Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Tijs Broeke and The Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor Vincent Keaveny.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 6 December 2021.

With regard to Minute 9: City of London Police Update, the Chairman asked that the minutes be corrected as outlined below:

“…73 tickets had been issued of which 51 were “green” invites to attend the bi-monthly intervention hub… At every stage of issuing notices, individuals were invited to attend the bi-monthly intervention hub where they could access homelessness outreach and support services…”

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 6 December 2021 be approved, subject to the above amendments.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk presenting the Terms of Reference of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub-Committee and the following points were made:

·         In considering the Terms of Reference, Committee Members agreed to update the composition of the Terms of Reference as outlined below:

“III. Two Members representing the Police Committee Authority Board;”

·         A Committee Member further suggested that consideration be given to reviewing the name of the Sub-Committee in the longer term to place a stronger emphasis on its role in preventing homelessness and rough sleeping. 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The Terms of Reference of the Sub-Committee be approved for submission to the Community and Children’s Services Committee for final approval, subject to the above amendment; and,

·         No change be made to the Sub-Committee’s frequency of meetings.

The Director of Community and Children’s Services to be heard.

The Sub-Committee heard a presentation of the Partnerships Manager and Regional Head of Operations of Turning Point and the following points were made:

·         Turning Point was a leading social enterprise working in partnership with London Friend and Mind CHWF to deliver the City and Hackney Recovery Service which supported residents struggling with alcohol and substance misuse issues.  This integrated, multi-agency service took a holistic approach to supporting individuals with alcohol and substance misuse issues, with a range of specialisms including a dedicated alcohol pathway, community navigation and Mind recovery workers.  Its rough sleeper offer was delivered in partnership with the City of London Corporation’s existing homelessness and rough sleeping services and worked to support homelessness individuals in accessing alcohol and substance misuse services.  Whilst the City of London was not part of Project ADDER, an innovative and targeted project to reduce drug-related offending, drug deaths and prevalence of drug use, it benefitted from work undertaken in neighbouring local authorities and also received direct funding via the Home Office’s ‘universal’ funding stream.

·         In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Partnership Manager advised that whilst the City and Hackney Recovery Service occasionally closed cases due to individuals being disengaged or not ready to receive support, its service offer was always made available to those in need.  The Chairman was pleased to note the role of alcohol and substance misuse services in supporting homeless and rough sleeping individuals in moving successfully away from the streets and underlined the need for more on-street support and scripting services.

The Chairman thanked the Partnerships Manager and Regional Head of Operations of Turning Point for their excellent presentation.  The presentation would be circulated to Members following the meeting.

RESOLVED, that the presentation be noted.

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

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the proposed timeline for developing the 2023-27 Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and the following points were made:

·         A timeline was in place to support the development of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-27, which would come into force on 1 April 2023.  The timeline included key activities comprising gathering baseline data and stakeholder analysis; engagement; monitoring and evaluation set-up and drafting, with these activities supported by regular strategy development group meetings.  Consultation on the draft 2023-27 Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy would commence in January 2023, with a view to securing sign-off of the new strategy by the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub-Committee in March 2023. 

·         The Chairman requested that Officers engage closely with Members in developing the 2023-27 Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.  A Committee Member highlighted the importance of building in learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and another Committee Member underlined the need to review progress in delivering the 2019/23 Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy. 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of rough sleeping data for Quarter 3 2021/22 and the following points were made:

·         The total number of rough sleepers in the City of London in Quarter 3 2021/22 was 183 individuals, which represented a 44% increase on the previous quarter and a 39% increase on the same period in 2020/21.  This increase reflected the large number of transient rough sleepers who spent between one and five nights in the City of London, as well as a number of individuals being ‘unknown clients’ with whom it was challenging to engage.  The proportion of new rough sleepers remained high at 33%; however, of 60 individuals identified as new during Quarter 3 2021/22, 62% had no second night out which demonstrated the success of the City of London Corporation’s high assessment accommodation rates.  There had been 82 individuals supported into accommodation or reconnection during Quarter 3 with current accommodation events 110% above pre-pandemic levels and 14% above the height of the pandemic response. 

·         In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Rough Sleeping Coordinator confirmed that individuals who were ‘unknown clients’ were often unwilling to share their personal data or engage with commissioned services but that Outreach Teams continued to work with them to build relationships.  The Committee Member observed that some ‘unknown clients’ may be European Union nationals who were reluctant to engage as they had no recourse to public funds.  The Rough Sleeping Coordinator advised that the Home Office continued to accept applications for the European Union Settlement Scheme where there were extenuating circumstances, such as homelessness, and clients were supported to make applications where appropriate.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services presenting the findings of the annual street count and the following points were made:

·         Due to the likelihood of the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol being put into action and upon the advice of Homeless Link, the annual street count had been undertaken as a spotlight count on 25 November 2021 supported by a multi-agency meeting which was a similar approach to that taken in November 2020.  In total, 19 individuals had been met ‘bedded-down’ during the spotlight count, of whom five were identified as ‘unknown clients’, with a further individual identified as ‘bedded-down’ early on 26 November 2021.  The total of 20 individuals represented the City of London’s lowest annual street count since the process was established in 2010, demonstrating the effectiveness of the multi-agency approach.  The Rough Sleeping Services Manager advised that the disparity between the annual street count total and growing rough sleeping numbers for Quarter 3 2021/22 was largely as a result of the number of ‘unknown clients’. 

·         The Chairman thanked Committee Members, Officers and partners for their ongoing work to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the City of London which had led to such a successful outcome for the annual street count and requested that this information be publicised following the meeting.  The Chairman also requested that a document providing a holistic view of the City of London’s homelessness pathways be presented to the next meeting of the Sub-Committee on 9May 2022. 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services providing an update on the Transition Plan and the following point was made:

·         The Transition Plan represented an evolution of the COVID-19 Recovery Plan and included the anticipated decant of the Carter Lane hostel and the progress of delivering two capital projects comprising the City Assessment Service and the High Support Hostel. The Transition Programme also included winter planning for individuals who were rough sleeping, including the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol arrangements which came into effect when temperatures were forecast to fall below 0°C.  The Protect and Vaccinate Fund had recently been launched by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Community to support local authority accommodation and vaccination efforts and it was planned to use the City of London Corporation’s grant allocation to support contingency accommodation arrangements as the Transition Plan progressed.  The Head of Homelessness, Prevention and Rough Sleeping advised that 61 individuals were currently covered by the scope of the Transition Plan, including 20 residents of Carter Lane Hostel who were due to move onto to alternate provision by the start of March 2022.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.

The Commissioner of the City of London Police to be heard.

The Sub-Committee received an update of the Commissioner of the City of London Police and the following points were made:

·         Operation Luscombe continued to operate successfully.  During Quarter 3 2021/22, 32 tickets had been issued of which 17 were “green” invites to attend the bi-monthly intervention hub, 10 were “amber” Community Protection Warnings and 5 were Community Protection Notices.  Criminal Behaviour Orders were also used where appropriate, such as where individuals were involved in begging, and an application was currently being made in respect of an individual whose behaviour had exceeded the threshold.  At every stage of issuing notices, individuals were invited to attend the bi-weekly intervention hub where they could access homelessness outreach and support services, and a significant proportion of those receiving notices did not come to notice again.  A day of action had been undertaken by the City of London Police on 19 January 2022 with Ward Officers attending the east-side of the City of London to support homeless and rough sleeping individuals.

·         The British Transport Police had tabled an update which advised that there had been a significant reduction in aggressive begging at transport hubs in recent months, although passive begging continued.  The present focus of the British Transport was night-time anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls and staff assaults, but the British Transport Police would continue to work with the City of London Police on initiatives to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including Operation Luscombe.  A Committee Member underlined how passive begging was also cause for concern as it could escalate to more aggressive behaviours.  The Committee Member further noted that, when moved on by the Police, those engaged with begging activities often resumed them at a different location.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.

There was one question.

In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Head of Homelessness, Prevention and Rough Sleeping confirmed that the Mayor’s Fund contributed to a number of London-centred charities but that this did not include homelessness services in the City of London.  A Committee Member observed that the Lady Mayoress was holding a fundraising event in the Guildhall Yard on 30 March 2022 to highlight issues of homelessness.  

There was one item of other business.

The Chairman thanked Members, Officers and partners for their commitment and excellent work in addressing homelessness and rough sleeping issues during the 2021/22 municipal year.

MOTION – 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 1 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 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item no                                  Para no

14-20                                      3

21                                            1 & 2

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2021.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2022 be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received the Sub-Committee’s outstanding actions list.

The Director of Community and Children’s Services to be heard.

The Sub-Committee received a non-public update of Director of Community and Children’s Services on capital projects.

The Commissioner of the City of London Police to be heard.

The Sub-Committee received a non-public report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police on homelessness and drugs.

The Commissioner of the City of London Police to be heard.

The Sub-Committee received a non-public update of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.

The Director of Community and Children’s Services to be heard.

The Sub-Committee received a confidential update of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on a Homelessness Fatality Review.