Issue - meetings

Verbal update

The Leader, Cllr Ahmet introduced the Corporate Development Plan for 2024 – 2026 and ran through the achievements of the council so far.  Information that was highlighted is included below.

·         A translation policy has been introduced and will be bedded down into corporate culture over the next year. Several initiatives were to be trialed next year including a Participatory Budgeting Pilot, a Community Assembly, and a Youth Council.

·         It was mentioned that in response to the Climate Emergency, engagement work had started on the Climate Partnership and Forum.  This is the basis for a Climate Action Plan to be co- produced with residents. More school streets are also planned for next year and 400 more EV point locations by 2026.

·         The senior management team are working on a 10-year vision for the borough and are involving stakeholders in this.

·         The Homes for the Future Board chaired by Andy Donald are driving improvements and standards in housing. Consequently, the housing repairs complaints backlog is down and resident satisfaction with repairs is up. SLT is now focusing on reducing voids and housing disrepair legal cases. It was emphasised that Housing and Housing Repair had been a major priority for the last two years after Homes for Haringey had been brought back in-house. It was pointed out that the council had self-referred to the regulator and not shied away from doing what was necessary to get Housing up to standard. Timely progress has been made and work is still being done to get the service up to the level that residents expect. In the design and quality of builds, a new focus has been made on family sized and intermediate income housing. And the placemaking aspect of building was emphasised as key to creating great communities.

·         It was also noted that the borough had also built up a new Culture Team, which has led to Haringey being named the Borough of Culture in 2027. The library strategy has also been co-produced with residents and Cllr Arkell was now leading on its implementation.

·         Meetings were being held on a regular basis with Jewish and Muslim community groups in the area to reduce hate crime and increase safety following the events of Oct 7th. Also, Community Safety and Hate Crime strategies have been delivered. Other work included the effect of ‘Stop and Search’ and trauma on young people in the area. The council are also building a gambling harm reduction strategy for the borough.

·         Through Haringey Works, 800 residents have been placed in employment so far.

·         It was noted that the budget was a significant challenge with little or no funding expected from the government. The cost of adult and children’s social care had increased and was set to increase further, as had the price and availability of temporary accommodation.

·          It was pointed out that there were issues with clearing up the council’s property portfolio and historic leases.

·         The council will continue to work towards 100% decency in Housing Standards.

·         The insourcing of leisure centers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42