The General Purposes Committee of Westminster City Council was scheduled to meet on 22 October 2025 to discuss several items, including compensation payments, the London Squares Preservation Act 1931, and the programme of meetings for 2026/2027. Councillor David Boothroyd, Cabinet Member for Finance and Council Reform, was scheduled to chair the meeting. The meeting was scheduled to take place at Westminster City Hall.

Approval of Compensation Payments

The committee was scheduled to discuss and approve two sets of compensation payments.

Compensation Following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Investigation

A report was prepared for the committee regarding a £2,350 compensation payment to a service user following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) investigation. The complaint concerned Children Services, specifically service failures that resulted in a loss of educational provision for a child with an Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The report noted that the service user submitted a complaint to the council on 16 October 2024, citing a delay in the council receiving the child's EHCP and a poor level of service, including a breakdown in communication. The LGSCO conducted an investigation and determined that the council was at fault for the delay, which resulted in the child not receiving educational provision for a period of time. The council was instructed to apologise, pay the compensation, and review its processes.

Compensation Payments Over £2000

The committee was also scheduled to review and approve 19 individual compensation payments, totaling £66,250, to service users. These payments were related to extended stays in hotel accommodation without self-contained facilities.

The report highlighted the increasing demand for Temporary Accommodation (TA) in Westminster, with homelessness applications more than doubling between 2021/22 and 2024/25. This surge in demand has led to an increase in the number of families placed in bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation, often exceeding the statutory six-week limit.

The council has been working to address this issue through various measures, including:

• Reshaping the Housing Solution Service (HSS) by insourcing key functions.
• Investing in the acquisition of properties for use as TA.
• Sourcing properties from private landlords and registered providers.
• Providing support programmes for families in B&B accommodation, in collaboration with organisations such as the Cardinal Hume Centre.

The report stated that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman direction says that temporary accomodation that is not suitable or self-contained can only be used for a maximum of six weeks for families when no other accommodation is available.

The Ombudsman assess financial redress in these cases by reference to the number of weeks a family has stayed in B&B beyond the point where they should have been moved and in these circumstances, they are likely to recommend a weekly payment in the range of £100 to £200 as compensation to the household.

London Squares Preservation Act 1931

The committee was scheduled to consider a recommendation to the council to formally delegate functions under the London Squares Preservation Act 1931 to the Strategic Planning Committee and its two Planning Sub Committees. This delegation would extend to any Local Act requiring decisions related to planning and building control functions, to the extent that these are non-executive functions.

The London Squares Preservation Act 1931 is a local act that requires the council to make decisions on applications for permission, notices and deposit of plans.

The report noted that while the Planning Committees' terms of reference already included these functions, a formal record of delegation was absent from the council's schedule of local choice functions. The proposed changes would clarify and amend the terms of reference of the Planning Committees, enabling them to discharge functions related to both consent and enforcement under the 1931 Act.

Programme of Meetings 2026/2027

The committee was also scheduled to review and approve the programme of meetings for 2026/2027. The proposed programme was drafted based on the regularity and scheduling of meetings in previous years, while also considering a motion approved by the council in June 2023 to provide flexibility in council business by regularly reviewing and staggering meeting times where appropriate and feasible.

The programme reflects four meetings for each of the Policy and Scrutiny Committees, as recommended by the Scrutiny Improvement Task Group, and three meetings of the Licensing Committee. It also includes provisions for the Discretionary Housing Panel and the Rating Advisory Panel to meet on a programme basis.

The proposed dates for full council meetings are:

• 17 June 2026
• 16 September 2026
• 11 November 2026
• 20 January 2027
• 3 March 2027
• 12 May 2027 (Annual)