An opportunity to question the Cabinet Member for Communities, Councillor Eugene Ayisi, on developments within the parts of his portfolio that relate to the terms of reference of the Panel.
Minutes:
Councillor Eugene Ayisi, the Cabinet Member for Communities, reported on the key priorities in his portfolio that came within the terms of reference for the Panel. These were based around reducing re-offending, improving confidence in policing and sustainable youth provision. He referred to the recent terrorist incident at Finsbury Park mosque and stated that he was pleased that reassurance had been given to the local community by community safety partners. Discussions on resilience had already taken place with faith groups to address feelings of vulnerability. There had been an increase in visible Police presence and, in addition, work was being undertaken to enable communities to police themselves. The Prevent programme to address violent extremism was continuing in the borough and a faith forum had been established. Faith groups had stated that their biggest concern was to ensure that young people had somewhere to go and something to do in their spare time. There was concern that some were getting into trouble.
The Cabinet Member responded to questions as follows;
· The Council and Homes for Haringey both welcomed job applications for people who may have offended when younger and complied with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. There were nevertheless some offences that were never considered “spent” and some roles were exempt from the provisions of the Act. In such cases, a risk assessment was undertaken. The Chair raised the issue of cases where previous offences had not been flagged up on employment but action taken retrospectively. The Director of Children’s Services reported that he would be disappointed if this had happened within Children’s Services and stated that he would be happy to look at any individual cases where it was felt that this might have occurred.
· He felt that young people mainly carried knives because they were afraid. The Police Territorial Support Group had been active in the borough periodically during spikes in the levels of knife crime. Stop and search was now undertaken based on intelligence rather than the appearance of individuals. Discussions had taken place with the Borough Commander to ensure that Police officers based outside of the borough treated young people respectfully when deployed in Haringey. Work to restrict access to knives had taken place and involved 195 businesses. Test purchases had also been made. Monthly problem solving meetings were held with community safety partners.
· He felt that early intervention and closing educational attainment gaps were the long terms solution to knife crime. Panel Members raised the issue of knife arches. It was noted that the provision of these within schools was in the Mayors strategy for addressing the issue. Although they were not ideal, they could make young people feel safer. It was noted that Haringey was 5th in London for knife crimes but top for those that were gang related.
· Project Future was currently working with 130 young people. 65% of those attending accessed therapeutic help. In addition, a number had become volunteers at the project. Funding had been secured to enable the project to continue to May 2018. This had been financed by the Council, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust and an underspend from the Big Lottery fund.
· In reference to the Prevent programme, he reported that concerns had been raised in some areas of the country that the programme might be too invasive. It was therefore important that the community was involved in developing it. Lots of work was being undertaken in schools within Haringey, including primaries, as well as colleges. There was a steady flow of referrals. The programme was not just concerned with Islamic extremism but right wing and all other sorts.
· There was an extensive programme of activities for all young people during the summer holidays. He felt that this was nevertheless not enough. There was a need to re-visit proposals to develop the Youth Zone. The Council was not in a position where it could turn down £3 million for youth services. A decision needed to be made regarding the site though. He recognised that there were some concerns but it would be possible to re-shape the proposal if need be. He agreed to provide a written response to the concerns that had been raised by the last meeting of the Panel.
AGREED:
That the Cabinet Member for Communities be requested to circulate a written response to the Panel to the issues that had been raised by them previously in respect of proposals for the Haringey Youth Zone.