Agenda and minutes

To received any apologies for absence.

It was noted that apologies had been received from the following:

Niall Bolger   

Councillor Canver

Samantha Evans

Matthew Hazelton

Kirsten Hearn

Sharon Kemp

Barbara Nicholls

Mary Pilgrim

Sharon Shoesmith                -Jan Doust substituted

Richard Wood                       - Nick Simpson substituted

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2008.

The Board received the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2008 for confirmation.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2008 be confirmed as a correct record.

Members of the Board must declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any decision required with respect to these items.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be considered under the agenda Item 21 below).

No items of urgent business were raised.

To elect a Chair for the new Municipal Year 2008/09.

RESOLVED:

That Dr Ita O’Donovan be appointed as Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.

To appoint a Vice-Chair for the new Municipal Year 2008/09.

RESOLVED:

That the Borough Commander be appointed a Vice-Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.

To appoint a representative to the Haringey Strategic Partnership for 2008/09.

RESOLVED:

That Pastor Nims Obunge be appointed as the Boards representative to the HSP for the ensuing Municipal Year.

To confirm the Boards Membership and Terms of Reference for 2008/09.

(The recently elected Community Link Forum representatives will be formally added to the Boards Membership).

The Board received a report requesting that it confirm its Membership and Terms of Reference for 2008/09 and formally amend its Membership to include the new Community Link Forum representatives.

In response to a request from the Haringey Police Consultative Committee (HPCC) that the organisation should be formally included within Boards membership, the Chair noted that she wanted the Board to be as inclusive as possible; as an interim measure it was suggested that the HPCC should be invited to attend Board meetings and included within all correspondence in relation to the Board.

It was agreed that there would be discussion outside the meeting in relation to the formal inclusion of the group within the Boards membership.

With regard to the Terms of Reference it was requested that reference should be made to HAVCO under paragraph 4.8.

RESOLVED:

That the Membership and Terms of Reference as set out be confirmed as correct.

That the Terms of Reference be amended to include the new CLF representatives within the Board Membership.

The Board received a presentation from the Community Link Forum (CLF) setting out it’s objectives and work to date.

It was noted that the CLF had been established as a means of improving the link between the Voluntary Sector and the Partnership. Following ratification of the CLF Agreement by the Haringey Strategic Partnership (HSP) in July 2007 work had been carried out by the organisation that culminated in the CLF Elections in April 2008.

The CLF was allocated four places on the HSP and each of the Thematic Boards, three of these being given to the elected CLF representatives and one to a representative from HAVCO.

The representatives elected to the Safer Communities Executive Board were as follows:

• Sue Brown
• Mohamed Maigag
• Nims Obunge

Following the presentation the Chair welcomed the CLF representatives to the meeting and noted that their inclusion within the Board provided a good opportunity to review the format of the meetings.

It was suggested that the new CLF representatives should consider whether there were any topics that they would particularly like to see discussed at the next Board meeting and feed these back to officers. There was agreement that the format of future meetings should be revised to allow the Board to concentrate on thorough discussion of specific issues.

The Chair requested that contact details of Board members be circulated with the minutes.

RESOLVED:

1. That the presentation be noted.

2. That suggestions for future agenda items be fed through to Community Safety Team.

The Board received a report that informed Members of proposed content of the Annual Review of Safer Communities activity and delivery during 2007/08.

It was noted there was a requirement to report to the public on the outcomes of Partnership working. The document presented would be formatted and made available in leaflet form for the public and circulated to Councillors and local libraries.

In response to a query it was confirmed that the document would be made available in other languages on request.

The Board discussed the Annual Review and the following points were raised:

• Councillor Nilgun Canver      -title should make reference to Haringey Council
• John Brown Borough Commander –title should make reference to the London Fire Brigade
• It was suggested that the document should make reference to the contribution of local communities.

The Chair noted that the title ‘Annual Review’ may be misleading as in implied that a review of all of the activities within the responsibility of Safer Communities Team would be reviewed. There was agreement that an alternative title that better described the content and purpose of the document was identified.

It was confirmed that the document had been reviewed to ensure that the language used was accessible to all. However, it was recognised that there were still areas that could be simplified further and this would be addressed. 

RESOLVED:

1. That to note the content of the document.

1. That the amendments set out above be incorporated.

2. That the title be revised prior to publication to better reflect the content and purpose of the document.

The Board received a report that provided an update on the Safer Haringey Evaluation Framework.

The framework covered the projects funded via the Borough Command Unit Fund (BCUF), the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund (SSCF) and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF). The allocation of funding was based upon local need and the capacity of partner organisations to deliver outcomes.

It was noted that at the end of the second quarter only one project had failed to meet the milestones set out in its project plan and this had been reported to the Board previously.

The implementation of the evaluation framework meant that the Board was now in a good position to contribute to the new Performance Management Framework being introduced across the HSP and Thematic Boards.

It was noted that representatives should inform their respective organisations that it was no longer a possible to put in a bid for funding from the Partnership and that under the new Performance Management Framework attached to the ABG, there was specific criteria for funding set against clear performance targets.

The Chair echoed this point and reminded the Board that any projects not performing against agreed targets would no longer continue to receive funding.

The Board was advised that members of the Community Safety Team would be assigned to each project who would act as a link and provide support following the introduction of the new Performance Management Framework.

It was noted that money from the BCUF would be included within the funding allocations later in the process once further information was available.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted. 

The Board received a report that provided an overview of initiatives and developments undertaken by the Drug and Alcohol Partnership Board.

Free Phone Helpline

It was noted that pilot had been commissioned for a free phone helpline that would run between 23 June 2008 and 31 March 2009. This had been commissioned in order to  provide a central advice and information/referral service for people wanting to access drug and alcohol treatment. An advertising campaign would publicise the helpline, which would include adverts at Wood Green tube station and on buses running on routes in the Borough.

Cannabis Awareness Campaign

This would run from 23 June to 17 August and would be publicised in the same way as the helpline and an evaluation would be made in the autumn. At present the Borough had a higher than average number of people with cannabis related problems and it was hoped that the campaign would raise awareness of this issue.

Street Outreach Plan

In order to increase the numbers of people accessing drug treatment and to provide a comprehensive street outreach programme, it was hoped that the street outreach service would be extended to five nights per week.

A purpose designed vehicle had been purchased that would be used to offer more services to clients. This had been financed using money received from Haringey HPCT.  

Carers Pilot

A pilot support group run during 2006/07 had shown that carers wanted personal support to assist them in their role. To address this a counselling service specifically for carers had been commissioned for 2008/09.

The Board discussed the initiatives set out and there agreement that raising awareness around cannabis, particularly amongst young people, was a key priority. Concern was raised that the campaign had only been funded due to under spend in other areas. It was suggested that this type of campaign should be prioritised as a preventative measure. 

It was noted that the national Drug Strategy placed priority on addressing misuse of Class A drugs, which meant that identifying funding for initiatives around non Class A drugs was difficult. It was hoped that if the pilot was successful funding in future years could be validated.  

The Chair noted that the reclassification of cannabis had added to the confusion around the drug and welcomed the proposed initiative as a means of addressing this.

RESOLVED:

That the report and timetable for the implementation of the projects be noted.

The Board received a report that provided an update on the position in relation to the new Local Area Agreement (LAA) for 2008/09.

It was noted that the thirty-five national indicators included within in the new LAA had been agreed and the LAA had been formally submitted to GOL on 30 May.

The Board was advised that the target on Domestic Violence and had not been included within the LAA as baseline data had not been available. In addition to the targets specifically within the Boards responsibility there were several other targets within the LAA that it would play a key role in achieving.

Quarterly monitoring reports would be received by the Board and a matrix would be provided setting out the targets solely within the Boards responsibility and where there was an overlap between the Boards. The Chair requested that the matrix was circulated to the Board following the meeting.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be noted.

2. That the matrix referred to above be circulated to the Board.

The Board received a report setting out proposals for the establishment of a Counter Terrorism Partnership Group (CTPG) to manage an Action Plan aimed at reducing the threat of Terrorism in the Borough.

It was proposed that the group should be established in order to ensure that there was a joined up approach across the partnership in relation this issue. The Board was given an overview of the proposed membership and objects of the group and it was noted that there would be four key objectives:

• Preventing violent extremism
• Supporting the Police in gathering intelligence
• Reducing the number of vulnerable sites within the Borough
• Ensuring the Borough is prepared for the consequences of terrorism

The Board was advised that the action plan would be managed by the CTPG, which would meet on a quarterly basis and this would be Chaired by the Superintendent of Haringey MPS.

The Board discussed how multi faith groups and young people could be better engaged to reduce the risk of radicalisation. Pastor Obunge informed the Board that an event entitled ‘Walk Talk’ was being organised and a walk was taking place from Leeds to London where Faith Leaders and survivors of the London bombings would work to engage with and improve communication between communities.

It was noted that similar work was being carried out by the Haringey Racial Equalities Council. In response to a query it was confirmed that there was scope for local businesses to support this work and that this would be welcomed.

The Chair raised concern that the proposed objectives would result in duplication as they were already addressed via the existing emergency planning process. If the sub group were to be established its objectives would need to be more focussed in order to ensure that it was effective.

There was agreement that the objectives as set out were too broad and that they would not be helpful in encouraging people to bring forward information to the Police. It was suggested that the group should focus on raising awareness amongst the local community.

The Chair requested that a report be brought back to the Board setting out new objectives reflecting the discussion that had taken place.

RESOLVED:

That a further report be brought back to the Board with a revised emphasis on raising awareness and prevention.

The Board received a report that presented the Strategic Actions for 2008/09 under the coordination of the Safer Communities Service.

Plans were presented in relation to the:

• Drug and Alcohol Action Team
• Youth Offending Service
• Community Safety Team
• Emergency Planning

The Board was advised of the key actions and potential challenges to delivery and it was noted that monitoring reports would be complied on an exceptions basis with good performance being highlighted.

The Chair noted that there was a large amount of work carried out between meetings and that Board members should feel free to contact officers to discuss any particular issues they may wish to raise between meetings.

RESLOVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board received a report highlighting work that had been carried out across the partnership on reducing re-offending.

It was proposed that an Action Plan should be commissioned in relation reducing re offending in order to help partner agencies work towards their own targets and to develop strategies and actions.

RESOLVED:

That the work on producing a Haringey Reducing Re-Offending Action Plan be commissioned.

A verbal update will be provided.

The Board received a verbal update on the development of a Communication Strategy for the Partnership.

It was noted that the draft Communications Strategy and Protocol for the Partnership would be considered by the HSP at it’s meeting on 3 July.

The Board was advised the Strategy took into account the need to respond quickly to requests for information. Mechanisms were included within the Strategy to ensure that partners were provided with information rapidly so they were able to respond to requests for information in a consistent manner.

RESOLVED:

That the verbal update provided be noted.

The Board received an report setting out progress in relation to the development of the Borough’s Alcohol Strategy.

A review had been commissioned by the DAAT in order refresh the Borough’s Alcohol Strategy in line with the revised Alcohol Strategy for England, the new Public Service Agreement for alcohol harm reduction and the new statutory duties placed on CDRPs and PCTs.

The Board was advised that data gathering and interviews with stakeholders would be completed by the end of June and there would be further consultation via the Area Assemblies, the Safer Neighbourhood Teams and the Council’s website. A stakeholder event was being held on 4 July at Alexandra Palace and this would be used as an opportunity to engage stakeholders and obtain sign up to the Action Plan.

It was proposed that actions arising from the stakeholders event would be fed into the Action Plans discussed under Item 15 and quarterly progress reports would be received by the Board at future meetings. 

The Board discussed the proposals and there was agreement that Anti Social Behaviour should included within indicators listed in Appendix 1 of the report.

It was noted that the PCT was required to report on a alcohol related issues on a quarterly basis and there was agreement that more localised information should be included.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed monitoring and implementation structure be approved.

This item is for information.

The Board received a report for information that presented the new Anti Social Behaviour Strategy and plans for consultation.

It was noted that the Strategy would go through the Council’s decision making process over the summer and would then be subject to consultation.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

To discuss any items of AOB.

The Board was advised by Pastor Obunge that an meeting was being held at the Civic Centre on 30 June to discuss arrangements for the Haringey Week of Peace. He encouraged anyone aware of existing projects that could easily be incorporated into the activities for the week to attend.

The Chair requested that contact details of Board members should be circulated with the minutes of the meeting.

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 4.

No new items of urgent business were received.

To note the meeting dates for 2008/09 that have now been formally confirmed by Council:

• 15 October 2008
• 2 December 2008
• 16 March 2009

The following dates for future meetings were noted:

• 15 October 2008
• 2 December 2008
• 16 March 2008