Partnership Response to the Recession
A presentation will be given and Board members will discuss and agree a joint approach.
Minutes:
The Board received a presentation in relation to the current economic climate and its impact upon the Borough and considered how the Partnership could respond to this.
It was noted that the forecasts predicted that the economy was unlikely to recover in the next two years and that the landscape following the recovery was likely to be very different. Consequently the Partnership would need to consider how it would respond to this both in the short and long term.
In response to a query the Chair advised that the Council had looked at options for establishing a Credit Union. It was noted that the process attached to this was complicated and could take up to two years. However, the possibility of joining an existing Credit Union, in partnership with a neighbouring Borough was being explored and a feasibility study was being carried out.
The Board was advised that the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion had met with representatives from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to discuss how the change in economic climate was affecting their clients. They had been advised that a significant number of people were coming forward in the west of the Borough and it was anticipated that this would increase as the impact of further job losses were felt.
The meeting had provided a good picture of what was happening on the ground and would inform the Council’s response to addressing the issue.
There was agreement that a holistic and coordinated approach from the Partnership was essential in order to ensure that the resources available were used as effectively as possible. As a number organisations represented were large scale employers there was an opportunity for joined up initiatives to be developed jointly. Initiatives such using Health Centres to make people aware of the Benefits they may be entitled could be built on.
The Board was advised that this also presented an opportunity for the Partnership to consider how volunteering, apprenticeships and different skills sets could be developed amongst people who were out of work. This could be linked to citizenship by encouraging people who had recently been made unemployed, who may possess a different skills sets, to work with people who had been unemployed on a long term basis. It was suggested that a time limited sub-group should be established to develop a small number of initiatives.
The Chair requested that Board members supply the Council’s officer with information setting out the actions and initiatives being taken to address the current economic climate. Once this was received it was proposed that a ‘Task and Finish’ group should be established in order to coordinate a programme of actions and initiatives on behalf of the HSP to tackle this.
It was noted that there were currently several Government initiatives aimed at ‘kick starting’ the economy particularly in relation to the construction industry and Homes for Haringey was using funding available as part of this to push forward the Decent Homes ... view the full minutes text for item 121