The Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission met on 6 October 2025 to discuss the management of the council's commercial property portfolio, youth services, and the commission's work programme for the coming year. The meeting also included a review of the cabinet's response to previous scrutiny reviews and recommendations.

Youth Services and Positive Futures for Young People Fund

Councillor Portia Mwangangye, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks and Young People, Toni Ainge, Director of Leisure, and Eva Gomez, Head of Culture, were scheduled to present a report on youth services and the Positive Futures for Young People Fund (PFYPF).

The report provided an overview of the council's current youth service offerings, including:

• Youth centres: Southwark Council directly runs three youth centres: the Damilola Taylor Centre, Brandon Youth Centre, and New Venture Youth Centre. The council also commissions the Blue Youth Centre via a grant agreement, and delivers a weekly youth project from the Belair Recreation Rooms in Dulwich.
• Adventure playgrounds: The council operates three adventure playgrounds: Mint Street, Peckham Rye, and Ellen Brown. Two other adventure play sites, Bethwin Road and Dog Kennel Hill, are managed by Trusts, with the council as landlord.
• One Hub: This is the council's digital platform for young people, offering information on activities, opportunities, and support.
• Southwark Youth Parliament (SYP): This is the borough's elected youth forum, comprising young people aged 14–18. Priorities identified for the Youth Parliament 2023 to 2025 are mental health, tackling child poverty, youth violence, climate change and careers and employability.
• Small Grants for Young People: The Funding Our Future programme offers grants of up to £500 to young people to support their personal development goals.

The report also detailed the Positive Futures for Young People Fund (PFYPF) for 2024–26, a grant programme supporting local voluntary and community sector organisations in delivering activities for young people. The total investment in this programme is just over £1.04 million for 2024-2026, including a dedicated allocation of £41,250 earmarked specifically to establish a new LGBTQ+ youth provision awarded to Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons' Trust.

Examples of funded activities include:

• Creative Arts and Culture: Art Block (South London Gallery), Kingswood Arts, and Surrey Docks Farm.
• Sports, Health and Wellbeing: Fight for Change Foundation, London Sport, Coin Street, and London Community Kitchen.
• Youth Clubs and Safe Spaces: Salmon Youth Centre, Westminster House Youth Club, and the Oxford & Bermondsey Club.
• Employability and Life Skills: The Empowerment People project, Active Communities Network, and The Spring Community Hub.
• Targeted Support for Vulnerable Groups: Ballers Academy and the Neurodiversity Family Hub.

The report noted that Southwark was selected as one of 12 pathfinder local authorities in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Local Youth Transformation Pilot programme.

The report recommended that the commission note the overview of key Youth Services in Southwark, and in particular, the Positive Futures for Young People Fund (PFYPF).

Commercial Property Portfolio

Councillor John Batteson, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Jobs and Business, and Mark Grant, Assistant Director of Property, were scheduled to present a report on the council's commercial property portfolio.

Southwark's commercial estate consists of 1,104 leased interests, including:

• 48 retail parades such as East Street, The Blue (Southwark Park Road), Jamaica Road, Walworth Road and Camberwell Road.
• 450 lock-up shops
• 58 office units including London Bridge & Courage Yard assets along Holyrood Street, Shand Street, Copper Row and Lafone Street.
• 120 workshops and light industrial units such as Tower Workshops, Pullens yards in Kennington and Astbury Road.
• VCS properties with varied lease terms and discounted rents such as Sojourner centre.
• 70 Telecom Aerials
• Miscellaneous assets

Annual income from the commercial estate is projected at £25.5M pa for 2025–2026, and a further increase to £27Mpa by 2028–2029 is projected.

The report stated that lease management is actively focused on:

Maximising rental income by promptly letting vacant units and negotiating lease renewals and rent reviews. Rent reviews and lease renewals are dealt with promptly to ensure increased revenues are realised at the earliest opportunity

The report also included information on affordable workspace, VCS, wider community benefits, rent arrears, debt recovery, lettings, voids, tenant selection and repairs.

Cabinet Response to Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Reviews and Recommendations 2024-2025

The commission was scheduled to note the cabinet's response to previous reviews and recommendations, including:

• Review of Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Provisions and inclusions in schools
• Review of the Draft Town Centre Action Plan, Youth Employment support and East Street Traders

Review of Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Provisions and inclusions in schools

The Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission made sixteen recommendations to the cabinet in their report. Councillor Jasmine Ali, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Refugees, provided a response to each of the recommendations.

1. Recommendation: Allocate capital funding to in-borough SEND provision within the council year 2025-26. Response: Accepted.
2. Recommendation: Develop a training program on Autism and ADHD for parents and carers. Response: Accepted.
3. Recommendation: Devise a plan to further promote and encourage the health service and schools to work in closer partnership to tackle the challenges faced in supporting children with SEND. Response: Partially Accepted.
4. Recommendation: Lobby the health service and the central government in extending SEND services such as at Sunshine House, from a one time diagnosis to a more comprehensive, on-going and lifelong service. Response: Not Accepted.
5. Recommendation: Investigate the reasons behind the slow appeals process of EHCPs' and makes changes to expedite the process. Response: Not Accepted.
6. Recommendation: Ensure that parents and carers receive one-toone support from officers in filling the long and complex EHCP forms. Response: Not Accepted.
7. Recommendation: Reassess and lobbies the government in making changes to 20-week deadlines for EHCP. Response: Accepted.
8. Recommendation: Allocate funding imminently for schools to be able to undertake EHCP needs assessments within the schools with SEND children. Response: Not Accepted.
9. Recommendation: Devise processes to ensure that nurseries with SEND children are providing details of their SEND provisions to primary schools. Response: Not Accepted.
10. Recommendation: Allocate funding on an urgent basis to pre-school and nurseries through SEND Inclusion Funding for Early Years Help for 3–4-year-olds including funding for more Occupational Therapists (OT) to be appointed in the borough. Response: Not Accepted.
11. Recommendation: Revise its communication processes for disseminating SEND information from Early Years Intervention (SEND Inclusion Funding) on children with SEND to support mainstream schools in applying for an EHCP. Response: Partially Accepted.
12. Recommendation: Clarify the process for providing EHCP funding either directly to nurseries and schools or indirectly commissioned through Occupational Therapists. Response: Accepted.
13. Recommendation: Allocate appropriate SEND funding to mainstream schools, especially the schools that struggle to provide taught SEND classes, working with SENCos'. Response: Accepted.
14. Recommendation: Ensure that during appeals on EHCP decisions, Southwark council's legal team ensures that the legal counsel and solicitors advocating for the council are understanding and compassionate rather than hostile and adversarial. Response: Accepted.
15. Recommendation: Develop and carry out awareness campaigns to protect school children and improve inclusion numbers. Response: Accepted.
16. Recommendation: Formulate a set of recommendations and/or guidance for schools to consider when developing absence strategies and handling persistent absences, especially for newly appointed head teachers and newly formed schools. Response: Not Accepted.

Review of the Draft Town Centre Action Plan, Youth Employment support and East Street Traders

The Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission made seven recommendations to the cabinet in their report. Councillor John Batteson, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Jobs and Business, provided a response to each of the recommendations.

1. Recommendation: Devise a robust reporting structure for Town Centre Leads and provide details on how they would fit into and complement existing services provided by the council. Response: Accepted.
2. Recommendation: Include additional street lighting, CCTV, Wi-Fi, benches and toilets, to build the infrastructure for increasing footfall and safety in its consideration of Town Centre Action Plans. Response: Partially Accepted.
3. Recommendation: Include consideration of transport links including active travel and public transport, as well as consideration of parking for deliveries, businesses and customers in its consideration of Town Centre Action Plans. Response: Accepted.
4. Recommendation: Explore the ways in which the council could work with the Youth Parliament and organisations such as schools, colleges and youth centres to advertise and promote new job opportunities and employers coming to the Borough for young people. Response: Accepted.
5. Recommendation: Lobby local businesses and partner organisations to increase the recruitment of young people with SEND who possess the desired skill sets. Response: Accepted.
6. Recommendation: Work closely with Speakerbox and the Corporate Parenting Committee to support the career aspirations of care-leavers with local employers. Response: Accepted.
7. Recommendation: Provide improved support to small local businesses and markets like the East Street Market Traders. Response: Partially Accepted.

Work Programme 2025-26

The commission was scheduled to consider its work programme for the 2025-26 year.

The document listed items which have been or are to be considered in line with the commission's terms of reference.

The commission was due to receive an update from officers on Pupil Place Planning in primary schools and also review the Pupil Place Planning Annexe 2024-25. They were also scheduled to hear the views of traders from East Street Market on any improvements that have been made and/or in progress and any areas of concern/issues that the council could help with.

Other agenda items yet to be scheduled include:

• Youth Offer
• Keeping Education Strong (KES) strategy update
• Skills Delivery Plan runs from 2023 -25 under Economic Strategy