Leader's Update on Council Priorities
Verbal update.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council, Cllr Ejiofor and Zina Etheridge, the Chief Executive gave a verbal update to the Committee outlining the priorities of the new administration over the next 12 month period:
a. Overall, the aim was to deliver the Labour manifesto ‘Our Haringey, Our Future.’
b. In the first year, one of the priorities would be to develop the pathways necessary to ensure that the manifesto was delivered. To this end, a decision had been made on future of the Haringey Development Vehicle and a consultation had been prepared around amendments to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
c. The Council had also launched a fairness commission, set up a wholly-owned development vehicle and established two companies to acquire properties for temporary accommodation.
d. Further examples of activities where work had already begun included: Starting the process of bringing services back in house, discussions had taken place with other Council’s about a ‘Preston’ model of how to bring money back into the local economy; and looking into what the future of Haringey’s youth service would look like going forwards.
The following arose in response to the Leader’s update on Council priorities:
a. The Committee welcomed the Leader’s commitment to openness and transparency and sought assurance about what was being done to tackle the large numbers of residents in Temporary Accommodation. In response, the Leader advised that he shared these concerns and that the administration had set up the wholly-owned development company as well as two joint venture companies to provide temporary accommodation properties. The Leader also advised that the administration would be looking to buy, as well as build, more social housing to increase the supply of Council housing more generally.
b. In response to a question, the Leader advised that that he also shared the Committee’s concerns around youth crime and youth services. The Leader advised that a booklet of activities had been developed for young people and that extra funding would be channelled into providing a programme of activities for young people over the summer. The Leader advised that he was hoping to arrange for the Borough Commander to come speak to Councillors about building links between the Police, young people and the wider community.
c. The Committee sought assurances around what was being done around school exclusions. In response, the Chief Executive advised that the issue was not necessarily around the overall number of exclusions but rather the disproportionate number of BME boys being excluded. The Chief Executive advised that officers were talking to head teachers about this issue, that work was being done to look at the data in detail and to see what best practice was around the country. It was suggested that the Council needed to look at what interventions could be undertaken well before it got to the point of a child being excluded from school.
d. The Committee sought assurances around the level of mental health services available for children and young people and what challenges were faced by young people ... view the full minutes text for item 110