The Kensington and Chelsea Overview & Scrutiny Committee met to discuss a range of issues, including crime in the borough, lessons learned from an action plan for Earl's Court, and the council's medium-term financial strategy. The committee also reviewed its work programme and forward plan for key decisions.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The minutes from the meeting on 13 May 2025 were approved after a request to amend them to better reflect concerns raised about the implementation of coroner's recommendations. Joseph, a council officer, will relisten to the recording of the meeting and make a determination on whether the minutes should be amended.

Metropolitan Police Report

Chief Superintendent Christina Jesser, Superintendent Ellen Renauden, and Detective Superintendent Dean Lantzler from the Metropolitan Police presented a report on police activity in the borough over the last year.

• Budget constraints: Chief Superintendent Jesser noted that while the recent spending review appeared to offer an increase in funding for policing, it would likely only cover staff pay.
• Crime statistics: There have been reductions in theft from and theft of motor vehicles, robbery, and burglary. However, there has been a marked increase in theft from person (shopping and pickpocketing) and theft in retail outlets.
• Relationship building: Superintendent Renauden emphasised the importance of relationships with the local authority and business improvement districts (BIDs). She noted that Kensington and Chelsea is leading the way in London regarding these relationships.
• Local investigations: Detective Superintendent Lantzler spoke about the work of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the robbery and burglary teams.
• Bicycle and scooter thefts: Responding to a question from a councillor, Superintendent Renauden said that it would be unrealistic to investigate every theft of bicycles, scooters and motorbikes to the degree that some people might expect, given the volume of offences. However, she said that the police should always check CCTV footage.
• Parks Police: The closure of the Parks Police department was described as a difficult decision driven by financial pressures. Superintendent Renauden said that there would be a small uplift of about 14 officers dedicated to neighbourhood policing around the central under parks.
• Notting Hill Gate: A councillor raised concerns about shoplifting in Notting Hill Gate, and asked what attention could be given to the area. Superintendent Renauden said that the ward teams are based in the same building and work closely together. She also said that the police have been working with specific retailers to encourage them to report shoplifting.
• Cybercrime: A councillor asked what the police are doing to tackle cybercrime. Superintendent Renauden admitted that cybercrime is not on the neighbourhood policing team's radar. She said that the team is very street-focused. However, she noted that the police do offer general crime prevention advice, which includes advice on fraud.
• Stolen mobile phones: A councillor said that residents had complained that when they use tracking software to locate stolen mobile phones, the police do not take action. Detective Superintendent Lantzler said that there is now a process in place in the control rooms in the police stations, and officers will evaluate what they can do around that.
• Illegal bikes: A councillor raised concerns about illegal bikes, including motorbikes that look like bicycles, and cyclists riding on pavements. Superintendent Renauden said that there have been several operations targeting e-bikes, and the police have been working with Transport for London (TfL) to provide training to delivery drivers.
• Community pop-ups: A councillor asked about the police's strategy for speaking to neighbours when a crime happens on a street. Superintendent Renauden said that after one case in particular, the neighbourhood policing team did a community pop-up. She said that the police are developing a critical incident policy with the local authority.
• Operation Northleigh: A councillor asked for an update on Operation Northleigh, the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire. Superintendent Renauden said that she would pass the feedback back to the officer leading the investigation.
• Royalty Studios: A councillor asked for assurance that Royalty Studios in Notting Hill ward will be stable going forward. Superintendent Renauden said that as far as she's aware, there is no intention to close Royalty Studios. However, she said that she can't say what the future will definitely look like, given the financial challenges.
• Undercover policing: A councillor asked for assurance that behaviours documented towards family justice campaigns at the public inquiry into undercover policing haven't been and aren't being employed in Kensington and Chelsea. Detective Superintendent Lantzler said that there is now a high degree of scrutiny that applications for covert activity go through.
• CCTV: A councillor suggested creating a network of private CCTV cameras. Superintendent Renauden agreed that CCTV is really important. She said that the police are working to provide the ability for people who have private CCTV to easily send footage to the police.
• Hospitals: A councillor asked if the police could provide data on arrests and incidents of anti-social behaviour near hospitals. Superintendent Renauden said that analytical support is quite challenging in the Metropolitan Police Service. She said that there is a necessity to cleanse the data, which takes time.
• Licensing: A councillor asked how many licensing applications the police have challenged. Superintendent Renauden said that she would find out.
• Anti-social behaviour: A member of the public said that there has been significant anti-social behaviour by the same individuals in Goldwyn ward. They asked when the police would move these individuals out of the area. Superintendent Renauden said that the police don't have the powers to move people on. She suggested bringing the issue to the community one-stop shops.
• Drug dealing: A member of the public said that drug dealers are preying on vulnerable residents near hospitals. They asked what the police would do in terms of that. Superintendent Renauden said that policing doesn't have a say on whether a hospital goes into an area or not. She said that the police have carried out eight drugs warrants in Elwes Court in the last six weeks, leading to 10 arrests followed up by closure orders.
• Support for officers: A member of the public asked what the leadership in terms of the police is doing to protect officers who are dealing with very difficult subjects. Detective Superintendent Lantzler said that the commissioner has been talking about accountability review, where the issues have been fed back to him by a number of staff about having the confidence to go out and deal with an issue, but also know they're going to be supported when they come back into the station.
• Reporting crime: Several members of the public raised concerns about the difficulty of reporting crimes to the police.

Earl's Court Councillor Call to Action - Lessons Learned

The committee discussed a report outlining the lessons learned from the Earl's Court Councillor Call to Action (CCfA), which was initiated in March 2022 to address crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

• Crime statistics: Between April 2024 and March 2025, crime in Kensington and Chelsea fell by 2.6% compared to the previous year, while crime across London rose slightly by 0.6%. Earl's Court ward also experienced a 1.6% decrease in crime during this period.
• Multi-agency coordination: Effective partnership working has proven critical in tackling anti-social behaviour. A new Ways of Working protocol is being co-developed between the council, police, and registered providers.
• Resource capacity: Residents value visible enforcement and proactive engagement. The Earl's Court Safer Neighbourhood Team proactively applies for additional resources and reviews initiatives, such as a ward a month, which will bring in resources from other wards to allow more police visibility on the streets.
• Engagement and communication: A one-stop shop drop-in service has been established for residents to meet with both police and the council's community safety officers.
• Housing Tenancy Strategy: The council's Housing Needs and Supply Team implemented the Tenancy Strategy in 2024 in response to the CCfA's recommendations.
• HMO standards: A borough-wide planning policy has now been implemented to ensure that houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) meet clearly defined minimum standards.
• Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO): The PSPO for Earl's Court came into effect on 18 April 2024 for three years and provides a useful tool for police and the council in their efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour.
• Street Enforcement Team (SET): The council's SET undertakes patrols of Earl's Court ward each day and issues fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for offences within the PSPO.
• Offender management: Since September 2024, 21 community protection warnings (CPWs) and notices (CPNs) have been issued to impose restrictions on those involved in crime and anti-social behaviour.
• Targeted police operations: Targeted police operations took place between October 2024 and April 2025 in Earl's Court, resulting in 37 additional arrests for offences including drug supply, violent crime, and breaches of bail conditions.
• Designing out crime: The council continues to work with housing providers to design out crime, making physical improvements in high-risk areas.
• Rough sleeper outreach: The council's Street Population Outreach Team undertakes evening and night patrols to engage with rough sleepers.
• CCTV monitoring: The council's public realm CCTV camera network includes 12 fixed CCTV cameras and 2 redeployable CCTV cameras within Earl's Court ward.
• Hostels: Councillors noted that there was a high density of hostels in Earl's Court, and that some of the hostels were failing to provide adequate support for their residents.
• Reporting fatigue: Councillors noted that there was reporting fatigue among residents in Earl's Court, and that it was important to make it easier for residents to report crimes.
• Brown Gardens: A councillor asked what specific things are being done to try and tackle some of the issues in Brown Gardens, where people are seeing needles when their children are going playing in the garden.
• Street enforcement team: A councillor said that the street enforcement team should focus more on PSPO-related issues.
• Airbnb: A councillor asked if there was a way of targeting Airbnb operators to ensure that they are following good practice.

Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2029/30

The committee reviewed the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), which outlines the council's financial plan for the next four years.

• Budget gap: Based on known funding allocations and forecast assumptions, there is an estimated budget gap of up to £21 million in 2026/27 and £52 million over the next four years. This is before any savings from the Transformation and Savings Programme are included.
• Transformation and Savings Programme: Work has commenced across the council to develop a collaborative and multi-year Transformation and Savings Programme.
• Ageing population: The lead member for finance, digital and efficiency said that the things keeping him awake at night are the ageing population and the ever-increasing, very high needs in children's services.
• Business rates: A councillor asked about the impact of the fall in business rates. The lead member for finance, digital and efficiency said that the council will be fully reimbursed.
• Commercial rent income: A councillor asked what the council is doing to generate more from its commercial footprint across the borough. The lead member for finance, digital and efficiency said that the council is looking at consolidating council offices from disparate buildings to make sure that it has a smaller number of buildings with high usage, so that any extra buildings can be commercially rented out.
• Pension fund: A councillor asked when the pension fund temporary accommodation being kicking in, in terms of an impact on the budget overall. The lead member for finance, digital and efficiency said that it's a very short time frame in which to get that volume of money out.
• Cybersecurity: A councillor asked what the council is doing in terms of avoiding a financial hit from cyberattacks. The lead member for finance, digital and efficiency said that the council is putting forward a growth bid for cybersecurity, £495,000.
• Transformation: A councillor welcomed the priority that's now being given to transformations. They asked if there is any other way in which the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could contribute to this work.
• Cumulative gap: A councillor asked if the cumulative gap figure is realistic enough and robust enough. The lead member for finance, digital and efficiency said that it's probably slightly under where it needs to be.
• Council tax reduction scheme: A councillor asked if there is any data on whether the council tax reduction scheme is working.
• Council assets: A councillor asked if the council has accounted for the fact that some council assets haven't been maintained over the years, and have costed the renovation of all these buildings.
• Service stoppage: A councillor asked how the council will assess the unintended consequences of any service stoppage or review. They also asked if it is time to challenge some of the council's commitments, like its commitment to net zero.

The Forward Plan and Key Decision Tracker

The committee reviewed the forward plan of key decisions and identified areas for potential scrutiny.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme

The committee discussed its work programme for the coming year and agreed to defer the item to the next meeting.