Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

Councillor Pat Egan

Paul Head

David Hennings

Isobel Rawlinson

Walter Steel

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2008 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the addition of Martha Osmor to the people listed as being present, the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2008 be confirmed as a correct record.

Members of the Board 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 if any items of Urgent Business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be considered under agenda Item 9 below).

No items of Urgent Business were raised.

The Board considered a report setting out its Terms of Reference for 2008/09.

It was noted that amendments had been made to the Board’s Terms of Reference to reflect the objectives of the new Local Area Agreement (LAA) and to develop the link between the Enterprise Board and the groups beneath it.

RESOLVED:

That the Terms of Reference, as set out, be approved.

The Board received a discussion paper on the recently published Green Paper: ‘No One Written Off: Reforming Welfare to Reward Responsibility’. 

It was noted that this built on an earlier Green Paper entitled ‘In Work, Better Off: Next Steps to Full Employment’ and contained proposals that the Government believed would be crucial in achieving the aspiration of an 80 per cent full employment.

A presentation was given setting out the key proposals contained within the Green Paper. These included:

• Reducing the number of Incapacity Benefit (IB) Claimants by £1M
• Reforming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)
• Introducing a new Employment Support Allowance (ESA) that would replace IB for new claimants from October 2008
• Targeting of drug users and new measures to support drug users into work
• Allowing people over sixty to access Work Focussed Interviews
• A pilot for JSA claimants to undergo a skills ‘Health Check’
• Simplifying and streamlining the Benefit system

Following the presentation the Board discussed the proposals contained within the Green Paper, the likely implications for the Partnership and how individual organisations would address these.

There was concern raised at the range of proposals contained within the Green Paper and the pressure this would place upon organisations. It was noted that organisations with staff working with Job Seekers would be placed under particular pressure as they would need to train their staff.

RESOLVED:

1. That the Green Paper be noted.

2. That the comments made by the Board be incorporated within the response to the Green Paper.

This item is for information and includes details of:

• Performance Management Highlight Report: 1^st Quarter (April – June) 2008/09
• Risk Management Strategy and Framework for HSP (this report was considered by the HSP on 3 July 2008).
• Introduction of Risk Registers

The Board received a report setting out information in relation to Performance for Quarter 1 (April-June) and the Risk Management Strategy adopted by the HSP on 3 July.

Performance Highlight Report: 1^st Quarter (April-June) 2008/09

Included within the report were details of  was noted that there were no areas of under performance during the first quarter.

Risk Management Strategy and Framework for the HSP

The Board was advised that the HSP agreed approved the Risk Management Strategy referred to in the report and that as part of this Risk Registers were being introduced across the Thematic Boards.

The Risk Management Strategy had been introduced in order to ensure that a uniform approach was adopted across the HSP and Thematic Boards in terms of risk management and identifying risks appropriately. 

RESOLVED:

The Board considered a report setting out the progress that had been made against the main programmes aimed at addressing Worklessness in the Borough.

Haringey Guarantee

The Board was provided with an update on the Evaluation of the Haringey Guarantee originally received on 11 June. It was noted that the final Evaluation showed that the overall target had been achieved in terms of the number of people being assisted by the Haringey Guarantee. Targets in relation to the engagement of local businesses and volunteering had also been met.

Families into Work

The Families into Work project had now been successfully set up and would be formally launched in October 2008.

North London Pledge

It was noted that a total of £600K had been allocated to the delivery of the programme during the current financial year. A further £910K had been allocated for 2009/10.

RESOLVED:

1. That the developments and progress in relation to each of the programmes be noted.

2. That the development of a Strategic Partnership on Employer Engagement be approved as part of the Haringey Guarantee.

This item is for information.

The Board received the full Regeneration Strategy Delivery Plan 2008/11.

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 4.

No new items of Urgent Business were raised.

To discuss any items of AOB.

No items of AOB were raised.

To note meeting dates for 2008/09:

• 2 December 2008, 2pm

• 16 March 2009, 2pm

The Board was asked to note the following dates of future meetings:

• 10 December 2008, 2pm.
• 9 March 2009, 2pm.