The Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss a range of topics, including a review of the street trading and markets policy, social value in Westminster, and high street curation programmes, with a focus on the Meanwhile On initiative. The committee made several recommendations, including that a review date be written into the future street trading policy, and that the council develops a robust pathway and relationship development process with landlords to encourage them to work with the council. The committee also requested additional information on the impact of the temporary pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, the powers provided by the Public Space Protection Order on pedicabs, procurement weighting, support for older people through social value projects, timelines for section 106 social value requirements, and a breakdown of employment support given to Westminster residents.

Street Trading and Markets Policy Review

The committee considered the Street Trading and Markets Policy Review, hearing from representatives of Bloomberg Associates and The Retail Group. The aim of the review is to create a more flexible street market and trading policy that enables and facilitates economic growth, environmental sustainability, community provision and greater variety across street trading assets in Westminster.

Key points of discussion included:

• Policy Review Timeframe: Councillors highlighted the need for a review date to be included in the future policy to ensure it remains up-to-date.
• Driving Force: The importance of the policy being a driving force for positive transformation.
• Market Trader Organisation: The committee discussed how officers engage with traders on a market-by-market basis, and whether there is an organisation that market traders join and which the council consults with.
• Impact of Regeneration: The importance of treating regeneration schemes, such as Church Street, as opportunities for markets in the long term.
• Community Events: How the council facilitates events in market spaces, the challenges involved, and how profits could be invested into holding more community events.
• Mixed-Use Markets: The importance of diversity in mixed-use markets, with each market having its own individual identity and representing its local community.
• Empty Pitches: The negative impact of empty pitches and the importance of boosting market occupancy.
• Market Management: Better monitoring of sites and ensuring traders are properly charged for all services provided by the council.
• Quality of Goods: Ensuring the quality and provenance of goods sold in markets.
• Curation: The council's role in supporting fledgling businesses and the importance of curated markets.
• Markets and Shops: Addressing the tension between market traders and shopkeepers.
• Priorities: Balancing the needs of visitors and tourists with those of local residents.
• Dual-Use Pitches: Enhancing opportunities for dual use of pitches.
• Solid Fuel Use: The challenges of preventing traders from using solid fuels or gas and how the council can support traders to move over to electrical equipment only.
• City of Westminster Act 1999: Considering whether the City of Westminster Act 1999 continues to serve Westminster's communities.
• Isolated Pitches: The need for a direction of travel regarding isolated pitches.
• Pavement Licensing: Reviewing pavement licences on a street-by-street basis.
• Learning: The benefits of benchmarking and having a framework that supports intentional curation.
• Future Planning: Market curation should consider what is in the local area and what local people want.

The committee made the following recommendations:

• That a review date should be written into the future policy.
• That the future policy should set out provision for the proper management of markets and that traders should be adequately charged for all the services which they are provided by the council.
• That the future policy should consider the place around markets to ensure both markets and shops benefit from additional footfall.
• That the future policy should include how intentional curation of markets can enable businesses to flourish if they operate in the right area.
• That thorough, local, consultation should be undertaken when the policy is developed to ensure local voices are heard and the market complements what is already in the area.
• That the future policy enhances opportunities for dual use of pitches throughout the day, subject to legislative review.
• That there is a clear direction of travel for isolated pitches in the future policy.
• That the future policy should consider how pavement licensing could be reviewed on a street-by-street basis in consultation with community and local businesses to identify suitability.

Fairer Economy: Social Value in Westminster

Councillors received an introduction to the Fairer Economy: Social Value in Westminster report from Councillor Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development, and Councillor David Boothroyd, Cabinet Member for Finance and Council Reform. The committee also heard from a representative of Wates who spoke to the delivery of social value through their projects in Westminster and the impact of recent initiatives.

Key discussion points included:

• Social Value and Value for Money: How value for money is considered alongside social value, especially considering the Fairer Funding Review.
• Tailored Offers: How the council takes a flexible approach to tailoring offers by looking at the skill sets available in the organisation's sector rather than asking for peripheral aspects which may be a burden to them.
• Procurement Weighting: How in each procurement the balance between price and quality, including Responsible Procurement, is tailored to reflect specific requirements and objectives, and determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Outputs: The importance of closely monitoring outputs to ensure social value is carried out in a proper and meaningful way.
• Resident Need: The key identifiers of social value in 2017 compared to those in 2022 and how the live resident need is realised by allowing residents to participate in procurement activity.
• Data-Driven Social Value: How door-to-door engagement and street surveys are undertaken by community researchers and how expectations and cost is managed in the process to obtain the data.
• Target Groups: How older people are one of the target groups for social value projects and examples of the projects throughout the year.
• Section 106 Timelines: The time it takes for local communities to see the impact of section 106¹ social value requirements, particularly in areas such as Church Street.
• Accountability: The importance of holding suppliers to account for their social value commitments and how the council can help support suppliers with their social value commitments.
• Employment and Skills: A breakdown of the jobs and apprenticeships, training, mentoring and career support given to Westminster residents and the areas in Westminster that these residents are from, the types of jobs and whether this is long-term employment.

The committee requested the following information:

• More information regarding procurement weighting.
• Examples of the support given to older people in Westminster through social value projects.
• Information regarding the timelines of section 106 social value requirements.
• A breakdown of the jobs and apprenticeships, training, mentoring and career support given to Westminster residents and the areas in Westminster that these residents are from, the types of jobs and whether this is long-term employment.

The committee recommended that the council should consider, within reason and where practical, withholding payments to suppliers until their social value commitments have been delivered.

Fairer Economy: Meanwhile On and High Street Curation

The Committee received an introduction to the Fairer Economy: Meanwhile On and High Street Curation report from Councillor Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development.

Key discussion points included:

• Short to Long Term Tenancies: Whether the evidence shows short-term activations translate into long-term sustainable tenancies.
• Risks: The financial risk to the council if activations fail to generate long-term tenancies.
• Curation: The ability of the council to curate high streets, especially in areas where there are not many vacant spaces and have long-term occupiers.
• Valued Communities: How the council works with local communities to ensure they are at the heart of activations, and the activations meet local need.
• Length of Tenancies: Why some brands have only occupied space for short lengths of time compared to how long they could have occupied the space, what this means for the council and how short-term tenancies benefit the council.
• Employment: If the Meanwhile On programme has led to an increase in Westminster residents becoming employed, and whether the council is monitoring this to identify positive outcomes and increasing access for employees as well as business owners.
• Relationships and Pathways: Whether the council has a fully developed and robust pathway with landlords to encourage them to work with the council, how the relationships are maintained so the council can influence empty spaces and curate high streets more effectively.
• Charges: The charges imposed on brands occupying space.
• Levels of Support: How levels of support should reflect need.
• Benefit to Landlords: Recognising that the main benefactors of this programme are the landlords, and the council's role is not to subsidise established private businesses or solve the problems of landlords such as a neglected space or space that is empty because it is not commercially viable.
• Diversifying High Streets: The importance of having a diverse offer, and how the council working with interesting brands has led to an increase in landlords reaching out when there are vacant spaces.
• Pop-Ups and Meanwhile: That Meanwhile is a later iteration of the original Pop-ups scheme, with often slightly longer-term tenancies.

The committee recommended that the council further develops a robust pathway and relationship development process with landlords to encourage them to work with the council.