Issue - meetings

[Report of the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Local Investments and Economic Growth.]

This report sets out Haringey’s Community Wealth Building approach (CWB), including: What CWB means in Haringey and why it is relevant; and key actions to implement CWB over the next year.

The Cabinet Member for Local Investment and Economic Growth introduced this report which set out Haringey’s Community Wealth Building approach (CWB), which included:

•           What CWB means in Haringey and why it is relevant; and

•           Key actions to implement CWB over the next year.

The Cabinet Member noted that community wealth building was fundamentally about equality and fairness. It was about using the Council’s direct powers and working with partner organisations to promote resilience and wealth – both financial and social – in our families and communities. Haringey had a high proportion of residents living below the poverty line (34%). This was evidence that the Borough’s economy was not working - especially for our poorest families and communities. Community Wealth Building offered an alternative approach which directly sought to address the fairness in the Borough’s economic system and wider society.

 To engage with external health organisations ref to 6.3.1 - Preston model held up and learn a lot form this. Closer to home work with neighbours - Islington and Camden. Ref 103 and 104 manage expectation and key foundations in place to build the strategy and raise aspirations.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that the Community Wealth Building Approach:

• Firstly, put a greater emphasis on the levers the Council had within its own control. Procurement spend was the obvious starting place for this work. The Council was already leading the way in getting small and Medium Sized Enterprises into its procurements. The Council would continue to build on this and emphasise Social Value within its procurements. This was about maximising the public good from every pound the Council spent.
• Secondly, it reinforced and brought into sharper focus the question of who was benefiting from changes. For example, when looking at jobs in the borough, CWB focussed on the quality of those jobs and who was getting them above and beyond the number of new jobs created.
• Thirdly, it emphasised the need for partnership working with other anchor organisations who were invested in Haringey and its residents. Working together we can have a more significant impact. As Lead Member for Local Investment and Economic Growth, the Cabinet Member would drive forward this work with partners and look forward to having early conversations on how we can work together.

The Cabinet Member closed by emphasising that Community Wealth Building was an approach. Preston, the area in the UK which had fully embraced this approach, had seen tangible benefits over the previous 10 years. Many of the Council’s neighbouring boroughs were actively developing their CWB approaches, which offered the Council a clear opportunity to work in partnership to improve the economic and social wealth of residents. Instilling community wealth building in what we do – haven reopened next year encouraging users to work on this.

In response to questions the following was noted:

• Paragraph 6.11 set out the time scale for measuring success of the KPI’s and the implementation plan would be compiled following  a decision at this meeting.
• The Council’s current spend  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37