Agenda, decisions and minutes

The minutes of the meeting on the 4 November were agreed as an accurate record of proceedings.

1.1         RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 4 November be agreed as an accurate record of proceedings.

Councillor James Rathbone declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 5, Main Grants Allocation, as he was a trustee of an organisation that had applied for a grant through the Main Grants Programme and he was also an employee of another organisation who had applied. He left the meeting room during the item and took no part in the discussion.

2.1       RESOLVED: That the following declarations be noted:

Councillor James Rathbone declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 5, Main Grants Allocation, as he was a trustee of an organisation that had applied for a grant through the Main Grants Programme and he was also an employee of another organisation who had applied. He left the meeting room during the item and took no part in the discussion.

There are no responses to referrals due at this meeting.

There were no response to referrals due at this meeting.

There were no response to referrals due at this meeting.

That the presentations be noted and the Borough Commander, Lewisham, LFB and the Commander, SE BCU, Metropolitan Police, be thanked for attending.

4.1       Lloyd Palmer, Borough Commander Lewisham, London Fire Brigade gave a presentation to the Committee, a copy of which is included in the agenda documentation. During the subsequent discussion, the following key points were raised:

·         Similarly to other public sector organisations across the Country, recruitment had lessened over recent years. A programme of plans, however, was now in place to start recruiting. Getting the right level of qualifications across the Brigade was being prioritised. The Borough Commander would provide information to members of the Committee on the comparison to previous years in terms of resources of fire-fighters and vehicles.

·         Whilst some deviations and spikes may have been seen, there had been no significant increase or changing trend in the number of call-outs due to Covid.

·         The primary reason for false call-outs was the actuation of fire alarms. There were now more processes in place to reduce these such as appropriate “call challenge” where certain categories of buildings check alarms before calling out the Fire Service. However alarms at some categories of buildings such as sleeping accommodation always needed to be responded to. In these cases work was on-going in increasing awareness to reduce the risk of false alarms.

·         Members of the Committee thanked Lloyd and his teams for the excellent work they were doing.

4.2       Trevor Lawry, Commander South-East Borough Command Unit (BCU), Metropolitan Police, gave a presentation to the Committee, a copy of which is included in the agenda documentation. During the subsequent discussion, the following key points were raised:

·         Uniformed officers who undertook stop and search routinely wore body-cams but in certain circumstances such as for plain clothes officers body-cams were not worn.

·         The new Town Centre team in Lewisham including 21 constables and 4 PCSOs were new posts as part of the officer upgrade work.

·         Members of the Committee were pleased to hear that the BCU Commander was committed to staying in post for a number of years and also for the emphasis he gave on the importance of ensuring a focus on treating people with politeness and respect.   

·         Disproportionality in the prison system could be a result of disproportionality in stop and search.

·         Members of the public got involved in Police panels such as the Public Encounter Panels and the Stop and Search Scrutiny Panels for different reasons. Often it was as a result of being part of an existing group or through presentations to the community. It was a challenge to get the right balance of people and to ensure there were voices that would act as critical friends. The BCU Commander hoped that they would be able to recruit more young black males to the panels. A member of the Committee commented that working with the Council’s Young Mayor’s Team and Young Advisors Panel might be beneficial.

·         It could be helpful to have Police recruits from other areas and from outside the Metropolitan Police to have different views and approaches but it was essential that they understood the community within which they were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

That the report was noted.

5.1       Councillor James Rathbone left the meeting room for the duration of this item.

5.2       James Lee introduced the report. In the discussion the following key points were raised:

·         There had been 1 appeal from Hawk Eye and one potential appeal from Sydenham Arts.

·         Montague Theatre Arts had now been recommended for funding for £1000.

·         Lewisham Local was the Councils’ main partner and the umbrella organisation for the voluntary sector in Lewisham.

·         A digital inclusion project was being funded in partnership with Catbytes.

5.3       RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

That the report was noted.

That the report was noted.

6.1       Pinaki Ghoshal, Director of Children and Young People’s Services introduced the report to the committee. During the subsequent discussion, the following key points were made:

·         Members of the Committee stated that they were really pleased to see that the Fairer Lewisham Duty was being acted on in the equalities considerations of savings proposals.

·         On-going analysis of the impact of the cuts to free swimming provision were taking place. Initial analysis showed the largest group effected were the 60-64 age group, many of whom were still in employment. Consideration had to be made to where was most appropriate for the Council to place subsidies. The swimming subsidies for disabled residents would be continuing.

·         Effectively measuring impact of cuts was challenging. It was important to identify areas to protect and then look at areas that were less impactful for vulnerable residents. Oversight by the Corporate Equalities Board supported this process.

·         The report and appendix 8 were analysed through the equalities framework and over a period of time. If concerns of cumulative impacts were raised then mitigation measures were sought.

·         Members of the committee were pleased that in appendix 8 there was an assumption that an Equalities Analysis Assessment should always be carried out if any doubt.

6.2       RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

That the report was noted.

7.1       Katie Wood, Scrutiny Manager, introduced the report to the Committee.

7.2       RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.