Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and reported the apologies received.  Professor Keith Phillips arrived late at the meeting and the Chair noted Professor Phillip’s apology.  At the beginning of the meeting the Board was not quorate.  The Board agreed to start the meeting but only make recommended decisions. With the attendance of Professor Phillips, the Board became quorate.  The Board then reviewed its discussions at the meeting so far that evening and all the recommended decisions were ratified by the Board. 

That the minutes of the Board Meeting held on 9 February 2006, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 February were agreed as a correct record.

(if any)

The Board noted that the election process for the Voluntary and Community Sector representatives had been initiated.

Paul Najsarek (Director, People Performance and Policy, Harrow Council) introduced the report that informed the Board of Harrow Council’s upcoming Corporate Assessment and Joint Area Review. 

The Director outlined that Corporate Assessment (CPA) measures how well a council is working to deliver improved services and outcomes for local people.  CPA has recently changed with a strong focus on delivering to communities – being safer, stronger, healthier and sustainable.  This element of the CPA goes well beyond assessing the work of the council alone and concerns itself with the improvements achieved by the Council in partnership - including the through HSP. 

The Joint Area Review (JAR) inspection will concern itself with all providers of services affecting children and young people and, in particular, the improvements achieved through effective partnership working with the Council.

To prepare for this, Harrow Council is undertaking a self-assessment process that has already commenced and will continue through to the period leading up to the inspection itself.  To facilitate this, a combined CPA and JAR Project Board has been set up within the Council.  This Board will establish a timetable for engagement with key partners on the preparation for the inspections.  The Director asked the Board to note that a HSP engagement plan will be put to the next meeting of the Executive for discussion and agreement. 

The Director explained the CPA and JAR inspections will commence on 27 November 2006. 

The HSP Board was asked to note that representatives of the HSP will be requested to attend interviews with the Inspectors as an integral part of the process.

The HSP Board was requested to agree that members of the Board and Executive participate in the initial self-assessment during March and April 2006 through individual meetings. 

Mike Coker questioned whether the JAR inspection would look at carers.  Paul Najsarek undertook to speak to Mike Coker about further details.

AGREED: That

(1)         The overall approach being taken in relation to the preparation of the CPA and JAR was noted;

(2)         An HSP engagement plan will be put to the next meeting of the HSP Executive for discussion and agreement;

(3)         Members note that representatives of the HSP will be requested to attend interviews with the Inspectors;

(4)         Members of the HSP Board and Executive will participate in the initial self-assessment through individual meetings.  These meetings are likely to occur during March and April 2006. 

Paper from the Director of People Performance and Policy, Harrow Council.

Mike Howes (Service Manager, Policy and Partnership Service) introduced the report and explained the reasons for re-commissioning the Quality of Life Survey in 2006.  He explained that it was important for comparative purposes, that the survey was not substantially changed between years. 

He stated that a postal survey would be carried out with a ‘booster’ distribution in wards which had a high proportion of Black and Minority Ethnic residents. 

Members of the HSP Board noted that the re-commissioned survey would cost £31,000 and that it would be carried out by MORI in June 2006.  They were informed of the cost of the survey would be funded from the pump priming grant received for the Local Area Agreement (LAA), if that was agreed in a later agenda item to be considered by the Board at this meeting. 

Barbara Field (Harrow College) noted that the HSP Executive considered this issue at its last meeting and the general consensus of the Executive was that this was a good use of the pump priming grant. 

Members of the Board questioned why South Harrow had not been included as one of the areas to receive a ‘booster’.  Paul Najsarek undertook to clarify this point.

AGREED: That

(1)         The Quality of Life Survey be re-commissioned from MORI in June 2006 and that it be funded from the LAA pump priming grant.

Paper from the Director of People Performance and Policy, Harrow Council.

Deborah Palmer (Senior Policy Officer, Policy and partnership Service, Harrow Council) introduced the report that explained the final details of Harrow’s final Local Area Agreement (LAA). 

She reported that the Harrow’s LAA had been signed off on 23 March 2006 at a signing ceremony that was attended by the Minister for Local Government, Geoff Rose (Vice Chair of the HSP Board) and Chair of the Harrow Primary Care Trust and Councillor Marie-Louise Nolan, Communicators, Partnership and Human Resources Portfolio Holder at Harrow Council. 

At that time, 75% of the 12 stretched targets in the LAA had been agreed.  The three stretched targets still to be agreed focus on:

a.      Volunteering

b.      Community cohesion

c.      Traffic congestion

There is still potential to negotiate the volunteering target before June 2006 and that central Government (represented by the Government Office for London) expects to be able to negotiate community cohesion and traffic congestion targets within the first year of the agreement. 

It was explained that Harrow will receive a proportion of the total pump-priming grant equal to the percentage of stretched targets agreed before 1 April 2006, that is 75% of the total pump priming grant will be paid as 75% of the 12 stretched targets had been agreed.

It was proposed to the Board that the total amount of pump priming grant be spent as outlined on page 29 of the Board papers.  It was also proposed that action plans be developed for the delivery of all of the stretched indictors in the LAA. 

Paul Najsarek outlined that the community development support officer would be appointed by the Council to work specifically with the Voluntary and Community Sector on a range of community development work, but specifically to assist with the capacity building and community cohesion outcomes sought in the LAA. 

Deborah Palmer reported that, to support the implementation of the LAA, the HSP Performance Management Working Group will meet in April 2006 to work through the indicators in the LAA and how these will be incorporated into the balanced scorecard to be reported to the HSP Board.  The scorecard will also include other key indicators that are identified by the HSP Management Groups together with key indicators from the Community Strategy. The frequency of reporting will be every three months, in line with the council’s reporting to Cabinet. Six monthly reports will be sent to the Government Office for London (GOL). 

AGREED: That

(1)          pump priming grant be allocated in respect of the stretched indicators as outlined in the table on page 29 of the papers.  Payment of the pump- priming grant to partners will occur once the council has established a service level agreement with the relevant partner. 

(2)         Project leads should begin work on the projects that support the achievement of the stretched indicators by beginning to draft project delivery plans.

Paper from the Chief Executive of Harrow Association of Voluntary Service.

Alan Peel (Harrow Association of Voluntary Service) introduced a report on the monitoring of Harrow’s Compact and its five Codes of Practice.  It was reported that a Monitoring Group had been established and this would meet approximately twice per year.  It was also reported that the Group would produce a brief précis of the Compact and its Codes and this would be disseminated and widely as possible through the various partnerships. 

Alan Peel also reported that the Group had agreed that a monitoring form would be produced and this form would be the main way of ensuring that the Compact was being adhered to. 

AGREED: That

(1)          The Code and Compact Monitoring Group will produce a report detailing good and bad practice and the impact of the Compact that will be taken to the HSP Board on a annual basis.  Where there are serious breaches of the Code or Compact, this will be brought to the HSP Board and Executive for discussion. 

Induction of new members in the HSP

Mike Coker (Community Linkup) tabled a report to the Board outlining a request for induction of new members in the HSP.

Mike Coker highlighted that the elections for the new Voluntary and Community Sector Representatives to become members of the HSP were currently taking place and it was likely that membership of the Board would change. 

Councillor Navin Shah (Harrow Council) noted that it was also likely that due to the local elections taking place in May 2006, some of the Council members on the HSP may also change. 

Mike Coker outlined that, due to these changes, there needed to be a commitment to provide induction for new members, especially those who come from hard to reach groups and may not have engaged with such meetings before. 

Barbara Field (Harrow College) suggested that a mentoring or buddying system might also help new members of the HSP when they join.  These proposals were widely supported by the Board members. 

Professor Keith Phillips (University of Westminster) agreed that it was up to members of the HSP Board both individually and collectively to ensure that handover occurs to provide greater continuity in the partnerships current work.

AGREED: That

(1)         The Policy and Partnership Service would develop an induction pack for new HSP Board members and provide additional support as appropriate.

Thanks to all partners

Councillor Navin Shah formally thanked all partners as the Leader of the Council for all the hard work that the members of the partnership had done to deliver sustained benefits to the community in the partnership forum. 

The Board thanked Councillor Navin Shah for chairing the HSP Board meetings. 

Future Board Meetings have been scheduled for:

Thursday 1 June 2006 at 6.00 pm in Committee Room 3

Thursday 3 August 2006 at 6.00 pm in Committee Room 3

Thursday 5 October 2006 at 6.00 pm in Committee Room 3

Thursday 7 December 2006 at 6.00 pm in Committee Room 3

Thursday 1 June 2006 at 6:00pm in Committee Room 3