The Leader of the Council will make a statement, followed by responses from the Leaders of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Groups and then the Leader to sum up. There will then be questions from Members to the Leader and Cabinet Members.
(There are no pages for this part of the agenda.)
Minutes:
Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of the Council, made a statement to those present. Councillor Tom Simon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, and Councillor Gio Spinella, Leader of the Conservative Group, made statements in the response and then Councillor Gould made from final remarks.
The Leader and Cabinet Members then took questions from Members as follows:-
· Councillor Berry asked the Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment whether Camden needed a better strategy for meanwhile uses, and permanent uses, of council owned spaces. Councillor Beales responded that an affordable workspace strategy was in development and would look at council owned spaces and meanwhile uses. This would be launched in the next year with a view to replicating different models already in use. The Camden Future Fund had also recently been launched to provide some funding to those locked out of traditional finance and there was advice available too, though Greater London Authority (GLA) and central government funding would be key. In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Beales remarked that he could not commit other Cabinet Members to create lists of available meanwhile spaces, but he was sure they had heard the request for such a list.
· Councillor Aref-Adib asked the Leader of the Council what support was available to refugees from places other than Afghanistan and Ukraine and whose situations had not received the same press attention. Councillor Gould responded that there were 2000 refugees in Camden, 439 of whom were in contingency hotels as they were from places in the world that did not automatically qualify them to be considered for asylum. There was a large amount of support but they could not access employment and this area of work was not funded so Camden was making the case to government for changes to the scheme to allow the provision of a wider ranging support service. In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Gould remarked that the Council was working with Groundwork to support those coming into the country to convert their qualifications to those recognised in the UK.
· Councillor Jirira asked the Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment about what steps had been taken to ensure that the redevelopment of the O2 Centre was offering a good deal for Camden. Councillor Beales responded that meetings had taken place with the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group about a potential future health facility within the site and a meeting had taken place with Transport for London to bottom out costs for step free access. Officers continued to talk with the developers about the planning application and were considering consultation responses on that application, having made it clear that comments could be made right up until the application was determined by the Planning Committee. In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Beales remarked that there was a major housing crisis and a car park was not a good use of the space. Alongside housing, amenities for local people were also needed and this was a significant opportunity to deliver both homes and community facilities for local people.
· Councillor Slater asked the Leader of the Council about the useability and accessibility of the Council’s switchboard service. Councillor Gould responded that there was a lot of work going on already, in collaboration with local residents, on a new telephone system which was due to launch soon, and there had already been changes made to how people reported housing repairs, with other reporting channels now available.
· Councillor Burrage asked the Cabinet Member for Safer Communities about what could be done to apply pressure to Royal Parks to provide enough resource to ensure that the large gatherings of people on Primrose Hill in the summer months did not cause undue disruption to local residents and businesses. Councillor Callaghan responded that Royal Parks had been reticent to address the issues but had put temporary gates up, though this was clearly not a permanent solution. The Police had made a difference towards the end of summer 2021 but pressure needed to be maintained on Royal Parks to put up permanent gates, which could then be closed at night if necessary.