Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chair welcomed those present to the meeting and introductions were made.

It was noted that apologies had been received from the following:

Tracey Baldwin (arrived later in the meeting)

Eugenia Cronin

Robert Edmonds

David Lammy PM

Joanne McCartney

Mun Thong Phung –represented by Margaret Allen

Members of the HSP must declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any decision required with respect to these items.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business (late items will be considered under agenda Item 16 below).

No items of Urgent Business were received.

To approve the minutes of the Haringey Strategic Partnership Board meeting held on 13 November 2007.

RESOLVED:

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2007 be confirmed as a correct record.

A presentation will be made.  

The Board received a presentation from the Council’s Assistant Director of Strategic and Community Housing.

It was noted that the number of people presenting as Homeless had fallen significantly in comparison with previous years. Improved methods of working with landlords and agents had helped identify new sources of accommodation.

In response to a query, as to how the Council ensured that private sector accommodation was of a suitable standard, the Board was advised that there were stringent contractual arrangements in place to ensure that private sector accommodation used by the Council was of the standard expected.

In terms of the private rented sector, the Board was advised that ways of engaging with landlords were being developed and as part of this a Landlords Forum had been established.

Councillor Diakides, Chair of the Integrated Housing Board, advised that the Board would be identifying ways of reducing poverty and Worklessness through housing.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted. 

A presentation will be made by Councillor Charles Adje, Cabinet Member for Resources.

The Board received a presentation from Councillor Charles Adje, Cabinet Member for Resources, on the Council’s budget for the next three year period.

An overview was provided of the national and local contexts within which the budget for the next financial year had been formed. It was noted that the Lyons Review and Comprehensive Spending Review, which had both taken place last year, had resulted in Local Government being required to make efficiently savings of 3% over the next three year period.

The Board was advised that the settlement received by the Council from the Government, under the Formula Grant, was 2% for 2008/09. This put the Council in the ‘floor’ category.

It was noted that the new Area Based Grant (ABG) would replace many separate and disparate funding streams. Grants would be made from this to deliver the agreed local priorities within the new Local Area Agreement (LAA). Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF) would cease in 2008/09 and would be replaced with the new Working Neighbourhood Fund (WNF). The WNF would have a strong emphasis on reducing Worklessness.

The Board was advised that a total of £30M had to be saved by the Council over the next three years. This figure was comprised of £16.3M of pre agreed savings and a further initial budget gap of £15M. A consultation process in relation to the savings and investments that should be made in order to address this had begun in November 2007.

The Council’s budget for 2008/09 would include increased investment in infrastructure, particularly the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme, street lighting and improving footpaths and highways. Key priorities for the Council, as set out in the Council Plan and Sustainable Community Strategy included making Haringey one of the Greenest Boroughs in London and investment to expand recycling and continuing the Better Haringey scheme supported these aspirations.

Following the presentation the Chair invited the Board to put questions to Councillor Adje.

The Board was advised that the £7M of investment would be added to the base budget and £5M of this would be allocated to the first year. It was noted that significant investment was being made in relation to adult social care in order to improve transitional arrangements for children already being provided with care into adulthood.

In response to a query, as to whether there was more detailed information in relation to the Council’s budget and the decision making process governing this, the Chair advised the Board that further information was set out in Council papers, which were published on the Council’s website.

The Chair concluded discussion by thanking Councillor Adje for his presentation.

RESOLVED:

To note the content of the presentation.

The Board considered a report that provided an update on the new Area Based Grant (ABG) and funding arrangements and implications for the HSP.

It was noted that the new ABG merged a number of existing funding streams to create a general grant that would be used to contribute to the achievement of local priorities. There was an expectation that the ABG would improve the way that jointly agreed priorities were achieved.

The pooling of existing funding streams under the ABG meant that a deficit of approximately £1M would be created. In order to address this each of the Thematic Boards would be asked to assess the projects within their responsibility. After the first six months of the new financial year and the PMG would then determine the final list of projects that would continue to receive funding. Performance would be assessed using a new Performance Monitoring Framework, which was being created in order to provide a consistent means of measuring performance across the Partnership.

In order to facilitate discussion, each Thematic Board would participate in a workshop during March, which would focus on the new national duties placed on the Partnership under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act and embedding the new Performance Monitoring Framework.

In response to a query as to why the allocation under the ABG was larger in the second year, the Board was advised that as NRF ceased completely for some Authorities in 2008/09, some transitional funding had been provided, which all Authorities were contributing too. From 2009/10 onwards, this transitional funding would be removed and therefore funding for contributing Authorities would increase to normal levels.

There was agreement that issues around the NRF and the new WNF and allocations for the second year of funding would need to be presented to the Board in more detail at the appropriate time.

In response to concerns that some groups, which currently received NRF were already making employees redundant due to uncertainty over future funding, the Board was advised that these groups had recently been reminded, via letter, that funding would cease in April 2008. After the initial six month period, performance would be reviewed by the PMG and decisions would be made as to which projects would continue to receive funding, based on performance.

(Tracey Baldwin arrived at 7.10pm)

It was noted that there was a focus on reducing Worklessness within the WNF and Job Centre Plus highlighted the need for this to be reflected in the allocations made under the ABG, as funding previously received via the Deprived Area Fund, may be lost.

The Chair suggested that it would be helpful if Job Centre Plus were to appoint a representative to the HSP Performance Management Group (PMG) and noted that ABG funding was intended to address local priorities. As such it was for the Partnership to determine how the funding was allocated on the basis of local need.

The Council’s Chief Executive underlined the importance of negotiation in partnership working and noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

The Board considered a report, which set out the Council’s new Regeneration Strategy.

The Board was advised that the Regeneration Strategy was intended to provide a concise summary of the regeneration priorities for the Borough. Contained within it were three key focus areas, People, Places and Prosperity.

The statements for each priority within the Strategy were as follows:

‘People

To unlock the potential of Haringey residents through increasing skill levels, and raising employment so that they can contribute to and benefit from being part of one of the most successful cities in the world. 

Places

To transform Haringey into a place in which more people want to live and invest by using the opportunity of major sites and key locations to create positive change.  

Prosperity

To develop a 21^st century business economies that offer opportunities for sustainable employment and enterprise, to help make Haringey a place that people want to work and visit.’

It was noted that the Strategy had been designed as the principal component in the delivery of one of the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) objectives to ‘create economic vitality and prosperity shared by all’. It was also consistent with the Government Office for London’s (GOL) recently launched Development Investment Framework, the London Development Agency’s priorities for Haringey and the wider London region and North London Strategic Alliance vision for the Upper Lee Valley.

The Board was advised that the Strategy would play a key role in meeting both LAA mandatory outcomes and existing Stretch Targets. In addition, it reflected the national floor targets for enterprise and employment and skills, which contributed towards increasing Haringey’s overall employment rate, increasing the employment rate amongst target groups and raising the number of VAT registrations.

The HSP would act as the key mechanism for providing the strategic coordination and input from Partners. The Thematic Boards would be asked to take responsibility for overseeing the relevant streams of the Regeneration Programme.

Following endorsement by the HSP, a Delivery Plan would be prepared, which would set out in detail how the Strategy would be translated into action.  The targets included within the Strategy would reflect the LAA and national economic development targets and the success of the Strategy would be measured against these.

The Board discussed the Strategy and there was a consensus that the clear and concise format was helpful in expressing its purpose and goals. It was noted that it would be helpful if the Delivery Plan were brought back to the Board for further discussion once finalised.

It was noted that the Integrated Housing Board had commented on the Strategy and requested that further reference should be made to housing within it.

In response to concerns that residents of the Borough may unaware of the positive work been done in this area, the Board was advised that information was fed through Haringey People. It was acknowledged that it may be useful to gauge public awareness of the issue.

There was agreement that within the People section of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

A presentation will be made.

The Board received a presentation on the Council’s Core Strategy –Draft Issues and Options paper.

Following the presentation the Chair invited questions from the Board.

In response to concerns expressed that faith groups were often overlooked when planning policies were formed, the Board was advised that provision was made for this within the document under the section on Community Facilities.

The Chair requested that officers ensured that the relevant groups were sent copies of the consultation document.

It was noted that the new Local Development Framework (LDF) took into account issues such as climate change and promoted the creation of more sustainable homes and methods of planning.

The Board was advised that consultation with neighbouring Boroughs was built into the formation of any new planning policy or consultation exercise. Extensive work had been carried out with other Boroughs in relation to the Central Leeside area and with the NDC in relation to the Seven Sisters area. It was suggested that the Area Assemblies would provide a useful forum to discuss issues affecting areas on Borough boundaries.

The Board was reminded that the Core Strategy was a strategic document and was intended to take an overview of spatial planning issues, rather than focussing in detail on any one area.

RESOLVED:

1. That the process for the Core Strategy and the Issues and Options Paper be noted.

2. That the Thematic Boards be asked to comment on the Core Strategy during the next cycle of meetings.

The Board received a report that provided an update on progress in agreeing the thirty-five Priority Indicators for the new LAA and the next steps in terms of negotiation with GOL.

The Board was advised that significant progress had been made in terms of negotiation. The PMG had met with representatives from GOL on 25 January, to discuss the proposed targets and it had been confirmed that the Partnership was on track to meet the June deadline for finalising these. 

It was noted that GOL had suggested some amendments to the targets listed. However, there had been agreement in relation to the majority of the targets proposed. During the next cycle of meetings the Thematic Boards would consider the proposed changes and confirm their final selections.

The Chair emphasised that there was limited room for the targets to be re drafted due to the timescale in place and the requirement to select just thirty-five. He reminded the Board that there was no limit on the number of Local Indicators that could be included and therefore, where appropriate, this approach could be adopted.

The Board discussed NI 7, which related to creating an environment for ‘a thriving Third Sector’. It was agreed that this would be subject to further discussion.

It was noted that the Story of Place would demonstrate the Partnerships commitment to developing the role of the Third Sector. In addition to this a piece of work would be carried out to identify cross cutting issues and to ensure that none of the indicators were considered in isolation.

It was suggested that work should be carried out to ensure that there were no Council policies that would be counterproductive to achieving the targets set out in the LAA.  This point was noted and there was agreement that as part of the new Performance Management Framework, a Risk Assessment should be undertaken to identify any issues that may undermine the targets within the LAA.

The Chair thanked officers for their hard work to date in relation to the process of forming the thirty-five indicative indicators and representatives from GOL for their cooperation and input throughout the process. 

RESOLVED:

1. That the suggested changes by Government Office for London be noted.
   
   
2. That the PMG should continue to oversee the development of the new LAA including the ‘Story of Place’ and supporting evidence.

The Board received a report that provided an update on progress against the LAA Stretch Targets.

It was noted that good progress had been made during the last quarter, with improvements in performance and positive progress being made in relation to twelve of the thirteen Stretch Targets. 

The Board was advised that progress and the following areas were highlighted:

Smoking Cessation –progress had been good and the target had been exceeded.

Accidental Dwelling Fires –performance in this area was down in comparison with the previous year. A number of initiatives were being employed to address this.

Healthy Schools Status –good improvements had been made in this area and the 2007/08 target would be achieved.

NEET –significant improvements had been seen in this area and if performance continued to remain at this level the year 1 target would be met.

The Board was advised that only one target was shown as Red –the number of people on Incapacity Benefit for more than six months helped in to employment. It was noted that a plan had been put together to tackle this issue. However, this had not been achieved by any London Borough and discussion was taking place around whether this target was appropriate at Government level.

RESOLVED:

That the progress and actions in place to achieve the thirteen Stretch Targets be noted. 

To receive updates from each of the Thematic Partnership Boards:

• Better Places Partnership Board
• Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board
• Enterprise Partnership Board
• Integrated Housing Board
• Safer Communities Executive Board
• Well-Being Strategic Partnership Board

The Board received a report containing a summary from each of the Thematic Boards updating the HSP on the progress to date.

No further verbal updates were provided.

RESOLVED:

That the Thematic Board updates be noted.

A presentation will be made.

The Board received a presentation within the agenda circulated, which set out the requirements of the new Local Government and Involvement in Public Health Act 2007.

It was noted that the Act placed a statutory responsibility on Local Strategic Partnerships to work in partnership, deliver Sustainable Community Strategies and engage with the local community.

Within this, there was now a duty upon the Council to prepare the LAA on behalf of the partnership. However, all key partners were required to work together to address risks and challenges facing the local area and combine resources in the most effective way possible to achieve this.

The Board was advised that this would be discussed in more detail as part of the Thematic Board workshops being held in March.

RESOLVED:

That the verbal update provided be noted.

The Board received a briefing paper on Public Appointments.

The Chair advised that he had requested that the paper be included within the agenda for the meeting, in order to begin to identify ways of increasing the number of people taking up Public Appointments. In order to encourage people from all sections of the community to take up Public Appointments and to equip people with the relevant skills, it was noted that training was required.

The Chair considered that the HSP was the most appropriate body to take a lead in encouraging people to take up Public Appointments and address the current deficit in volunteers by offering the relevant training.

It was noted that there had been discussion with the PCT in relation to this issue and there was a consensus that internal training sessions run by both the Council and the PCT could be opened up to members of the public, where appropriate, to address this. There had also been agreement that staff of both organisations should be encouraged to take up public duties.

It was noted that one of the barriers to taking up Public Appointments was the potential loss of Benefits that any remuneration may cause. There was agreement that this point should be looked at further.

In response to concerns that some employers, including the Council, limited their employee’s ability to take on Public duties, the Board was advised that Council employees were prohibited from taking up other employment. However, there was no restriction in their ability to take up voluntary posts in their own time.

There was a general consensus that an Action Plan, setting out how the HSP would address the deficit in Public Appointments and training, should be submitted to a future meeting of the HSP.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be noted.

2. That an Action Plan, setting out how the HSP would address the deficit in Public Appointments and training, should be submitted to a future meeting of the HSP.

The Board received a report that set out the findings of the Local Government Ombudsman on Local Partnerships and Citizens Redress.

The Board was advised that the Ombudsman’s report recommended that a Complaints Protocol should be drawn up and integrated within the overall governance arrangements of the Partnership.

It was noted that it was important that all partners sign up to the Protocol in order for it to be effective.

The Board was advised that it was proposed that a Complaints Protocol be established for the Partnership and that development of this was delegated to the PMG.

RESOLVED:

1. That it be agreed in principal that a Complaints Protocol be established for the Partnership.

2. That its development is delegated to the HSP Performance Management Group.

3. That the good governance aspects of the special report be noted. 

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 3 above.

No  items of urgent business were received.

To receive any items of AOB.

The Board was advised by Pastor Nims Obunge that the Peace Alliance had organised an event to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, which was being held at Westminster Abbey on 4 April. He encouraged members of the Board to attend.

The Board was circulated with the Annual Report for 2008/09 and Partners were asked to submit any comments by 14 March 2008.

The note the date for the next HSP meeting:

• 6pm on 8 April 2008

Please note that at present the Council’s Calendar of Meetings for 2008/09 is still to be agreed.

It was noted that the date of the next meeting was 8 April 2008 at 6pm.