Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Cllrs Chapman and Pandor.

None.

None.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 18 January 2024 be agreed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The Chair provided an update on evidence received as part of  the scrutiny review of Complex ASB. Visits had been held with the Safeguarding Adults Board, the Housing Intensive Team and the Street Outreach Team. A further session would be held to observe a MARAC meeting and Islington Law Centre had also been invited to contribute evidence to the review.

None.

The meeting will consider evidence on taking a Public Health approach to Anti-Social Behaviour.

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust has been invited to attend to present on their mental health and addiction services and how best to support their clients that may be perpetrators of ASB.

Miriam Bullock, Deputy Director of Public Health, together with Liz McGrath,  Clinical Director, and Jane Palmer, Criminal Justice Pathways Coordinator, of Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I), presented to the committee on taking a public health approach to ASB, and in particular on the links between mental health, drug and alcohol needs, and ASB issues.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·       C&I’s drug and alcohol services worked closely with council services, including the Street Population team, the Cuckooing Team and Housing Officers. The service offered outreach work that sought to engage people in treatment and offered rapid prescription of opiate replacements. C&I also worked closely with council officers through the MARAC process, as well as with GP surgeries, voluntary sector partners and others.

·       Following a question on the impact of austerity on drug and alcohol services, it was advised that additional investment had been made into the service in recent years, including extra investment to develop new pathways into treatment for those in the criminal justice system. Outreach services had continued to be funded despite the financial challenges facing public services. The most significant challenge was getting people to engage in treatment and stay in treatment. There were no waiting lists in drug and alcohol services.

·       Outreach work had developed over recent years by targeting outreach at hard to reach groups, including women and those in the criminal justice system.  

·       It was asked if the provision of supervised injection facilities in Islington would allow for better opportunities for intervention.  In response, it was commented that this could be considered a harm reduction approach, however there were already opportunities for intervention through needle exchanges and other services. Services were proactive in engaging with clients and welcoming them into treatment services.

·       In relation to mental health, a member commented on the need to consider the mental health of those experiencing ASB, as well as that perpetrators of ASB may have mental health issues.

·       It was commented that mental health services could recommend rehousing to housing providers if they are aware of ASB issues affecting the mental health of their clients.

·       Following a question on barriers to accessing drug and alcohol services, it was commented that women tended to have increased complexity off need and face stigma in accessing services. Addiction services were now linking with other women’s services to make them easier to access.

·       It was reported that some of those accessing addiction services had positive outcomes. This was particularly the case when addiction issues were not intergenerational. When there was a history of addiction in families, then issues could be much more entrenched.

·       Councillors welcomed the holistic approach to viewing ASB through a public health lens, as detailed in the report, and queried how a public health approach to ASB could have a wider impact on policy. Officers emphasised that housing was a strong determinant of health; roughsleeping, homelessness and insecure housing tenure could have a significant impact on both physical and mental health,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 181.

Stephen Biggs, Corporate Director of Community Wealth Building, and Paul Clarke, Director of Finance, introduced the report summarising progress made since the previous scrutiny review.

Although many effects of the Covid pandemic had since passed, the pressures on the local economy and council budgets had remained, with the fuel crisis, cost of living crisis and other changes over recent years. Officers summarised the work to support local businesses, and the work to address the challenging financial position in local government.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·       Following a question on the impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on local businesses, officers commented that there was a need to find the right balance, and although some businesses thought the changes had impacted on trade, other businesses had adapted and benefitted. It was recognised that initial engagement with businesses could have been more robust, and the overall approach to engagement had developed as the People Friendly Streets programme had progressed.

·       It was commented that Covid had a significant financial impact on adult social care; it was thought there was a cohort who became unwell and reliant on care services earlier due to the impact of the pandemic, or who had more complex needs than they otherwise would have done. Officers summarised the work to manage overspends in adult social care through managing demand where possible.

·       A member commented on the importance of investing in the local economy through procurement and suggested that KPIs should be reviewed to enable local investment to be monitored. Officers advised that this was being considered. A member suggested that it would be helpful to have comparative data to other London boroughs.

·       A member commented that work to develop new affordable workspace in the borough had been impressive, but commented on the need to audit those providing affordable workspace to ensure that they were benefitting islington residents.

·       A member noted the positive work to support the local economy and council finances, commending the council for its work despite significant challenges.

RESOLVED:

That the progress since the scrutiny review be noted.

Councillor Ward, Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Planning, Raj Chand, Corporate Director – Community Engagement and Wellbeing, and Manny Lewis, Head of Customer Access, presented to the committee on the implementation of the resident experience programme.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·       The Committee noted the progress made in complaints performance, the work to update systems at the contact centre, significant improvements in telephone performance, improvements to the council’s website, and new developments such as the Access Islington hubs which brought local services together to make them accessible to residents.

·       The council was exploring the potential for AI in handling common customer queries, but it was recognised that this had to be considered very carefully before it was implemented. In particular, any ethical concerns about the use of resident data and system bias would have to be addressed.

·       The Committee noted concerns about some residents being digitally excluded and unable to use online services. Officers commented that enabling residents to complete more simple transactions online through automated systems would free up officer time to focus on those residents who needed extra support and complex cases.

·       A discussion was had on the processes for responding to member enquiries and how response times can be monitored and improved.

·       Officers explained the work to develop a complaints tracking solution that would allow greater management oversight and also help to identify trends and themes in complaints.

·       A member highlighted that the council website contained limited information about Access Islington Hubs and requested that this be reviewed.

·       It was commented that changes and improvements to customer services would be discussed with resident working groups. The Committee noted the need for diverse representation on these groups to ensure that the needs of all communities were reflected.

The Committee noted the update and thanked officers for their attendance.

·        Council Forward Plan

·        Scrutiny Review Tracker

·        Outstanding responses from previous meetings

·        Updates from committee chairs

·        Work Programme

Noted.