to our penultimate paper item 13 the annual resources report um i think this is back with housing council dick then yeah um this kind of outlines the core foundational reasons as to why some of the decisions we've taken through cabinet including the um temporary combination app and the paper i just spoke on around the hotel which is the increasing pressure and it is what council island referred to as well the increasing pressure uh demand pressure on uh uh temporary accommodation um overall use of ta rising by around uh uh five percent um we set ourselves an ambitious goal of trying to stabilize ta numbers we came very close last year and then in that final quarters or a massive spike um even when we were stabilizing the numbers rents were going up so that the service was under pressure um but it's also highlights some of the things we're doing in terms of innovation so the statutory temporary accommodation i've outlined some of the policies we have we've also got the hub coming online when it comes to rough sleepers and those who are street homeless um this will be really really important as a as a base and from all the lessons learned from covid and how successful it was when we had that space and time to do those those those interventions and that that will be opening at the the end of the end of the summer um but there are no easy answers and and that's why you will see more more of us trying to do these innovative things like the hotel like the app thinking through ways in which we can try and both find savings but also make sure that those who are going through the system are having a an experience which gives them dignity thank you um comments or questions uh councillor gasser i've just got a question we've got this awful crisis and it's not just here it's everywhere isn't it is there any sign of it slowing down or is it getting worse so the renters rights bill will be a really important milestone in making the uh we think the final call to spike was actually uh to do with all the you know what i'm going to be frank you know that the the unscrupulous landlords who don't want the changes that are being made uh doing the final round of section 21 evictions um you know when section 21 goes that will we're hoping that will have a big impact but also it might change some of the ways people see the pathway to secure housing because at the moment the private rented sector if you're on a low income is a really risky bet and even when we get people presenting to us and we try and find private rented options for them understandably they're suspicious because if they've been evicted many times they've moved their rents have increased that that doesn't seem like a safe model and and if they if the duty is accepted they'll they'll much rather wait it out and stick out in temporary accommodation so these are some of the things which we're hoping will change what has been over a decade of just carnage in in in this area um but we just have to we we we there's a kind of wait and see element to that um to the to the long long-term impact and one of the key parts of that will be the tribunal system on rent increases so it will be easier for us to support residents going to tribunal if they're they think their rent increases unfair and of course if they win that then the period in which they've been battling the tribunal they'll get a rent rebate so these are some of the ways i'm hoping that we can try and get control of just like outrageous constant hiking in rents and you know places like wandsworth you know it's transformed the neighborhood in a number of years right so some of this is out of our control but some of it is in our control and that's why we're we're trying to be as innovative as possible thank you uh councillor henderson yeah thank you leader um at the end of the previous uh labor government rougher sleeping had been substantially reduced sadly after 14 years of conservative government that situation has changed dramatically and although we are trying to tackle the issues it certainly is prevalent and certainly does occur in certain parts of wandsworth i'm just wondering if you could say something about the rough sleepers hub because this sounds like a really interesting initiative yeah what what the rough sleeper hub does is focuses on those rough sleepers who are trying to get into secure stable accommodation but haven't had the wraparound support necessary to quite get there so there will always be some rough sleepers who are not quite ready for that journey yet but this hub is for those who you know i'll i'll try and give an example so when i once went to one of our sweat centers which is when the weather the weather really drops down gets very cold we had someone who uh had been suffering with alcohol abuse problems um but previously had held down a job for a number of years they were a baker they worked at a fancy hotel in chelsea in the kitchens they had problems with their relationship they started drinking too much they lost their relationship they continued to drink too much they lost their job they found themselves street homeless now they just need a couple of weeks or a couple of months of support you know some medical help and to give them the grounds to try and get back into a place where they can hold down a private rental sector accommodation or be placing some temporary accommodation and that's what the hub really is about is giving that window and we learned about that through the everybody in programming covid you know that was really successful and that showed that rough sleeping was a political choice because when the government said no more rough sleeping everybody in and we'll pay for it we did it and then people's lives were transformed and in some of the hotels we used in wandsworth clients now work at those hotels you know that was an amazing model now then the funding was stopped this hub is a is our kind of version of that to try and breach the gap thanks very much so is that agreed good stuff thank you so we'll move on to the final paper which is budget variations uh cancer island lovely thank you thank you this report collates the budget variation recommendations contained elsewhere on this agenda and shows the impact of council to on the council's budget frameworks now um these budget variations are largely being funded through underspends and levies from property developers we're investing in london borough culture we want to leave a lasting legacy in the borough um through the the housing revenue account the homes for wandsworth program will build 1 000 new council homes for local families and these will be paid for by future rents um we have an absolute commitment to sound financial administration sound financial management and these approved budget variations are necessary investments in our future and we feel they represent value for money for our residents so please approve thank you thank you very much um any comments uh councillor deetham yeah i want to follow on from what councillor henderson raised earlier in the meeting around the kind of fear-mongering around borrowing to invest and spending to invest i mean part of the problem that we face in terms of the general fund is because for decades we didn't do this and that has a massive impact on our demand so it's you know that small savings today can cause huge costs in the long term so this is a this is a long-term strategy which has a long-term interest and will deliver assets that will generate income for the council absolutely and while some of the numbers might look scary to some people we've demonstrated and it's contained in the reports elsewhere that this is affordable if at any stage things change and the investment doesn't look affordable then we will take action we are not reckless we have very prudent controls so we think it's a good investment and we will continue to do it while it remains like that thank you absolutely and uh councillor gasa thank you i was just going to make a comment actually because london borough culture is mentioned here is i had a briefing today from some london borough culture officers it was an hour and three quarters telling me all the amazing things they've been doing and this was just for children and young people i mean there is such an incredible amount of activities that have happened and will happen and i just wondered i don't know who it's a question for maybe it's a comment we need to be sharing this with everybody with with members with council officers with our residents there is so much going on it's just incredible absolutely i think that's agreed um looking at muz popovici who's doing fantastic work for us on borough of culture so let's make sure everyone knows that um and are we happy to approve the budget variations paper excellent well that brings to a close the formal uh business in the meeting just to say again thank you very very much really grateful for your work to help keep onesworth special i know cabinet members are working together with officers every single day so it's really appreciated we can see on the agenda tonight that we're protecting our green spaces we love our libraries we're creating growth not least through our own regenerations and tackling those housing challenges head-on whether mold and damp uh decarbonization uh trying to end homelessness particularly street homelessness as well of course um as putting those sensible and compassionate measures in place for adults with mental health support needs so thank you for everything that you do for our unshakable commitment to equality and also all the fun we generate with borough of culture and of course on that bedrock of sound financial management so um thanks again we've got full council on wednesday and the next one of these cabinet meetings will be after the summer uh good evening