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.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:-

(if any).

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

The Chairman advised that this item had been deferred from the last meeting.  Avani Modasia’s nomination for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Board was proposed and unanimously agreed.

AGREED: That Avani Modasia, the representative from the Voluntary and Community sector, be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Board for the 2013-14 Municipal Year.

That the minutes of the Board Meeting held on 13 March 2013, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2013 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources, Harrow Council.

The Board received a report which set out the context in which the Harrow Partnership Board (HSP) operated and options open to the Board in terms of its future.

An officer advised that:

·                     since the abolition of the Local Area Agreement in 2010, Local Strategic Partnerships had been trying to identify the most effective way forward and how they could continue to add value to the work of the council;

·                     more recently, other partnership groups such as the Safer Harrow Partnership and the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) had been introduced and were duplicating some of the work of the HSP;

·                     it was important to bear in mind that, in recent years the Council, statutory agencies such as the Police and voluntary sector providers had all had their budgets and resources reduced, which had impacted on the effective functioning of the Board;

·                     the following three options, which were set out in the report, were available to the Board:

- to continue the existing arrangements;

- to devise a better version of the Harrow Assembly to replace the Board;

- to use the HWB and Safer Harrow as the principal partnership vehicles, underpinned by Harrow Chief Executives. 

In all of the above options, the partnership bodies would continue or improve their reporting to each other, Cabinet and other groups and organisations as appropriate, to ensure that partnership knowledge and actions were shared widely.

In their discussions regarding the merits and disadvantages of each option, Board members made the following comments:

·                     the Board currently benefited from representation from different sectors and varied areas of expertise, and it was important for the Council to preserve this interaction;

·                     in the past, the work of the Board had provided value to the work of the Council and other partner organisations;

·                     Board meetings facilitated strategic working and the widest possible debate of issues under consideration;

·                     the Board had not made any substantive decisions or produced any concrete outcomes in the past three years and attendance at meetings was generally poor.  Loss of funding had diminished its purpose;

·                     the Board had no decision-making power, and if it were to continue, then its terms of reference should be amended to facilitate this requirement;

·                     the Board had forged links and established relationships within the borough and these should be maintained.  If the Board were to continue, it would require amended terms of reference, improved attendance at meetings and a concrete agenda with items for consideration suggested by all Board members.  In view of which, Board members may feel it would be preferable to make more effective use of other existing groups such as the HWB;

·                     NHS partners valued the opportunity for partnership work which was afforded by the Board, however, reduced capacity and funding would impact on the effectiveness of the Board;

·                     it was the Borough Commander’s priority to make Harrow the safest borough in London and he would welcome the opportunity to explore with the Council and Board members how this could be achieved;

·                     the representative from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources, Harrow Council.

The Board received a summary report of the activity involving the Harrow Chief Executives’ (HCE) meetings since the last meeting of the Board.  It was reported that HCE members had visited a number of sites such as Northwick Park Hospital and the Cedars Youth and Community Centre with a view to sharing learning and good practice and to suggest improvements and ensure that the Council and its partners implemented a cohesive, multi-agency approach in dealing with safeguarding children and young people.

Board members requested that future reports of the HCE should list attendees at its meetings and provide more detail on some of the activities.  An officer undertook to ensure this was done.

AGREED: That future reports of the HCE should list attendees at its meetings and provide more detail on some of the activities and that the report be noted.