Agenda item

·         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. She spoke of the need to ensure that Adults with Learning Disabilities living with family and those living in a supported living setting were equally able to be digitally included and for all day settings to enable access to online services. Above all else, Adults with Learning Disabilities needed to be supported to have as useful and as fulfilling lives as possible. Although she welcomed the positive responses to a number of the group’s recommendations, the responses citing a lack of resources and/or budget to carry out the recommended action (and nothing else) were disappointing.

4.5    Tom Brown, Executive Director for Community services, agreed with the sentiments expressed but noted the severity of the financial constraints that the service and the council as a whole were operating under. Unfortunately there were not the resources available to help all vulnerable groups to the extent that the council would wish to help them. The blunt tone of some of the responses was accepted but officers had deliberately not used more ambiguous or aspirational language as the budgetary context was such that there was no real chance of implementing the requested actions. Officers had instead focussed on those actions which could be implemented using available resources.

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

·         Members felt the council still needed to signal its ambitions, without being disingenuous - and seek out creative ways in which to take forward the recommended action, including working more closely with partners.

·         The group had recommended that all day service provision should have access to Wi-Fi for their service users and, following approval of the Wifi and connectivity business case for Ladywell and Mulberry Day Centres, full connectivity was still expected by October 2022.

·         Whilst a factsheet / directory of proven digital activities and tools for partners to share, could be pulled together and produced relatively easily, the cost of maintaining the document and keeping it up to date needed to be considered.

·         When the recommended changes and updates are made to the website as part of the Resident Experience Programme, key user groups will be asked to test accessibility to ensure the website is as accessible as possible for those with a learning disability.

4.7    The Committee voted on whether to make a referral to Mayor and Cabinet on the response, requesting a fuller and more creative response. One councillor voted against making the referral, given the bleak financial context; the possibility that the council might struggle to deliver statutory services; and the unlikelihood of resources being found to action the recommendations not currently being actioned.

4.8    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 disingenuous; 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.