Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July be agreed as an accurate record of proceedings.

1.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July be agreed as an accurate record of proceedings.

Cllr Jacq Paschoud declared an interest in item 4 as she had a close family member in receipt of a care package from Lewisham Social Care.

2.1       Cllr Jacq Paschoud declared an interest in item 4 as she had a close family member in receipt of a care package from Lewisham Social Care.

RESOLVED: That the response be noted.

3.1    Councillor Lavery, who had led on this item at the Committee’s March meeting, welcomed the response and outlined the importance of the council developing a clear economic development strategy, setting out its ambitions for economic growth in the borough and how this growth could benefit local residents.

3.2    Information was provided on the funding formula for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and it was agreed that the response to the Fund allocations, agreed with London Councils, would be provided to the Committee.

3.3    It was noted that the voluntary and community sector was a key employer in the borough and that volunteers were eligible for aLewisham Local Card which rewarded cardholders for shopping locally by providing discounts and offers. The card could also be purchased for £10.

3.4    RESOLVED: That the response be noted.

·         Digital Inclusion for Adults with Learning Disabilities

·         Housing Retrofit

RESOLVED: That the responses be noted and that a referral to Mayor and Cabinet be made in respect of the response to the recommendations of the Digital Inclusion for Adults with Learning Disabilities Task and Finish Group:

·         The Committee noted that a number of responses cited a lack of resources and/or budget to carry out the recommended action.

·         The Committee recognises the very severe financial constraints which have been imposed on Council services, with cuts made year on year despite increasing demand. However, the Committee also feels that the council still needs to signal its ambitions, without being disengenuous; and seek out creative ways, including working more closely with partners, in which to improve the experience of this extremely vulnerable and excluded section of the community. The Committee would like the response to be reconsidered and for a fuller response to be provided.

4.1    The response to the Housing Retrofit Task and Finish Group recommendations was taken first.

4.2    Councillor Krupski, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate, introduced the response, which she felt was pragmatic and achievable, noting that a number of steps had already been taken to implement some of the group’s recommendations. It was noted that Councillor Krupski was chairing a group which included a number of local anchor institutions, which would be looking at retrofit and how to upgrade buildings in the borough and address the shortage of skilled workers in the retrofit sector. Officers were continuing to proactively bid for new funding opportunities and to work creatively to align external funding with existing priorities and capacity, although it was accepted that the funding available was not sufficient to meet the scale of the challenge.

4.3    In the discussion that followed, the following points were noted:

·         The group had recommended that, given the cabinet portfolios relating to the climate emergency, housing and planning were connected, discussions should take place on how these cabinet portfolios might be formally linked. It was recognised that Cabinet Member responsibilities were a matter for the Mayor and the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny would speak to him on this point.

·         The situation regarding the retrofitting of voids was complicated as there were financial and practical constraints on the level of work that could be achieved within current turnaround targets. There was also a need to better understand (a) how best to optimise thermal efficiency through retrofit within these constraints and (b) the wider pressures such as the urgent need to provide properties for tenants housed in temporary accommodation. A review was planned to assess the right balance and the outcome of this review would be presented to the Housing Select Committee.

·         The group had recommended that the Council should explore the feasibility of recruiting an in-house retrofit coordination specialist. However, it was noted that there was currently huge demand for retrofit coordinators due to the focus of government funding; and it would be difficult to recruit and retain the expertise in house when the market was likely to offer higher wages than the public sector. Officers were therefore focussing on working with Lewisham College and the Green Skills Hub to support Lewisham residents in gaining the skills needed to become a retrofit coordinator. Officers would however, keep this decision under review, as having in house resource would be beneficial and, in time, might be able to generate income to ‘pay for itself’.

·         Steps were being taken to build up retrofit/decarbonisation expertise in the planning team and avoid single person dependency which could occur if expertise were concentrated in a single specialist who could then leave. Public practice was also being used to bridge the skills gap between the public and private sectors across the built environment, including retrofit.

4.4.   The second TFG response was considered. Councillor Jacq Paschoud who had chaired the TFG looking into Digital Inclusion for Adults with Learning Disabilities, addressed the Committee.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

RESOLVED: That:

(a)   Two time limited task and finish groups be established to look at creative and community workspaces and community gardening and allotments practice.

(b)   The following memberships for each group be agreed:

Creative and community workspaces:

1.    Cllr Rudi Schmidt (nominated as Chair)

2.    Cllr Billy Harding

3.    Cllr Mark Ingleby

4.    Cllr Aliya Sheikh

5.    Cllr Liam Shrivastava

Community gardening and allotments:

1.    Cllr Coral Howard (nominated as Chair)

2.    Cllr Natasha Burgess

3.    Cllr Will Cooper

4.    Cllr Laura Cunningham

5.    Cllr Sian Eiles

5.1       RESOLVED: That:

(a)   Two time limited task and finish groups be established to look at creative and community workspaces and community gardening and allotments practice.

(b)   The following memberships for each group be agreed:

Creative and community workspaces:

1.     Cllr Rudi Schmidt (nominated as Chair)

2.     Cllr Billy Harding

3.     Cllr Mark Ingleby

4.     Cllr Aliya Sheikh

5.     Cllr Liam Shrivastava

Community gardening and allotments:

1.     Cllr Coral Howard (nominated as Chair)

2.     Cllr Natasha Burgess

3.     Cllr Will Cooper

4.     Cllr Laura Cunningham

5.     Cllr Sian Eiles

RESOLVED: That:

1.    The work done to date to support residents be noted.

2.    The proposed work to be carried out by the Cost of Living working group be noted.

3.    The Healthier Communities Select Committee review the draft Food Justice Action Plan and look at the commitment to providing Warm Havens for residents where they can spend time when the weather turns colder.

4.    The Safer Stronger Communities Select Committee review the Cost of Living programme from an equalities perspective to ensure that support is being provided in an equitable way for Lewisham residents.

5.    It be noted that the Children and Young People Select Committee would be looking at the cost of living crisis from the perspective of children and young people at its November meeting.

6.1       Councillor De Ryk, Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategy, introduced the item and outlined what the Cost of Living Programme aimed to achieve and the important role of the Local Strategic Partnership. London wealth was not being shared and whilst there was 78% employment in the borough, Lewisham residents were the eighth lowest earners.

6.2       Catherine Mbema, Director of Public Health, was leading the programme alongside Pinaki Ghoshal, Executive Director for Children and Young People. Catherine introduced the report, noting that the Lewisham Cost of Living programme was focussing on the following areas for action:

·         Food justice programme

·         Energy advice and fuel poverty support

·         Income maximisation

·         Debt triage.

6.3       In the committee discussion that followed Catherine’s introduction, the following key points were noted:

·      A range of stakeholders were being consulted on the Food Justice action plan, building on the pre-existing Good Food Lewisham network which ran during the pandemic, and included local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. The consultation would help galvanise support and generate “buy in” to the programme.

·      A lot of funding was one off but was being made the most of – central Government grants tended to be provided with not a lot of notice and local authorities needed to react quickly which can make allocation tricky.

·      In terms of staffing the programme, lessons were being learnt from the covid response with some staff reallocation and volunteering. The Council’s current financial pressures were having an impact on resourcing.

·      “LIFT” software (an online interactive tool combining central government and local authority data to track families on low incomes) was being purchased. This would also assist in terms of identifying the issues facing those with no recourse to public funds.

·      The Council was contacting libraries, leisure centres and adult learning institutions as part of its “warm havens” work to create warm and welcoming community spaces. Schools would also be asked to be part of the approach.

·      The activity being undertaken in other boroughs was being considered so good practice could be shared.

·      Mental Health was a key part of the programme, ensuring that residents badly affected by the crisis did not fall into despair. Efforts were also being made to ensure those in need of support were not being stigmatised.

·      The communications team were an important part of the programme and comprehensive signposting information was on the website – there had been 48,000 redirects to support services from those pages. Lewisham life in November would be dedicated to the cost of living.

6.5         It was agreed that further information would be provided on:

·      Whether the Council had/could engage with the Advice Lewisham Partnership and the capacity of the VCS to respond to the cost of living crisis.

·      Whether the Household Support Fund had been fully allocated.

6.6      It was also agreed that an information pack would be prepared for councillors so they could signpost residents to Cost of Living resources at surgeries and at other points during their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.