Agenda and minutes

Housing, Community Safety and Community Engagement Scrutiny Commission - Tuesday 23 July 2024 7.00 pm

Venue: Ground Floor Meeting Room G01B - 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH. View directions

Contact: Amit Alva  Email: amit.alva@southwark.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

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    To receive any apologies for absence.

    Minutes:

    Apologies for absence were received from Cris Claridge (Co-opted member) and Councillor Ketzia Harper.

2.

Notification of any items of business which the chair deems urgent

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    In special circumstances, an item of business may be added to an agenda within five clear working days of the meeting.

    Minutes:

    There were no items of business which the Chair deemed urgent.

3.

Disclosure of interests and dispensations.

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    Members to declare any interests and dispensations in respect of any item of business to be considered at this meeting.

    Minutes:

    There were no disclosure of interests and dispensations.

4.

Minutes

5.

Formal Consultation Plan (draft) for the Homelessness Strategy

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    To receive a report from Cabinet Member for New Homes & Sustainable Development Councillor Helen Dennis on the draft formal consultation plan for the homelessness strategy. Officer support Cheryl Russell, Director of Residents Services, Jerome Duffy, Programme, Policy and Change Manager and Karen Shaw, Head of Housing Solutions

    Supporting documents:

    Minutes:

    The commission first heard from Councillor Helen Dennis on the following points

     

    • Need for a co-ordinated joint action plan from government based on benefits and evictions from the private rented sector
    • Rough sleeping and homelessness numbers higher than last year; increase in temporary accommodation numbers
    • Draft strategy agreed by Cabinet in March 2024; consultation starting August 2024 for 12 weeks; draft survey open to public; pro-active approach to homelessness forum and external partner organisations for feedback and experiences
    • Five objectives- Homelessness prevention, delivering high quality advice and support, improving accessibility of services, working to end rough sleeping, improving outcomes through housing placement, temporary accommodation (TA), minimise out of borough placements, new procurement framework for TA and tackling systemic housing insecurities; Housing allowance and discretionary payments

     

    The commission then asked questions on the following topics

     

    • Financial constraints and unsustainability of council financing and its impact on homelessness strategy objectives
    • Progress on clear channels of communication with external partner organisations; housing for young people under 25; government priority of building 1.5m homes over 5 years and mitigating impact on the homelessness strategy
    • Provisions for care leavers in housing policy

     

    The commission heard Karen Shaw, Head of Housing Solutions that there is a need to influence central government policy changes in funding to achieve the objectives in the homelessness strategy. The action plan seeks to look at operational changes locally to improve the procurement of social housing. Furthermore, strategic meeting with partners to improve services. London has seen a 70% increase in shared accommodation for families such as Bed and Breakfast and even higher numbers for families in shared accommodation for over six weeks, Southwark’s numbers are at zero. Rough sleeping numbers have seen an overall increase from last year, the council is working to reduce rough sleeping.

     

    The commission then heard from Hakeem Osinaike, Strategic Director for Housing that the homelessness strategy has been produced after considering the needs of partner organisations, council’s objectives and political priorities. Southwark is better at managing TA and its associated costs when compared to other Local Authorities across London and even nationally.

     

    Councillor Dennis explained to the commission that the homelessness strategy needs to be comprehensive, especially considering the recent issues with home office asylum application decisions, where in a positive decision would mean the termination of their hotel stays and the council then having a duty to provide housing for refugees. However, it is important to remember that the primary objective is prevention of homelessness.

     

    Karen informed the commission that some progress has been made in areas of delayed discharges for housing, there are instances where the council is not able to offer a solution due to varying needs of individuals. The housing solutions team is looking at areas where communication and co-ordination with external partners could be improved.

     

    Furthermore, the council is working on a new offer to cater for young people in need of housing, current offer needs to be improved to deliver high quality customised advice on housing options available, including support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

5a

Southwark Independent Policing Oversight Board Terms of Reference

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    To receive the Terms of Reference from Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Neighbourhoods Councillor Natasha Enin, for the Southwark Independent Policing Oversight Board. Officer support Stephen Douglass Director, Stronger Neighbourhoods.

     

    To receive a paper and also hear from Chief Superintendent Sebastian Adjei-Addoh and Superintendent Jim Brockway on the Southwark Trust & Confidence Plan.

    Supporting documents:

    Minutes:

    Southwark Independent Police Oversight Board (SIPOB) Terms of Reference (ToR) and Southwark Trust & Confidence Plan

     

    The commission then heard from Cllr Natasha Enin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods on the following themes

     

    • Thematic ideas – purpose; Southwark Trust & Confidence Plan – More trust, more community engagement, reduce crime by more policing visibility, targeting repeated offenders and higher standards of policing and training
    • Board’s remit- challenging key areas of policing interaction (e.g. use of Tasers), formulating measures in these areas; membership of board reflective of demographic of Southwark, 6-10 members on the board excluding external consultants as advisers to the board, fresh voices from the community being recruited, starting the board in September 2024
    • Separate board from London Policing Board (Pan-London Board – Casey Review); Southwark IPOB looking at local issues and response from the Police

     

    The commission then heard from Neighbourhoods Superintendent Jim Brockway on the development of the board covering the following points

     

    • Fresh and new way of policing accountability in neighbourhoods covering the Casey review, focusing on holistic approach and evolution of plan as local demands change
    • Scrutiny and the Southwark Trust and Confidence plan gathering feedback from key challenge areas and being developed further

     

    The commission then asked questions on the following topics

     

    • Work of the IPOB and its feedback to be implemented by the Police; Membership and make-up of the board
    • Difference in remits of the various boards London Policing Board, Southwark IPOB and Neighbourhood policing board and their interactions.
    • Public attendance at Southwark IPOB meetings; Process and communication of recruitment of members from the community and members from specialist areas; Options and process for the members of the public to approach other policing boards in case of grievances at SIPOB over handling of policing matters

     

    The commission learned from Cllr Enin and Supt Jim that the board will have a direct relationship with the police and actions taken in the challenging areas would be decided by working with the police and the LA. There will be regular reporting on the challenging areas with aim of providing tangible results/ improvements by the police ensuring accountability, and also some of the areas could be listed as recurring themes that need monitoring over several meetings of the board. The membership of the board would have 5 established members and an additional 6-10 members would be appointed from the community and specialist areas.

     

    The commission heard from Supt. Jim that the board will have thematic topics for which the Police will be held to account. For e.g. Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Board Chair would be invited to report to the Southwark IPOB and Neighbourhood Policing would be reported to the SIPOB by the Supt. Jim himself. The Police would endeavour to invite Subject Matter Experts on Policing matters to address the board where requested by the Cabinet Member for Community Safety.

     

    Stephen explained to the commission that SIPOB meetings will be publicly attended meetings with wider coverage in the community, and there will also be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

6.

Proposed Work Programme 2024-2025