Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

Peter Lewis

Sandra Looby

Sam Evans

Enid Legister

Sajda Mughal

Pamela Pemberton

Jan Doust

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 15 below).

The were no items of urgent business.

Members of the Board must declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any discussion with respect to those items.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2011 as a correct record.

Prior to confirmation of the minutes the following updates were provided:

HSP78 – Minutes

The Board was advised that around 1,000 mentors were now being trained as part of the GLA mentoring project, a group of whom would be associated with Haringey and would be available to support the work of the Youth Offending Service and Gang Action Group. An update on this work would be presented to the next meeting.

HSP79 – Performance highlights – financial year 2010/11

The Board was advised that none of the applications to the Victim and Witness Protection Fund made by Victim Support in London had been successful.

HSP80 – Haringey Community Safety Plan 2011-14

The Board confirmed that, subject to the changes discussed at the previous meeting, the Haringey Community Safety Plan was formally agreed.

HSP82 – Engaging with Mental Health Services

It was confirmed that a briefing note had been produced and would be circulated with the minutes of the meeting for information. Mark Landy was confirmed as the new representative for the Mental Health Trust on the Board.

HSP84 – Overview of new single Frontline

The item would again be deferred until next meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair agreed to vary the order of the agenda to take the item on Review of Partnership Arrangements next.

Report to follow.

Stuart Young, Assistant Chief Executive, presented the report on the Review of Partnership Arrangements, which set out the full list of recommendations arising from the research commissioned into partnership arrangements. Three key principles had been identified; that there should be a core partnership group that meets every six weeks, the only standing partnership bodies would be the shadow Health and Wellbeing Board and a Community Safety Board and task and finish groups would be commissioned to undertake specific pieces of work to deliver partnership objectives. It was intended that the new structure should focus on priorities and outcomes, and how these could be best achieved, and that streamlining the partnership body structure would reduce duplication.

The first meeting of the Joint Leadership Group was to meet later in the week and would include representatives from the police, Job Centre Plus, education and health. It was confirmed that Cllr Vanier would also be a member of this body. The body would focus initially on priorities and outcomes, and would adopt a commissioning approach to pieces of work necessary, using task and finish groups.

Concern was expressed that while there were discussions taking place at a regional level regarding partnership working and the role of Crime Reduction Partnerships, there appeared to be a dismantling of the partnership structure in Haringey. Concerns were also raised regarding where the decision would be made regarding which were the ‘right’ bodies to be involved in certain pieces of work, and what the involvement of the voluntary and community sector would be in taking these decisions. In response to some of these concerns, it was confirmed that the Community Safety Partnership would remain, and it would be the whole Board that would take any such decisions, which would include voluntary and community sector representatives. It was also intended that any sub-bodies, including and task and finish groups, would remain fully accountable to the Board and report into Board meetings.

It was suggested that the terms of reference of the Board be revisited, and it was agreed that this would be useful given that, while the overarching responsibilities of the Board would remain the same, different ways of working with partners were being explored.

Stuart Young encouraged Board members in advance of the next meeting to think about the groups and sub-bodies already in place and to map these against the identified priorities and outcomes to ensure that there was as close a fit as possible. This could then be reflected upon at the next meeting.

It was reported that all of the previous sub-bodies of the Board were in the process of being reviewed as part of the move towards the Victim / Offender / Location model and were currently inactive pending the outcome of this review.

The Board welcomed the opportunity to look at increasing the efficiency of its work, but felt that greater communication was required around the ongoing review process, as not all of the Chairs of the sub-bodies of the Board had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

To appoint a Chair for 2011/12.

Cllr Vanier was nominated for Chair by Kate Gilbert, and this nomination was seconded by Richard Mills.

RESOLVED

That Cllr Vanier be appointed Chair of the Board for 2011/12.

To appoint a Vice-Chair for 2011/12.

Sandra Looby, Borough Commander, was nominated for Vice-Chair by Claire Kowalska and this nomination was seconded by Richard Mills.

RESOLVED

That Sandra Looby be appointed Vice-Chair of the Board for 2011/12.

RESOLVED

The Board endorsed the Drug and Alcohol Strategic Manager as an ongoing Member of the Board.

A verbal update will be provided.

Detective Superintendent Gurdip Singh, representing the Borough Commander, advised that the current level of threat from terrorism for the UK was classified as “substantial”. It was clarified that this indicated that there was a potential strong likelihood of an attack.

NOTED

A presentation will be given.

Anne Lippitt, programme director for the Tottenham Regeneration Programme, addressed the Board in respect of the work of the Tottenham Regeneration Programme. The three key elements of the work were outlined as:

1)     Continuity (handling the immediate aftermath of the riots, supporting local residents and businesses).

2)     Confidence-building

3)     Rebuilding Tottenham

The Board was advised of the positive achievements that had been made, such as the establishment of the Community Assistance Centre and the Tottenham Fund to support residents and businesses affected by the riots, the successful lobbying for recovery funding, and the implementation of a 3 month exemption from business rates for affected businesses, which was in the process of being extended to 6 months.

There was a need to increase confidence amongst traders, residents and people from outside the area in Tottenham as a place to visit. The ‘I love Tottenham’ campaign had been launched and would involve physical improvements to the High Road environment such as banners and hanging baskets, additional street cleaning, as well as t-shirts and bags with the ‘I love Tottenham’ logo, to enable people to show their support and promote the area.

Bringing the Post Office back to the High Road was identified as a priority, as this had a significant impact on footfall locally, and work was progressing to achieve this. The Job Centre was currently operating out of Chenel, and it was intended that this would be consolidated in the short term by providing a Portakabin to enable the full range of Job Centre services to be offered on site. Work was progressing as quickly as possible regarding the Carpet Right and Aldi plots, and also to re-instate a Council presence at 639 High Road. Temporary uses were also being considered for some of the vacant sites, for example community gardens. The Community Panel, chaired by the Leader of the Council, aimed to unite the Borough in the recovery process and to ensure that all views from the community were taken on board and fed into the regeneration work.

The Board was advised that a vision was needed in order to establish Tottenham as a place where people want to live, work and stay. Key elements were identified as business investment, open space and transport, jobs for local people, high quality housing and safe, secure, confident communities.

Promoting the strengths of the area was felt to be a key issue, as well as converting these strengths into a deliverable strategy. Ensuring that Tottenham Hotspur remained in the area was a key part of any regeneration effort, as a catalyst for further development. In addition to physical regeneration, social and economic regeneration was essential and must be centred around existing communities and how they could benefit. Tottenham could provide a new model for regeneration, leading to physical improvements alongside better homes and new jobs for local people.

The Board was advised that Sir Stuart Lipton had been appointed as a link / champion for Tottenham regeneration. It was felt that, working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

Report to follow.

Stuart Young addressed the Board regarding the Community Panel, Chaired by the Leader of the Council, which was formed of a range of community representatives and had the remit of actively listening to the whole community via a range of means, including the following;

• Focus groups – engaging directly with young people, businesses, residents and institutions
• Opportunity to have your say – a general call for information was being issued, and a set of questions would be set out to which responses were sought.
• Community debates and discussions – a number of these had already been held and it would be useful for anybody holding notes of any such events to feed these into the work of the Community Panel.

People were encouraged to contact the Community Panel via the website and by email, details of which would be provided to all Board Members.

The Board suggested that it would be very beneficial for the Community Panel to publicise those actions that had arisen in direct response to feedback that had been sent in, as a way of showing that they were acting on the information provided by the community.

It was acknowledged that effective engagement was always a challenge, and that work was ongoing to engage with as much of the community as possible, given that there were groups who were unlikely to attend events such as public meetings. It was suggested that use of social media such as BBM, Twitter, etc could be explored, and also that these could be tied in with the existing ‘I love Tottenham’ campaign via a website, so that it was all in one place. It was also suggested that images of the Community Assistance Centre could be used to inspire people and make people proud of the area and what local people have achieved.

NOTED

Report to follow.

Claire Kowalska presented the report on half-year crime performance, and advised that the increase in property crime compared with the previous year was a key concern. Violent crime indicators were broadly on track overall, although within those indicators there were significant increases in youth violence and crime involving a weapon and these were also key issues to be addressed. It was reported that there would be a discussion regarding youth offending and related issues at the December meeting.

The Board noted the action plan that had been circulated, and it was noted that there were concerns with regard to Northumberland Park, where a significant majority of police activity was centred, and that this needed further monitoring. A further area of concern was Victim Support, given the loss in funding, particularly for support for young victims, and the news earlier in the meeting that none of the bids for funding from Victim Support in London had been successful.

RESOLVED

That the contents of the report be noted.

Report to follow.

Claire Kowalska presented the report on the progress against the delivery plan, and it was noted that the annual assessment would not be complete until December 2011.

The Board was advised that, in respect of developing an Integrated Offender Management model, a scoping document had been completed and meetings had been held, including a discussion with Avon and Somerset Police regarding their experiences. Board agreement that this was the direction they wanted to move in was required in order to then make plans for implementation and develop a project plan.

The Metropolitan Police were asked to comment on any specific areas of work relating to the concerns regarding crime performance as raised in the previous agenda item. Detective Superintendent Gurdip Singh advised that there was now an Intelligence resource working on prevention measures in relation to gang activity. It was reported that the Intelligence structure was moving towards a Victim Offender Location model, this was in the process of implementation and should be in place by the end of November. With regards to property crime, it was reported that there was a Property Action Plan in place with a focus on tactical delivery and resources aligned according to the relevant expertise. Partnership work was ongoing in relation to violent crime and more innovative ways of tackling these issues and engaging with victims were being sought. It was reported that the Connect taskforce were making direct contact with potential gang members and inviting them to come and discuss ways out of this activity, with enforcement action only being taken as a last resort when individuals disengaged from the process.

Clarification was sought on whether arson was included in the police’s Property Action Plan, as the Fire Service had analysts and statistics which might be of use to the police in its own intelligence work around this area. It was agreed that this was be taken forward outside of the meeting.

RESOLVED

i)                    That the focus for partnership activity to the end of the year should be reducing property crime, youth re-offending, violent crime (inc weapons and gangs) and engagement with victims of crime;

ii)                  That agreement be given to proceed with the development of an Integrated Offender Management system

iii)                That any ideas relating to community safety be fed into the Tottenham Regeneration Programme team’s work via the Chair of the Board.

This issue had been covered in discussions earlier on the agenda.

The Board was advised that work was taking place with the Mental Health Trust to provide training and guidance for frontline staff, and also a single point of contact for information on mental health issues. Work was also ongoing regarding the formation of clearer working relationships.

NOTED

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

There were no new items of urgent business.

To raise any items of AOB.

There was no business raised under this item.

To note the dates of future meetings set out below:

Ø      12pm, 15 December 2011

Ø      12pm, 1 March 2012

The dates of further meetings, set out below, were noted:

12pm, 15 December 2011

12pm, 1 March 2012

The meeting closed at 1.50pm.