Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Alderman Paul Judge, Alderman Robert Howards, Delis Regis, Chris Punter, Deputy Elizabeth Rogula and Mark Wheatley.

Gareth Moore declared an interest in all housing matters, as he was a tenant on the Golden Lane Estate.

The Committee are invited to receive the Order of the Court of Common Council dated 21^st April 2016, and agree the Terms of Reference of the Committee.

Resolved – that the Order of the Court of Common Council be received.

The Committee are invited to elect a Chairman for the ensuing year.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Chairman. A list of Members eligible to stand was read and Dhruv Patel being the only Member expressing a willingness to serve was declared to have been elected as Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee for the ensuing year.

The Chairman welcomed the new Members who had just joined the Committee and also recorded his thanks to those Members who were no longer serving.

The Committee are invited to elect a Deputy Chairman for the ensuing year.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Deputy Chairman. A list of Members eligible to stand was read and Gareth Moore being the only Member expressing a willingness to serve was declared to have been elected as Deputy Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee for the ensuing year.  

The Deputy Chairman thanked the Committee for supporting the change in the Committee’s terms of reference that ensured he was able to serve in this position.

To agree the minutes of the previous Committee meeting.

Resolved – that the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as an accurate record.

To receive the draft minutes.

Resolved – that the draft minutes be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk outlining the process of appointment of the Committee’s sub committees and panel, including the composition and terms of reference.

RESOLVED - That the terms of reference for the Sub-Committees and panel, along with the following appointments be agreed as follows:

Housing Management & Almshouses Sub Committee

Dhruv Patel

Gareth Moore

Deputy Catherine McGuiness

Ann Holmes

Elizabeth Rogula

John Barker

Randall Anderson

Mark Wheatley

Virginia Rounding

Stephen Haines

John Fletcher

Billy Dove

Safeguarding Sub Committee

Dhruv Patel

Gareth Moore

Elizabeth Rogula

Deputy Joyce Nash

John Lumley

Marianne Frederick

Randall Anderson

Education Board representative

Randall Anderson

Child Safeguarding Lead Members

Dhruv Patel

Randall Anderson

Adult Safeguarding Lead Members

Marianna Fredericks

John Lumley

Young People’s Lead Member

Deputy Bill Fraser

Rough Sleeper’s Lead Member

Marianne Fredericks

RESOLVED – that the appointment of sub-committees and Lead Members be agreed.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee were informed that this report recommended that Members agree some proposed amendments to the terms of reference of the Education Board and the Community and Children’s Services Committee. The purpose of these amendments was to give one Grand Committee primary responsibility for the management of two charities, the City Educational Trust Fund and the City of London Corporation Combined Education Charity.

Members noted that the Community and Children’s Services Committee would be responsible for making recommendations to the Education Board on any policy adopted for the application of those funds, and appointing some of its membership to serve on the Education Charity Sub (Education Board) Committee. The report also proposed some minor clarifications to the existing terms of reference.

Resolved - That Members:

· Approved the proposed amendments to the terms of reference of both the Education Board and Community and Children’s Services Committee, for onward submission to the Court of Common Council for final approval.

· Delegated authority to the Town Clerk to make any further amendments deemed necessary prior to submission to the Court, in consultation with the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members noted that the aim of the review was to increase the strategic impact of grant-making, ensure that the grants are managed more efficiently and effectively, improve the consistency and quality of the customer experience and so bring consequential reputational benefits.

In order to manage the Central Grants Programme effectively a new Central Grants Unit was proposed. Members questioned the ratio of the resources required to run the Central Grants Unit in comparison to the amount of funds it would dispense, and referred the matter back to Officers for further consideration. Accordingly, until all grant giving committees have been consulted on their individual eligibility criteria, it would not be possible to calculate the wider level of resourcing required to manage the Central Grants Programme and the associated costs. In the intervening period the majority of the costs of administering the various funds will continue to be met by the Corporation in the corresponding service departments.

Discussions ensued regarding the eligibility criteria for the ‘Stronger Communities’. Members agreed that currently the eligibility criteria listed in the report appeared to be contradictory and seemed to discourage originality. Member agreed that there should be an allowance to allow successful grants to be repeated without stifling creative new programmes. Members were informed that due to lack of resources, delegated authority was sought to ensure that Officers could sign off grants in between grant-giving rounds. The Committee was in agreement that the report requirement further work and that an updated report should be tabled at the July meeting for the consideration of the Committee.

Resolved – that Members:

· Noted the agreed ‘Stronger Communities’ overarching funding themes and the level of funding available for the 2016-2018 Central Grants Programme.

· Instructed Officers to review the eligibility criteria for the ‘Stronger Communities’ theme, and submit a report to

Report of the Remembrancer.

Members were advised of the enactment of the Welfare Reform and Work Act, the Bill for which was reported to the Committee last year. The Act required the Common Council to reduce its social rents by one per cent in each of the financial years from 2016–17 to 2019–20, and abolishes the statutory duties of the Common Council with respect to child poverty.

Resolved – that the report be received.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a report regarding the Middlesex Street Area designing of the new public space in Artizan Street following the ramp demolition. Members noted that the project involved the removal of two redundant car park ramps in the area outside the Artizan Street Library and Petticoat Tower in the Middlesex Street Estate to create a new landscaped space for use by the local community and for the benefit of the library and community centre.

Officers said that the removal of the ramps approved by Members in July 2014 had left the site area in a temporary state with ponding issues, illegal parking and risks of traffic over-runs. One Member clarified that the report should refer to Middlesex Street Estate resident.  Members noted that an update regarding the shutter to the ground floor car park would be provided at the July Committee meeting.

A Member stated that local residents, occupiers and Ward Members were keen to see the transformation of the space completed with the design to which they actively contributed. Approval is now sought to move forward with the detailed design of the option selected during public consultation held in December 2015, to which residents, Ward Members, local users and occupiers were invited. Further consultation with these key stakeholders will be undertaken on materials, finishes and the planting. Next steps include finalising the structural design and undertaking statutory consultation on the necessary traffic orders in relation to the redundant section of carriageway before seeking authority to start work in summer 2016.

Resolved – that Members agreed:

a) The enhancement proposals to be taken forward to Gateway 5;

b) The statutory consultation process to be undertaken on the proposed traffic management change of the redundant section of carriageway;

c) £43,000 of staff costs and fees to take the scheme to

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report regarding the Decent Homes at Dron House, Golden Lane, Southwark, Sydenham, Windsor and York Way Estates. City Fund flats at Spitalfields are now excluded from the project due to their potential inclusion in the asset realisation strategy.

Resolved – that Members

1. Approved the proposed project approach.

2. Approved the estimated budget of £3,904,000

3. Approved £15,000 staff costs & fees to reach the next Gateway.

4. Gave retrospective approval of the conversion of £8,000 of the £10,000 staff costs (approved at Gateway 1/2) to fees.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received the updated business plan for the year 2016/17. This was the second year of a two-year plan developed initially to cover the period 2015-17. The changes made to the plan for 2016/17 had been to add new improvement activities for the period, remove the completed improvement activities from the first year of the plan,  review and update the targets for the key performance indicators (KPIs),  review and update the narrative in the plan to provide the context for the activities planned, the work under way and the challenges ahead.

Resolved – that Members approved the updated version of the DCCS Business Plan for 2016/17.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received an update on the findings and recommendations of a review of children’s centre services undertaken towards the end of 2015 and the start of 2016. The review came in advance of the new inspection regime for children’s centres due to be published by Ofsted in September 2016 following a summer consultation period. It allowed the authority to have a clear understanding of its strengths and opportunities for development.

In response to a query, Members were informed that the City of London commissions Cass Child and Family Centre as its designated children’s centre but also provided a range of children’s centre services through its libraries and supports services at Golden Lane Children’s Centre.

The review highlighted that:

· there is a high level of satisfaction among parents and carers, and services are popular

 · not all attendance at sessions is captured; data needs to be more consistently managed with all services captured in reports

· a City-wide profile of eligible families should be established to ensure families are receiving targeted support as required

 · there is a need for a central management of children’s centre services within the City of London and a single advisory board comprising all delivery partners as well as specialist agencies

 · leadership is strong although there is a need for consistently rigorous selfreporting and performance monitoring across the City to increase the evidence base against which inspections will take place.

Resolved – that Members received the report.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received an update regarding  the activity and performance of the Local Authority Designated Role (LADO) for 2015/16. This update is further to the 2014/15 annual report that was submitted to the Committee in September 2015 which provided Members with background information on the role of the LADO, referral data and highlighted the need to raise greater awareness of the role both across the City of London Corporation and partners. The Community and Children Services Committee requested that the 2014/15 report be taken to several committees to raise awareness of the role.

The Committee noted that Members across a number of committees, a significant amount of training and briefings on the role of the LADO was carried out. As a result of this awareness-raising activity there has been a significant percentage increase in referrals to the LADO in 2015/16 compared to previous years.

Resolved – that the update be noted and Officers be instructed to submit the report to the following Committee for their information:

·        Education Board

·        Board of Governors of the City of London School

·        Board of Governors of the City of London School for Girls

·        Board of Governors of the City of London Freemen’s School

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members were informed that in March 2016, the Department for Education (DfE) published a White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ in which it sets out the government’s intentions to introduce significant changes to the way schools are run and the way local authorities support them. The White Paper contains a number of changes, many of which relate to leadership models in schools.

In response to a query, Members noted that the most widely discussed change was the DfE’s intention that every school in the country should convert to academy status and that the local authority role for school improvement should reduce proportionally as each of its maintained schools convert so that when all schools convert, there is no further school improvement role or the distribution of funding to schools for local authorities. The Committee noted that the Director was soon due to meet with the DfE to discuss the issue of funding for Sir John Cass’s School.

Resolved – that the update be received.

A Member raised a querying concerning the Petticoat Tower Balcony refurbishment. Officers informed Members that a QC had been asked to provide advice however this had been delayed due to the QC dealing a number of pressing issues. Officers assure the Committee that the refurbishment was now at the top of the list of priorities.

A Member informed the Committee that the new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, had visited Sir John Cass’s School this morning to mark the beginning of the consultation on the policy for cleaner air. The Mayor had been informed that the school exercised a number of mitigating actions to counter pollution. Mr Khan had enjoyed a morning of gardening with the children and speaking with the teachers at the school.

There was no urgent business.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Resolved - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous Committee meeting.

Resolved – that the draft minutes be approved as an accurate record.

To receive the draft minutes.

Resolved – that the draft minutes be received.

There were no questions.

There was no urgent business.