Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Helen Rowbottom, Rebecca Harvey (Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety), and Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform).

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

Councillor Nikos Souslous noted a non-pecuniary interest in item 4 as a Trustee of both the Creighton Centre and Hammersmith United Charities. He also noted a non-pecuniary interest in item 5 as the founder and Director of ReadyTechGo.

Councillor Natalia Perez noted a non-pecuniary interest in item 4 as a Trustee of Hammersmith United Charities.

Councillor Jacolyn Daly noted a non-pecuniary interest in item 4 as a Trustee of the Urban Partnership Group.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as an accurate record and note any outstanding actions.

The Chair noted the action sheet attached to the minutes and highlighted that all but one of the actions from the previous meeting had been completed. The final action was in progress – the Board had been sent the Electoral Commission’s interim Voter ID report and the final report would be circulated once it was available.

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2023 were agreed as an accurate record.

This report sets out the current status of intergenerational practice in the borough and opportunities for developing and embedding intergenerational activities to address loneliness and social isolation.

Julius Olu (Assistant Director – Commissioning and Partnerships) introduced the report that set out the current status of intergenerational practices in the borough and opportunities for developing and embedding intergenerational activities to address loneliness and social isolation.He was joined by Jazz Browne (Chief Executive of Nubian Life), Precisa Getsevich (Youth Council), and Adam Semar (Youth Council).

Julius Olu highlighted some of the key examples of existing intergenerational practice in Hammersmith & Fulham and opportunities for the development of activities to combat social isolation and loneliness. He praised the borough’s diverse third sector, supported by the Council’s Third Sector Investment Fund, that met a wide range of resident needs. He noted the inter-generational work that was already happening, but said there were opportunities to expand it further.

Jazz Browne addressed the Board and explained that Nubian Life was a care provider for older Afro-Caribbean and Asian people with complex health and social care needs. Nubian Life believed it was important for older people to remain connected to their community and intergenerational work was an important part of achieving that. Intergenerational activities could provide a creative approach to community development and helped challenge systematic ageism. She then discussed two successful projects – a sewing club and a gardening club that brought together people aged 5 to 87. She noted that intergenerational activities worked best when they were mutually beneficial and suggested developing activities around mutual interests.

Julius Olu highlighted some of the intergeneration work in Children’s Services from the report. International Baccalaureate had an intergenerational component with older people mentoring young people. Family Hubs presented opportunities for intergenerational practice. Community spaces, including Family Hubs, provided spaces for older people to care for grandchildren and meet other grandparents. Children’s Services were reviewing options for intergenerational practice as part of the Family Hub programme including grandparent-friendly Family Hubs, grandparent-specific sessions, services and information for grandparents/older carers, and identifying the school’s offer in intergenerational practice.

The Chair welcomed Precisa Getsevich and Adam Semar from H&F’s Youth Council to the meeting. Adam Semar said the Youth Council had discussed intergenerational work and put forward the idea of skill sharing between different generations – for example, younger people could share their digital skills with older people. Another area for the Youth Council was around better understanding democracy. Many younger people didn’t understand the inner workings of local councils and other democratic institutions and he suggested this was an area that older people could share their knowledge and experience. Lastly, he noted that a priority for the Youth Council was around expanding volunteering opportunities and to that end, they were looking to implement an online platform to facilitate and reward volunteering in the borough. Precisa Getsevich spoke about the valuable experiences she had taken from her grandparents but noted that many children didn’t have grandparents around to pass on their skills and experience. She felt intergenerational schemes could help bridge that gap.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler noted she had heard of a London-based charity that matched young people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report presents a new Digital Inclusion Strategy for the borough, which has been co-produced with residents and council directorates. Residents and voluntary and community sector partners have been actively engaged and shaped the strategy through the Digital Accessibility Group.

Nicola Ellis (Strategic Director Chief Operating Officer) introduced the report which outlined the new co-produced Digital Inclusion Strategy for the borough.Tina Akpogheneta (Chief Digital Officer) and Darren Persaud (Assistant Director Resident Experience Transformation) gave a presentation on the strategy that aimed to make Hammersmith & Fulham a more digitally inclusive borough, where residents have access to the digital skills, devices, and support they need to achieve their aspirations.

Darren Persaud discussed the importance of co-production, through the involvement of the Digital Accessibility Group – made up of residents who reflected the diversity of the borough. He noted that input had also been obtained from other Council departments and the voluntary and community sector. Darren Persaud also spoke about the feedback that had been incorporated from the Policy and Oversight Board meetings in September and December 2022, detailed in paragraph 26 of the report.

Darren Persaud said the next steps for the strategy included further feedback from the Board, further conversations with the Cabinet Member, then sign-off from the Digital Accessibility Group, and final approval at Cabinet.

Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier thanked officers for their work on this important area. He noted the pandemic had accelerated digitalisation of many areas of life and hoped the pace of support and regulation would keep up. He said he could attest to the quality of work in the Digital Accessiblilty Group and that it was inspiring to see. He spoke about the importance of looking at services early to ensure they worked well for all residents from day one.

The Chair asked how outcomes would be measured. Nicola Ellis said they wanted data to validate the approach but there was still a lot more work to do on measuring outcomes.

Councillor Natalia Perez thanked officers for the update. She asked if the Council would support residents to access digital services like Universal Credit. She also asked if the Council’s plans for free Wi-Fi access included safeguards for younger users to ensure they weren’t exposed to inappropriate material. Nicola Ellis said the Council had welfare support teams to help users access benefits. As part of the cost-of-living Alliance, officers were also looking at a platform to highlight groups that provided additional support. Tina Akpogheneta added that online safety was not just for children. It was important that people felt safe online regardless of their age or level of experience. When the Council worked with third-party providers that needed to be built-in to the offer.

Councillor Daly asked, in reference to the Council’s public website and online services, if there was a trade-off between accessibility and security. Tina Akpogheneta said security was a priority for the Council and all services were held to the same high standards and all suppliers were vetted for their security controls. She noted that accessibility as it related to the public website was more a design issue than a security issue.

Councillor Nikos Souslous asked for more information on the Good Things Foundation scheme to supply residents with devices. Darren Persaud said  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

This report outlines the areas of work and reports considered by each of the Council’s six Policy and Accountability Committees, from April 2023 to September 2023.

The Chair introduced the report outlining the areas of work and reports considered by each of the Council’s six Policy and Accountability Committees, from April 2023 to September 2023.

RESOLVED

1. The Board noted the report.

For the Board to note the draft work programme and suggest any amendments.

The Chair introduced the draft work programme for 2023/24.

The Chair noted that the Youth Council had been invited to attend in December to discuss their manifesto and policy development work. She also requested an update on the Fuel Poverty Strategy and the Council’s response to the cost-of-living crisis.

RESOLVED

1. The Board noted the draft work programme for 2023/24 and suggested additions or amendments.

To note the following dates of future meetings:

·       11 Dec 2023

·       23 Jan 2024

·       29 Apr 2024

The following dates of future meetings were noted:

• 11 Dec 2023
• 23 Jan 2024
• 29 Apr 2024