Issue - meetings

Partners to provide a verbal update on the key issues affecting their organisation.

Given the impact that the recent Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) the Chair proposed that this item should be brought forward and discussed at the start of the meeting. There was agreement that this was sensible and an update was provided by each partner:

Council

Under the CSR it had been announced that the Area Based Grant (ABG) would not continue in its current form after the current financial year. It was anticipated that there would be further substantial reductions in funding over the next three year period, which would necessitate a wholesale review of the services were delivered.

At present all budget holders were being asked to review spending and identify where any savings could be made with a view to reducing spending as much as possible.

It would be possible to provide a clearer picture at the January meeting once the Council’s grant settlement from central Government was known.    

NHS Haringey

There was a significant deficit for the current financial year that NHS Haringey was working to reduce. Although the PCTs were not being formally disbanded until 2013 the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) had indicated that they should begin to merge wherever possible with the savings created being put aside to support the transition to GP Commissioning.

There was a general consensus amongst many health professionals that the raft of changes announced by the coalition Government represented the biggest changes to the NHS since its conception.

The transferral of responsibility for Public Health would require  Local Authorities to produce a Public Health Plan for the Borough. Work on this would be led by the jointly appointed Director of Public Health who would transfer to the Local Authority.

In terms of the resources and approach that would be taken to tackling drug and alcohol problems the Board was advised that this would sit within the central Public Health budget and consideration would need to be given to what proportion of this would be allocated to addressing this.

The Chair noted that change across all Public Sector organisations was happening rapidly and as a consequence they were having to react and make decision with based on partial knowledge. Several members of the Board echoed these concerns and the impact that ad hoc decisions might have in the long term.

Fire Service

The grant received by the Fire Service from central Government constituted 50% of the overall funding it received. Over the next four years there would be a 50% reduction in this funding and this would be back loaded. The final grant settlement would not be known until late November or early December and the Board was advised that it would be possible to provide further information at the January meeting.

In order to achieve the savings required much of the community based work carried out by Fire officers would be reduced. This included work with many vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children via the work undertaken with schools.

MET Police

The Board was advised that a 20% reduction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45