Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any Substitute Members, in accordance with paragraph 4.12 of the Harrow Partnership Governance Handbook.

AGREED:  To

(1)       note the attendance at this meeting of the following substitute Members:-

(2)      note the apologies received.

(if any).

AGREED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made.

That the minutes of the Board Meeting held on 15 June 2010 and the Special Board Meetings held on 22 July 2010 and 18 October 2010, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

AGREED: 

That (1) the minutes of the Board meetings held on 15 June 2010 and the special meeting on 22 July be taken and read as a correct record;

(2)               That the minutes of the special Board meeting held on Monday 18 October 2010 be taken and read as a correct record subject to the following amendment - The final sentence in Minute Item 32 be amended to read:

Turnover and reduction in staff was expected as PCTs would to be abolished by 2013.

Report of the Corporate Director, Place Shaping, Harrow Council.

The Regeneration Project Manager, Harrow Council, introduced a report on the draft Local Economic Assessment (LEA). The officer explained that an assessment of the economic conditions of the local area had been undertaken. This sought to ensure that local economic development and related strategies would contribute to the borough’s plans for regeneration and development. The officer requested that the Board comment on the LEA.

Members discussed and commented on the key issues arising from the assessment which, the officer responded to as follows:

·                     The statutory requirement to complete an assessment had not been removed by the new Government. However, the guidance provided in March 2010 had been withdrawn. Councils were now free to determine the breadth and scope of their assessment reflecting local priorities. The LEA consolidated information relating to the local economy held by the Council and external agencies. The LEA would be used to form a robust evidence based economic strategy and would contribute to the West London LEA;

·                     Nationally available statistics had been used to compile the LEA. Any additional and relevant information held by local organisations or groups would be welcomed;

·                     Harrow Association of Voluntary Services (HAVS) had been consulted as the umbrella organisation for local voluntary and community groups within the borough. Officers would consider comments and information provided by other members of the voluntary sector;

·                     Additional information relating to the results of the consultation and the final strategy would be published on the Council’s website.  Hard copies of the final strategy would also be available at community organisations and libraries.

The Chairman advised that officers within the Economic Development Unit had worked intensively to devise the assessment. He added that the Council was committed to working in partnership with all members of the Board.

AGREED:  That the presentation be noted.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive.

The board received a report by that outlined the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) was presented to the Board.

Officers advised that the Council would receive a reduction in formula grant funding over the next four years. There would be a 1.9% net reduction in spending power in cash terms in the 2011/12 financial year. The Chief Executive of Harrow Council reported that the abolition of national indicators and ring-fencing of funding for certain services provided greater flexibility in how funds could be spent. He added that Harrow had fared relatively well compared to other London Councils and that the CSR provided opportunities to consider how the provision of certain services would be delivered in the future.

The Chairman reported that this was a difficult economic time with a degree of uncertainty. The Council would be required to make in-year cuts of £5 million and would need to consider the impact of a reduction in police funding. He advised that protecting front-line services was a key consideration for the Board alongside the importance of working with partnership organisations to ensure residents’ needs were being met. He added that the ‘Better Deal for Residents’ programme would seek to make the delivery of services to residents more cost-effective and make further savings in future years.

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

The Board received a report that provided feedback on the HSP Summit meeting where the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review and the impact on local partnerships were also discussed.

The Chairman advised that as part of the consultation on the Council’s proposed vision and priorities, the views of partnership organisations would be considered alongside results of the extensive consultation with residents. He added that the findings of the summit would be circulated to attendees of the summit and published on the Harrow Council website.

A Member of the Board added that the summit had been useful in identifying how the implications of the CSR would influence the provision of services in the future.

AGREED:  That the report be noted. 

Verbal update by the Chief Executive, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and the Chief Executive, NHS Harrow and NHS Brent.

The Chief Executive of NHS Harrow and Brent provided a verbal update on the progress made in restructuring North West London Hospitals NHS and NHS Harrow and NHS Brent. The Board were advised that:

·                     Following the reduction in NHS funding, management teams within North West London would be reduced from eight to three. Harrow and Brent would merge in order to draw on the experience of existing professionals within both boroughs and minimise management costs. The Director of Strategic Commissioning in NHS Brent had recently been appointed as Borough Director for Harrow;

·                     The financial position of the Trust had been adjusted to account for changes in services and funding. Unexpected expenditure for acute services and community contracts had contributed to the projected overspend of NHS Harrow. This had been forecasted to be between £12.9 million and £19.8 million.  In order to achieve the estimated outturn of a £15.9 million deficit, it was anticipated that some services and primary care contracts would be suspended or reconsidered. Board members were confident that NHS Harrow would break even at the end of the next financial year if plans to out-source work to other hospitals and increase the number of GP referrals to hospitals outside of the borough came to fruition;

·                     The Board had recently identified a projected savings target of £50 million (14% saving) for the next financial year.

Following the update, the Chairman added that work had begun to establish a Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board for Harrow. It was felt that this would support the work of NHS Harrow and NHS Brent and strengthen the partnership with NHS Harrow and the Harrow Partnership Board.

A discussion on the financial position of NHS Harrow took place where representatives of NHS Harrow responded to questions as follows:

·                     Following proposals in the Central Government white paper ‘Equity and Excellence’ GP consortiums would make budgetary decisions from 2013. NHS Harrow would continue to make budgetary decisions on spending until 2013 and support consortiums until then. Members of the Board would strive to take strategic decisions in order to balance the books

·                     Members of the NHS Harrow Board were aware of the implications of addressing the financial difficulties which had arisen from the significant unplanned rise in spending and reduction in growth funding. A number of measures, such as, joining up health and social care arrangements could be taken to deliver more long-term cost-effective services in the future;

The Chairman added that Central government would be providing ring-fenced funding for certain NHS services. Officers and Portfolio Holders for Harrow Council had been kept updated on the decisions made by NHS Harrow. Members of the Council attended shadow board meetings to represent the interests of the Board and the wider community.

AGREED:  That the update be noted.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive.

The Board received a report that provided an update on the abolition of Local Area Agreements (LAA). As a result, the partnership would have greater flexibility to amend targets without prior approval or performance monitoring from Central Government. Officers added that the potential grant of approximately £1.2 million for achieving targets in the 2008-11 LAA would not now be payable.

The Board were advised that LAA would be monitored until the end of March 2011.

In light of these policy changes and reforms, the direction and priorities of the partnership would be reviewed at the beginning of 2011. Harrow Chief Executives would conduct a further review of the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and its impact on the direction of the Partnership. An action plan on the key outcomes of both of these reviews would be developed in order to inform the partnership of its priorities and how achievements would be set against these priorities.

AGREED:  That the report be noted. 

Report of the Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

The Chief Executive of Harrow Council presented a report that provided an update of the issues considered by the Harrow Chief Executives’ (HCE) meeting on 29 November 2010. He advised that part of the discussion at the meeting related to the capacity for safeguarding children and young people by organisations throughout the borough. The HCE had identified that in order to maximise the effectiveness of existing partnerships and make cost-savings, certain areas within the partnership could be strengthened. He added that any advice or suggestions provided by representatives on the Board would be fed back to HCE.

A Council Officer also presented the quarterly performance report of the partnership that was considered by the HCE meeting. This outlined the HCE responses to a number of recommendations outlined in the performance report, which included:

·                     Identifying further efficiencies within the Special Needs Transport teams of the Council and NHS Harrow that would deliver additional savings;

·                     Reviewing existing contracts with strategic agencies to identify areas where savings could be made;

·                     Considering opportunities for the training and development of young people within the borough;

·                     Exploring the possibility of developing a work programme charter that supported local businesses and provided skills training opportunities for young people in Harrow;

·                     Identifying vulnerable communities within the borough and considering the benefits of encouraging residents to sign up to SmartWater;

·                     Identifying a leader from the West London Alliance (WLA) and a business representative from West London business delegate to represent the views and interests of all West London Boroughs on the London Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board.

In response to a question relating to the work programme charter, the Member of the Board advised that the Council’s responsibilities for the work programme had been outlined in the worklessness agenda. He added the comments on this subject matter would be considered in all follow up reports to the HCE.

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

The date of the next Board Meeting is to be confirmed.

AGREED:  To note that the date of the next meeting of the Board would be held on 8 March 2011.