Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting on 16 June 2021 be agreed as an accurate record.

1.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting on 16 June 2021 be agreed as an accurate record.

The following declarations of interest were declared:

Councillor James Rathbone declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in item 4 as he was on the management team of a community library. Consideration of this item was subsequently deferred

2.1       The following declarations of interest were declared:

Councillor James Rathbone declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in item 4 as he was on the management team of a community library. Consideration of this item was subsequently deferred

There are no response to referrals due at this meeting.

There were no responses to referrals to be considered at the meeting.

3.1       There were no responses to referrals to be considered at the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the item be deferred to a later date so that further information can be provided by officers and to allow for a wider discussion to take place between members and officers prior to the item being considered.

4.1       RESOLVED: That the item be deferred to a later date so that further information can be provided by officers and to allow for a wider discussion to take place between members and officers prior to the item being considered.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

5.1         James Lee, Director of Communities, Partnerships and Leisure introduced the report and the following points were noted:

·         The operation and impact of Local Assemblies had recently been reviewed and principles developed for a revised approach that would focus on wider community development.

·         The review was set against the context of a significant budget cut from April 2022. This would include a reduction in staffing and the discontinuation of the current budget for meetings and engagement. However, ward based funding would continue through the allocation of Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) funding.

·         The options to revamp Local Assemblies recognise, and build on, the strengths and benefits of the current approach; but address areas for improvement, particularly around engagement with a wider and more representative resident-base.

·         The emerging Council-wide work on improving the resident experience and developing an overarching Digital Strategy would inform and support the approach taken in relation to Local Assemblies.

·         Key elements of the proposed approach included (a) retention of the ward based structure, including named support officers; (b) retention of formal assembly meetings, although largely delivered online utilising community support; and (c) coordination of local community networks of activity.

·         As part of the greater coordination of wider activity, advantage would be taken of other existing structures like the Police’s Safer Neighbourhood Teams Ward Panels. It was hoped that this would result in a more holistic and cost-effective approach.

·         The importance of retaining some face to face activity was recognised and this could be delivered in partnership with local community groups and organisations.

·         There would be an ‘annual report’ for each ward highlighting specific local concerns for action by relevant partners and highlighting successes from the previous year.

·         The role of elected members would be crucial in terms of curating conversations and ensuring local issues are brought to the fore.

·         It was recognised that residents must feel empowered and not put upon by the new arrangements, there must be a positive transfer of responsibility / expectation; and the council would need to be ready to respond to issues and concerns raised at assemblies in a timely fashion.

·         It would also be important to avoid local community networks from feeling that the council was co-opting work the community was doing.

5.2      In the discussion that followed the following points were raised by Members and responded to by officers:

·           There were pros and cons to online meetings, they offered flexibility and could increase participation but they ran the risk of alienating those that were digitally excluded.

The move to a strongly digital based platform would take digital exclusion into account and a blended model with some face-to-face activity would be retained. Even without the cuts necessitating such a move, the pandemic had highlighted the strength of local community leadership and harnessing this would have key benefits. Most people involved in the local assemblies previously were not digitally excluded and it was recognised that it had always been a challenge to reach all communities via the programme and ensure diverse participation.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

6.1      James Lee, Director of Communities, Partnerships and Leisure introduced the report and offered his and the council’s deepest condolences to the family of Sabina Nessa, a teacher at Rushey Green Primary School who had been murdered at the weekend. The following was noted:

·           This was a five-year Domestic Abuse and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, building on existing partnerships to provide a more co-ordinated and strategic response to tackling violence and abuse, with clear priorities that could be embedded into strategic plans across partner agencies.

·           The strategy was centred around five strategic priorities: prevent, protect, recover, pursue and partnership.

·           The draft strategy was presented to Safer Stronger Communities Committee at its last meeting and Members provided feedback. Feedback was also received via the public consultation that followed, which saw 91 responses.

·           The title of the strategy was developed in consultation with a diverse group of agencies who recognised that women and girls carry by far the highest burden of these crimes, but also that the accepted definition of VAWG includes men and boys as victims. All forms of VAWG are under-reported but domestic abuse was by far the most prevalent VAWG crime impacting on Lewisham residents, and so should be the primary focus of resources.. The opening paragraph of Section 3 of the strategy document had been rewritten to make the rationale for the title clearer to the reader.

·           Priority four of the strategy had been changed from ‘Repair’ to ‘Recover’ following feedback as it was felt that ‘Recover’ was more empathetic, positive and future-facing language. Priority five had been changed from ‘People’ to ‘Partnership’ as it was felt that ‘Partnership’ more accurately reflected the intention behind this strand of the strategy. 

·           Other changes had been made to the wording of the strategy to make more explicit the commitment to: (a) ensuring the strategy covers all forms of VAWG, including sexual violence and harmful cultural practices; (b) improving the way data on all forms of VAWG is measured and analysed;  (c) working in partnership with other London boroughs to develop and deliver services and share good practice; (d) addressing ‘lower-level’ forms of VAWG including street harassment and sexual harassment; (e) meeting the specific needs of survivors who are less likely to access services, including those without English as their first language, those that identify as LGBTQ+, those from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and those or experiencing homelessness and/or multiple disadvantage; and (f) recognising the ways in which violence in relationships manifests itself within different age groups.

6.2      In the discussion that followed the following points were raised:

·           Whilst women make up the majority of victims of domestic abuse, it was estimated that men make up to 25-30% of the victims but only 1% of those referred to the Athena service were men.

It was accepted that male victims were clearly not feeling that this service was for them but work was planned to remedy this. Already, in the last quarter, there had been an increase  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

RESOLVED: That the work programme be amended as follows:

·         The item on Equalities and the use of the terminology “BAME” scheduled for the next meeting be removed from the agenda to allow adequate time for discussion on the remaining two substantive items.

·         An item on Staff Survey results and staff well-being be included in the work programme and scheduled for March 2022.

·         The Libraries item due to be considered at this meeting be re-scheduled to later this year.

7.1       Charlotte Dale, Head of Overview and Scrutiny, introduced the report to the Committee. It was agreed that:

·         The item on Equalities and the use of the terminology “BAME” scheduled for the next meeting be removed from the agenda to allow adequate time for discussion on the remaining two substantive items – the update on the implementation of the Committee’s Equalities Review and the budget item.

·         An item on Staff Survey results and staff well-being be included in the work programme and scheduled for March.

·         The Libraries item due to be considered at this meeting be re-scheduled to later this year.

7.2       RESOLVED: That the work programme be amended as agreed.