Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

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

David Anstey

Niall Bolger

John Brown

David Hobbs

Neil Mawson

Councillor Reith

Catherine Stenzl

To confirm the minutes of 17 December 2007 as a correct record of the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the inclusion of the Term of Reference circulated at the meeting (attached at Appendix 1), the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2007 be confirmed as a correct record.

Members 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 the agenda item where they appear). New items will be considered under Item 11 below.

No items of urgent business were raised.

A presentation will be given.

The Board received a presentation on the Council’s Core Strategy document.

It was noted that the Core Strategy formed part of the new Local Development Framework (LDF), which would replace the existing Unitary Development Plan (UDP). The LDF was comprised of several documents that formed a hierarchy and took on board existing local and national policies.

The Core Strategy was the key LDF document that set out the spatial vision and objectives for the Borough up to 2020 and included core planning policies for delivering:

• Housing
• Employment
• Retail
• Leisure
• Community
• Essential public services
• Transport infrastructure
• Climate change

The Core Strategy was supported by a sustainability appraisal and equality impact assessment. 

In terms of consultation on the Strategy, it was noted that a variety of consultation exercises had taken place including the publication of leaflets and an article in Haringey People and a newspaper advert. Documentation had also been distributed to libraries and Council offices and several events were being held to encourage members of the public to participate in the consultation process. It was possible to participate in the consultation process via the Council’s website and partners were encouraged to use this.

The Board was advised that input from Partners played an important role in forming the Strategy and that the Government required that consultation and ownership by Partners was demonstrated before the Strategy could be agreed by the Secretary of State.  Where appropriate, meetings with individual Partners would be arranged and the necessity for these would become clearer at the preferred options stage of the process.

It was noted that the Strategy was required to reflect the priorities included within the Community Strategy and other documents such as the Council Plan and Mayor’s London Plan. Issues such as provision of Public Open Space and others covered by Planning Policies would also be reflected in the document.

The Board was advised that a joint group had been established by the PCT to look at public health issues, including how better spatial planning could improve public health. There was agreement that there should be discussion between the relevant Council officers and the PCT to see how this group could feed into the Strategy.

There was agreement that the Board should consider the document again at the Preferred Options stage of the process in order to provide Partners with the opportunity to comment before the document was finalised.

RESOLVED:

1. That the presentation provided be noted.

2. That the Core Strategy should be considered again by the Board at the Preferred Options stage.

To appoint a Vice-Chair for the remainder of the municipal year.

Due to the low number of Board members present and given that the Municipal Year at its end, there was a general consensus that this item would not be considered.

RESOLVED:

That the item be postponed until the new Municipal Year.

A verbal update will be provided.

The Board received an oral update on progress in relation to the Council’s Greenest Borough Strategy.

It was noted that presentations had been made to each of the HSP Thematic Boards during the last cycle of meetings as part of a wide range of consultation that had taken place. Amongst these a community event had been held, which had been well attended and the views and comments raised as part of this had been reflected within the Strategy.

Concern was raised by Phil England, on behalf of the Haringey Residents Forum, that requests for the Forum to make a presentation to the Board had been ignored and that the group had been denied the opportunity to express their views in relation to the Greenest Borough Strategy. A paper setting out the groups concerns was tabled.

The Assistant Director for Service Improvement advised that the views expressed by the group had already been taken into consideration as part of the consultation process.

The Chair proposed that a meeting should be arranged between himself, Phil England and the Director for the Urban Environment, in order to discuss the document tabled and address any concerns that the group may have in relation to the Strategy.

RESOLVED:

1. To note the verbal update provided.

2. That a meeting should be arranged between the Chair, Phil England and the Director for the Urban Environment to discuss this issue further.

The Board considered a report that provided an update on progress against projects funded by Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) and Stronger, Safer Communities Fund (SSCF), which were under the Boards responsibility.

It was noted that across both Programmes there was a total of £393,222 yet to be allocated, which had to be spent by 31 March 2008. Spend was currently on target for the majority of projects, as per project spend profiles and the majority of project managers were confident that full spend would be achieved as per the allocations.

The Board was advised that it had not been possible to identify a site for the ‘Automated Public Conveniences’ project. Therefore the project could not be delivered by the end of the financial year. However, it was anticipated that this would be taken forward and completed during 2008/09.

RESOLVED:

1. That the current position across the programme of projects funded with NRF be noted and the progress of slippage should continue to be monitored.

2. That the current under spend within the SSCF programme for the Automated Public Conveniences project and action being taken to resolve this be noted.

3. That it be noted that this was the last year of the Cleaner Safer Greener Element of the SSCF grant.  

The Board considered a report setting out how the new Area Based Grant (ABG) and Performance Monitoring Framework would be implemented over 2008/09.

It was noted that the ABG was a new funding stream that brought together existing Council grants with those traditionally shared with Partners such as the NRF. The Council received ABG as part of its allocation from Government to address local priorities with the support of Partners. At the HSP meeting of 11 February the allocation of ABG for each of the Thematic Boards had been agreed and £1.944M had been allocated to the Better Places Partnership Board.

The HSP had also agreed that, in order to provide stability, 2008/09 should be used as a transitional year as there was a reduction of 7.3% to the overall funding available under the ABG. The new Performance Management Framework would be used to assess performance after the first six months of the new financial year and after this period an assessment would be made as which projects would continue to received funding.

The Board was advised that there had been further negotiation with Government Office for London (GOL) in relation to the proposed thirty-five priority indicators to be included within the LAA. The indicators within the Board’s responsibility were:

• NI 192 –Household Waste: Recycled and Composted
• NI 186 –Per Capita CO2 Emissions in the LAA Area –Domestic Housing
• NI 195 –Improved Street and Environmental Cleanliness

In addition a Local Indicator was also included in relation to the number of Green Flag Parks.  

It was noted that under the new LAA a more joined up approach was being taken and that as well as leading on the indicators above the Board shared responsibility for considering and contributing to the development of the other thirty-two indicators.

The Chair noted that there would be an opportunity to discuss how each of the indicators would be monitored, and how each Partner would contribute to the achievement of targets in more detail at the forthcoming LAA Workshop, which was being discussed under the next agenda item.  

RESOLVED:

That in the light of the HSP decision on 11 February, the Board support the decision of the HSP, agree the programme for 2008/09 and note the following:

1. That 2008/09 should be treated as a transitional year to facilitate the move towards the new ABG.

2. That a consistent Performance Management Framework was to be developed across the HSP that would be capable of identifying whether the Partnership was achieving its outcomes and value for money.

3. That the latest position in relation to the LAA indicators be noted.

4. That each Thematic Board would participate in a workshop that would examine the new duties contained within the new Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act and the new Performance Management Framework.

5. That a six monthly review would be conducted to identify any changes in activity or funding that may required to meet the Local Area Agreement Performance Indicators.    

The Board noted that the Thematic Board LAA Workshop for the Better Places Partnership Board was being held on 26 March 2008.

The Chair noted that the workshops would provide the opportunity for Partners participate in discussion around the ABG.

In response to a query, it was clarified that the HSP had already determined the proportion of the ABG that the Board would received and that 2008/09 would form a transitional period, with each of the projects funding from the ABG being assessed after the initial six months of the year to determine whether funding should continue.

The Chair noted that the review of projects and performance would provide a positive opportunity for the Board to examine the projects it currently funded and whether these provided good value for money. He underlined the importance of Partners attending the workshop in order to influence and shape how the Action Plans for delivering the targets were delivered. He noted that it was vital that Partners engaged in the process.

It was noted that there were overlapping areas that the Well-Being Strategic Partnership Board would also share responsibility for monitoring and that this would need to be considered when developing Action Plans for the delivery of performance against the new targets.

RESOLVED:

That the date for the LAA Workshop, 26 March, be noted.  

To consider any new items of urgent business accepted by the Chair under Item 4.

No new items of Urgent Business were received.

Please note that the Council’s Calendar of meetings has not yet been finalised and therefore these dates may be subject to change:

19 June, 6.30pm

6 October, 6.30pm.

The following provisional dates were noted and the Board was advised that these were tentative at present, as the Councils Calendar of Meeting had not yet to been agreed:

19 June, 6.30pm

6 October, 6.30pm

Once confirmed the Board would be advised.

To consider any items of AOB.

No items of AOB were raised.