Agenda item

To consider the following motions:

 

·  Support the #LiftTheBan Campaign

·  Clean Up Southwark

·  Tackling Damp and Mould

Motion 1: Support the #LiftTheBan Campaign

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen. 

 

Councillor Naima Ali moved the motion. Councillor Irina von Wiese seconded the motion.

 

There were no amendments to the motion. 

 

After debate, (Councillors Jasmine Ali, Portia Mwangangye, Nick Johnson, and Barrie Hargrove) the substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes that:

a.  in Southwark there are 1,002 people seeking asylum in receipt of Section 98 support and 1,273 people in receipt of Section 95 support.

 

b.  since 2002, people seeking asylum have only able to apply for the right to work

 

c.  after they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over a year, and only if they can be employed into one of the narrow, highly-skilled professions included on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List.

 

d.  people seeking asylum are left to live on £5.84 per day, struggling to support themselves and their families, and left vulnerable to destitution, isolation, and exploitation.

 

e.  the potential foregone economic gain for the UK economy of allowing people to work is estimated to be £97.8 million via increased taxable income and reduced payments of accommodation/ subsistence support.

 

f.  71% of people polled agreed with the statement: “when people come to the UK seeking asylum it is important they integrate, learn English and get to know people. It would help integration if asylum-seekers were allowed to work if their claim takes more than six months to process.”

 

2.  Council assembly believes that:

 

a.  people seeking asylum want to be able to work so that they can use their skills and make the most of their potential, integrate into their communities, and provide for themselves and their families.

 

b.  restrictions on right to work can lead to extremely poor mental health outcomes, and a waste of potentially invaluable talents and skills both for the economy of Southwark and the UK.

 

c.  allowing people seeking asylum the right to work would therefore lead to positive outcomes for those seeking asylum in Southwark and for the local and national economy.

 

3.  Council assembly resolves to:

a.  join the Lift the Ban Coalition, which is campaigning to restore the right to work for everyone waiting for more than 6 months for a decision on their asylum claim.

 

b.  call on the UK Government to give people seeking asylum the right to work unconstrained by the shortage occupation list after they have waited six months for a decision on their initial asylum claim or further submission.

 

Motion 2: A Clean Southwark

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen. 

 

Councillor Rachel Bentley moved the motion. Councillor David Watson seconded the motion.

 

There was one amendment to the motion.  The guillotine fell before Amendment B was moved.

 

Amendment B was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion as amended was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council Assembly notes:

 

a.  That fly-tipping and litter have increased across the country after the pandemic, and nationally costs councils millions to address.

 

b.  Waste on the streets causes significant environmental and health hazards, and worsens the aesthetics of where we live.

 

c.  Whilst changes in national legislation would help to tackle the issue, there is room for councils to act within the current framework.

 

2.  Council Assembly notes the Council’s record on fly-tipping:

a.  The Council removed flytipping within 24 hours in 98.6% of cases in 2021/22, beating the target of 98%.

 

b.  According to the national Flycapture database, Southwark has the fewest incidents of flytipping reported by the public of all London boroughs who provided figures.

 

c.  81% of flytipping collected is done so proactively, without the public even needing to report it.

 

d.  It is notoriously difficult to find evidence for flytipping. Nonetheless, the Council’s  CCTV Team currently has four active cameras deployed to support enforcement activity in areas of concern for fly tipping, and since April the CCTV team have provided the Environmental Enforcement Team with 46 example of evidence.

 

e.  Despite a tough financial climate, the council has not removed any funding from flytipping and instead invested £500k into improving street cleanliness in 2022/23. This includes additional resources for graffiti removal, fly-tip removal and enforcement, and litter bins to increase recycling from street cleaning.

 

3.  Council Assembly notes the Council’s record on litter and street cleaning:

 

a)  The resources deployed for cleaning of high profile locations such as town centres has been maintained in 2022/23 therefore no reduction in frequency.

b)  The Council provides litter picking on residential roads between twice and six times per week, based on need. This will help maintain acceptable levels of cleanliness for litter on residential roads.

c)  The most recent figures show the council meeting its targets for both littering and street detritus.

 

4.  Council Assembly notes the Council’s record on pest control:

 

a.  Reporting figures detail the total number of visits, not infestations, and for all rodent infestations not just rats

 

b.  Almost 100% of pest related works involve a treatment programme which requires multiple visits to an individual property for a single infestation

 

c.  All council tenants receive a free service for the most common pests including rat treatments

 

d.  Those residents who pay for our service and are in receipt of benefits or state pension receive a 50% reduction in costs.

 

e.  The council contracts the service to the London Borough of Croydon

 

5.  This Council resolves to:

 

a.  Sustain the cross council approach of services working collaboratively to resolve the issue of fly-tip at hotspot locations.  These services include Waste Management, Cleaning, Environmental Enforcement, Housing, CCTV and Markets.

 

b.  Maintain the Council’s high standards of removing fly tipping within 24 hours and continue to aspire to beat the target of 98%.

 

c.  Keep up the council record of keeping Southwark streets clean, town centres and residential roads clean, with regular sweeping as well as targeted cleaning. 

 

d.  Continue to offer all council tenants receive a free service for the most common pests including rat treatments and maintain the high standard of pest control that all residents receive from the council.

 

e.  Uphold the work of the enforcement team dealing with commercial waste compliance and fly-tipping and continue to provide a responsive service to our residents.

 

f.  Use the additional funding available in 2023/24 to address fly-tipping to enhance the fly-tipping removal service as well as to increase the level of enforcement action taken against those who are responsible for fly-tipping.

 

Motion 3: Tackling Damp and Mould

 

This motion was considered after the guillotine had fallen.

 

There was one amendment to the motion. 

 

Amendment C was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion as amended was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes that:

 

a.  Damp and mould is a blight on housing in the UK and is putting lives at risk.

 

b.  The tragic death of Awaab Ishak resulting from toxic mould has rightfully made damp and mould a top priority when tackling housing disrepair.

 

c.  Southwark Council recognises the importance of addressing the problems damp and mould can cause and the need for a robust system and processes, both proactive and reactive, to ensure that measures are in place to tackle and reduce issues surrounding condensation in its properties.

 

d.  In October 2021 the Housing Ombudsman Spotlight Report was published, this made 26 recommendations for improvements across the industry. The key items for inclusion were:

 

  i.  Taking a zero tolerance approach to interventions with mould; meaning to take all reasonable measures to help resolve damp

  ii.  Avoid blaming the resident – The Ombudsman felt landlords were too quick to lay the blame of the problem with residents use of the property

  iii.  It’s not lifestyle – The Ombudsman case studies highlighted a number of cases had underlying issues which were not identified or addressed.  The council responded by reviewing the damp and mould strategy and implementing a new approach. 

 

e.  Since 2022 the council has:

 

  i.  Delivered a Major works scheme to address the damp mould and piloted the use of smart home technology on Kingswood Estate

  ii.  Consulted with residents at Area Forums and set up a resident online workshop

  iii.  Implemented a new policy which sets out how Southwark Council will respond and manage damp, mould and condensation, as well as its proactive approach to identify and remediate potential causes of future damp and mould

  iv.  Created a new Damp & Mould team in November 2022 within the repairs function who take ownership of the end to end process of a resident making an enquiry through to completion and follow-up of the works

 

f.  The Council has also introduced enhanced IT and additional ways a resident can contact the service. This includes:

 

  i.  Providing a dedicated phone number with direct access to the Damp & Mould team

  ii.  A dedicated email contact, again, direct to the team

  iii.  A new online reporting form with the ability to upload pictures and videos

  iv.  Targeted action days on estates

  v.  Posters with QR codes on display within our estates informing residents on how to report D&M

  vi.  Updated web-site with key information

  vii.  Produced a new resident facing damp pack brochure

 

g.  Triaging for damp and mould works are now applied. An urgent priority, which is based on residents’ vulnerability and severity of hazards & risks. Routine damp and mould cases are raised on a separate priority. The dedicated team communicate with the resident, checking that they are happy at the end of the process and returning if needed for further advice or works.

 

h.  As part of our initial inspection process, our trained inspectors provide guidance and a damp pack to all residents when on site. Every resident receives a Hygrometer to measures the humidity and water vapour in the air, which helps identify factors that cause damp and mould.

 

i.  The Damp & Mould team have been selected on the basis of their experience of damp and across the repairs spectrum, are trained in HHSRS (housing health and safety rating system), and can flag where a property is category one and doesn’t meet decent home standard

 

2.  Council assembly welcomes:

 

a.  The creation of the Southwark damp and mould taskforce and hopes this team can be put to effective use in improving Southwark’s response to damp and mould in the borough.

 

b.  The success of the repairs action days held throughout the borough that facilitated direct engagement between council officers and residents and saw proactive repairs carried out with effective follow-ups from the repairs team.

 

3.  Council assembly resolves to:

 

a.  Ensure that keeping people safe in their homes remains the number one priority for our housing teams.

 

b.  Continue to use a data-led approach, with a Power BI dashboard which allowing us to accelerate our response to damp and mould. This allows the council to pull together and automate the reporting of data that is held on a separate database.

 

c.  Ensure that this data is available to Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Housing Scrutiny Commission and the Cabinet.

 

d.  Use newly created heat maps to identify repeat visits and flag blocks which could have recurring environmental, mechanical or structural issues

 

e.  Build on the success of the repairs action day, by creating a calendar for future repair action days, to the benefit of residents in all wards.

 

f.  Continue to insure that an inspector attends every report of damp within 20 days, taking the resident through a booklet on managing damp in the home and providing each resident with a hygrometer as well as inspecting for airflow, leaks or any other issues that may be causing damp.

 

g.  Call on the Government to support local authorities in tackling damn and mould by providing the necessary extra resources, ensuring the council continue to keep people safe in their homes.

 

h.  Continue enforcement on private landlords, who do not tackle or take action to solve damn and mould issues.

 

i.  Offer advice and support residents raising a complaint where housing associations are failing to tackle damn and mould, as well as signposting residents on how to report them to the Ombudsman if necessary.

 

j.  Remain committed to working with government, the GLA and other partners to ensure we continue to eradicate damp and mould across our council homes, and work with the GLA on the development of any ‘gold standard’.