Agenda item

[Report of the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Local Investments and Economic Growth.]

This report sets out Haringey’s Community Wealth Building approach (CWB), including: What CWB means in Haringey and why it is relevant; and key actions to implement CWB over the next year.

The Cabinet Member for Local Investment and Economic Growth introduced this report which set out Haringey’s Community Wealth Building approach (CWB), which included:

•           What CWB means in Haringey and why it is relevant; and

•           Key actions to implement CWB over the next year.

The Cabinet Member noted that community wealth building was fundamentally about equality and fairness. It was about using the Council’s direct powers and working with partner organisations to promote resilience and wealth – both financial and social – in our families and communities. Haringey had a high proportion of residents living below the poverty line (34%). This was evidence that the Borough’s economy was not working - especially for our poorest families and communities. Community Wealth Building offered an alternative approach which directly sought to address the fairness in the Borough’s economic system and wider society.

 To engage with external health organisations ref to 6.3.1 - Preston model held up and learn a lot form this. Closer to home work with neighbours - Islington and Camden. Ref 103 and 104 manage expectation and key foundations in place to build the strategy and raise aspirations.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that the Community Wealth Building Approach:

• Firstly, put a greater emphasis on the levers the Council had within its own control. Procurement spend was the obvious starting place for this work. The Council was already leading the way in getting small and Medium Sized Enterprises into its procurements. The Council would continue to build on this and emphasise Social Value within its procurements. This was about maximising the public good from every pound the Council spent.
• Secondly, it reinforced and brought into sharper focus the question of who was benefiting from changes. For example, when looking at jobs in the borough, CWB focussed on the quality of those jobs and who was getting them above and beyond the number of new jobs created.
• Thirdly, it emphasised the need for partnership working with other anchor organisations who were invested in Haringey and its residents. Working together we can have a more significant impact. As Lead Member for Local Investment and Economic Growth, the Cabinet Member would drive forward this work with partners and look forward to having early conversations on how we can work together.

The Cabinet Member closed by emphasising that Community Wealth Building was an approach. Preston, the area in the UK which had fully embraced this approach, had seen tangible benefits over the previous 10 years. Many of the Council’s neighbouring boroughs were actively developing their CWB approaches, which offered the Council a clear opportunity to work in partnership to improve the economic and social wealth of residents. Instilling community wealth building in what we do – haven reopened next year encouraging users to work on this.

In response to questions the following was noted:

• Paragraph 6.11 set out the time scale for measuring success of the KPI’s and the implementation plan would be compiled following  a decision at this meeting.
• The Council’s current spend on procuring contracts with a Haringey business code was around 25% and £107m. The Council was aiming to increase this to 30 % over the next 5 years to around £130 – £140 million spend.
• The strategy would cater for small start-ups and will provide the enablers to do this. The strategy openly encouraged small start-ups through to medium sized businesses to access local preference funding. These businesses are also given preference in the procurement strategy.

The Cabinet Member looked forward to working with Overview and Scrutiny on measuring the success of this strategy and engaging with them on the review of milestones.

RESOLVED

To approve Haringey’s approach to and definition of Community Wealth Building, i.e.

-      Using all the Council’s available levers, to make sure that every public pound delivers maximum public good and wherever possible builds the prosperity of local people and businesses as it travels through the local economy;

-      Employing these levers to support and enrich Haringey’s residents and communities, economically, through employment, and socially, with an emphasis on those who are struggling;

-      Residents having more of a stake in public services and the Haringey economy;

-      Working with partners, i.e. other public bodies, businesses and voluntary organisations, to embed a Community Wealth Building approach across the borough.

To agree key areas of implementation over the next year:

-      focusing on five key priority areas – Procurement, Economic Development Strategy, Insourcing, Workforce Strategy and Asset Management;

-      developing an approach to anchor organisations; and

-      embedding the CWB approach throughout the Council.

Reasons for decision

Community Wealth Building has been identified within the Borough Plan as a strategic priority for the Council because a different approach to economic development is needed to help achieve better outcomes for those who are most disadvantaged, and to create a better and more equal borough.

This decision will mark the launch of this work. A clear definition is needed of what is meant by Community Wealth Building in Haringey so that work can be prioritised and progress can be assessed, and to use as an expression of the Council’s values that can serve as a call to action for local organisations, institutions and businesses that share the Council’s values.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing

This is not considered to be a viable option given the commitment already made to Community Wealth Building in the Borough Plan, and the need to further define and then implement this approach.