Agenda and minutes

The Leader of the Council and Chair of the Board, Councillor Thaya Idaikkadar, welcomed attendees to the meeting.  The Chair also paid a particular welcome to Richard Claydon and Rozmin Meghjee who were attending their first meeting of the Board.

To note the attendance at this meeting of any Substitute Members, in accordance with paragraph 12.7 of the Harrow Partnership Governance Handbook.

Mr Steve Porter announced that he had been nominated by the Voluntary and Community Sector to replace Julie Browne on the Board.

AGREED: That

(1)               Mr Steve Porter replace Julie Browne as a Member of the Board;

(2)               the apologies received be noted.

(if any).

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

That the minutes of the Board Meeting held on 28 June 2012, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

AGREED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2012 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

The Board received a report which provided information on a proposed Community Cohesion and Integration Charter that could be adopted by all partners represented on the Board.

Officers introduced the report and explained that in July 2011, the Harrow Strategic Partnership had decided to disband the Community Cohesion Management Group.  However the Partnership did not wish to lose the focus on Community Cohesion and agreed to create a smaller transition task and finish group to embed the principles of community cohesion across the Partnership.  This task and finish group had now concluded their work and developed a Community Cohesion and Integration Charter recommended for adoption by all partners.

Officers also reported that a wealth of research had been conducted on what other authorities had in place in relation to Community Cohesion.  This document reflected best practice whilst also ensuring that it was relevant for Harrow.

In response to a query raised by a Member of the Board, an officer responded that not all boroughs in London were adopting a Charter.  However this Charter developed was based on best practice and relevant to Harrow.

Members of the Board commented that the adoption of the Charter was positive particularly in light of the diverse communities in Harrow.

AGREED:  That

(1)               the Harrow Community Cohesion and Integration Charter be adopted;

(2)               the Chair of the Harrow Partnership Board sign the Community Cohesion and Integration Charter on behalf of all Members.

(3)               the Safer Harrow and Shadow Health and Well-being Boards to amend their terms of reference to include the Community Cohesion and Integration Charter;

(4)               all Members of the Partnership Board disseminate the Community Cohesion and Integration Charter within their organisations to adopt and embed the principles.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources, Harrow Council.

The Chief Executive, Harrow Council, introduced the report and explained that the financial challenges facing the Council and its partners were tough.  However progress was being made in reducing the relevant financial gaps, despite difficult settlement figures provided to the Council.

The financial gap had increased that what had been previously expected due to a flat economy nationally, an increase in demand for services, a decrease in income levels, an ageing population and an increase in pressure for school places.

The Council had saved a significant amount of the savings target required by undertaking projects such as reducing senior managers, re-negotiating terms and conditions with staff whilst protecting front line services.  It was even more important for all partners to work together to face the financial challenges that all partners currently faced.

The Chief Executive, Harrow Council, then asked other partners to share their organisations current position in relation to the management of its finances.  The following points were made:

·                    the North West London Hospital NHS Trust had a savings target of £16 million, which were back loaded to the end of the relevant financial year.  It was expected that the savings would be delivered;

·                    the budget for the entire Metropolitan Police across London would decrease by £500 million. Savings were therefore being investigated for Harrow which could be challenging.  The Police already had effective partnerships in place and would look to build on this good position to see how work could be conducted more effectively and efficiently in the future;

·                    the London Fire Brigade would be required to make budget savings. At this stage it was unsure as to what the specific targets would be and their consequences.  However at this stage, it was not anticipated that there would be any major detriment caused to Harrow;

·                    the Clinical Commissioning Groups had inherited the debt from the PCT which amounted to £42 million.  This would be a significant challenge to address;

·                    the Education Sector was being affected by budget cuts and an increase in demand for training for skills.

During the discussion in this item, Members of the Board raised a number of queries which were responded to as follows:

·                    different sources of funding for Under One Sky were being investigated;

·                    the proposals provided in the report related to the Draft Budget of the Council.  As a result all of the proposals were still subject to consultation;

·                    the Circles of Support scheme was based on a sustainable model over 3 years.  This was an invest to save long term and prevention project.  The delivery of this project would be put out to tender.

During the discussion on this item, Members of the Board made a number of comments as follows:

·                    if all partners worked together, the difficult financial challenges could be overcome;

·                    it was important for partners to be aware of how budget cuts could impact on other partners.  There could be potential ‘knock on’ effects;

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

An officer introduced the report which provided an update on the progress of the 4 whole place community budget pilots and the potential they demonstrated in providing a ‘community budget’ approach to public service reform.

The officer reported that 4 whole place community budget pilots had looked at whether public money could be made to work harder to tackle the major social challenges currently existing.  This had been an initiative driven by the Local Government Association and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The Chief Executive, Harrow Council, reported that there was potential for further opportunities for closer working in spending public money more efficiently and pooling budgets.  A Community Budget would focus on Harrow and allow for rigid organisation boundaries to be broken with a greater focus on residents.

During the discussion on this item, a Member of the Board raised a query which officers responded to by explaining that at this stage, only an agreement in principle was being sought from partners.  Once this was obtained, further work would then be conducted on the specifics of participating in the pilot and its impacts on all partners.  The important thing to remember was the focus on the needs of residents.

During the discussion on this item, Members of the Board made a number of comments as follows:

·                    this was a good initiative and there was strong support amongst the Board for working together;

·                    it was important that there was clarity surrounding the beneficiaries of financial savings as a result of working closer together.  This had to be clarified before any pilot was embarked on.

AGREED:  That the comments and views of the Board be considered in assessing the appetite for developing a local community budget proposal.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

An officer introduced the report summarising the activity from the Harrow Chief Executives’ (HCE) meeting since the last Board meeting.  The officer reported that at their last meeting, the HCE had considered Community Budgets, which had been previously discussed at this meeting by the Board.

The HCE had also been provided with an update on the Children and Families Improvement Plan.  This Plan was progressing well and had responded to the recommendations set out by OFSTED and the Care Quality Commission.

The HCE had also considered the impacts of changes to Welfare Reform and any mitigating actions that could be performed to minimise its impacts.

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 13^th March 2013.

AGREED:  To note that the date of the next meeting of the Board would be held on Wednesday 13 March 2013.