Agenda and minutes

·        Cllr Lyn Weber, (Chair of the Area Assembly),

·        Jeff Baker (Managing Director of Circle 33) and

·        Chris Chadwick (Friends of Priory Park). (2.00 -2.15PM)

a)     From Cllr Weber, Chair of the Area Assembly

Cllr Weber said that the event’s theme came from talking with residents about various health issues.  It was also very topical given the changes to local health services taking place in the near future.  She also welcomed the presence of the Olympic Pod and the support once again from Spurs.  Finally Cllr Weber remarked that a partnership approach to funding assembly meetings and events, in times of recession, would be would be beneficial for all.  She thanked the Council’s partners – Circle 33 Housing Trust, NHS Haringey and Spurs for the financial and physical support, adding that ‘working together we can achieve so much more’. Cllr Weber also expressed her appreciation to the young people who had performed raps around the themes of respect, written as part of the summer holiday youth programme on Campsbourne.

b)     From Jeff Baker, Managing Director of Circle 33 Housing Trust

Jeff told the meeting that Circle 33 were proud to be sponsoring the event, having nearly 2,000 homes within the borough, and to be part of the local Campsbourne Social Housing Partnership.  He explained that Circle 33 believed firmly in their responsibilities to act not just as a housing landlord but additionally to enhance life chances.  For example they were pleased to be engaging with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s new youth project in Hornsey.

c)     From Chris Chadwick, Friends of Priory Park

Chris welcomed residents to Priory Park on behalf of the Friends’ Group.  He spoke about the value of parks as democratic institutions at the heart of local communities, open and available to all people regardless of their backgrounds or abilities.  The Friends of Priory Park, he explained, had been formed in 1986 to inspire awareness of the park’s value and to strive to bring resources for its renewal.  The Friends’ were proud that since 2003 the Park had each year been granted Green Flag status.  He referred to Haringey’s Friends of Park Forum as epitomising the ‘Big Society’ which the new Government were seeking to build.  Chris expressed disappointment at the likely loss of play builders funding, and the lack of funding to employ park-keepers.  He felt that parks would continue to represent fantastic value for money as an asset through which to achieve community cohesion.  Finally Chris spoke about the current project, in partnership with BTCV, to clean out the ponds within the park.  The Friends would naturally welcome any volunteers.

An introduction to the project from Anthony Djondo, Funding and Business Manager at Amicus Horizon (2.15 – 2.25PM)

Anthony Djondo, Funding and Business Manager at Amicus Horizon, gave a presentation.  They had worked, in partnership with Circle 33, to bring the ‘Ask Coach’ into being, with funding from the London Development Agency.  The aim was to bring Olympic jobs to housing estates with high levels of unemployment.  The event in Priory Park was the tenth such event held across London.  Both Job Centre Plus and the ‘Haringey Guarantee’ and Springboard Islington had provided support to residents visiting the Olympic Pod.  The aim would be to get people into sustainable jobs at community days, through ongoing coaching support.

NB: 61 residents visited the Olympic Pod, of which 17 registered with the ‘Haringey Guarantee’.

An introduction to the project from Gary Broadhurst, Partnerships Manager at the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. (2.25 – 2.30PM)

Gary Broadhurst, Partnerships Manager at the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, gave a presentation on the new youth programme to be provided for young people living on Campsbourne and other local estates, with funding of £40,000 from the Home Office ‘Catch 22’ Positive Futures programme. 

The aim would be to commence the project on 27^th September.  It would build on existing successful KICKS projects on Ferry Lane and Northumberland Park estates.  A partnership approach would underpin delivery of the project working with ‘Homes for Haringey’, local housing associations and the Council’s Youth Service.  The plan would be to deliver the programme at Greig City Academy, three nights each week.   The sports provision would go wider than football: the foundation could provide up to 17 different sports, as varied as boxing and roller-skating.   The sporting elements of the programme would be a portal to wider support programmes including access to training and employment, mentoring.  Development of the project would be steered by the young people themselves, who would also be encouraged to give feedback.

Gary offered to provide an update to the next assembly meeting.

A presentation from Rachel Lissauer, Assistant Director of Local Commissioning, NHS Haringey. (2.30 –2.55PM)

Frances Rourke, Head of Community Services at NHS Haringey, gave a presentation on how funding is used for the provision of primary care services, in the community as well as at hospitals. 

Duncan Stroud, Associate Director of Communications, spoke about work that takes place in partnership with GPs to plan local services. 

Discussion

Following these presentations residents were invited to ask questions

Question 1: Funding for Health Visitors to Young Families

It was clarified that there would be no cut in funding for health visitors travelling out to families with small children, following the clustering of services at children’s centres.  Services received through health visitors would not be affected by the changes.

Question 2: Sure Start Funding

It was clarified that funding previously allocated to the Sure Start programme had been merged into budgets for the new children’s centres.

A presentation from Ngozi Anuforo, Area Programme Manager in the Children’s Centres Development Team, Haringey Council. (2.55 – 3.05PM)

NgoziAnuforo, Area Programme Manager in the Children’s Centres Development Team at Haringey Council, spoke about the health services available to young families at children’s centres.   She added that a new children’s centre was being developed at Rokesly School.

A presentation from Rachel Lissauer, Assistant Director of Local Commissioning, NHS Haringey. (3.05 – 3.30PM)

Rachel Lissauer, Assistant Director of Local Commissioning for NHS Haringey, gave a presentation setting out services already relocated to the new centre and plans for the future.  Rachel referred to the Queenswood Practice (who had relocated to the centre, and already signed on an additional 2,000 patients), community and district nursing, the new dementia centre, occupational therapy and the new neurology physio gym amongst other services already provided at the centre.  Future plans included provision of diagnostic services, ultrasound testing and anti-natal care.  She also spoke about the developing relationship between the Hornsey Neighbourhood Health Centre and the Whittington,

Reference was made to the new walk-in out of hours services introduced on a pilot basis in April 2010, which after five months had unfortunately been closed because of resource constraints.  Rachel stated that the pilot was now being evaluated  in terms of its impact and relationship with other similar services - for example the A&E service at the Whittington Hospital.

Finally Rachel referred to the Patients’ Panel for health services in West Haringey.  She stated that the panel met on average every 6 – 8 weeks, with a membership of around 15 patient representatives.  The Panel provided an opportunity for NHS Haringey and the GP collaborative to engage patients in service planning.   The panel sets its own agenda, and is attended by Chief or Deputy Executive.

Discussion

Following these presentations residents were invited to ask questions.

Question One: Awarding a Contract for Provision of Out of Hours GP Services

It was clarified that the decision not to award this contract to Camidoc was not related to financial restrictions.  Rather there were some questions about Camidoc’s viability to deliver the contract, hence the appointment of an alternative contractor. 

Question Two: Shortage of GP Practices in Stroud Green / Finsbury Park

A couple of residents strongly argued that there was a shortage of GP provision within Finsbury Park, creating serious problems for Haringey residents living there who were not being accepted by Hackney GP practices.  They were being faced with long journeys to reach practices in Crouch End.  Reference was made to the complex bus journey required for Finsbury Park residents to reach the new Hornsey Neighbourhood Health Centre. 

Given this the residents asked what plans NHS Haringey had to address the shortage of GP provision in Finsbury Park.

The NHS Haringey representatives were not able to answer this question at the meeting, so agreed to provide to provide a full answer for the minutes.

Question Three

A resident questioned the rationale for the decision recently taken to close the walk-in centre at the Hornsey Neighbourhood Health Centre, following completion of the five month pilot.  The questioner was concerned about the implications of this decision for the Queenswood Centre, which he understood had specifically recruited staff to resource the walk-in centre and were now presented with a difficult situation.

In response the NHS Haringey representative stressed that the Queenswood Practice had met the requirements set for provision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

An opportunity for residents to speak for up to two minutes, on matters of key importance within the area (3.30 – 3.40PM)

There were no soapbox items.

Cllr Dilek Dogus, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services attended to answer residents’ questions. 

Question One: Priorities to determine where Spending Reductions will Fall

The questioner expressed the hope that job cuts within the council over the coming months would focus on bureaucracy rather than front line services, and asked Cllr Dogus whether this would be case. 

In response Cllr Dogus stated that reductions in bureaucracy would not alone deal with the impending budget crisis.  She assured the meeting that she would do everything within her power to avoid cuts to front-line services, but given the scale of the problem could give no assurances at this stage.

Question Two: Application Process of Disabled Blue (Car Parking) Badges

The questioner referred to delays and problems with the application process for disability blue badges.  He felt that these problems demonstrated the need for a clearly identifiable portfolio holder within the Cabinet to lead on transport matters.

In response Cllr Dogus told the meeting that the eligibility criteria for blue badges had been reviewed.  It was her understanding that the past problems had now been resolved.  Cllr Dogus added that the Council was planning to form a transport commission, specifically to bring all the different aspects of transport policy together, giving residents an opportunity to participate within this work.

An update on the approved programme and recent summer holiday projects from the Neighbourhood Management Team (3.55 – 4.00PM)

This item was not taken.