Minutes:
The Committee invited the Cabinet Member for Communities, Engagement and Safety to partake in a question and answer session on his portfolio. The Chair drew the Cabinet Member’s attention to the following questions which were put forward by members of the public as part of the Scrutiny Café process in October:
· How could links be fostered between residents throughout the Borough, especially east - west where there are few public transport connections?
· How could intergenerational involvement and the outcomes that can be achieved from young people and older people working together be encouraged?
· A large number of community buildings had been lost in recent years. Had consideration been given to developing an inventory of them?
· The Runnymede Trust did a survey of Haringey's race equality scorecard before the last Council elections, drawing on Council statistics. What plans were there to develop a comprehensive action plan in response to this?
· How was it intended to address race inequality issues and how will the local community be engaged within this process?
In response to the above questions, the following was noted in response:
a. The Cabinet Member acknowledged the importance with which the Council and partners regarded the issue of serious youth violence and advised that 120 people attended a recent community meeting. During the meeting employment emerged as a key theme of the discussion. The Cabinet Member advised that he was working with officers to hold similar meetings regularly, including plans for two public meetings in the summer, one in Wood Green and one in Tottenham. Partners from the Bridge Renewal Trust were undertaking a mapping exercise to map provision for young people across the Borough. The Cabinet Member also advised that the Haringey Community Gold had been launched with the deployment of 6 detached youth-workers. The Cabinet Member also advised that the police recently chaired a meeting on community safety concerns specific to the east of the Borough including robberies of young people.
b. The Cabinet Member advised that he would come back to the Committee with a written answer in relation to the question on intergenerational involvement. (Action: Cllr Mark Blake).
c. In relation to community buildings, the Cabinet Member advised that a process was underway to identify 25 buildings as part of a community buildings review. The Committee was also advised that the policy was being revised and would come back to Cabinet in due course. The Cabinet Member advised that the Council was currently trialling a project around social value rents.
d. The Cabinet Member advised that the Council needed to integrate the equalities agenda with its wider policy agenda to ensure that it was front and centre. The Cabinet Member also advised that Haringey worked closely with the Runnymede Trust on their draft scorecard report but were still awaiting the final report. The Cabinet Member advised that he hoped to get the report back in time in order to formally report to the Fairness Commission.
e. The Cabinet Member set out that the Borough Plan identified a range of priorities to tackle race equality issues such as youth justice and levels of temporary accommodation. The Borough Plan also set out the connected communities programme which sought to provide support to recent migrants. The Council was also currently undertaking a review of school exclusions and alternative provision. Furthermore, the Council published its Youth at Risk Strategy which was agreed at Cabinet in March and which identified black boys as a priority group.
f. The Chair requested that a report on social value rents come back to a future meeting of the Committee for consideration, particularly in relation to its impact upon the voluntary and community sector. (Action: Rob Mack).
A summary of the questions put forward by Committee members, as well as the responses from the Cabinet Member are set out below:
a. In relation to concerns raised in relation to Section 60 searches, the Cabinet Member acknowledged that there were deep community concerns about the use of these powers but also recognised that they could be effective when used correctly. The Cabinet Member promulgated the need for an evidence led approach and acknowledged that the Council and partners needed to keep asking questions locally.
b. The Committee sought further details about the Haringey Community Gold programme and how the outreach workers would operate. In response, officers advised that the resource would be responsive to issues within the community rather than individuals, and would bring together a programme of interventions involving key community partners. The Cabinet Member cautioned that this was a finite resource and that the overall provision of resources was still significantly lower than in 2010.
c. The Committee welcomed the funding provided by the Young Londoners Fund for the Community Gold and sought further information around the ongoing budget provision for this. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that the funding was for an initial three-year period and that alternative sources of funding were being examined for the future. The Cabinet Member commented that that Haringey would be submitting a bid to the Home Office’s Youth Endowment Fund.
d. In response to a question around proposed interventions planned in the west of the Borough and to what extent the youth worker resources would be operating in the west of the borough, the Cabinet Member acknowledged that there was a significant level of need across the borough and that interventions would take place accordingly. The Cabinet Member also advised that he was looking to speak to colleges at Alexandra Palace to see if there was scope to hold some youth worker provision at that location.
e. The Committee raised concerns from the community in relation to proposed rent increases for community buildings and welcomed the Cabinet Member’s comments about a social value rent trial. The Cabinet Member advised that he was happy to meet with community groups to discuss their concerns in relation to community buildings and suggested that officers would be happy to come back and provide an update to the Committee on the social value rent trial for community buildings.