Agenda and minutes

The Chair of the Grand Committee took the Chair until the Chairman of this Sub Committee was elected.

Apologies were received from Joanna Abeyie.

There were no declarations.

To elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 29.

Being the only Member declaring a willingness to serve, it was RESOLVED, that – Marianne Fredericks be elected as Chair of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Committee for 2022/23.

The Chair welcomed new Members and thanked retiring Members, noting particularly the retiring Deputy Chair, Tijs Broeke, who would be standing down to concentrate on his role on the Police Authority Board and as Vice Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee. 

To elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 30.

Being the only Member declaring a willingness to serve, it was RESOLVED, that – Henrika Priest be elected as Deputy Chair of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Committee for 2022/23.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 14 February 2022.

RESOLVED, that – the minutes of the meeting held on 14^th February 2022 be approved.

Matters arising:

1. The Town Clerk agreed to circulate the presentation from Turning point after the meeting.

The Chair advised that there would a an informal briefing session after the next Committee, which would inform work on the new Strategy.

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

The Sub committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services which presented current issues with the data release schedule from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) being misaligned with the frequency of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub-Committee meetings. 

Members noted the new framework to end rough sleeping by 2024 and the new performance indicators which would be introduced.  Officers agreed to look at the scheduling of Committee reports, to coincide with the publication of  Chain Data.  The Chair advised that this matter would also be covered in the briefing session to Members referred to under matters arising (2) above.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

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

The Sub committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services, which provided an narrative to the Rough Sleeping Bulletin Data.

During the discussion on this item, the following points were noted:

a)     Members asked if the data on each of the rough sleeping cohorts could be broken down into the type of accommodation that clients move on to.   

b)     The last report to the Committee analysed the sharp increase in Q3 of 2021.  At this time, the  CoL had a higher proportion of new rough sleepers than other London boroughs, resulting from a winding down of  the pandemic responses and the removal of some of the options open to rough sleepers.

c)     The City has a large number of main line stations and transport hubs and Carter Lane had also closed in March.  Some clients might be rough sleeping in other boroughs and come into the City to take advantage of the night-time economy.

d)     Residents and workers had been very complimentary of Operation Luscombe, which targets begging. There are anti-social behaviours connected with begging, which culminates  in the purchase of drugs and increased criminality in an area, and all agencies need to work in partnership.  The Police actively share intelligence and work with the British Transport Police. 

e)     Outreach workers often return to rough sleeping clients on many occasions; some are very entrenched in street activity and resist offers of assistance.  There is no charge made for overnight accommodation.

f)      It was suggested that the data might be better utilised in terms of perception by businesses.

RESOLVED, That – the report be noted.

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

The Sub Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services which provided an updated status report on the City of London Transition Programme

Members noted that they would receive more information on the new hostel provision in the briefing session following the next meeting.  Members were also assured that there would be no delays and an overlap stage to ensure continuity of service.   The service providers being explored are very credible and Providence Row are currently providing support at Carter Lane and the City’s Express Hotel.

The officer advised that the Greenhouse GP practice is unique in that the London Borough of Hackney runs a homelessness advice service alongside it; the clinical practitioners specialise in inclusive health provision and all of its patients have a housing need. Members also noted that the ‘Doctors of the World’ service had been very successful and been replaced by a collaboration between the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and ‘Change Please’, a third sector provider.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

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

The Sub Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services which provided an overview of the City of London’s (CoL’s) commissioned Carter Lane hostel, which opened in April 2020 as part of the CoL’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and calls from government to enact the ‘Everyone In’ approach.

The Chair thanked Providence Row for their outstanding help and support to clients.  Officers agreed to provide more data in respect of the health outcomes for clients with health/learning difficulties/ disabilities.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

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

Members noted that this would be covered in the briefing session to Members referred to under matters arising (2) above. 

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

Members received an update of the Superintendent of the City of London Police and the following points were made:

During the discussion the following points were noted:

a)    Operation Luscombe had been relaunched to tackle begging, given the increasing footfall to the City and the rise of the night-time economy. However, numbers are low in comparison to 2018 when Luscombe was launched.

b)    Luscombe offers an alternative to criminalisation via enforcement of the Vagrancy Act, as it provides clients with 4 offers of assistance before prosecution; ie – a green ticket, which is an  informal invitation to attend a hub with drug workers, mental health nurses and the homelessness team in attendance.  Further acts of begging result in an amber ticket and a red ticket which results in exclusion from the City for 3 months.   The offer of assistance at the hub remains throughout the process.  Further to issuing a red ticket, 3 more breaches will result in the Police applying for a criminal behaviour order, which is judicially mandated.  At this stage the Police can request any restrictions it feels appropriate; to minimise the impact on the  City and its communities, and in the best interests of the client.  Over the past few years there had been very few prosecutions.

c)    All officers at the City of London Police have received autism awareness  training  and rough sleeping clients are also invited to use the services available at the hubs.   Rough sleepers might be moved on if they are causing an obstruction, but they are also referred to Street Link, which ensures that the Outreach Workers are aware of them.

d)    The City Corporation has found the correct balance in terms of provision of accommodation for rough sleepers, without generating voids.

e)    Despite some clients resisting offers of support, the

There were no questions.

Members noted that there would be a short window on consultation for repeal of the Vagrancy Act and this was being followed up by Remembrancers. 

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.

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To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2022.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on xxx be approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

In respect of Criminal Behaviour Orders, Members could  attend the hearings but noted that they could be called at short notice.   Furthermore, hearings were  sometimes adjourned due to non-attendance or a request for further reports. 

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

There was no non public update from the Police

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

Members noted that this funding was now in its 5th year and the City Corporation could now apply for  multi-year funding, which was considerably more helpful to longer term planning.  The latest bid had been submitted in February and officers were optimistic following recent communications with the Department of Levelling Up.  Members would receive a more detailed update at the next meeting, by which time the funding should have been agreed. 

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2022.

RESOLVED, that – the confidential  minutes of the meeting held on 14^th February 2022 be approved.