Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Enid Ledgister, Eamon McGoldrick, Tessa Newton and Lisa Redfern (Duncan Paterson substituted).

The Chair extended a welcome on behalf of the Board to Fitzroy Andrew, the new Chief Executive of HAVCO. Andrea Bennett from the Probation Service was also introduced as the replacement on the Board for Kate Gilbert. The Board asked that their thanks be placed on record for the contribution Kate made to the partnership.  

The Board was asked to agree the addition of Cllr Joe Goldberg, Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction, to the partnership membership list by virtue of youth services including offending now falling within his portfolio of responsibilities and Chief Superintendent Mark Wolski be added through his role as Deputy Borough Commander and lead for partnerships with the police.

RESOLVED

·        That both Councillor Joe Goldberg (with his YOS responsibilities) and Supt. Mark Wolski (with partnership responsibilities) be formally co-opted on the CSP with immediate effect

RESOLVED

·        That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 June be agreed as an accurate record.

It was advised that a copy of the new terms of reference for the Board as agreed at the last meeting would be circulated with the distribution of the minutes. 

·        The tendering process for a new contract covering substance misuse provision in the borough would commence in December and would include monies from MOPAC. A consultation process would be run in parallel online.

·        Haringey Recovery Expo would be holding an event on 2 November at Tottenham Town Hall which would be opened by Cllr Bernice Vanier, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health. The event held for those in recovery and their family and friends would focus on rebuilding lives and information on the help and support available.

·        The Fire Service would be starting a campaign in April focused on enhancing community fire engagement.

·        A project focused on young victims of crime was now in operation at Haringey Magistrate’s Court.

·        It was advised that the Council had appointed a new Chief Executive, Nick Walkley, who would be taking up position in December.

·        The Police, Council enforcement officers and the Gambling Commission had established a joint task force, Operation Elgar, to undertake a crackdown on illegal gambling in the borough and which had resulted in the seizure of a number of illegal gaming machines. 

·        Standing Together would be undertaking a review of domestic violence in the borough and producing a series of recommendations. It was requested that this be added as an agenda item for the next meeting. A Home Office peer review was also being undertaken on gang violence.

·        The Chair extended thanks to the partnership in recognition of the successful Olympics period in the borough.

The Board considered the half year performance report capturing progress, key activity and emerging issues for the period and exception reporting against agreed activities. It was noted that a new reporting format was now in place following a recent review and rationalisation of Performance Indicators (PIs) by the Performance Monitoring Group (PMG). PIs for domestic violence had yet to be identified and agreed, although it was anticipated these would be in place by December for consideration by the Board.

The Board was advised of a number of updates received since the report was circulated including a significant reduction in youth violence and knife crime incidents although levels still exceeded those of last year. Good progress made in relation to property crime, preventing first time entrants into the youth justice system and drug treatment was recognised. Key areas of concerns remained however including youth and adult re-offending. The Board requested that consideration be given to the potential of linking the Jobs for Haringey work programme with activities in these areas to try to improve performance levels. In addition, the Board requested a report back to the next meeting on reducing youth crime and re-offending as queries were raised over how the targets had been set and on the opportunities for benchmarking with other authorities.

Residential burglary levels in identified hot spots remained high against a challenging target although it was anticipated that the winter publicity campaign would have a favourable impact on levels. The Board requested that benchmarking data on this indicator from other boroughs be included in future performance reports.

It was considered that the traffic light indicator for successful drug treatment completions as a percentage of the treatment population should be classified as amber instead of red.

The Board requested that a recovery timeline be added to the exception report to allow the monitoring of progress.

Concerns were raised by the Board regarding the PMG and the importance of ensuring appropriate attendance or representation at its meetings from its members, particularly in recognition of its important role in leading on recovery plans. It was agreed that a current membership list of the Group would be circulated to the Board. 

The report was noted.

The Board received a short presentation from representatives from the Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), formerly the Metropolitan Police Authority area. Key functions included oversight of the MPS and holding the Police Commissioner to account, with broad powers over commissioning services and assigning budgets. MOPAC was currently focused on a ’20:20:20’ change programme with the objectives of realising a reduction in neighbourhood crime whilst overseeing a reduction in funding and increasing confidence. MOPAC had responsibility for producing a Police and Crime Plan which was currently in draft format, with formal consultation starting in December.

MOPAC’s wider role in London’s criminal justice landscape in relation to commissioning responsibilities was outlined. Government funding would be allocated to MOPAC to support its objectives including developing a strategic response to crime prevention, funding for which statutory authorities could bid against. It was advised that one community safety fund had been allocated for 2013/14 for prevention and reducing re-offending objectives. Boroughs would need to submit clear business cases to bid for this funding and be required to demonstrate the achievement of clear outcomes against MOPAC priorities. Considerable uncertainty remained about the funding process in light of delays in confirmation of the funding details from the Home Office. The Board expressed serious concern about the lack of guidance available for commissioning bodies with regards to bidding including details of timescales, the level of funding available and the process for making bids. Clarification on the above matters was requested from MOPAC as a matter of urgency in recognition that the likely timeframes were challenging in the extreme.  

The Board also expressed concern over the 20:20:20 change programme and requested details on how the required savings would be apportioned across London, the timescales imposed and the underpinning baseline data. The funding implications associated with MOPAC’s stated commitment to roll out an extra three police officers and at least three special constables in every safer neighbourhood team in London was also questioned, particularly in the context of the need to realise savings.

Questions were raised about MOPAC’s intention to devolve victim commissioning to local levels, with a potential £20m of funding for commissioning. Clarification was requested on where this money would be sourced and how the funding would be broken down.

The Board requested sight of the borough profiles being developed by MOPAC as well as the local authority question and answer document drafted following discussions with other boroughs.

RESOLVED

·        That a representative from MOPAC be invited to the next meeting to provide feedback on the questions raised by the Board as listed above.

The Borough Commander briefed the Board on implementation of the enhanced neighbourhood policing element of the MPS change programme centred on putting in place a new Local Policing Model from spring 2013. The new structure aimed to provide enhanced visibility and contact with the public at ward level through moving 2000 officers into Safer Neighbourhood Teams and therefore allowing neighbourhood crimes to be investigated by local officers. The new model was also required to realise savings through simplifying structures such as co-commissioning senior management and specialised services across boroughs. Consideration was also being given to facilitating public access with the objective of encouraging community engagement with all local people. Consultation on the modelling was currently underway at both a local level and with partners. It was agreed that the Chair and the Borough Commander would further discuss the consultation arrangements in place.

The Board noted the potential role the partnership could play in the new approach through providing data to allow targeted resourcing for example elder abuse etc.

The update was noted.

The Board received an update on the delivery of the Prevent agenda within the borough which was aims to prevent people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The funding for this programme is in place until March 2015, a condition of which was the production of a delivery plan to be submitted annual to the Office of Security and Counter Terrorism. The development of the plan would be led by a delivery group and partners were asked to consider nominating appropriate representation from their organisations to sit on this group. A follow up email would be circulated in this regard. The Board noted the Prevent priorities for Haringey and that the draft delivery plan would be distributed to the Board in due course, with periodic progress reports provided thereafter.

The update was noted.

The Board received a presentation summarising the findings of the Community Safety Review undertaken to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the CSP in Haringey. The scope had covered amongst other things reviewing the CSP and its strategic objectives, identifying quick wins and opportunities for further integrated working.

The Board noted the recommendations arising including proposals to hold a CSP half day workshop, agree a clear CSP vision and communications strategy and ensure a focus on core funding. The establishment of an Executive Group was a key recommendation and it was agreed that this should be established as a matter of urgency and feedback to the next meeting. It was suggested that consideration be given to enhancing the involvement of Victim Support within the partnership including how they might contribute to the work of the PMG.

The Board were asked to forward any further comments on the review to Claire Kowalska.

The presentation was noted.

A verbal update was provided on planning for the next statutory strategic assessment to be undertaken in line with Home Office guidance. It was anticipated that the emerging priorities would be produced by December, with a view to consulting early in the New Year and achieving sign off in March/April. Partners were reminded of the imperative of providing as much evidence as possible to support the key funding priorities going forward.

The update was noted.

The Board received a short presentation on teenage pregnancy and safety on behalf of the shadow Health and Wellbeing Board including information of underlying trends and services and interventions in place. The interface with community safety issues was emphasised including higher risks of domestic violence, sexual exploitation etc. The importance of understanding the local picture and gathering supporting evidence was stressed and as such the important role partners could play in this regard was emphasised.

The presentation was noted.

The Board received an update on the action plan developed to address national and local challenges in tackling hate crime, key priorities and project areas for 2012-13. Officers in the Community Safety team would lead on co-ordinating delivery of the action plan through joint working with partners and other lead officers.

The Board noted the update.