Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

David Anstey

Niall Bolger                -Beverley Taylor

Eugenia Cronin         -Susan Otiti

Dave Grant

Peter Livermore

Esther Vanlith

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear and new items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 11 below).

No items of Urgent Business were raised.

Members should declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not taken part in any decision required with respect to these items.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2009 as a correct record.

The Chair noted that a meeting had taken place during the previous week to discuss what assistance could be provided to enable the Community Transport Scheme to be made more accessible to disabled people and people living in sheltered housing. Although good progress had been made the Council officer responsible for sheltered housing had not been present and therefore a further meeting was being organised to take this forward.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2009 be confirmed as a correct record.  

A presentation will be also be provided.

The Board received a presentation on the forthcoming Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).

An overview was given of the scope of the CAA and it was noted that this was comprised of two key strands:

Area Assessment

This strand would consider how effectively local public services delivered local priorities, economic prospects, community safety and potential for future improvement.

Organisational Assessment

The second strand would consider the use of resources and performance management and how the Council delivered value for money through the combined use of resources and performance management.

It was noted that Partners would be inspected by their own inspection regimes and that these would liaise with the Audit Commission.

In assessing this four key themes would be considered:

• Management of finances
• Governing business
• Managing resources
• Managing performance

In terms of the Area Assessment the following key areas would be focussed upon:

• How well do local priorities express community needs and aspirations?
• How well are the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered?
• What are the prospects for future improvements?

It was noted that the Local Authority would be required to produce and publish an Annual Summary, which would include an overview of key priorities, overall successes, challenges and future prospects. It was envisaged that these would form a tool for members of the public wanting to obtain an overview of the Borough.

In addition to this a system of red and green flags would be used to indicate areas where arrangements were considered inadequate to deliver improvement or where exceptional or innovative practice was demonstrated.

The Board was advised that that the CAA would take a more holistic approach to assessing performance and would gather evidence over the course of a year rather than focussing on a limited period.

In response to a query, as to how consultation ‘fatigue’ would be avoided, the Board was advised that the Multi agency group had considered this issue and it was proposed that a Consultation Calendar should be established for the CLF. This would take into account the Council’s existing Consultation Calendar and would better align consultation to reduced the number of separate occasions where view were sought from the community.

The Board was advised that the officers from the Council’s Corporate Policy team would be attending the CLF’s Network Event on 30 April to discuss the CEF.

It was noted that the report stated that there were no costs attached to the introduction of the CEF at this stage. The Board was advised that as the CEF developed and costs were incurred, it was envisaged that the partnership as a whole would need to meet these.

The Board was advised that a further would report would be submitted in the Autumn and that would include an overview of progress in forming the CEF Action Plan.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board received a report setting out proposals to move the Partnership forward and to assist it work in a more structured way.

It was proposed that the Board’s key focus should be the delivery of the Greenest Borough Strategy (GBS) and that an ‘Innovation Pot’ should be established, which the funding allocated to the Board from the Area Based Grant (ABG) would be put into. Partners would then have the opportunity to bid for funding from this. 

Under the proposed working arrangements a partner organisation agree would to take the lead on each of the seven priorities contained within the GBS. There was an expectation attached to this that partners would meet and work outside the forum of the Board to take issues forward.

The Board discussed this proposal and there was a general consensus that this approach should be adopted. In response to a query as to how performance would be managed; the Board was advised that a quarterly overview would be provide within the existing Local Area Agreement (LAA) Quarterly Performance report.

There was agreement that officers should contact partners individually to discuss the areas that they may wish to lead on.

RESOLVED:

1. That the proposals set out in the report be approved.

2. That officers would contact partners individually to discuss the areas that may be interested in taking the lead on.  

The Board received a report setting out proposals for the creation of an Innovations Pot, from which ABG funding could be bid for by Partners for projects that supported the activities and interventions aimed at achieving key partnership priorities: the Greenest Borough Strategy and Local Area Agreement outcomes.

It was noted that applications would need to demonstrate clearly how they would support these key priorities and reflect the Partnerships approach to the environmental and place shaping agenda.

The Board was advised that applications receiving funding would commence in June 2009 and that the performance of the projects commissioned would be monitored on a quarterly basis.

In response to a suggestion that an projects should be agreed under the seven priorities included within the GBS, the Chair noted that the Innovations Pot had been proposed in order to stimulate new and creative projects.  There was agreement that an additional criterion should be added to those listed in the report requiring projects to demonstrate how they would ‘lead by example’.

The Board was advised that partners would be expected to take responsibility for driving projects forward between the quarterly Committee meetings. Therefore the impetus was on the responsible partner to determine how this would work in practice. 

It was noted that the Police had recently formed a cycle based team to target fly tipping in the Borough. It was suggested that partners may wish to form joint bids for funding to enhance new and existing projects.

RESOLVED:

1. That an Innovations Pot should be established, for partners to bid from, which would provide funding for projects that reflected the Better Places Board’s key priorities and targets.

2. That a report should be received at the Board’s next meeting setting out the process for bidding for funding from the Innovations Pot. 

This report will be sent to follow.

The Board considered a tabled report setting out performance during the Fourth Quarter against Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets within the Board’s responsibility and projects funded from the Area Based Grant (ABG). The report also included an update on the Risk Register.

It was noted that information in relation to Quarter Four had only recently become available and therefore it had not been possible to include the report in the agenda pack at the time of publication.

The ABG funded projects were all performing well against target and had delivered to the agreed outputs in terms of budget at the end of the financial year. To date four of the eight LAA National Indicator (NI) targets had not been met:

• Increasing the number of parks awarded Green Flag status
• Improved street and environmental cleanliness in relation to litter, graffiti, detritus and fly-posting
• Local street and environmental cleanliness in the worst three Wards
• Increase in number of pennants 

In terms of recycling the target attached to NI 192, the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and compositing, had not been met. This was largely due to changes in the way waste was now collected and the new methodology attached to this by the North London Waste Authority. An action plan was being formed to address this issue.

Information in relation to NI 175 (access to services and facilities by public transport) was still outstanding and officers continued to press Transport for London (TfL) to supply this.

The Board was advised that the Integrated Housing Board (IHB) was looking at the Fuel Poverty Strategy and had received a report on this at its last meeting.

Concern was raised that the Stretch Target, agreed under the previous LAA, which remained within the Boards responsibility should not be lost sight of as achieving this target would attract a significant amount of funding.  

The Board was advised that the status of the Risk Register had not altered since the previous meeting. It was noted that there was a typographical error in relation to Belmont recreation ground that should be amended.

RESOLVED:

1. That the ABG allocations for 2009/10 be approved.

2. That performance during Quarter Four be noted.

A presentation will be provided.

This item was deferred.

This report will be sent to follow.

The Board received a report that provided an overview of the Better Haringey Outdoor Advertising Campaign and its objectives.

It was noted that the campaign formed part of the GBS Communication Plan and would included advertising and promotional events, provision of information and encouraging local residents to take up relevant services and changes in lifestyle. 

The campaign would focus on the flowing themes:

• Recycling
• Reducing waste
• Energy saving
• Sustainable travel
• Conserving water
• Sustainable food
• Climate change

In response to a query the Board was advised that the campaign was not limited to specific areas within the Borough. However, it was acknowledged that it may more sophisticated targeting of areas may be required to address certain issues as effectively as possible.

It was noted that there were often issues affecting partners such as the increase in the number of patients seen by hospitals during the winter months that could be addressed by a join up approach if more information was circulated on affordable warmth in the Autumn. There was agreement that targeting particular areas or groups of people may be beneficial.

It was suggested that information should be provided next to shoots used to dispose of waste in flats advising residents of where the nearest recycling facilities were and the types of waste that could be taken to these points.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be noted.

2. That options for developing a more targeted and better integrated approach should be considered and reported back to the Board.  

To consider any new items of Urgent Business raised under Item 2 above.

No new items of Urgent Business were raised.

To consider any items of AOB.

No items of AOB were raised.

To note the dates listed below:

• 21 May 2009, 6.30pm, Civic Centre
• 20 October 2009, 6.30pm, Civic Centre
• 1 December 2009, 6.30pm, Civic Centre
• 18 February 2010, 6.30pm, Civic Centre

The following dates of future meetings were noted:

• 21 May 2009
• 20 October 2009
• 1 December 2009
• 18 February 2010