Agenda item

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 interim report on the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) for Winter 2020/21 and the following point was made:

·         Winter 2020/21 had been a challenging period for the SWEP due to the unusually cold weather which had resulted in eight separate SWEP activations across 32 nights with 36 homeless or rough sleeping individuals being been brought into accommodation since 23 December 2020.  In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Head of Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping explained that whilst still having central responsibility, the Greater London Authority had delegated authority to local authorities to activate SWEP in response to local need.  The City of London Corporation took a range of factors into account including precipitation and wind and kept SWEP activated over periods where it likely that cold weather would be ongoing.  The Chairman welcomed the activation of SWEP over weekend periods as this provided opportunities for sustained engagement and support with homeless and rough sleeping individuals.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.