Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any Substitute Members, in accordance with paragraph 12.7 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 6 December 2013, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

AGREED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2012 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To appoint a Vice Chairman of the Board.

The Board considered nominations to the role of its Vice-Chair. Members of the Board commented that it was traditional that the role of the Vice-Chair was held by a Member of the Board representing one of the Council’s partners.  The Chair proposed that Dr Genevieve Small be appointed as Vice-Chair. Dr Small responded that, whilst flattered to be considered, she felt unable to accept the position due to the tremendous amount of change that was taking place nationally in relation to Clinical Commissioning Groups.

Members of the Board therefore proposed that the appointment of a Vice?Chair be deferred until the next meeting.  It was also proposed that a Board Member who represented the Voluntary and Community Sector be appointed as Vice-Chair at the next meeting and Steve Porter be asked to liaise with the other representatives to identify who would like to be considered.

AGREED: That the appointment of a Vice-Chair of the Board be deferred until the next meeting.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

The Board received a report which provided an update on the work of Safer Harrow, the local Community Safety Partnership.

The Board were advised by an officer that Safer Harrow included representatives from the Police, the Council, the Fire Brigade, the Probation Service, the Magistrates’ Court and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

The officer also reported the following:

·                     Safer Harrow had seen the development of two significant projects.  These included the Integrated Officer Management (IOM) and Mothers Against Gangs (MAG);

·                     Harrow’s IOM Scheme was part of a North West London pilot and was the most successful;

·                     a case study of an individual designated as TR, who had been an ex?offender, had demonstrated the types of work undertaken and the results that could be achieved;

·                     the other initiative, MAG, had been formed as the result of a spate of gang related stabbings in early 2012.  The purpose of the initiative was to enable mothers to establish self help groups and provide them with the encouragement and skills to address these problems in their own families and the wider communities;

·                     MAG had grown tremendously over the last year and there was likely to be a London wide network for MAG;

·                     Safer Harrow had already received the draft Strategic Assessment and the same priorities as the previous year had been adopted in relation to the types of crime to address;

·                     Safer Harrow had submitted a number of bids to MOPAC for funding from the new London Crime Prevention Fund.  This included applying for funding to support the creation of a virtual single ASB team across the Council, the Police and one or more social landlords.

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

·                     there could be potential savings involved if the IOM scheme was successful.  The pilot would be continuously assessed and evaluated to determine whether additional resources should be provided for the scheme;

·                     the figures quoted relating to the success of the MAG initiative and its impact on crime were quoted directly from their website;

·                     there would be a new recruitment drive taking place for more neighbourhood champions within the borough;

·                     a wider distribution of smartwater kits could be investigated including circulation to Harrow Council staff who were residents in the borough;

·                     it would be investigated if there could be further involvement from the Voluntary Sector into Safer Harrow;

·                     the policing levels in the borough were relatively stable.  The local policing model would be changing in the future and the correct resources would be in place;

·                     funding for reducing and preventing violence against women and girls was about addressing acceptable behaviours in relationships.  The vast majority of violence in relationships involved the victim being a female.

Members of the Board made several comments during the discussion on this item including the following:

·                     it was important to ensure that underlying issues were addressed in relation to tackling youth violence;

·                     MAG was a innovative cross cutting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

Report of the Corporate Director of Children and Families, Harrow Council.

The Board received a report which provided an update on the work of the Children Services directorate within Harrow Council.

The Corporate Director of Children and Families, Harrow Council, reported that Ofsted had conducted an inspection last year in relation to services providing safeguarding. They delivered an adequate judgement.  Since the inspection an Improvement Board had been established.  The Improvement Board had done work focusing on improving practice.  The Council was honest and open with Ofsted.  The Council were focusing on the child’s journey through the system.

The Council had achieved a lot since the inspection but there was still a lot more work to do.  The foundations for delivering an excellent service had been established.  The document before the Board involved questions which the service was asking itself as part of a self evaluation on what a good service meant for any relevant child.

The Divisional Director of Targeted Services, Harrow Council, addressed the Board and reported that the document outlined what a good service meant for any relevant child involved looking at the question from different perspectives.  It was important for the Council and its partners to be confident in the services that it was providing and provide services in a holistic manner.

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

·                     the Council did employ systems which allowed data to be collected.  These were rigorous systems and the data collected was assessed to make meaningful differences;

·                     the child’s journey needed to include perspectives relating to sports and activities in their social life.  This was a good suggestion;

·                     resources were in place to deliver the changes required.  In addition to this contingencies had been built in against the possibility that emergency funding was required;

·                     schools were key partners in delivering this project.  They had been involved in the Council’s processes and joint working had taken place;

·                     the Council were working on providing more feedback to schools on safeguarding issues;

·                     GPs were fully trained in identifying safeguarding issue and it was something that was taken very seriously.

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Corporate Director of Children and Families, Harrow Council.

The Board received a tabled report which provided information on Families First, Harrow’s approach to the Government’s Troubled Families initiative.  The Families First initiative explored ways to deliver a whole family approach with our children and families to improve outcomes at less cost to the public purse.

The Corporate Director of Children and Families addressed the Board and reported the following:

·                     the Local Area Agreement had provided funding for this project.  The Council had taken its time to consider the best way to invest the funding provided to realise the maximum benefit;

·                     in order to obtain the funding from the Government, certain criteria had to be satisfied.  The funding was front loaded in its nature and this was subject to the number of families that would be assisted and the number of families who had already been engaged.  The additional amount of remaining funding would then be based on the results achived;

·                     the report presented to the Board highlighted some case studies which demonstrated the impact key workers were having on families as they dealt with issues surrounding the family;

·                     more benchmarking was required and the initiative would be continuously assessed.

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Harrow Council.

The Board received a report summarising the activity involving the Harrow Chief Executives since the last meeting.

An officer reported that there had been a change in membership.  The Chair of Harrow in Business, Ash Verma, had been added.  Additionally Claire Murdock, the Chief Executive of Central and North West London Hopsitals NHS Trust had become a member and Deborah Lightfoot, Chair of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board attended for relevant business.

AGREED:  That the report be noted.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday 27^th June 2013.

AGREED:  To note that the date of the next meeting of the Board would be held on Thursday 27 June 2013.