Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Caroline Haines, Richard Crossan, The Lord Mountevans, Deputy Philip Woodhouse, Tom Anderson, Barbara Newman, Deputy John Tomlinson, Mark Wheatley and Angus Knowles Cutler.

There were no declarations.

To agree the minutes of the previous Committee meeting.

RESOLVED – that the minutes be agreed as an accurate record.

Matters Arising:

A Member raised a query regarding the financial support with major works for leaseholders. Members discussed the use of means testing and the possibility of providing discretionary interest free loans to vulnerable residents. Members were in agreement that any further investigation on this matter would affect future decisions and would only be applicable retrospectively. The decision taken by the Committee regarding loans for owner-occupiers in Great Arthur House would remain as that agreed at the meeting held on 8^th September 2017. Officers agreed to investigate the possibility of means testing and report back to the Committee in due course.

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the City of London Corporation’s requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty. Members noted that the Equality and Inclusion (E&I) Board, chaired by the Town Clerk and co-chaired by the Director for Human Resources and the Director for Community and Children’s Services, is the officer-led governing body for equality and inclusion in the City of London Corporation. The Equality and Inclusion Board

reports on a quarterly basis to Summit Group and to Establishment Committee.

The E&I Board also produces an annual report which summarises how the

organisation is meeting the aims of the Equality Duty.

RESOLVED­ - that the report be noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk on the queries raised by some Members regarding the timing of the 08 March 2017 meeting of the Community and Children’s Services Committee. A majority of Members agreed that a 4:00pm start time would not be helpful and the meeting should not be restricted with a finish time. The Chairman suggested that a morning time might be more beneficial and would consult officers regarding a more suitable time for the March 2018 Committee meeting.

RESOLVED – That a revised time be circulated to the Committee for consideration.

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

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the proposed City of London Corporation Housing Allocations Scheme 2017.

The City Corporation is required by the Housing Act 1996 to publish a

Housing Allocations Scheme and to abide by the scheme when making offers of

social housing tenancies to applicants.

In response to a query it was noted that the proposed scheme offers more clarity than the current scheme, which can be ambiguous in its operation. It also makes a number of changes to take account of fluctuations in housing demand and supply since the policy was last reviewed and addresses some minor legal issues.

Discussions ensued regarding the consultation. Officers stated that a full consultation has been carried out and several changes to the scheme have

been made in response to the feedback received from partners and the public. The

proposed scheme has been reviewed by the Housing Management and Almshouses Sub-Committee and was presented for the Committee’s approval.

RESOVLED – that Members approve the Housing Allocations Scheme 2017.

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the City of London Corporation’s work with rough sleepers.

The City continues to be part of a pan-London approach to addressing rough sleeping and is represented at the Greater London Authority’s (GLA’s) operational leads meeting. The Mayor’s Rough Sleeping Group has been replaced with the No First Night Out Tasking Group, which the Assistant Director People attends.

The counts of rough sleepers during the past three months are as follows: May – 30; July – 33; and August – 40. The counts continue to fluctuate but there is a noticeable trend across London that rough sleeping is increasing and it is high in the City. Rough sleeping is driven by a range of factors, many beyond the control of the City. The count does not reflect how long people are on the streets, what their complex needs are or the services they may have received. It is hoped that, as a result of the additional resources agreed by the Committee in July, the numbers will go down. The City continues to be engaged in four partnership-based projects – Gold Standard, City Lodge, No First Night Out (NFNO) and the Pathway model – that all address rough sleeping. Updates for these projects are as follows:

· The advice and homeless service has achieved the Silver standard for homeless

prevention services, awarded by the National Practitioner Support Service, and is

completing the challenges required to achieve the Gold award.

· Work on the City Lodge has now been completed and it was opened in June 2017.

· The NFNO project continues to attract interest on a regional and national level and

the project has been extended for another two years with funding from central

government.

· Regarding the Pathway model, the

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services updating members on the work with children and young people with SEND in the City of London.

A review of SEND in the CoL was undertaken in October/November 2016 by an

external consultant and recommendations were made on areas for improvement. A

further review took place by the same consultant in July/August 2017. The review in

July/August 2017 confirmed that:

· An updated SEND strategy and action plan is now in place

· Statutory requirements in respect of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans

for children with SEND are being met

· CoL had 100% performance in meeting timescale requirements to complete

assessments for EHC plans

· A SEND Programme Board had been established with wide partnership

engagement

· A Parent Forum had been established, and parent engagement is evident on

the SEND Programme Board

· The Local Offer for services for children and families was on track to be

launched in October

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the proposal to expand Sir John Cass’s Foundation Primary School to a two-form entry (2FE) school and to update Members on the 2017/18 admissions.

A risk was identified in 2013 of the City of London not being able to fulfil its statutory

duty to ensure sufficient primary school places for City residents. This prompted

work to be undertaken to assess the projected needs for school places in the City of

London. Despite some early indications that there was an increase in need for

places, this has not materialised. The position is that all children resident in the City

of London have secured school places this year and in recent years, albeit not all in

the school of their first choice.

Ongoing discussions between the governing body of the school, the Sir John Cass’s

Foundation and the City of London via a series of tripartite meetings continued to

pursue possible options for expansion. Having identified that there wasn’t a need for

further school places, a review of the financial viability of the school as a 1FE

concluded that this was not a risk at this time. At the tripartite meeting on 12 June

2017, given the Foundation had not been convinced of the need to expand the

school, and the governing body no longer wishing to consider expansion at this time, it was decided not to pursue this further. Members expressed their disappointment over the decision and thanked Officers for their work with the matter.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the proposed amendments to the current Carer grant payments in line with the requirements of the Care Act.

It is proposed that the current Carer grant payments are amended as a recent audit

determined they could be improved in line with the requirements of the Care Act.

The payments are also inconsistent with many other Local Authority payment

amounts. The suggested solution is to amend the system from the current “grant”

allocations of £150, £700 and £3,000. Carers will be offered both universal and

targeted support by way of information and advice as well as services such as carer

groups. Carer assessments will be conducted with a view to allocating a personal

budget where a carer has eligible needs. This is likely to mean that some carers

may see their historic allocation reduce whilst others at the lower end of the previous grant scale are likely to see an increase. The money is determined via a carer assessment and (where eligible) a Resource Allocation System (RAS). This is

calculated via the assessment through the “FACE tool”. This will be incorporated

into the new Mosaic case management system. It will calculate entitlement via a

formula but will have a maximum payment amount of £1,560. However this can be

overridden where there is a clear need. Essentially this is a move to more

personalised support. Carers grants are not means tested. The previous carer

grants included money for respite for the cared - which was not previously means

tested. The new approach will see the cared for person charged for respite where

they are able to afford this. This is a statutory requirement of the Care Act. This is

not applicable to paid carers, such

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

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the progress being made by the City of London Corporation (City Corporation) in its general corporate capacity in the London Boroughs of Southwark, Islington, Hackney and Newham through the City of London Academies Development Programme which is led by the Education Board.

Good progress has been made to open all of these academies in the 2016/17

and 2017/19 academic years and therefore to expand world class primary and

secondary education provision in neighbouring boroughs.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.  

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

The Committee received a report from the Director of Community and Children’s Services providing a summary and comments on the un-validated examination results for GSCE and A levels.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.

A Member raised a query regarding the presentation of banners by tenants in some flats on the Golden Lane Estate. Officers suggested that although tenancy agreements did not prohibit this behaviour Officers were considering all options available to help tackle the issue. Members agreed that it would be premature to escalate the matter legally and the most sensible way forward may be to have low level discussions with residents.

A Member raised a query regarding the support provided to tenants accepting Universal Credit. Officers informed the Committee that the City exercised an active programme and a strong approach was taken to engage with tenants with Universal Credit.

Members were informed that the City Corporation’s Housing Team would be volunteering with the Royal British Region selling poppies at Barbican Station and Members were welcome to join them over the coming weeks.

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 the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

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

RESOLVED - that the minutes be approved.

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

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

The Committee received a report from the Director of Community and Children’s

Services informing Members of the continuation of the current contract with

Providence Row Housing Association.

RESOVLED - that the report be noted.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received a report of the City Surveyor and the Director of Community and

Children’s Services on the current status of the Management of Lease Events

in commercial Premises.

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