Agenda and minutes

Before commencing the business on the agenda it was proposed by John Absalom, seconded by John Fletcher and agreed that Alderman Gregory Jones should take the Chair until the new Chair was appointed.

Apologies were received from Jamel Banda, Alderman Alastair King, Timothy McNally and Joanna Abeyie.

There were no declarations.

To receive the Order of the Court of Common Council, dated 21^st April 2022.

RESOLVED, that – the Order of the Court dated 21 April 2022, appointing the Committee and approving its Terms of Reference, be noted.  

Members are asked to elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 29.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Chairman, in accordance with Standing Order 29.

RESOLVED, that – being the only Member expressing a willingness to serve,  Ruby Sayed  be re-elected as Chair for 2022/23.

Members are asked to elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 30.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Deputy Chairman, in accordance with Standing Order 30.

Helen Fentimen and Mary Durcan expressed a willingness to serve and following a ballot where Helen Fentimen received 9 votes and Mary Durcan received 8 votes it was RESOLVED, that – Helen Fentimen be elected as Deputy Chairman for 2022/23.

To appoint two Parent Governors, as set out in the Order of the Court.  

The Committee proceeded to elect two parent-governors, as set out in the Order of the Court.

RESOLVED, that – Laura Jørgensen and Matt Piper be elected as Parent-Governors for 2022/23.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk, which sought to appoint to the Sub Committees and approve their Terms of Reference.   Members were also asked to appoint lead Members in respect of adult and children safeguarding, young people, rough sleeping and homelessness and a carers’ champion.

To approve the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 11 February 2022.

RESOLVED, that – the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 22^nd February 2022 be approved.

Matters Arising

The Director advised that the Housing Management and Almshouses Sub Committee (HMASC) and this Committee would receive a report in respect of the water rates refund, setting out the rates of uptake, progress with communications and further action being taken.  

Members are asked to note the outstanding actions list.

The Committee received the Outstanding Actions list and noted the following points:

Members received the following presentations:

The Director and his Assistant Directors were heard in respect of the work of the Department.

The City Advice Centre would be having a stand at the All-residents’ meeting on 4^th May 2022.

Residents should make initial contact via telephone or email, to book an appointment, as open sessions can generate long waiting times.  Appointments can be held at residents’ homes, a venue close to their homes or at Toynbee Hall. 

The team have Bengali, Spanish and Portuguese speaking staff and welcomed Members making an initial approach, on behalf of those constituents for whom English is not their first language.

The City of London Corporation had negotiated on-site affordable housing in respect of the Minories Development.  However, the developers had not been able deliver on this;  partly due to the cost, but mainly because it had not been possible to find a landlord due to high management costs.

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of the Artizan Street Library Transformation Project.  Members noted that Barbican and Community Libraries had been awarded a £226,575 grant from Arts Council England’s Improvement Fund.

Members noted that a Library Designer, specialising in Equality Impact Assessments and Special Educational Needs and Disability, had been engaged on the project.   The Equality Impact Assessment and Test of Relevance had been signed off by Director, and improved facilities for those with protected characteristics had been written into the specification. Members were asked to be mindful of the  scope of the funds available. The Chair congratulated officers on the success of this bid and the level of award.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted. 

Members received the following updates:

Members noted that there were two Bridging Hotels in the City for Afghan guests, at non-identified locations, but the Director would provide more details to Members in confidence.   The guests’ needs in terms of health and education had been met and the Director thanked Members for their support.  There had also been strong support from local charities and very good feedback from the guests about their experience.  However, the challenge in respect of longer term housing offers remained, as the Department is dependent on the Home Office.  It was expected that the bridging hotels will be in the City until the end of this calendar year.

Members noted that sponsors need to be either related to the Ukraine citizens they will be supporting, or be known the them.  A number of sponsors had contacted the Department, via the government portal, and the Department was carrying out DBS checks as part of the safeguarding process, as well as accommodation checks.   The Department had dates for the arrival of Ukranian citizens, and asked Members for their support in terms of anyone with Russian/Ukranian language skills. 

The Director explained that the Department’s capacity had been reduced as part of the City Corporation’s Target Operating Model but this might need to be revisited in light of additional pressures on resources. 

It has been intended for this to be the last standing update to the Committee in respect of Covid but, given the time pressure on this agenda, Members agreed to defer this to the next meeting.  The Town Clerk agreed to circulate the latest update, from the Director of Public Health, after this meeting.

At 6.20 pm, Members agreed to extend the meeting in order to conclude the business on the agenda.

There was one question in respect of Child Q, as follows:

In March 2022 the City and Hackney Safeguarding Partnership (CHSP) published a Practice Review of Child Q’s experience in a Hackney secondary school.  The report concluded that the school girl (Child Q) was strip searched by Metropolitan police officers on the school premises and that, significantly, there was an absence of a safeguarding approach. The review made fourteen separate recommendations including advice on training and anti-racism programmes.  A Member asked what action would the the City of London take to disseminate the learning from the  CHSP Practice Review and implement training across services for children and the City of London Police?

The Director advised that the next meeting of the Safeguarding Sub Committee, on 12 May 2022,  would receive a joint report of the City of London Police and the Director of Community and Children’s Services.   The report responds to the recommendations and findings and the plans for moving forward  The Senior Safeguarding Advisor from the City and Hackney Safeguarding Partnership would  be in attendance at the meeting, together with officers from the City of London Police.  Any Members of this Committee would be welcome to attend the Sub Committee. 

The Chair advised that she had signed a petition in respect of Child Q, in her personal capacity, and was happy to forward the link to Members on request.

The Director advised that the ‘adultification’ of black girls had been raised at the recent Heads Forum and the Department would be taking this forward in terms of training and future direction.   Members noted that the Safeguarding Scrutineer was being very thorough in this matter and the Safeguarding Partnership had asked all of its agencies to map out their responses. 

There were no items.

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

To approve the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 11^th February 2022.

RESOLVED, that – the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd  February 2022 be approved.

Members are asked to note the non-public outstanding actions list.

The Committee received the non-public outstanding actions list.

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

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

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

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Report of the  Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk.

There were no questions.

There were no items.