Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed those present to the meeting and gave an overview of the items that would be discussed.

She advised that Councillors from the relevant Wards were present if residents had any questions during the break. There was also an item on the agenda where the Councillor Claire Kober, Leader of the Council, would take questions from residents.

An officer from the Council’s Children and Young People’s Service will talk about the recruitment process for foster parents and the valuable contribution that they provide.

A presentation was given by Jacinta Bolger from Council’s Fostering Team and Phyllis Grant, a foster carer for Haringey. 

The meeting was advised that there was a significant need for additional foster carers in the Borough.  As part of a drive to raise awareness of fostering each of the Area Assembly meetings were receiving a presentation from the Fostering Team.

It was noted that fuller information sessions were held at local libraries and a Fostering Fortnight was held in May. In addition an information bus that visited different locations within the Borough and a dedicated website was available where people could obtain information regarding fostering.

The meeting was given an overview from Phyllis Grant of her experience of fostering children and the type of commitment that was required from foster carers. In addition to being extremely rewarding foster carers were given an allowance based on the age of the child they were responsible for and ongoing support and training was also provided.

In order to become a foster carer you had to be able to provide a spare bedroom that would not compromise the space of existing family members. Candidates also had to demonstrate practical experience of looking after children. In addition potential foster carers were also assessed to determine whether they would be emotionally able to cope with the demands that fostering would place on them.

There was discussion around the reasons for refused and it was noted that potential foster carers were generally refused on eligibility grounds. In some cases people withdrew from the process because they felt unable to commit to the level of work required or to give the emotional support that would be needed.

Applicants were encouraged to be as open as possible during the process and to disclose any information that may affect their application.

In conclusion the Chair thanked officers for their presentation and encouraged anyone who wished to find out more about becoming a foster carer to contact the Fostering Team. 

a)                    Introductory Comments (7.40 to 7.45pm)

Joan Hancox, Head of Sustainable Transport for Haringey Council, will introduce the debate, in particular referring to the Council’s Highways Plan for 2011 – 2012

b)                    Trains and Stations (7.45 to 8.00pm)

·        Moorgate to Alexandra Palace: Presentation by Larry Heyman, Integration and Partnership Manager at First Capital Connect

·        Proposed Network Rail Maintenance Depot at Coronation Sidings, Hornsey: Written update received from the Council’s Planning Service

·        Gospel Oak to Barking: Written Update received from Mark Eaton, London Overground Rail Operations Limited

c)                    Buses (8.00 to 8.15pm)

·        Planning and Commissioning of Bus Services : Written update received from Peter Howarth, Borough Relationship Manager at Transport for London

·        Operation of Local Bus Services: An opportunity to ask questions to Bob Pennyfather, Commercial Manager at Arriva London.

d)                    Panel Debate (8.15 to 8.30pm)

An opportunity for residents to debate the issues raised with the various speakers.

Introductory Comments

Joan Hancox, Head of Sustainable Transport for Haringey Council, advised that the Council lobbied a range of transport providers on transport improvements in the Borough.

An investment plan was being developed for the next financial year that would set out the Council’s priorities in terms of transport improvements. Suggestions made by members of the public at Area Assembly meetings would be taken on board.

Trains and Stations

A presentation was given by Larry Heyman, Integration and Partnership Manager and Alison Drabwell, Senior Station Services Manager of First Capital Connect on issues affecting the immediate and wider north London area.

The Great Northern Route (GNR) formed a key arterial route into London Kings Cross and Moorgate stations and this ran through the following stations in the Borough:

Ø      Alexandra Palace

Ø      Hornsey

Ø      Harringay

Ø      Finsbury Park

A key area of concern for local rail users was insufficient capacity and seats for commuters. In order to address this six thousand five hundred additional seats had been added during peak times from 12 December 2010.

An additional service into Moorgate had been added during peak hours in the morning and the number of cars on this service had been doubled from the usual three to six cars. In the evening at peak times two of the services had also been doubled from three to six cars running out of Moorgate station.

The refurbishment of Kings Cross station continued and work to platforms and the main concourse would be complete by the end of January. The work would create additional capacity and ease overcrowding at the station and improve the interchange between the underground system, buses and St Pancras station.

In addition to physical improvements new ticket barriers would be introduced and the public information systems would be modernised. Station staff would also be provided with access to the most up to date information available with respect to departures and arrivals. First Capital Connects website would also be updated to include live departure information and line updates.

Provision for winter weather conditions had been an issue of concern for many residents and the company was putting measures in place to improve preparation for this. This included measures such as contingency timetables and improved de-icing fluid that was capable of working at lower temperatures. In addition employees were being provided with refresher training in winter service management.

The company acknowledged that staff shortages had led to the cancellation of some services during 2010 and in order to address a number of new drivers had been recruited. The first wave of new drivers would be in place by May 2011.

Following the presentation Mr Heyman provided a response to a number of pre submitted questions details of which are attached at Appendix 1.

Buses

A written update on the planning and commissioning of bus services had been received from Peter Howarth, Borough Relationship Manager, for Transport for London (TfL), which is attached at Appendix 2.

In addition Bob  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

a)       Haringey Council – (8.30 to 8.45pm)

          Presentation by Cllr Claire Kober, Leader of the Council

b)                 NHS Haringey – (8.45 to 8.50pm)

Update by Duncan Stroud, Associate Director for Communications and Engagement, NHS Haringey

c)                 Haringey Police – (8.50 to 8.55pm)

Written update received from Haringey Police – (attendance to be confirmed)

d)                 Panel Debate – (8.55 to 9.25pm)

An opportunity for residents to ask questions to the speakers and debate the issues raised by the presentations

A summary of the financial picture and budget setting process being undertaken by public sector organisations was provided. 

Local Authority

Councillor Claire Kober, Leader of the Council, provided an overview of the financial challenges the Council faced moving into 2011/12. Councillor Kober noted that the cuts being made to the Local Authorities budget were the most significant in living memory and that the Council’s overall funding would be reduced by 26% over the next three years.

Due to changes in the way Local Authority funding was allocated grant funding, which had previously been delivered on the basis of need, had now been rolled into the overall grant settlement. This meant that Haringey had been also been hit by the loss of grant funding that it had previously received to tackle issues such as deprivation and regeneration. 

In addition the cuts were being ‘front loaded’ which meant that the Council had to identify approximately £47m of savings during 2011/12 with approximately £20m being required in each of the two subsequent financial years.

To illustrate the severity of the reduction in funding it was noted that previously £7 out of £10 received by the Council had come from the Government, £2.50 from Council Tax and 50p in fees and charges. The funding that would be received by the Government over the next three years would fall from the equivalent of £7 to £4.

Wider policy changes made by the Government, such as the capping of Housing Benefit, would also impact on the Borough as there was likely to be a migration from the inner London Boroughs to Boroughs like Haringey where rents were less expensive. The Council had already seen increases in the number of vulnerable families coming into the area who had cited this as a reason for moving. As the number of vulnerable families was likely to increase so would the demand on the Council services to support their needs.

In conclusion Councillor Kober noted that the Council’s priorities in terms of alleviating poverty and reducing inequalities had not changed; however, the scale of the financial challenge necessitated a wholesale review of services in order to ensure that those most in need continued to receive the support they required.

NHS Haringey

Mr Duncan Stroud, Associate Director for Communications and Engagement, NHS Haringey, gave an overview of the organisations financial position.

NHS Haringey’s budget for 2010/11 was overspent by £25m and consequently there was significant pressure on the organisation to identify savings.

It was noted that NHS Haringey (as the Primary Care Trust (PCT)) was the commissioning body for health services in the Borough. Following the Government’s decision to disband PCTs and move commissioning responsibility to GPs NHS Haringey and five other north London Boroughs were merging. This would also achieve the 50% reduction in management costs required by the Government.

The meeting was advised that it would be necessary to reduce services in order to achieve the savings required and difficult decisions regarding local services would have to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

No items of AOB were raised.

London Buses (Planning and Commissioning of Bus Services)

Presentation by Peter Howarth

TfL Surface Transport

Borough Relationship Manager

Bus routes to the Hornsey Neighbourhood Health Centre

The Primary Care Trust considered the accessibility of the Hornsey Central Neighbourhood site in a report published in early 2009, which concluded that around two thirds (64.3%) of residents in the Health Centre’s western Haringey catchment live within 20 minutes of the Centre by bus, and nearly all (96.2%) are within 30 minutes. The Centre is served by route W7 directly and routes 144, W3 and W5 stop within 400m. All of these services operate at a high frequency, particularly route W7, which runs every six minutes or more frequently for much of the day.

Given the existing provision, there is currently no case to provide a new, additional direct service. However, TfL will of course keep access to the Centre under review as part of our normal process for developing the bus network.

Promoting Transport Interchanges – (eg: posting details of train services at bus stops and provision of cycle storage).

There is only limited space available to display customer information and therefore the information provided at bus stops is generally limited to bus services.  Locations of train interchanges are displayed on the bus maps where provided and the detailed timetable information is provided by the rail operator at the relevant train interchange.

In terms of cycle storage, the accessibility of bus stops to allow passengers to safely board and alight is a primary consideration which in most cases would be seriously hindered with cycle storage facilities in the vicinity of bus stops and shelters. 

TfL are aware that availability of cycle parking plays a major role in helping people decide whether it is convenient to take to two wheels or not.  By 2012 we aim to have provided 66,000 new cycle parking spaces across London in addition to the significant cycle storage facilities already provided at transport interchanges (bus and rail stations) across the Capital.

How do London Buses assess the running of a route?

Performance tables for all London’s bus routes and boroughs are available on the TfL website. Bus route information is based on up to two years data.

How is the information collected?

At this time, a team of data collection staff monitor bus performance. They stand at locations across the Capital in order to record data.

The data is sent to TfL where the results are compared against the timetable. We can then see how long a passenger actually waits, compared to the wait if the bus service ran exactly on time.

Each location is surveyed 16 times over a 12 week period.

We monitor each bus route throughout the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.