Agenda and minutes

To received any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from the following:

Councillor Patrick Egan

David Hennings

Gary Ince

Lenny Kinnear

Clive Martinez                                    - Nigel Redmond substituted

Isobel Rawlinson                               - Patricia Salami substituted

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 dealt with at Item 13 below).

No items of Urgent Business were raised.

Members of theBoard 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.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2008 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2008 be confirmed as a correct record of the meeting.

It was noted that only two people of those present had attended the previous meeting.

The Board considered a report setting out the proposed Area Based Grant (ABG) allocation for the Enterprise Partnership Board for 2008/09.

It was noted that £1.181M had been allocated to the Board and it was proposed that this would be used to continue to fund the main programme for tackling Worklessness, the Haringey Guarantee. Work on Business and Enterprise Growth and Support would also continue to be funded and as part of the new approach to tackling Worklessness the Families into Work Programme in the Northumberland Park area was being launched and funded from the Area Based Grant.

The Board was advised the at the last HSP Board meeting, it had been agreed that a new Performance Management Framework would be developed in order to ensure that there was a consistent means of monitoring performance across the HSP. In addition, it was agreed that 2008/09 would form a transitional year to facilitate the move to the new ABG.  After the first six months of 2008/09 each of the projects funded would be reviewed and a decision as to which projects should continue to receive funding would be made, based on performance.

The Board was advised that the £100K allocated to the Families into Work project did not divert funding from existing projects. All of the projects funded as part of the Haringey Guarantee would continue to receive the agreed level of funding.

In response to concerns, it was noted that the Families into Work project was supported by a range of Third Sector organisations. It was agreed that the names of these organisations should be circulated to the Board.

RESOLVED:

That the Board note:

1. That the HSP had determined that the 2008/09 should be treated as a transitional year to facilitate the move to the new Area Based Grant and that a consistent Performance Management Framework would be developed across the HSP.

2. That the Thematic Boards would submit funding proposals to the HSP Performance Management Group for agreement.

3. That a workshop was being held on March, which would cover the new national duties contained within the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act and to embed the new Performance Management Framework.  

4. That a six monthly performance review would be conducted to identify any changes in activity or funding that may be required to meet LAA Performance Indicators.

5. That consistency, in terms of current funding, should be provided to existing commitments as far as practicable within the overall reduction of grant.

The Board received a report setting out recommendations in relation to the Haringey Guarantee Programme in anticipation of the end of its pilot phase.

It was noted that a number of evaluation reports had been produced since the Programme had been in existence. The final evaluation report reviewed the interventions used in delivering the Guarantee and had found that the majority of projects were working well and meeting their output targets. There were also signs that the holistic approach developed under the Guarantee was assisting both residents and local businesses. However, the nature of the Programme’s target group meant that it would take a longer period of time for it’s impact to become statistically evident.

The Board was advised that a final report would be submitted in June setting out performance during the final quarter. 

It was noted that a Social Firm, called Inclusive Solutions had been set up, which employed and was run by disabled people. Employees of the firm acted as training providers and it was suggested that there may be scope for the firm to do some work around assisting Benefit Claimants back into work.

There was a recognition amongst Partners that it took time for the impact of this kind of project to become apparent and this had been experience had been shared.

It was noted that internal and external colleagues had been contacted regarding the establishment of a joint service to provide business start up advice to disabled people. Within this it was noted that there was scope for further advice to be given on self employment opportunities and this would be best provided by Enterprise Agencies in the Borough.

RESOLVED:

That the delivery and development of the Haringey Guarantee continue on an interim basis until the presentation of the Final Evaluation and Action Plan.

The Board received a report setting out progress made against the programme for tackling Worklessness across the Upper Lea Valley from 2008 until March 2010. The Programme, known as the North London Pledge, had been formed in order to create a link between the three Boroughs on tackling Worklessness and to develop and build on good practice.

It was noted that the Programme would be delivered by the Haringey Guarantee and would feed into to and complement mainstream provision and other employment and skills interventions in the sub-region.

The Board was advised that the three Boroughs involved would meet in late February to plan the delivery of the Programme with Haringey’s Employment and Skills team.

RESOLVED:

To note the report.

The Board considered a report that provided an update on the development of the Families into Work Programme.

The Programme was an innovative pilot project that would focus on one hundred families in the Northumberland Park Ward with the aim of developing a multi agency approach to addressing Worklessness and social exclusion issues. This would be done by working closely with families to improve the life chances of all family members.

It was noted that the pilot would take place over a three year period and would include an embedded evaluation. A team of four people would be established to work with the one hundred families identified. Participation in the scheme was voluntary and required permission from the families for Services to share information about them in order to form the best package of services to meet their needs.

The Chair advised that she had spoken to the Chief Executive at ?? and had been advised that they would be happy to be associated with the project.

In response to concerns that smaller businesses may not be sufficiently involved and that opportunities for self employment were not given enough prominence, the Board was advised that consideration was being given to holding an Employment Event, which would be hosted by CoNEL. This would provide an opportunity for these areas to be looked at.

Councillor Amin noted that self employment often provided an initial route into employment for people from BME backgrounds. Although this provided a good option for many people, it was not a complete route and work could be carried out to develop this further.

RESOLVED:

That the programme of work to develop and establish the project, previously funded under the Neighbourhood Working Fund, continue to be funded from the Area Based Grant.

The Board considered a report on progress made in relation to the two LAA Stretch Targets under it’s responsibility around supporting long term Workless residents into employment:

• Reducing the number of Haringey residents in receipt of incapacity benefits for six months or more, who had been helped into sustainable employment of at least sixteen hours per week for thirteen consecutive weeks or more.

• Supporting Job Seekers Allowance Claimants and one hundred and one Lone Parents into employment by June 2010.

It was noted that good progress had been made in relation to the second of the two targets. However, no long term Incapacity  Benefit (IB) claimants had been supported into long term employment. The Board was advised that other Boroughs had also been unable to meet this target and that this issue had been discussed at pan-London meetings.

Measures to address this were being considered and the Haringey Guarantee would also be used to assist a number of long term claimants back into work. The Board recognised the difficulties around achieving the target and noted the work that was being carried out in order to address this.  

RESOLVED:

To note the report.

The Board received a report that provided an update on progress in relation to negotiations with the Government Office for London (GOL) on the thirty-five LAA Performance Indicators, which would form the basis of Haringey’s Local Area Agreement, from June 2008.

It was noted that there were four indicators included within the proposed thirty-five that were within the Enterprise Boards responsibility and that GOL had raised no objection to these.

The Board was advised that NI 116 (Proportion of Children Living in Poverty) would sit within the responsibility of the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board. However, due to the link between child poverty and Worklessness, the Enterprise Board would also need to monitor this in terms of performance.

Concern had also been raised concern by the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board at proposals that Indicators in relation to NEETs, and the attainment of Level Two qualifications, were to be included within the Enterprise Boards responsibility and it was suggested that these should be monitored by both Boards. There was agreement that this approach was sensible.

It was noted that Local Indicators would also be used in addition to the thirty-five National Indicators proposed.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Board received a report setting out arrangements for the LAA Thematic Board Workshops.

It was noted that the workshops were being held in order to discuss the LAA and the requirements of the new Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act for Local Strategic Partnerships. There would also be a focus upon the role and responsibilities of the of the Board and it’s membership and an opportunity to look at the new Performance Management Framework.

The Board noted that Enterprise Board Workshop was being held on 20 March, at 2pm, in the Council Chamber, at the Civic Centre.

RESOLVED:

To note the report.

The Board received a report setting out performance against a number of indicators identified by the Board as being critical in monitoring the strategic aim of improving the economic Well-Being of the Borough. It also included benchmarking data comparing Haringey with five other London Boroughs with similar characteristics.

It was noted that there were two errors in the report. The first related to the Working Age Benefit Claim Rate and the twelve worst Wards in Haringey; the figure of 23.3% was should have been shown as 23.5%.  The second error was in relation to ??

An overview of performance against the key indicators was provided and in response to a question, the Board was advised that the rise in A8 status may be due to the increasing number of 25 to 34 year olds moving into the Tottenham area.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.  

To consider any new items of Urgent Business.

No new items of Urgent Business were raised.

To consider any items of AOB.

No items of AOB were raised.

The following dates have been provisionally agreed for the Enterprise Board during the next municipal year 2008/09:

11 June 2008, 2pm

8 September, 2pm

10 December, 2pm

9 March, 2pm

Please note that these have not yet been confirmed and may still be subject to change.

The Board noted that the following provisional dates had been set for 2008/09:

11 June, 2pm

8 September, 2pm

10 December, 2pm

9 March, 2pm.

Once the Council’s Calendar of Meetings had been confirmed the Board would be advised.