HUNTINGDONSHIRE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BOARD
A meeting of the HUNTINGDONSHIRE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BOARD will be held in the AQUARIUS ROOM, ST IVO LEISURE CENTRE, WESTWOOD ROAD, ST IVES, CAMBS, PE27 6WU on WEDNESDAY, 8 JULY 2009 at 6:00 PM and you are invited to attend to consider the following business:-
A G E N D A
APOLOGIES
1. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
To elect a Chairman of the Board for 2009/10.
2. MINUTES (Pages 1 - 4)
To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 4 th March 2009.
3. MEMBERS' INTERESTS
To receive from Members’ declarations as to personal and/or prejudicial interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any Agenda Item. Please see Notes 1 and 2 below.
4. APPOINTMENT OF VICE-CHAIRMAN
To appoint a Vice Chairman of the Board for 2009/10.
5. STRATEGIC THEME: CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
(a) To receive a presentation from Jeannette Perkins, Connexions Performance Manager. Discussion paper to follow.
(b) To select a key issue for discussion at the next meeting of the Board.
6. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT/NEIGHBOURHOOD PANELS (Pages 5 - 30)
Report by the Heads of Community & Environmental Health, Central & Democratic Services and People, Performance & Partnerships, Huntingdonshire District Council.
7. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY STRATEGY - PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (Pages 31 - 38)
Report by the Head of People, Performance and Partnerships.
8. ECONOMIC DOWNTURN - LATEST INFORMATION (Pages 39 - 48)
Report by the Head of People, Performance & Partnerships.
9. CAMBRIDGESHIRE TOGETHER/LPSA UPDATES (Pages 49 - 58)
Report on the LPSA Reward Grant Project enclosed.
Councillors Bates and McGuire are invited to update the Board on the activities of Cambridgeshire Together.
10. HUNTINGDONSHIRE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP EXECUTIVE (Pages 59 - 88)
To receive a report on the meeting of the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Executive held on 11 th June 2009.
(Reports of recent thematic group meetings are also enclosed).
11. PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS
To suggest the following dates for meetings of the Board in 2009/10 –
11 th November 2009; 13 th January, 3 rd March, 30 th June and 17 th November 2010. All at 6pm. To continue in the Aquarius Room, St Ives Leisure Centre until District Council’s new Civic Suite is available for use.
Notes
1. A personal interest exists where a decision on a matter would affect to a greater extent than other people in the District –
(a) the well-being, financial position, employment or business of the Councillor, their family or any person with whom they had a close association;
(b) a body employing those persons, any firm in which they are a partner and any company of which they are directors;
(c) any corporate body in which those persons have a beneficial interest in a class of securities exceeding the nominal value of £25,000; or
(d) the Councillor’s registerable financial and other interests.
2. A personal interest becomes a prejudicial interest where a member of the public (who has knowledge of the circumstances) would reasonably regard the Member’s personal interest as being so significant that it is likely to prejudice the Councillor’s judgement of the public interest.
Please contact Mrs C Deller, Democratic Services Manager, Tel No 01480 388006/e-mail: [email protected] if you have a general query on any Agenda Item, wish to tender your apologies for absence from the meeting, or would like information on any decision taken by the Board.
Agenda and enclosures can be viewed on the District Council’s website – www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk (under Councils and Democracy).
If you would like a translation of Agenda/Minutes/Reports or would like a large text version or an audio version please contact the Democratic Services Manager and we will try to accommodate your needs.
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HUNTINGDONSHIRE DIST RICT COUNCIL
MINUTES of the meeting of the HUNTINGDONSHIRE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BOARD held in the Aquarius Room, St. Ivo Leisure Centre, Westwood Road, St. Ives, Cambs, PE27 6WU on Wednesday, 4 March 2009.
PRESENT: Councillor I C Bates – Chairman.
Ms A Constantine - Huntingdonshire Regional College Dr D Cox - NHS Cambridgeshire Mrs J Farrow - Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations Chief Superintendent - Cambridgeshire M Gipp Constabulary Cllr Mrs J Meiklejohn - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils Cllr L W McGuire - Cambridgeshire County Council Mr J Orr - Environment Agency Mr T Roberts - Business Sector Mrs S Smith - Cambridgeshire PCT
APOLOGIES: Apologies for absence from the meeting were submitted on behalf of Mrs C Black and Ms S Rodriguez-Jimenez.
IN ATTENDANCE: Mrs P Harding and Mr A Speed - Cambridgeshire County Council.
Dr P José and Mr D Monks, Ms C Deller and Mrs C Sides - Huntingdonshire District Council.
35. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 7th January 2009 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
36. MEMBERS' INTERESTS
No interests were declared.
37. STRATEGIC THEME: THE ENVIRONMENT (ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY)
Dr P José, Head of Environmental Management, Huntingdonshire
1 District Council and Mr J Orr, Environment Agency, gave a presentation to the Board on "The Environment, Water and Energy Efficiency in Huntingdonshire" (a copy of their accompanying powerpoint presentation is appended in the Minute Book).
Several issues arose during the Board discussion which followed. In response to the suggestion that a number of environmental initiatives had proved controversial, Dr José replied that it was the objective of "Renewables East", the renewable energy agency for the East of England to generate a broad mix of renewable energy sources in the region which would address those issues that proved more sensitive than others. In terms of the impact on young people, the Board were informed of initiatives to promote eco-schools, for District Council staff to visit schools and the launch of a project to install a modest wind turbine in conjunction with St. Ivo School and Leisure Centre. The Board also was aware of a monthly feature in the Hunts Post on environment issues.
Mention was made of the Environment Agency's approach to proposals for development on flood plain. Mr Orr confirmed that the Agency would now undertake a risk assessment of the impact of proposed development on any potential site in the floodplain rather than reject development altogether. Whilst the Agency would continue to work in partnership with other authorities, it was not in a position currently to commit additional resources to undertaking new work with partners.
In questioning how the NHS could work in partnership with the Environment Agency, Mrs Smith suggested several areas which the Health and Wellbeing Thematic Group might consider including fuel poverty, active travel and access to good food and invited Mr Orr to make a presentation to a future meeting of that Group.
The Chairman made reference to the District Council's decision to purchase two properties with the aim of turning these into "green show homes" to encourage, among other things, residents to be energy efficient. Having identified a number of opportunities this initiative could present in showcasing the work of the partnership - fire safety features, energy efficiency and security measures and home grown vegetables - the Chairman asked Members to forward any other ideas they might have directly to Dr José.
In closing discussion, the Board selected "employment and young people" as they key issue to be discussed at the next meeting.
38. ECONOMIC DOWNTURN - LATEST INFORMATION
A report by the Acting Head of People, Performance and Partnerships was submitted (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) which updated the Board on the impact of the economic downturn on Huntingdonshire residents, businesses and services.
It was explained that the report would be considered by each thematic group during the next cycle and submitted to the Board with any proposals for intervention arising at Group meetings.
In commending the report, Members suggested that it was important
2 to distinguish those issues that were attributable to the economic downturn and those that were not, to circulate the document to town and parish councils and to feature the contents through the District Council's magazine "District Wide".
The Board discussed the number of positive initiatives which had arisen from the current economic circumstances and considered it essential to convey to the public strong optimistic messages about the innovative projects which had been launched as a result.
The Board considered that a similar exercise in other Districts in the County could provide useful information and the Chairman undertook to raise this suggestion at the next meeting of "Cambridgeshire Together".
39. CAMBRIDGESHIRE TOGETHER: REVIEW OF PARTNERSHIPS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNANCE
As a report on this Item was not available for despatch with the Agenda, the business was withdrawn without discussion from the Board meeting.
40. CAMBRIDGESHIRE TOGETHER, THE PLACES SURVEY, LPSA, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY STRATEGY - UPDATES
(a) Cambridgeshire Together
Councillor L W McGuire updated the Board on the activities of Cambridgeshire Together and specific mention was made of the launch of an LAA refresh and the introduction of new performance indicators relating to young people in employment and education and training, on economic prosperity and safer communities.
(b) Place Survey
The Board was informed of early results arising from "the place survey" a postal questionnaire about satisfaction with public services and community involvement run in partnership with the police, fire authority, NHS, County and other District Councils who make up Cambridgeshire Together. The Chairman reported that 88% of Huntingdonshire residents, the second highest in the County, had expressed satisfaction with their local area as a place to live.
(c) LPSA
It was noted that several projects under the LPSA were underway and that some funding had been released for the purpose. A further report would be submitted to the Board at their next meeting.
(d) Sustainable Community Strategy
It was reported that copies of the Sustainable Community Strategy were now available and that thematic groups had
3 begun to compile/update their respective action plans. It was anticipated that a system for performance monitoring would be established shortly and that in any event performance information would be submitted to the next Board meeting.
41. HUNTINGDONSHIRE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP EXECUTIVE
The Board received and noted reports on the activities of the Partnership Executive and Thematic Groups (copies of which are appended in the Minute Book).
Mrs Smith drew attention to the report of the Health and Wellbeing Thematic Group adding that they had been advised that 30% of children in school year 6 had been considered to be obese and that currently the partnership was failing to meet its smoking cessation target.
42. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
It was noted that the next meeting of the Board take place on Wednesday 8th July 2009 at 6pm in the Aquarius Room, St. Ivo Leisure Centre.
Chairman
4 Agenda Item 6
Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Board 8th July 2009
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND NEIGHBOURHOOD PANELS (Report by the Heads of Community & Environmental Health, Democratic & Central Services and People, Performance & Partnerships Huntingdonshire District Council)
1. Purpose
The purpose of this report is to advise the HSP Board of progress and the timetable for changes to community engagement and the potential role of neighbourhood forums in Huntingdonshire. An earlier report was submitted to the LSP Executive.
2. Introduction
2.1 In July 2008 the Leader of the District Council requested that a proposal for neighbourhood panels be developed. At the same time, a Democratic Structure Working Group had been formed to review Huntingdonshire’s democratic and decision-making arrangements. Its remit was therefore expanded to incorporate detailed consideration of community engagement initiatives. It had been originally intended to finalise the proposals for community engagement in Huntingdonshire by November 2008. However, in the face of a stream of announcements and policy initiatives coming from the Government, the pace of change has meant that this timetable had to be extended. The Democratic Structure Working Group’s report was eventually approved by Council on 17 th April 2009 (see extract at Appendix A)
2.2 A new duty now applies to all best value authorities (except the Police who are already covered by similar provisions) with effect from 1 st April 2009 to take such steps as they consider appropriate to involve representatives of local persons in the exercise of their functions, where they consider that it is appropriate to do so. This will take the form of providing information, consulting and involving local people. A Bill currently before Parliament proposes a new duty on county and district councils to promote an understanding of the functions and democratic arrangements of the authority and of connected authorities and how the public can take part in those arrangements. Each authority is also obliged to put in place arrangements to consult with representatives of local people on any proposals put forward for local service delivery under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.
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5 3. Proposals
3.1 The Democratic Structure Working Group’s preferred option was to build upon the existing police neighbourhood panel meetings by expanding their remit to deal with other local issues and also learn from the experience of other authorities in Cambridgeshire that have implemented similar arrangements recently. The proposals will not affect the existing neighbourhood management arrangements in North Huntingdonshire, Eynesbury and Ramsey which will continue to function as currently.
3.2 The working group recommended the establishment of neighbourhood forums open to the public in six geographical areas in Huntingdonshire, each served by a panel of up to 10 representatives of local authorities and other public sector organisations. The working party is currently discussing terms of reference for the forums and panels, the working draft of which is attached at Appendix B.
3.3 Initial discussions with representatives of Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridgeshire Constabulary suggest that there is support for the formation and operation of the proposed neighbourhood arrangements. However the Police do have concerns about the boundaries of the proposed groupings. The District Council are proposing six forums compiled upon communities with broad affinities of interest (Appendix c attached), whereas Huntingdonshire currently has seven Neighbourhood Policing Panels (Appendix D attached).
3.4 During working group discussions the lack of affinity between some parishes currently grouped into ‘Policing Neighbourhoods’ was a significant consideration. The geographical extent of the north-west panel was a particular concern. However, to reunite those with an existing social affinity requires amendment of the boundaries of the police neighbourhoods.
3.5 The current police boundary arrangements do not tend to reflect electoral divisions and wards. This means some panels are served by multiple elected Members at both County and District level. In addition, some elected Members’ divisions and wards cover more than one panel. The working party’s six panel model was intended to minimise any duplication as far as possible.
3.6 The issue that arises with the choice of six areas is that the boundaries are no longer co-terminus with the Neighbourhood Policing units. There is little deviation in some cases but Huntingdonshire North West [Elton- Yaxley-Sawtry to Catworth-Ellington] would effectively be split in two. The boundaries are not yet confirmed but the initial feeling seemed to be that six may be the optimum number.
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3.7 The Area Commander of Police was consulted on this change and expanded on the issue that arises if boundaries are no longer co-terminus with the Neighbourhood Policing units. The main problem is that the Police data collection methods rely on currently defined ‘neighbourhoods’ as the data catchment areas. Therefore all of their data capture processes and analysis models are built on that premise.
3.8 To change the boundary of the ‘neighbourhoods’ has three consequences for the police: 1) They would no longer be in a position to provide auditable crime data at neighbourhood level; 2) there would be a very high risk that they would be unable to produce robust neighbourhood profiles for each Neighbourhood Panel meeting, and would therefore fail in that statutory duty. [Any realignment of systems to match new neighbourhood boundaries is likely to be costly and there is a high risk that the change could not be funded.]; 3) Deployment of police officers could be less transparent to the public. The current Huntingdonshire North West ‘neighbourhood’ although very large does not represent a high demand area for policing. The area is part of the Huntingdon resource so that in times of increased demand officers can be deployed from Huntingdon into this area, and vice versa. Should the area be split, as proposed by the working group, then resources to the southern half might have to be drawn from the much smaller resource of St Neots. Drawing resources from a smaller pool can have a more noticeable short term effect.
4. Conclusion
4.1 Any change of boundaries from the current seven panel model will have consequences for the Police service, unless the change is to reduce to five panels with the same boundaries by combining Eynesbury with St Neots & district and North Huntingdon with Huntingdon & district. Without boundary changes the issues surrounding the duplication of Member effort, the lack of affinity within neighbourhoods and the size of the area covered by North-West Huntingdonshire ‘neighbourhood’ cannot be addressed.
4.2 Subject to the issue of boundaries being resolved satisfactorily, the proposal offers a response to the new duty to inform, consult and involve that will benefit all best value authorities. It will help to promote public understanding of local democracy for authorities and their partners and serve as the consultation mechanism for ideas under the Sustainable Communities Act. By broadening the remit of the existing police panels, local issues can be dealt with in a broader context and the Police can be relieved of the task of administering the meeting arrangements etc.
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7 4.3 For the new forums and panels to be effective, sufficient resources will need to be available to ensure public engagement, co-ordinate actions, administer meetings, etc. While the District Council is prepared to lead on those arrangements, financial support from partners will be sought as part of the formal consultation that will be commencing shortly on the proposal.
5. Proposals
5.1 It is proposed that a consultation be undertaken to determine the views of a wider range of stakeholders. This consultation will be designed so that Neighbourhood Panels can be implemented, to supersede Neighbourhood Policing Panels, in Huntingdonshire in the autumn.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
Report to 17 th April Cabinet of the of the Democratic Structure Working Group
Local Government White Paper: Strong and Prosperous Communities, DCLG 26 October 2006: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/strongprosperous
Local Government White Paper: Communities in control: real people, real power, DCLG 9 July 2008: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/communitiesincontrol
Sustainable Communities Act 2007: A Guide Department for Communities and Local Government, February 2008 http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/doc/682894.doc
Contact Details
Roy Reeves Head of Administration [email protected] 01480 388003
Sue Lammin Head of Community and Environmental Health [email protected] 01480 388280
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8 HSP Board 8 July 2009
Supporting information for Community Engagement and Neighbourhood Panels
Extract from Huntingdonshire District Council’s paper on the review of democratic structure
20. Community Engagement and Neighbourhood Management
20.1 A brief report jointly authored by the Heads of Administration, Community and Environmental Health and Policy and Strategic Services was submitted to both Overview and Scrutiny Panels in November which referred to initial discussions into the question of community engagement and neighbourhood management. As the review of the constitution was in progress, it was agreed to refer the matter to the working party for consideration as part of its wider remit.
20.2 The need for closer engagement with local communities and encourage people to participate in local activities have featured strongly in recent Government white papers and legislation. Both the Strong and Prosperous Communities and Communities in Control white papers have recurrent themes of engaging with communities and engendering a greater involvement and interest on the part of individuals in local decision making and creating a sense of place.
Local Aims and Objectives
20.3 The development of neighbourhood management is a key objective in both County and District sustainable community strategies and in the Council’s own corporate plan.
20.4 ‘Cambridgeshire’s Vision’, the Cambridgeshire Sustainable Communities Strategy, contains 5 key themes –
• Managing Growth • Equality & Inclusion • Safer & Stronger Communities • Environmental Sustainability • Economic Prosperity
Effective neighbourhood engagement and management can play a significant role in delivering against the key themes.
20.5 One of the six strategic themes of the Huntingdonshire sustainable community strategy is inclusive, safe and cohesive communities which lists a number of outcomes, one of which is effective neighbourhood management in appropriate communities by
• implementing neighbourhood management in Ramsey, Oxmoor and Eynesbury, • investigating neighbourhood management in other communities, and
9 • promoting the engagement of communities in the provision and running of services.
20.6 The Council’s own corporate plan, ‘Growing Success’ lists empowerment as one of the Council’s roles by ‘helping and empowering local people and acting as their advocate and working closely with town and parish councils, communities and neighbourhoods; listening and communicating with local residents and supporting the representative role of local councillors’. The community aims include safe, vibrant and inclusive communities, one of the objectives of which is to enable residents to take an active part in their communities –
• by encouraging them to take part in representative and democratic activities, and • by assisting communities to resolve community issues locally and adopting a neighbourhood management approach in the neediest communities.
Current Arrangements
20.7 Neighbourhood police panels, formerly safer neighbourhood panels, have been operating in Cambridgeshire since 2006, concentrating on establishing priorities for community safety issues in localities. They have been serviced by the Police with the support of the Council’s community safety team and are public meetings, open to county, district, town and parish councillors as well as the wider community. Sitting alongside each panel is a joint action group of officers from the Police, community safety and others to agree actions to meet the priorities set by the panel and report back. Seven panels in Huntingdonshire cover
• North and West Huntingdonshire • Ramsey and District • Huntingdon and District • Oxmoor and Hartford • St Ives and District • Eynesbury • St Neots and District
20.8 A recent national review of policing undertaken by Sir Ronnie Flanagan has recommended a closer link between local police forces and other partner organisations at a neighbourhood level on the basis that ‘neighbourhood policing should exist within a wider context of collaboration and joint working, with police officers working in partnership with a wide range of local agencies, from councils to primary care trusts to schools’.
20.9 In addition to the police panels, there are locality groups operating in those wards with higher levels of deprivation in Huntingdonshire in Eynesbury, Oxmoor and Ramsey.
20.10 Town Centre management groups have been established in each of the four market towns in the District but while they bring together local authority representation and business interests, their principal function is to promote the economic vitality of the towns and their role should not be confused with neighbourhood management.
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Developments in Cambridgeshire
20.11 The County Council’s Cabinet approved recommendations contained in a report on ‘Taking Forward Neighbourhood Management in Huntingdonshire’ in July 2007 which facilitated the neighbourhood management initiatives being implemented in Oxmoor, Eynesbury and Ramsey.
20.12 The County Council is also working more widely across Cambridgeshire to develop neighbourhood management with the key aims of –
• improving outcomes for local people by bringing agencies together to address problems in a joined up way, • helping citizens engage with and influence public service delivery and democratic governance, and • supporting local communities in taking local action.
20.13 Two neighbourhood panel liaison officers have been appointed in recent months to support the County Council and its members at neighbourhood panel meetings. The officer responsible for the panels in the north of the County has given a presentation on the proposals to County and District members at a Huntingdonshire In Your Patch meeting in December 2008.
20.14 Elsewhere in the County, Fenland District Council recently agreed a proposal for enhanced neighbourhood engagement and management. Building on a pilot scheme that has been operating in Fenland and an extensive consultation exercise, the Council will be developing 5 neighbourhood management boards and 7 forums. The boards are likely to comprise councillors from Fenland, Cambridgeshire, town and parish councils, youth district councillors, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the local PCT, a housing association and the local secondary school head teacher and will be attended by officers from the District and County Councils.
20.15 The boards will have the following key roles –
• setting local priorities for partner agencies, including safety and policing policies, linked to the Fenland sustainable community strategy and LAA, • engaging with the community on local planning issues (where appropriate), • providing grants to voluntary and community organisations, • seeking accountability of local service providers, • developing and commissioning local community initiatives such as projects to develop local skills, raise aspirations, improve quality of life etc., and • helping to enable town and parish plan development and integrate town and parish priorities into area action plans.
20.16 The neighbourhood forums will include the public, Fenland ward councillors and County Council electoral division councillors from the forum catchment area, the chairmen of town and parish councils, representatives of local tenant and residents associations, local youth councillors and the voluntary sector.
11 20.17 In East Cambs District Council, a review of its neighbourhood panel project was considered in October 2008. A pilot has been trialled in the Soham area since November 2006 and was extended to cover all parts of the District in January of last year with 5 panels currently in operation. Each panel comprises elected members from all 3 tiers of local government with up to 4 community representatives being co-opted. Parish council representatives provide a regular community viewpoint, augmented by contributions from other panel members and the public who are encouraged to attend. The panel is provided with reports on the local issues facing service providers and meets in public to prioritise the actions necessary to address the issues, taking advice from officers of the public service providers. Actions prioritised at each panel meeting are reported back to the panel and public at the next meeting. The process is supported by a neighbourhoods panel co-ordinator, funded through LPSA reward grant.
Neighbourhood Management in Huntingdonshire
20.18 Neighbourhood management is clearly high on the political agenda nationally and forms part of the Council’s aims and objectives.
20.19 The Council needs to consider how best to take this forward. To be effective, it requires commitment and support with significant resource implications, both at member and officer level. There are no additional resources available currently and against a background of financial restraint with budgetary cuts required, it is unlikely that any new funding can be found, other than possibly from existing partners. It seems sensible therefore to build on existing neighbourhood management in the District by expanding the role of the police panels which are already attended by representatives of the three local government tiers, the police and the public. Membership could be expanded to include NHS, education and Luminus representation with servicing of the panels transferring from the police to the District Council.
20.20 The working party had a particularly lengthy debate on this subject. If neighbourhood meetings are to be meaningful, it is clear that strong leadership will be required to encourage public involvement and ensure that issues raised are dealt with by relevant bodies. Bearing in mind the developments elsewhere and the commitments expressed in the sustainable community strategy and corporate plan, the working party concluded that the District Council should take the lead in Huntingdonshire by building on the existing foundations of the police panels. Having regard to the specialist nature of the neighbourhood management initiatives in Oxmoor, Eynesbury and Ramsey, it was felt that these should continue unchanged by any proposals for neighbourhood forums with a wider remit both geographically and in their terms of reference.
20.21 The working party felt that the fundamental principle for the forums should be the provision of an opportunity for members of the public to raise issues of concern with relevant authorities and public bodies. Therefore the forums should not be too remote from local people, nor should there be so many that it would be impossible for them to be serviced satisfactorily. Although a number of different scenarios were considered, the working party concluded that a total of 6 forums meeting on a quarterly basis would be manageable. Parishes have been nominally allocated to each forum area based on ward and electoral division boundaries and what are perceived to be local communities of interest. This is shown on the map attached as annex D
12 (circulated with HSP Board Papers 8 July as appendix B). Some variation may be appropriate as a result of local representation or with partners and indeed initial discussions with Cambridgeshire Constabulary suggest that, for operational reasons, they favour retention of the existing neighbourhood police panels boundaries as shown on annex E, with the exception of those at Oxmoor & Hartford and Eynesbury. The working party believes that local communities of interest should be the priority, otherwise the public are unlikely to attend.
20.22 Although the forums will be open meetings, the working party proposes that a panel be established for each area that will comprise a ‘top table’ at forum meetings with the purpose of presenting information, resolving issues raised from the floor, moderating any requests for information/action that need to be referred elsewhere, monitoring, progress chasing and reporting back to ensuing meetings. As each forum area will vary in terms of its priorities and circumstances, the working party felt that it would inappropriate to predetermine the composition of the panels, subject only to a membership not exceeding 10 and chairmanship by a district councillor from within the catchment area. Dependent on the length of the forum meeting, a separate meeting of each panel might be required either after the forum discussion or on an ensuing date to action issues raised by those attending.
20.23 In terms of the reporting arrangements, the working party proposes that the forums/panels feed into the appropriate thematic groups of the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership with any issues of concern with regard to membership, attendance by public bodies, investigation of issues etc. being reported through the HSP itself to the LSP partners. Operational issues would be referred to and dealt with by the appropriate local authority or public sector body with the outcome reported back to the next ensuing forum meeting. A diagram showing the various proposed linkages is attached as annex F.
20.24 The working party therefore recommends that 6 neighbourhood forums open to the public be established in Huntingdonshire, chaired by district councillors and serviced by the District Council for the areas of Huntingdon, St Neots, St Ives, Ramsey, North Huntingdonshire and West Huntingdonshire with the catchment areas shown on the plan attached as annex D to this report and the following terms of reference –
• advising on the setting of local priorities for partner agencies, including safety and policing policies, linked to the Huntingdonshire sustainable community strategy and local area agreement, • engaging with the community on local planning issues (where appropriate), • seeking the accountability of local service providers, • developing and commissioning local community initiatives such as projects to develop local skills, raise aspirations, improve quality of life etc., • helping to enable town and parish plan development and integrate town and parish priorities into area action plans’ and • expressing views in response to consultation on proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (see below).
13 20.25 The working party recommends that a panel should be established for each forum, chaired by a district councillor and serviced by the District Council, with the composition of each panel being a matter for local determination subject to a ceiling of 10 representatives of local authorities and other public sector bodies active in the area of that forum and with the following terms of reference –
• presenting information at forum meetings, • resolving issues raised at forum meetings, • moderating any requests for information/action that need to be referred elsewhere, • monitoring the performance of the forum, • progress chasing requests for information/action, and • reporting back to ensuing meetings.
The panels and forums will feed into the appropriate thematic group of the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership.
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Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership
F E E Partner Police Thematic HDC Cambs Town Groups Fire Groups x CC Parish D NHS 6 Councils
B A C K
15 Set Priorities
Top Table No more than 10 District Cllr/County Cllr/Police/Rep Parish/etc
Forum Public/Town & Parish council/Interest groups
Interest groups
16 NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUMS IN HUNTINGDONSHIRE
Terms of Reference
1 Purpose
1.1 To provide a forum to promote understanding of the democratic arrangements and functions of public sector organisations in a geographical neighbourhood, with the intention of informing, consulting and involving the public on issues of local importance.
1.2 To enable local communities and the public to raise issues of local concern and highlight priorities to public sector organisations and influence the decision-making processes that direct service delivery.
2 Key Roles
2.1 To promote an understanding among local people of the functions of public sector organisations and their democratic arrangements and how individuals can influence and take part in those arrangements.
2.2 To act as a forum for consultation and engagement with the local authorities and public sector and voluntary sector organisations forming part of the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership and the delivery of the Sustainable Community Strategy for Huntingdonshire.
2.3 To advise public sector organisations in the District of local issues and priorities and hold them to account for actions taken. This does not extend to individual planning or licensing applications unless they are of widespread significance or personal or private matters relating individual members of the public and businesses.
2.4 To agree key actions to be achieved between meetings by public sector providers with a report on action taken to be given at the ensuing meeting.
2.5 To act as the focus for consultation on proposals for local service delivery emerging from the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.
2.6 To provide an opportunity for public sector and voluntary sector organisations to inform and consult with the public on proposals affecting a neighbourhood.
2.7 To develop and commission local community initiatives, including the development of local skills, raising aspirations and improving the quality of life locally.
3. Neighbourhood
3.1 The term “neighbourhood” is used to describe a cluster of towns and parishes that have been aggregated for the purpose of administering a neighbourhood forum. Each forum groups parishes with a broad affinity of interests while recognising the practical implications of supporting a proliferation of forums in the District.
3.2 The extent of the neighbourhood forums is described at Appendix A.
4. Attendance
4.1 Attendance at forum meetings is open to all public sector and voluntary sector organisations that provide services or support in a neighbourhood, to members of the public who live or work in the area and to business and commercial interests with local premises.
4.2 Elected members from the relevant electoral divisions and wards of Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council respectively, together with elected 1 17 members of town and parish councils within each neighbourhood are encouraged to attend.
4.3 Other public sector organisations, such as Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the National Health Service, registered social landlords and governing bodies of educational establishments, as well as voluntary sector organisations and community groups, are encouraged to be represented at neighbourhood forum meetings.
5. Neighbourhood Panel
5.1 Each neighbourhood forum shall have a panel of up to 10 persons comprising representatives of public sector and voluntary sector organisations active in the area of that neighbourhood. Membership of the panel shall be as follows -
• one representative of Cambridgeshire County Council who shall be an elected member for an electoral division within the neighbourhood, • one representative of Huntingdonshire District Council who shall be an elected member for a ward within the neighbourhood, • three representatives of parish councils within the neighbourhood which shall include one representative of a town council if such exists within the neighbourhood and who shall be elected members of those authorities, • one representative of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, • one representative of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, and • one representative of the registered social landlord with the largest number of properties in the neighbourhood.
5.2 The remaining places and any places unfilled by organisations listed in paragraph 5.1 shall be filled by appointment by the panel from public sector and voluntary sector organisations providing services or support within the neighbourhood, subject to the membership of the panel not exceeding 10 persons. In so doing, the panel shall have regard to the desirability of achieving a panel membership that is representative of the organisations active in the neighbourhood.
5.3 In the event of a member of the panel being unable to attend a meeting, he or she may be substituted by another representative from that organisation. In the case of an elected member of a local authority, the substitute shall be another elected member as defined in paragraph 5.1 or an employee of that authority.
5.4 The purpose of each panel is to –
• present information and resolve issues raised, • moderate any requests for information/action that need to be referred elsewhere, • set priorities for action emerging from the forum, • monitor the performance of the forum, • progress chase requests for information/action, • ensure that feedback takes place from forum and panels meetings to the Local Strategic Partnership thematic groups and to public sector organisations as appropriate, and • report back to ensuing meetings.
5.5 The panel shall meet in public at the conclusion of a forum meeting (or as soon as practicable thereafter) to consider actions emerging from the forum meeting.
6. Communication
6.1 A representative of a public sector or voluntary sector organisation shall notify the officer supporting the forum of any item that he or she wishes to be included on the agenda for the next ensuing meeting at least 10 working days prior to the meeting.
2 18
6.2 Public sector and voluntary sector organisations are encouraged to use the neighbourhood forums as an opportunity to inform, consult and involve the public about matters affecting the neighbourhood.
6.3 Responsibility for investigating and pursuing actions, priorities and requests made or agreed at forum and panel meetings will rest with the relevant elected member or representative of the public sector organisation at that meeting. That person will arrange for issues raised to be resolved, where practicable, prior to the next meeting and will inform the officer supporting the forum of the action taken. A verbal or written update will be presented at the next ensuing meeting, where appropriate.
6.3 The forums and panels will feed back to the appropriate thematic groups of the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership, as illustrated in the diagram attached as Appendix B.
6.4 Any issues as to the roles and internal relationships or practices of a forum or panel where resolution cannot be reached locally will be referred to the Huntingdonshire Local Strategic Partnership for determination.
6.5 A report will be submitted annually to the Huntingdonshire Local Strategic Partnership on the performance and effectiveness of the neighbourhood forums and panels in Huntingdonshire.
7. Chairman
7.1 Each forum and panel shall be chaired by a chairman who shall be the elected member of Huntingdonshire District Council appointed to represent the authority on the neighbourhood panel. A vice chairman shall be chosen from among the persons comprising the panel for each neighbourhood. The chairman and vice chairman shall be appointed annually with effect from the first neighbourhood meeting following May in each year and shall serve for one year.
7.2 A chairman or vice chairman may resign at any time and if so, a new chairman or vice chairman shall be chosen as set out in paragraph 7.1 for the remainder of the year until the next normal date of appointment for that position.
7.3 In the event of a chairman being absent from a meeting, the meeting shall be chaired by the vice chairman. If neither the chairman nor vice chairman is able to attend a meeting, then a chairman shall be chosen for the duration of that meeting from among the other representatives on the panel who are present.
7.4 The role of the chairman is outlined in Appendix C.
8. Officer Support
13.2 The administration of each neighbourhood forum and panel will be undertaken by Huntingdonshire District Council in the first instance.
8.2 This support will take the form of
• arranging meeting dates and venues, • advertising meetings to the general public • agenda preparation and dispatch of associated materials • attending meetings to take notes and providing procedural advice to the forum and panel, • collating a summary of action taken following a meeting for submission to the next ensuing meeting, and • forwarding any issues to the thematic groups of the Huntingdonshire Local Strategic Partnership, as appropriate. 3 19 9. Meetings
9.1 Neighbourhood forum and panel meetings will take place quarterly and will be open to the general public.
9.2 The location and venue for meetings will be decided by the officer supporting the forum in consultation with the chairman, having regard to the availability and convenience of the accommodation.
10. Decision making
10.1 Issues will be presented to the forum by the chairman and representatives of the public sector and voluntary sector organisations in attendance in the order in which they appear on the agenda, unless agreed otherwise by the chairman.
10.2 Members of the public are encouraged to play an active part in forum discussions and to raise issues of local importance or significance.
10.3 Panel members will discuss in public the issues raised at the end of each forum meeting and, where action is necessary, prioritise the most important issues to be addressed, taking account of the views expressed by the public present at the forum. Decisions will be reached by consensus where possible. Where a consensus cannot be reached, a decision will be made by simple majority vote and the chairman will have a casting vote in the event of an equality of voting.
10.4 Each member of the panel is entitled to one vote.
11 Press and Public Relations
11.1 Neighbourhood forums and panels will be open and transparent in their decisions and actions and will communicate them effectively to the public.
11.2 Publicity for neighbourhood forums and panels will be co-ordinated by Huntingdonshire District Council. Press releases for neighbourhood forums and panels will be approved by all of the public sector and voluntary sector organisations named in the publicity before it is finally agreed by the chairman of that forum and panel.
11.3 Forum and panel meetings shall be open to the press and the agenda, reports and minutes will be available for inspection at the offices of Huntingdonshire District Council and on its website in advance of each meeting, wherever possible.
11.4 Public sector and voluntary sector organisations are encouraged to distribute publicity material locally in the neighbourhood, in liaison with Huntingdonshire District Council, and for maintaining local contacts with, for example, parish magazines or newsletters.
12. Resources
12.1 While the neighbourhood forums and panels do not currently have their own budgets, all public sector and voluntary sector organisations are encouraged to support the process, for example by waiving charges for the use of local venues.
12.2 Should any funding becoming available in the future, the mechanism for allocating this resource will be agreed on an ad hoc basis having regard to the scheme/grant involved.
12.3 All travelling and subsistence expenses incurred by representatives of public sector and voluntary sector organisations incurred in their attendance at forum and panel meetings will be met by their respective organisations.
13. Panel Members’ Conduct
4 20 13.1 High standards of conduct are expected from the representatives of public sector and voluntary sector organisations at forum and panel meetings. Elected members must abide by the Members Code of Conduct of their respective authority when engaged in the business of forums and panels. They should apply the rules concerning the declaration of personal and prejudicial declarations of interest at forum and panel meetings.
13.2 Where it is clear that a decision in which an elected member has such an interest is likely to arise at a particular meeting, the authority concerned may nominate a substitute member (with no interest to declare) to attend that forum or panel meeting or a part of the meeting in his/her place.
13.3 Where a member of a panel has failed to attend 3 consecutive panel meetings, the seat will be declared vacant. In the event of the vacancy occurring in respect of one of the organisations listed in paragraph 5.1, another representative will be appointed to sit on the panel by the relevant organisation. In the case of any other vacancy, another person will be chosen by the panel in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 5.2.
13.4 If an elected member declares a prejudicial interest he or she can speak once on the item (in accordance with the model code of conduct) but must then leave the meeting until the discussion and voting (if any) on the item is concluded. The member must not vote on that item. If a member declares a personal interest, he or she may speak, remain in the meeting and vote on the item.
5 21 Appendix A
NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUMS – EXTENT
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire County Council Electoral Divisions
Huntingdon, Godmanchester and Huntingdon West, Brampton and Kimbolton and Buckden, Gransden and The Offords
Huntingdonshire District Council Wards
Alconbury & The Stukeleys, Brampton, Buckden, Godmanchester, Huntingdon (East), Huntingdon (North) and Huntingdon (West)
Town and Parish Councils
Alconbury, Alconbury Weston, Brampton, Buckden, Diddington, Godmanchester, Huntingdon and The Stukeleys
North Huntingdonshire
Cambridgeshire County Council Electoral Divisions
Sawtry & Ellington and Norman Cross
Huntingdonshire District Council Wards
Elton & Folksworth, Sawtry, Stilton and Yaxley & Farcet
Town and Parish Councils
Alwalton, Chesterton, Conington, Denton & Caldecote, Elton, Farcet, Folksworth & Washingley, Glatton, Great Gidding, Haddon, Holme, Little Gidding, Morborne, Sawtry, Sibson-cum- Stibbington, Steeple Gidding, Water Newton and Yaxley
Ramsey
Cambridgeshire County Council Electoral Divisions
Ramsey and Warboys & Upwood
Huntingdonshire District Council Wards
Ramsey, Warboys & Bury and Upwood & The Raveleys
Town and Parish Councils
Abbots Ripton, Bury, Ramsey, Upwood & The Raveleys, Warboys, Wistow and Woodwalton
St Ives
Cambridgeshire County Council Electoral Divisions
Somersham & Earith, St Ives, The Hemingfords & Fenstanton and Warboys & Upwood
Huntingdonshire District Council Wards
6 22 Earith, Fenstanton, Somersham, St Ives East, St Ives South, St Ives West and Upwood & The Raveleys
Town and Parish Councils
Bluntisham, Broughton, Colne, Earith, Fenstanton, Hemingford Abbots, Hemingford Grey, Hilton, Houghton & Wyton, Kings Ripton, Old Hurst, Pidley cum Fenton, St Ives and Woodhurst
St Neots
Cambridgeshire County Council Electoral Divisions
Buckden, Gransden & The Offords, Little Paxton & St Neots North and St Neots Eaton Socon
Huntingdonshire District Council Wards
Buckden, Gransden & The Offords, Little Paxton, St Neots Eaton Ford, St Neots Eaton Socon and St Neots Priory Park
Town and Parish Councils
Abbotsley, Eynesbury Hardwick, Great Gransden, Great Paxton, Little Paxton, Offord Cluny, Offord Darcy, St Neots, Southoe & Midloe, Tetworth, Toseland, Waresley and Yelling
West Huntingdonshire
Cambridgeshire County Council Electoral Divisions
Brampton & Kimbolton and Sawtry & Ellington
Huntingdonshire District Council Wards
Brampton, Ellington, Kimbolton & Staughton and Sawtry
Town and Parish Councils
Barham & Wooley, Brington & Molesworth, Buckworth, Bythorn & Keyston, Catworth, Covington, Easton, Ellington, Grafham, Great Staughton, Hail Weston, Hamerton, Kimbolton, Leighton Bromswold, Old Weston, Perry, Spaldwick, Stow Longa, Tilbrook, Upton & Coppingford and Winwick.
7 23 Appendix C
ROLE OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM AND PANEL CHAIRMAN
Overall responsibility
The chairman will play a crucial role in ensuring the effectiveness of the forum and panel in all aspects of their role. The chairman’s responsibilities will include -
• liaising and co-ordinating with panel members and others to ensure that the key roles of the forum are being achieved, • oversight of performance delivery through regular dialogue with the other members of the panel, • being aware of and closely in touch with key strategic and performance issues (such as those relating to the Local Area Agreement and Local Strategic Partnership for Huntingdonshire) to ensure effective leadership of the Panel, and • recognising and responding to diversity to ensure an inclusive approach to community engagement,
Leadership
The chairman will be responsible for -
• leading the forum and panel and setting their overall agenda, in consultation with other public sector and voluntary sector organisations and members of the panel, and • ensuring the effectiveness, performance and evaluation of the forum and panel and that their terms of reference are appropriate for their needs.
Chairing Meetings
The chairman will be responsible for the effective chairing of meetings, including -
• ensuring the agenda is adhered to and that meetings are brought to a timely conclusion, • allowing sufficient time for complex or contentious issues to be discussed, • encouraging participation by the public and allowing sufficient opportunity for issues of local concern to be raised, • making sure that meetings receive timely, accurate and clear information, • facilitating an effective contribution and involvement from those present at meetings, • developing partnership work through consensus management, securing agreement and clarity over actions, • maintaining an appropriate environment to allow presentations and questions and supporting any guest speakers prior to and during the meeting as necessary, and • promoting and advancing an understanding of local democracy and the democratic arrangements of public sector organisations.
Communication
The chairman will act as the spokesperson for the forum and panel to the wider community and ensure that there is -
• effectively communication with panel members, • an understanding of the local concerns raised by the public and that these are prioritised where necessary, • a constructive and effective relationship between public sector and voluntary sector organisations represented on each panel, • effective reporting of action taken by public sector and voluntary sector organisations in response to issues raised at forum meetings, and
8 24 • ensuring that issues raised are fed back to meetings of the Huntingdonshire Local Strategic Partnership thematic groups.
Development and evaluation
The chairman will -
• assess the performance of the forum and panel and encourage an evaluation of their meetings, • ensure that panel members play an effective part in the neighbourhood engagement process, • address the development needs of the forum and panel both as a whole and individually to ensure team and individual effectiveness, • raise any issues of concern about the effectiveness of the local forum and panel initially on an informal basis with the chairman of the Huntingdonshire Local Strategic Partnership and formally with the Partnership itself where appropriate.
Governance and ethics
The chairman will be responsible for –
• upholding and promoting high standards of integrity, probity and governance at meetings of the forum and panel.
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26 Sibson cum Sibbington
Water NewtonAlwalton Chesterton
Elton Haddon Farcet
Morborne Yaxley
Folksworth & Washingley Stilton Holme Denton & Caldecote Ramsey Glatton Conington
Great Gidding Woodwalton Bury Sawtry Little Gidding Warboys Upwood & The RaveleysWistow Steeple Gidding Winwick Somersham HamertonUpton & Coppingford Pidley cum Fenton Old Weston Abbots Ripton Alconbury Weston Broughton Buckworth Old Hurst Brington & Molesworth Colne Kings Ripton Leighton Bromswold Woodhurst Earith Bythorn & Keyston Alconbury Barham & Woolley The StukeleysHuntingdon Bluntisham Houghton & WytonST Ives Catworth ST Ives Spaldwick Huntingdon Holywell cum Needingworth Covington ST Ives Stow LongaEaston Ellington Brampton Tilbrook Godmanchester Hemingford Grey Grafham Hemingford Abbots Kimbolton Fenstanton Buckden Perry Offord Cluny
Diddington Hilton Offord Darcy Great StaughtonSouthoe & Midloe
Great Paxton Hail Weston Panel Boundaries Little Paxton Toseland Yelling Areas ST Neots ST Neots Huntingdon St Neots Rural ST NeotsEynesbury Hardwick (det) North ST Neots Eynesbury Hardwick Ramsey Abbotsley Great Gransden St Ives Waresley St Neots Tetworth ® West February 2009 Neighbourhood Panel Boundaries
Maps reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Mapping with the permission27 of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Officer (C) Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution of civil proceedings. HDC 100022322. This page is intentionally left blank
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30 Agenda Item 7
HSP BOARD 8TH JU LY 2009
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY STRATEGY – PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (Report by the Head of People, Performance & Partnerships)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide an update on performance against Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) objectives in 2008/09.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 Following the endorsement of the SCS by partners, work has been ongoing to develop delivery plans setting out how partners will achieve the SCS’s Vision. At the February 2009 meeting of the HSP Executive, it was agreed that quarterly monitoring reports on progress against action plans should be reported to the HSP Board, Executive and each thematic group.
3. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT OF DELIVERY/ACTION PLANS
3.1 All thematic groups now have standing agenda items on performance to encourage discussion of progress at their quarterly meetings. It has been agreed that the District Council’s policy support officers for each group will offer support in gathering performance data and information.
3.2 In order to ensure that data/information gathered is presented consistently, a template has been developed for all groups to use. The thematic groups will use this to highlight achievements, issues and risks to the Executive/Board.
3.3 The thematic groups and the Executive will identify any underperforming objectives which require an exception report to be submitted to the Board.
4. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ACTION PLANS
4.1 Work to develop action plans for 2009/10 has been taking place across all thematic groups during the last quarter. Where possible, the actions/key activities will be those delivered in partnership rather than the responsibility of single organisations.
5. PROGRESS REPORT FOR QUARTER 4, 2008/9
5.1 Appendix A shows the latest progress reported against SCS action plans. A verbal update of achievements, issues and risks from the Children & Young People’s Strategic Partnership will be given at the meeting. There will also be an update on how three under-performing objectives are being addressed – teenage pregnancy, smoking cessation and Chlamydia screening.
31 6. RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 The Board is invited to note the progress made against SCS objectives.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Huntingdonshire Sustainable Community Strategy 2008-2028
Contact Officer: Daniel Buckridge, Senior Policy Officer ( 01480 388065 Email: [email protected]
32 Appendix A Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Economic Prosperity & Skills Theme Action Plan 2008/9
Progress Report for 2008/9
Highlighted achievements:
Local procurement: Business Awards, Buyer Meets Supplier and Huntingdonshire Food & Drink Festival all successfully hosted with positive feedback. 2,500 people attended the Food & Drink Festival 2008 and over 75 businesses attended the Buyer Meets Supplier event, with 175 one to one meetings held.
The Creative Enterprise Centre in St Neots now has five tenants in place. It has high environmental credentials and has received a National Local Authority Sustainability Award.
A business event to discuss broadband capacity was held with Ofcom and EEDA present to bring together specialists & key stakeholders. Over 50 local businesses & residents attended.
In light of the economic downturn, the review of the market towns’ retail offer has been altered to develop marketing literature highlighting each individual town’s unique selling points. A marketing campaign will help raise the profile of the towns, including promotion to the key London-based agents through which major retailers operate.
A Membership Destination Management System (DMS) for East of England feeding local & national websites has been established. New websites Visitcambridgeshire and Visithuntingdonshire are both live.
Issues:
The relocation and improvement of Huntingdonshire Regional College facilities project has been delayed by the need to revisit site acquisition and by the funding agency’s own review of capital budget. The facility is unlikely to open now before 2012.
Risks:
Enterprise Centre at Ramsey: the current economic climate and funding restrictions at both national and regional level are causing additional discussions with the developer about the next stage of development.
HDC will promote the new Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS). VisitBritain has advised all local authorities that attractions must sign up to the Code if they are to be promoted by councils from 2010 onwards.
Objectives to be included in exception report to HSP Board:
33 Appendix A Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Environment Theme Action Plan 2008/9
Progress Report for 2008/9
Highlighted achievements:
The Green House (Retro-fit) Project: Two properties representative of the housing stock in the District (Audreys Lane, St Ives and Manor Farm Road, St Neots) will be turned into green show homes. The homes will be fitted with practical, cost effective, carbon saving technologies for demonstration purposes. Installation and improvement work is expected to take place from September 2009 with the houses being completed by early 2010. From spring 2010 the houses will be open for public viewing.
Mayfield Road Showcase New Build Project: The Mayfield Road development in Huntingdon will show clearly how ‘low carbon’ homes can be built well in advance of the 2016 ‘zero carbon homes’ deadline (Code level 5 which the homes will be built to, requires a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions against current Building Regulations). The project will be extremely important both as an example for others to learn from whilst showing Huntingdonshire is leading the transition to a ‘low carbon’ economy.
Community Energy Challenge: The Challenge was launched in Warboys as ‘Watts going Down in Warboys’, 100 participating residents recorded their electricity meter readings over a period of four weeks. Recorded energy use in participating households was shown to have fallen by 22%.
Issues:
• Implications of Pitt (flooding) Review and Water Framework Directive require examination. Close working with Environment Agency at a project and policy level essential
• Finalising Environment indicators for both the HSP and ‘year one’ reporting of the environment strategy
Risks:
• Failure to gain planning permission for two storey extension at St Ives retrofit property
Objectives to be included in exception report to HSP Board:
None
34 Appendix A Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Growth & Infrastructure Theme Action Plan 2008/9
Progress Report for 2008/9
Highlighted achievements:
Core Strategy Examination In Public completed.
Development Management policies options consultation completed.
Issues consultation on Gypsies and travelers completed.
Integrated development model completed.
Parish Plans - Funding Agreement with HDC now agreed for 2 years Oct 08 - Sept 10.
Affordable Housing – 240 affordable homes delivered during 2008/9 (HDC Housing Services).
Hinchingbrooke Hospital Bus Shelter now installed. 10 new shelters across district completed.
Rural Cycling in Huntingdonshire Action Plan - three of top five priorities now being implemented: Old Houghton Road, Perry and Yaxley to Farcet.
Car Parking Pricing Review Introduced Oct 08. Bridge Place Car Park, Godmanchester built and opened.
Issues:
Guided Busway not due to open until late Summer 09 (prev. Spring 09).
Equity between users of Community Transport schemes, regardless of whether the user lives in the 'home' area or from neighbouring areas - CCC unable to gain support from neighbouring authorities for similar approach to date.
Draft promotional documents for market towns as retail centres being finalised - need to agree how success of these will be measured.
Enhancement of St Ives Town centre project deferred for three years.
Risks:
Developer Contributions Towards Affordable Housing (Revised) SPD – still awaiting legislation update.
Implement Accessibility Action Plan for 4 priority wards – funding for plan still to be agreed.
Develop a pilot programme for GP Practice and hospital based Travel Plans for employees, patients and visitors Bid made to CCC Accessibility Fund by PCT for pilot project, possibly at Oak Tree Centre. Still awaiting outcome from CCC on bid to move work forward.
Objectives to be included in exception report to HSP Board:
35 Appendix A Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Health & Well-Being Theme Action Plan 2008/9
Progress Report for 2008/9
Highlighted achievements:
There has been a 4.8% increase in attendance/participation rates at Leisure Centres.
Throughputs of activity programmes for disabled participants and under-represented groups, arts activities for children, holiday and school outreach programmes, primary school events and swimming lessons all exceeded targets.
By 26 May 2009, Huntingdonshire’s Qtr 4 performance against smoking cessation targets had increased from 49% (end of Qtr 3) to 85% (Final 2008-09 performance will be reported after 17 June 09).
Skate park in Stilton was opened in December 2008, more than a year ahead of target.
Distribution of information on active leisure activities has led to record levels of admissions.
A Sports Facilities strategy and local standards for Huntingdonshire have been adopted.
The level of compliance with smoke-free legislation is over 99%.
Notifiable accidents reported to HDC fell by 33% in 2008/9 compared to previous year.
Houses to be attached to Paines Mill Foyer, identified as move-on accommodation, are anticipated to be occupied by the end of the financial year 2009/10.
Issues:
Free swims for looked after children not yet in place.
Smoking cessation - Huntingdonshire 4 x week quitter target 2008-09 missed (see above).
Cambridgeshire County Food & Health Group currently commissioning research into effectiveness of ‘Healthy Business’ award schemes and will decide whether to proceed. Any local award scheme won’t be launched until 2010/11.
Chlamydia screening target missed. Target = 3,328. Actual = 2,082 (62.6% of target). Significant increase in target for 2009-10.
Handyperson scheme not in place.
Risks:
Smoking cessation, teenage pregnancy and Chlamydia screening targets not achieved.
Active People Survey 2 was based on a lower sample than previously so results for the district do not show statistically significant changes in comparison to Active People Survey 1.
New supported living scheme for people with mental health problems in Huntingdon – the site is being marketed on behalf of Mental Health Trust and highest bid will not deliver the scheme. Written to Secretary of State to urge them to reconsider the non conformist bid.
36 Appendix A Objectives to be included in exception report to HSP Board:
• Smoking cessation targets • Chlamydia screening targets • Teenage pregnancy
37 Appendix A Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Inclusive, Safe & Cohesive Communities Theme Action Plan 2008/9
Progress Report for 2008/9
Highlighted achievements:
• Total Crime has fallen by 1.3% in Huntingdonshire
• 4.7% reduction in Criminal Damage
• 3.8% reduction in Vehicle Crime
• 5.3% reduction in Violence Against the Person
• 0.7% reduction in Assault with Less Serious Injury (NI 20)
The introduction of the Nightwatch Night Time Economy has proven to be a success and also received £27,000 additional funding from the Home Office for the pilot period. This project has also been identified by DrugScope as one of the top 12 drug intervention projects in the country and is being used as an example of good practice.
Issues:
There has been a considerable increase in dwelling burglary. In response to this, the HCSP has introduced a Dwelling Burglary Task and Finish Group which has developed an action plan. The first Smart Water Day has been held in Huntingdon and many other initiatives are planned. Funding has been allocated to addressing acquisitive crime by the HCSP, the BCU Fund and at a County level through the NI 16 Working Group.
Risks:
There may be a continued increase in the ‘theft of vehicles’ due to the current financial situation, this will be addressed via the NI 16 Working Group and associated action plan.
Originally, it was intended to roll out Shopmobility in St Ives, a pilot was run in 2008 – continued service development in St Ives was contingent on funding a 2008 funding bid was unsuccessful.
Objectives to be included in exception report to HSP Board:
38 Agenda Item 8
HSP BOARD 8 JULY 2009
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN – LATEST INFORMATION (Report by the Head of People, Performance & Partnerships)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This report is intended as an update for the Board on the impacts of the economic downturn on Huntingdonshire’s residents, businesses and services. It is based on an analysis of information available from national and local sources of information, including anecdotal evidence and media reports. The report also lists some of the interventions that local partners have introduced in response to the downturn.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 The HSP Executive agreed that the District Council’s Policy Team, in association with partner agencies, would help to compile information about the effects of the downturn and how these are being addressed.
3. EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN LOCALLY
3.1 The report attached at Appendix A lists information collated from a range of sources by theme. Where possible, comparisons with other Cambridgeshire districts and national, regional and countywide averages have been included.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 The Board are invited to note and discuss the contents of the attached report.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION : Sources are listed in the attached report.
Contact Officer: Daniel Buckridge, Senior Policy Officer, Huntingdonshire District Council ( 01480 388065 Email: [email protected]
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40 Appendix A
Evidence of the impact of the Economic Downturn on Huntingdonshire’s communities, businesses & services
The evidence in this report has been listed by each theme of the Sustainable Community Strategy.
Growth and infrastructure
Falling house prices
The latest quarterly data from the Land Registry shows the average price of a property in Huntingdonshire has fallen to just over £185,000. This is almost 7% below the England and Wales average price and just over 7% below the countywide average. The data is based on fewer than 1,200 sales for the whole of Cambridgeshire and just 335 sales in Huntingdonshire.
Average Price of Properties January - March 2009 Semi- Flat/ Region/Area Detached Terraced Overall detached Maisonette CAMBRIDGE £474,931 £257,234 £237,664 £197,033 £263,199 SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE £325,446 £184,631 £161,639 £148,497 £224,021 EAST CAMBRIDGESHIRE £266,141 £157,247 £157,952 £140,999 £203,565 HUNTINGDONSHIRE £255,759 £163,635 £130,718 £114,438 £185,100 FENLAND £166,107 £128,560 £104,060 £85,149 £130,457 CITY OF PETERBOROUGH £193,173 £136,553 £107,180 £93,787 £138,030 CAMBRIDGESHIRE £275,299 £175,541 £154,780 £156,915 £200,058 BEDFORDSHIRE £311,976 £180,016 £145,678 £134,343 £199,945 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE £243,715 £132,444 £116,266 £112,449 £160,255 UK £344,989 £196,506 £177,633 £199,669 £224,064
Source: BBC News website (accessed 12 th May 2009) – figures from HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland Executive Agency and University of Ulster in partnership with Bank of Ireland – and BBC News article (accessed 12 th May 2009) – Land Registry figures.
House prices in Huntingdonshire fell by 15.9% on average over the year from January-March 2008 to January-March 2009. This was greater than the average 9% decrease across England and Wales in this period, the 12.7% decrease in East Anglia and the countywide average 13.7% decrease. Prices of detached houses in the district fell by 16.9%, semi-detached houses fell by 11.2%, terraced houses fell by 22.7% and flats/maisonettes fell by 15.2%.
Impact on housing developments / affordable housing
At developments on sites such as Loves Farm in St Neots, land allocated for affordable housing is being developed sooner than land allocated for private housing due to the current housing market. This means that these sites currently have a much higher proportion of social housing than intended when planning permission was agreed for mixed developments. Some developers have offered to sell properties that were originally intended for private ownership to RSLs. These offers are only being accepted where properties meet standards required for social housing and where social housing will form up to a maximum of 40% of properties in the development.
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
41 Potential loss of skills in construction industry
The construction industry is concerned about its future readiness to respond to increased demand for building work once the economy picks up again, with fewer apprenticeships now available. The Growth & Infrastructure thematic group agreed with this concern and suggested that initiatives to deliver training and develop the skills will need to be considered for the future.
Recent actions to address local impacts on growth and infrastructure:
An additional £16,384,411 has been secured from the Homes & Communities Agency to fund tenure switches on current sites where shared ownership is proving unviable in the current market as well as at some new development sites, including Loves Farm and Kings Lane at St Neots.
The Growth & Infrastructure thematic group will receive an update on housing trajectories as part of the annual housing monitoring report. This is to be scheduled for discussion at their next meeting.
Work is ongoing with Cambridgeshire Horizons and as part of the Local Investment Framework to provide a tariff which will maximize income for infrastructure needs when development increases.
Health and wellbeing
More demand for housing support and advice / homelessness
The District Council has been successful with reducing homelessness in the district over the last four years by changing the way its housing advice service is delivered. As a result, households accepted as homelessness fell from 254 in 2004/05 to 146 in 2007/08. However, 162 households were accepted in 2008/09, an 11% increase over 2007/08. This was not purely because of mortgage repossessions but predominately due to banks tightening their lending criteria and fewer mortgage products being available. Households are therefore increasingly finding it harder to resolve their own housing needs and so come to the Council for help.
The number of households where homelessness was prevented increased from 98 in 2005/06 to 138 in 2007/08, with the majority of these households helped to find private sector tenancies via the Rent Deposit/Rent In Advance scheme. 2008/09 then saw the Council more than double the number of successful homelessness prevention cases to 300 households, again these predominately being helped into private sector tenancies via the Rent Deposit scheme.
Of concern to the Council is that the levels of Housing Benefit available to households who may be unemployed on a low income will reduce in 2009. This will be as a result of changes to the Local Housing Allowances within the Housing Benefit regulations. The knock on effect of this is likely to be that if households cannot afford to privately rent, even with the help of Housing Benefit to pay the rent, then those households who may previously have been able to avoid homelessness by taking on a private rented tenancy will no longer be able to do so. Their only option may therefore be to approach the Council as homeless.
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
42 On a positive note, there were 44 mortgage possession claims (where the lender has applied to the court for possession) made in Huntingdon County Court from the beginning of January 2009 to the end of March 2009. This was a decrease of 45% compared to the same period the previous year and is possibly due to a pre court protocol agreed between the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and government to prevent unnecessarily early Court action. In the same January to March 2009 period the Court issued 37 Possession Orders due to mortgage arrears, which was a 16% decrease on the same period of the previous year. We do not know how many of these actually resulted in repossession as this information is not currently available at a local level.
Despite this reduction in new Possession Hearings and Orders at Huntingdon County Court the CML reports that actual repossessions, likely to be as a result of Orders issued in previous months, have increased nationally. There were 12,800 repossessions by first-charge mortgage lenders (including buy-to-let) in the first quarter of this year. This compares with 10,400 in the fourth quarter of last year, and 8,500 in the first quarter of 2008. Although repossessions are still rising, the CML now thinks its forecast of 75,000 repossessions in 2009 looks pessimistic, and expects to revise the figure downwards in its next housing market forecast update.
Nationally, the number of loans with arrears of more than 2.5% of the mortgage balance rose by 12% from 182,600 in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 205,300 in the first quarter of this year (62% up on the 127,000 in the first quarter of 2008). This suggests that more home owners are struggling to make their mortgage payments which, if other action is not taken, may ultimately lead to future Possession Hearings and Orders.
Increase in claims for Housing Benefit / Council Tax Benefit
The total caseload (both Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit claimants) dealt with by the District Council’s Benefits service has increased significantly over recent months to 9,312 active claims at May 2009. This is an increase of 1,063 over the total one year ago at May 2008 (13% increase).
Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 8,185 8,190 8,234 8,232 8,242 8,249 8,286 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 8,358 8,375 8,416 8,485 8,585 8,680 8,801 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 8,928 9,061 9,151 9,312
Despite the increased caseload, the Benefits service has still managed to meet its customer service targets, with 97.7% of claims assessed within 14 days and the time taken to process new claims and change events (National Indicator 181) averaging 13 days (year end 2008/09).
Recent actions to address local impacts on health and well-being:
As a result of monitoring the benefit caseload and providing this information every month to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the DWP have awarded the District Council additional funding of £75k for 2009/10, ring fenced specifically for Housing Benefits provision. The Council will be using this to recruit two temporary assessment officers and one extra customer service advisor to deal with the continued increases in applications and caseloads that we are seeing.
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
43 Environment
A report to Cambridgeshire Together noted that the recession may provide an opportunity to expand local environmental volunteering, which is known to improve health and wellbeing, maintain skills for unemployed people and promote pro-environmental behaviours in communities.
The report also noted that it is essential that during the downturn we do not lose focus on climate change and environmental sustainability and that we seek to maintain those effects that are beneficial (such as energy efficiency as a way to save money) as the recession eases.
Recent actions to address local impacts on the environment:
The ‘green page’ in the Hunts Post newspaper continues to highlight energy-saving and water- saving measures that can save households money, as does the ‘District Wide’ newsletter.
Children and young people
Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)
The County Council has seen a small but significant rise increase in young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), as well as more young people remaining in education rather than going into employment. Huntingdonshire Regional College has seen increases in applications from young people and higher take-up of some courses.
Recent actions to address local impacts on children and young people:
The Department of Work and Pensions has announced the “Future Jobs Fund” to support the creation of jobs for long-term unemployed young people and others facing significant disadvantage in the labour market. £1bn is available to fund 150,000 placements of at least 6 months for young people (18-24) who have been claiming Job Seekers Allowance for coming up to one year. A working group has been set up by the County Council to co-ordinate bids within Cambridgeshire.
Inclusive, safe & cohesive communities
Increase in volunteers, pressure on volunteer support services
An increase in numbers of people seeking to volunteer has been noted in the local area. While this is positive, it has meant extra strain on volunteering services. This is mainly due to the need for people volunteering to be given sufficient training which may require additional resources.
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
44 Crime levels
At present, there is no direct link which can be made between the economic downturn and levels of crime committed locally. No increase has been noted in numbers of people committing offences.
Recent actions to address local impacts on inclusive, safe and cohesive communities:
The District Council has agreed to provide an additional £36,000 over the next two years to the Huntingdonshire Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). This is in addition to the £166,000 per year that the Council already provides to the CAB service.
In the last year the CAB service dealt with nearly 12,500 individual cases, with major increases in numbers seeking debt, housing and benefits advice in relation to the present economic downturn.
Terry Hayward, Chairman of Huntingdonshire Citizens Advice Bureaux, stated: “Without the financial support from the District Council it would be impossible for the CAB to maintain its offices in Huntingdon and St Neots and its ‘Outreach’ facilities in St Ives, Ramsey and Yaxley and to provide free advice for local residents. We are particularly grateful for the additional money over the next two years which will enable us to provide an enhanced Debt Advice service.”
The addition funding matches a contribution to Huntingdonshire CAB by Cambridgeshire Together.
Economic prosperity and skills
Unemployment – Jobseekers Allowance claimant counts
Figures released on June 17th show that the total number of Jobseekers Allowance claimants in the district stood at 3,021 on 14 th May 2009, which is a small decrease on the previous month’s total. The number and level of claimants are almost 2.5 times higher than in May 2008. Over 85% of the increase has occurred since November 2008. This includes an increase of 455 in one month to February 2009, the highest monthly rise since records began. This table shows recent changes:
Month JSA Claimants Rate Change in total Change in rate May 2008 1,237 1.2 +40 +0.1 June 2008 1,279 1.2 +42 - July 2008 1,310 1.2 +31 - August 2008 1,428 1.4 +118 +0.2 September 2008 1,414 1.3 -14 -0.1 October 2008 1,462 1.4 +48 +0.1 November 2008 1,756 1.7 +294 +0.3 December 2008 1,990 1.9 +234 +0.2 January 2009 2,290 2.2 +300 +0.3 February 2009 2,745 2.6 +455 +0.4 March 2009 2,960 2.8 +215 +0.2 April 2009 3,025 2.9 +65 +0.1 May 2009 3,021 2.9 -4 -
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
45 The map opposite shows the unemployment by ward in Huntingdonshire. Unemployment Unemployment in the district (May 2009) is highest in the wards of:
Huntingdon North...... 6.7% St Neots Eynesbury ...... 4.1% St Neots Priory Park...... 3.8% St Neots Eaton Socon...... 3.8% Yaxley and Farcet ...... 3.3% Huntingdon West...... 3.3%
Unemployment in the district is lowest in the wards of:
Ellington ...... 0.8% Alconbury and The Stukeleys...... 1.0% Brampton ...... 1.4% Earith ...... 1.7% % of resident working age people claiming JSA 0.8 - 1.4 The table below shows unemployment rates 1.5 - 2.8 'Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Mapping in Huntingdonshire at May 2008 and May 2.9 - 4.1 with the permission of the Controller of her Majesty's 4.2 - 6.7 Stationery Office. (c) Crown Copyright. 2009 in comparison to the average for Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright Source: NOMIS, and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Cambridgeshire and compared to other May 2009 data 100022322.' districts within the county:
May 2008 May 2009 May 2008 – May 2009 Change in Change in Numbers Rate% Numbers Rate% Numbers Rate Cambridge City 1,182 1.4 1,980 2.3 +798 +0.9 East Cambridgeshire 519 1.1 1,204 2.4 +685 +1.3 Fenland 1,173 2.2 2,208 4.1 +1,035 +1.9 Huntingdonshire 1,237 1.2 3,021 2.9 +1,784 +1.7 South Cambridgeshire 628 0.7 1,634 1.9 +1,006 +1.2 Cambridgeshire 4,739 1.2 10,047 2.6 +5,308 +1.4
It should be noted that despite recent increases, the local economy is still faring well against the national picture with the increase in overall unemployment rate for the district less than the rise in the overall unemployment rate for England. The unemployment rate has increased by 1.7 percentage points within Huntingdonshire and by 1.9 percentage points nationally over the twelve month period. Unemployment in Huntingdonshire remains relatively low at 2.9% and is below the UK average of 4.1%, national average of 4.1% and the East of England regional average of 3.5%.
It should also be noted that these Jobseekers Allowance figures relate to claimants living in the district regardless of where they previously worked. Huntingdonshire has a high-level of out- commuting (35%) so job losses in London and in surrounding areas (e.g. Peterborough) are likely to have had a large impact on the unemployment figures for the district.
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
46 Source: NOMIS. The unemployment rates quoted here are calculated by expressing the number of unemployed (claimants of Jobseekers Allowance) in each area as a percentage of the resident working age population (m 16-64, f 16-59) in that area.
Recent actions to address local impacts on economic prosperity and skills:
Partners have introduced a range of interventions to address redundancies and lower vacancies in the area. The Huntingdon Jobcentre Plus office recruited extra staff several months ago in response to its increased workload. Jobcentre Plus are working with Papworth Trust and local colleges and with the district’s four Town Centre Partnerships/Initiatives. A range of new services and initiatives were introduced in April. This includes the ‘£1000 cash back on your new recruit’, which offers £1000 for every eligible person recruited, who has been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for six months or more.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) East of England has announced an investment of £7.7m to fund training to help people who have been unemployed for six months to gain employment. This training will be offered by 18 colleges in the region that offer both adult learner responsive provision and employer responsive provision and already have good links with employers through Train to Gain, including three colleges in Cambridgeshire.
Huntingdonshire Regional College is working with Jobcentre Plus, Business Link East and IAG to develop training to help people into employment. Take-up of 16-19 year olds on ‘pathway to work’ courses is increasing.
New initiatives promoted by Huntingdonshire District Council include an exercise to increase take up of small business rate relief. This has so far granted £86k at no cost to the Council apart from the administration costs. Projects to help develop new businesses include a best business idea competition, working with the Hunts Post and business partners, where the winner will receive a complete business start-up bursary. The Job Club in Ramsey is working with Tesco’s to help recruit local people to the 225 new jobs to be created when their new store opens.
Getting a Job & Keeping It – a 2-day employability & workability course for 16-19 year olds wanting to find work has been held in St Neots. The course ran at the creative xchange enterprise centre in collaboration with the District Council, Connexions, Jobcentre Plus, NWES and secondary schools.
Creative xchange is now 50% full after opening for business in November. There are now seven tenants who have either started new businesses or who want to expand out of their own homes. Locating in the creative xchange has led to three of the tenants expanding their businesses so far.
Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, June 2009. 8: [email protected]
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48 Agenda Item 9
LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE AGREEMENT (LPSA) REWARD GRANT PROJECT REPORT – QUARTER 1 (1 January 09 – 31 March 09)
To: LAA Reference Group and Cambridgeshire Together Board
Date: 5 June 2009
From: Susie Shu, Cambridgeshire Together Financial Advisor
1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of this paper is to: • Summarise the progress of the projects invested from LPSA Reward Grant at Quarter 1 (1 January 09 – 31 March 09); • Highlight projects that require attention and invite suggestions for what should be done next 1.2 All projects can be grouped either as Countywide (where 3 or more LSPs have pooled their funding to address an issue over a wider geographical area) or Local (where a project is managed and the funding is given directly to District LSPs). 1.3 Part 3 of this paper looks at the progress of all projects by district Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) or countywide area at the end of Quarter 1. It is intended to give an overview of project progress within each LSP / Countywide in terms of completion of business cases, first quarter performance of projects that have been reported and issues arising to date.
2. BACKGROUND 2.1 The Quarterly Project Monitoring Form (QPMF), also called as Business Case is used as one of the main references for this paper (attached as Appendix 1) The QPMF is used to: • Record the business case for each project at the start of the project (the form sets out overall objective, targeted quarterly outcome and forecasted quarterly expenditure for a project at the start of that project) and • Assist LSPs or Countywide Topic Leads to monitor project progress and spend on a quarterly basis once a project is running. Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) reviews completed QPMFs initially as business cases before grant fund can be released to any project. However, the QPMFs for local projects are collected quarterly in arrears for monitoring purpose by LSPs but not by CCC.
*** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 1 49
There have been some delays in completing business cases, especially when it comes to future year targets. One of the common grounds for the delay is that work for future years are determined / shaped by preliminary work / development of a project at the early stage of the project – in the example of rolling out Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) programme, a research and public consultation is required in 2009 before new priority locations can be identified for investment in 2010 and 2011. Another common cause is the need to consult various partners and partnerships before business cases can be finalised. 2.2 Quarterly Return (QR) is also used as a main referencing document (attached as Appendix 2). QR provides a summary on project progress and a quarterly expenditure claim for all projects within individual responsibility. It is prepared and submitted to CCC quarterly in arrears by LSPs or Countywide Topic Leads. The return highlights project progress by exception and record changes made during the course of all projects, such as transfer of funding from one project to another, from capital to revenue. The submission deadline for the first Quarterly Return was 30 April 09, the deadline for the rest of the year will be 31 July, 31 October and 31 December 09. The reporting cycle will continue until 31 July 2012. 2.3 It should be noted that all projects included in this report have either been approved by both Cambridge Together Board and CCC Cabinet in autumn 2008, or put forward by District LSP Boards as additional local projects to spend from under-subscribed amounts within their local share. 2.4 This is the first report on LPSA Reward Grant projects. Therefore the structure and content of this report may require further development over the coming quarters. A copy of this paper will be circulated separately to the Partner and Partnership organisations within Cambridgeshire Together.
3. THE SUMMARY TABLES The Tables summarise LPSA projects by LSPs / Countywide Topic Block. They outline numbers of projects in first quarter by looking at (A) Completion of business cases (B) Commencement (C) If reported progress (D) Projects that are of concern to individual LSPs or Countywide Topic Leads (E) Actual Expenditure (F) Total variance between actual expenditure and forecast expenditure The paragraphs below the tables list individual project in detail for highlighted ones and the reasons for variances between actual and forecast expenditures.
*** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 2 50
3.1 Countywide Projects
No. of No. of No. of Variance Total No. business No. of projects projects Actual from LSPs or of cases projects reported on require expenditure forecast Countywide projects completed started progress attention to date cost
Countywide 13 7 6 7 2 £40,500 -£2,500
In response to queries on the progress of countywide projects, all countywide projects are listed individually below. Six out of thirteen countywide projects are working towards completing their business cases, although some projects, e.g. Reducing Alcohol Harm will not be able to complete their business case for future years until a later date. • Domestic Violence (£400K) – the project is partially completed with £165,450 worth of plan agreed for the first two quarters following recent County Strategy meeting for Domestic Abuse Unit in May 09. A suggestion has been received from East Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership (ECSP) who would like to see the quarterly targets to be more specific and linked to reducing DV incidents. • Reducing Alcohol Harm (£120k) – the amount is split into two projects. 1. Project 1 (£60k) belongs to Trading Standards team at Cambridgeshire County Council. Following a key partners’ meeting held in May 09, the team was able to submit its business case. Some of project costs are yet to be ascertained for future years – these are variable expenditures can not be identified currently, e.g. the cost of rolling out Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) programme in other parts of the county is subject to result of research and public consultation during 2009 before new priority locations can be identified for investment in 2010 and 2011. 2. Project 2 (£60k) belongs to the Cambridgeshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT). The grant fund contributes towards DAAT Alcohol Coordinator post for two years with the shortfalls of the post being met by Cambridgeshire County Council. The post holder will provide coordination of implementation of countywide Cambridgeshire Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy as well as assistance in the delivery of Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP). The objectives for the DAAT post are complete for the first year. The forecast targets for the second year of this post will be driven by response to countywide issues arising and the roll out of the various CAP projects. • Community Alarms Project (£90k under Older People) *** – completed business case is expected to be received in Quarter 2 (1 April 09 – 30 June 09). Delay was caused by unprecedented number of tenants’ requests of visits from the project team. • Falls Prevention project (£20k under Older People) *** – Following a reorganisation in the organisation submitting the bid, there is uncertainty about the project commencing.
*** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 3 51
• Calendar Project (15K under Older People) *** – Staff changes in the organisation submitting the bid have resulted in insufficient capacity to deliver the project. Two of the above four projects requires additional attention (a) Calendar Project (b) Falls Prevention Project. The detailed project updates have also been received from the lead officers of the rest of countywide projects, • Smoking Cessation (£193K) – NHS Cambridgeshire undertook a literature review to gain insight into developing a suitable model in Cambridgeshire for preventing smoking amongst young people. The review suggests that the project is best placed when embedded within the school system. NHS Cambridgeshire has commissioned the PSHE service to implement the prevention/cessation part of the project. The project will monitor smoking in school children through the health related behaviour survey which also provides the baseline. Currently no costs have been incurred as this initial preparatory work was undertaken as an in kind contribution by NHS Cambridgeshire. • Childhood Obesity (£160k) – project started in Quarter 1, so far position at mid Quarter 1 have seen good progress being made on track to achieve the first quarter targets. Numbers of people trained has been identified as an indicator. The aim of the training is to contribute towards the NI 55 and 56 which will be monitored through the childhood measurement process. However these changes will occur over time. The project has not incurred any cost to date as some initial work has been undertaken by NHS Cambridgeshire as an in kind contribution. • There are three projects under Community Engagement as one of the Countywide Topic Areas 1. Third Sector Strategy (£42k) – the project started on 1 January 09 and have achieved all of its first quarter targets as set out in the business case. 2. Community-Led Planning (£90k) – South and East Cambridgeshire are the only two councils that contributed to the project and have joined up their projects. South Cambridgeshire is leading on the project and has included the project as one of its local projects (the project is incorporated into the table under 3.5 SCLSP). Business case is complete. The project started in October 08 and has achieved all targets for its first two quarters. 3. Quality Parish Councils (£25k) – is also only supported by South and East Cambridgeshire with South Cambridgeshire leading the project (see under 3.5 SCLSP). • There are six projects (see ***) in total under Older People as one of the Countywide Topic Areas. Three projects have been listed previously in this report. The other three have completed business cases and are scheduled to start in Quarter 2 (1 April 09 – 30 June 09).
*** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 4 52
1. Active Aging (£75k) *** 2. Books on Prescription (£30k) *** 3. Security Project (£10k) *** • Community Speed-watch (£28K) – a part of the project (£5.6k) was given to ECSP. ECSP has combined £5,600 with their local Speed-watch project (£9.4K), making the total of the project £15,000 as a local scheme. The progress for the County and ECSP part of the project are listed separately, 1. Countywide - seven new speed-watch kits have been purchased and have subscribed the majority of the allocation (£22K). To date the allocated equipment has had a mixed use due to delay of arranging volunteers to teething problems over police computer checks at sector level. However support from the centre has seen a positive increase in use and this is expected to grow in the coming quarters. 2. ECSP – two sets equipments were ordered and the amount (£15k) is subscribed in full. Volunteers secured for all panels, training completed for West Panel, training for other panels are underway. Additional equipment to be purchased according to demand. The over-spend of £2,500 is a result of additional recruitment cost sustained in the first quarter for DAAT Alcohol Coordinator post for Reducing Alcohol Harm project 2.
3.2 East Cambridgeshire Strategic Partnership (ECSP)
No. of No. of projects Actual LSPs or Total No. of No. of business projects reported on No. of projects expenditure to Variance from Countywide projects cases completed started progress require attention date forecast cost
ECSP 21 18 6 6 0 £97,495 £338
Three projects are still working towards completing their Business Cases, • Ely Country Park (£100k) – The Proposals for the development of a Country park in Ely are being presented for approval at the Community Services Committee meeting, ECDC, on 14th May 09. Provided the proposals are agreed, the Quarterly Project Monitoring Form will be completed and returned by the end of the Quarter 2. • Climate Change Project Fund (£45k) – draft business case need to be approved by LSP Board on 18 May 09 before the ‘Green Grants’ project can be launched. • Master-plan Study (£20k) – the development plan process for the Soham Masterplan was launched in March 09 starting with a series of consultation events, and the launch of the Littleport Masterplan has been rescheduled for 2009/10. As all three projects are in the process of confirming milestones and spending plans through various channels, ECSP expresses no concerns over these projects. *** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 5 53
Out of 21 projects, the Waste Management (£20k) project has been completed and produced satisfactory result according to ECSP. Including the Waste Management project, six projects have commenced operation either since January 09 or prior to that. None of the six projects reported exception in Quarter 1 outcome. Total actual expenditure for the four projects to date is £97,495. The variance is derived from savings on salary cost for Benefit Take-up project.
3.3 Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership (HSP)
No. of No. of projects Actual LSPs or Total No. of No. of business projects reported on No. of projects expenditure to Variance from Countywide projects cases completed started progress require attention date forecast cost
HSP 18 13 5 5 0 £41,067 -£67
Five project business cases are work-in-progress, • Homelessness and skills, Huntingdon (£300K) • Improvement to wildlife site (£60k) (the project is scheduled to start in Quarter 5, 1 Jan 2010) • Priority road safety (£25k) • Design Costs of economic development initiatives in Ramsey and Huntingdon (£30k) • Business Support / Marketing of business opportunities (£30k) However, all above projects require preparatory work to establish detailed business cases, such as research study and needs assessment etc, before the projects can start. Draft business cases are underway to be finalised. Out of 18 projects, five projects have commenced operation either since January 09 or prior to that. None of the five projects reported exception in Quarter 1 outcome. Two projects reported variance in first quarter expenditure, • Exercise Referral Scheme has planned cost of £5,000 but spent £1,580. This is because there has been other source of funding employed in the first quarter. The project time span will be extended accordingly. • Supporting low carbon communities project has a forecast of £9,750 but spent £13,237. The project has purchased twice as many energy monitors as planned for targeted communities due to high demand.
*** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 6 54
3.4 Fenland Local Strategic Partnership (FLSP)
No. of No. of projects Actual LSPs or Total No. of No. of business projects reported on No. of projects expenditure to Variance from Countywide projects cases completed started progress require attention date forecast cost
FLSP 10 7 3 3 0 £22,154 £222,000
There are three projects currently working towards completing their business cases, • Development of serviced business land to assist in creating skilled jobs in Fenland (£300k) • Town centre and rural communities regeneration increased capital (£290k) • Migrant worker population strategy / cohesion interventions (£41k) It is reported that all three projects require preliminary work, such as needs assessment in response to current changing economic climate, therefore require more time to finalise details. Three projects have commenced operation either since January 2009 or prior to that. None of the three projects reported exception in Quarter 1 outcome. FLSP invested additional £10,000 to an existing project, Establishing a Green Business Forum, from its under-subscribed share. Total actual expenditure for the quarter is £22,154, which only includes the Hospital Initiative project. The variance of expenditure in Quarter 1 is £222,000, which is a result of a slight delay in purchasing vehicles for the Fenland’s mobile activity project. In order to procure the vehicles a formal tender has to be run by ESPO.
3.5 South Cambridgeshire Local Strategic Partnership (SCLSP)
No. of No. of projects Actual LSPs or Total No. of No. of business projects reported on No. of projects expenditure to Variance from Countywide projects cases completed started progress require attention date forecast cost
SCLSP 11 8 5 4 1 43,870 172,588
The business cases for following projects are work-in-progress, • Road safety measures for the A1307 (£200k) • Cycle path (£210k) • Carbon reduction (£200k) However, SCLSP indicates no concern over the above projects’ business cases being completed in near future. The only project of concern is Quality Parish Council project, which amount to £25,000. No progress on the project has been reported although its business case indicates the project start date as January 09. *** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 7 55
The variance of £172,588 is made up of three projects. • The Youth Bus project – forecast cost is £147,500, actual expense to the end of first quarter is £343. • Dial and ride minibus – forecast cost is £31,500, actual expense is £15,700. • Community Chest project – forecast expense is £15,000 and actual is 5,375. The reason for the variances of all above three projects is the delay in signing Conditions of Grant (CoG) with the voluntary sector providers who in turn were unable to purchase assets and pay deposits until CoGs are signed and the funds are received.
3.6 Cambridge Local Strategic Partnership (CLSP)
No. of No. of projects Actual LSPs or Total No. of No. of business projects reported on No. of projects expenditure to Variance from Countywide projects cases completed started progress require attention date forecast cost
CLSP 18 13 9 13 5 £107,387 £3,506
Following five projects requires attention from the CLSP perspective, • Energising Inclusion through Learning (£170k) – work is in progress; however, the business case is part complete with project detail worthy £20,000 confirmed. • Improving Community Cohesion (£105k) – part of the programme (£26k) has been confirmed and work started; the remaining is yet to be committed. • Street Cleaning (£88k) – there is a delay in procuring the street sweeper. • Community Recycling Champions (£45k) – the delay of the project is caused by restructuring of dry recycling scheme. • Climate Change Charter (£60K) – a slight delay of the project is influenced by additional work required to join the bid up with South Cambridgeshire. There has been an increase in investment of ASB Awareness project. The original bid approved by Cambridgeshire Together Board was £9,400, however, the revised business case amounts to £24,146. The difference is fully funded by CLSP from its under-subscribed share. CLSP also invested £30,000 from its under-subscribed share to the local project, Supporting Vulnerable people through Downturn. The project started in Jan 09 and has made satisfactory progress against its first quarter targets. Total actual expenditure for the first quarter is £107,387. There is an under-spend of £3,506, which resulted from slight project delay of (a) ASB Awareness and (b) Work with at risk young men.
*** Countywide projects under Older People which is one of the Countywide Topic Areas 8 56
4. RECOMMENDATIONS The Reference Group and Cambridge Together Board are asked to (a) Note the overall performance of projects funded by LPSA reward grant and raise any issue of concern (b) Advise on treatment for grant money released from projects that are not being taken forward (b) Comment on content, format and length etc of this report (c) Recommend at what stage an exception report for a specific project should be triggered (d) Recommend what content an exception report should include (e) Consider if and what additional arrangements is potentially required to monitor and improve performance of all projects funded by LPSA reward grant
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58 Agenda Item 10
Thematic Huntingdonshire Strategic Lead Officer Mrs Claire Sides Group Partnership Executive HDC Terms of Reference ♦ To support the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership Board ♦ To act as a link between the Partnership Board and Partnership Groups
Date and future Thursday, 11 th June 2009 meetings Future Meeting Schedule
Thursday, 29 th October 2009
In attendance Miss H Ali Huntingdonshire District Council Mr G Buck Business Community Mr D Buckridge Huntingdonshire District Council Mr S Clark Economic Prosperity and Skills Mr I Dewar CPALC Ms J Farrow Huntingdonshire Forum of Voluntary Organisations Mrs S Ferguson Children and Young People Chief Superintendent M Gipp Cambridgeshire Constabulary P Jose Environment Forum Dr S Lammin Community Safety Partnership Mr I Leatherbarrow (Chairman) Huntingdonshire District Council Ms A Phillips Huntingdonshire Regional College Mr S Plant Health and Well-Being Mr D Richardson Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service Mrs C Sides Huntingdonshire District Council Mrs S Smith Health & Well Being Mr A Speed Cambridgeshire County Council
Apologies Mr M Lyons.
Issues Raised 1. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Mr I Leatherbarrow was elected Chairman of the Executive for the ensuing Municipal Year.
2. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / NEIGHBOURHOOD PANELS
With the assistance of a joint report prepared by the District Council’s Heads of Environmental & Community Health Services and Democratic & Central Services, the Executive were acquainted with the progress made to date in respect of the timetable for changes to community engagement and the potential role of Neighbourhood Panels in Huntingdonshire.
In noting that the District Council’s Democratic Structure Working Group had proposed the establishment of 6 Neighbourhood Panels, but that the Police Authority had already established 7 Neighbourhood Policing Areas across the District, the Executive acknowledged that negotiations and consultation in respect of the proposed boundaries were currently being undertaken by the
59 Council.
A number of issues had been raised by the Executive, which included:-
• a lack of affinity between some parishes on the proposed boundary arrangements; • the resource, technical and potential reporting implications for the Police should the 6 Panel model be adopted; • the need to forge links with the County Council on the proposals for community engagement; and • a proposal for financial contributions to be sought from Partners to meet the administrative cost of servicing the Neighbourhood Panels.
Having encouraged Partners to forward their comments on the proposal to Officers, the Executive concurred with a suggestion that the matter should be raised and discussed by all Thematic Groups at their forthcoming meetings. The subject would similarly be raised by the HSP Board at their July 2009 meeting.
3. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
(a) Sustainable Community Strategy Performance Report
Consideration was given to a report prepared by the District Council’s Head of People, Performance & Partnerships, which summarised the progress made to date in respect of developing a co-ordinated performance management system for the Sustainable Community Strategy Action Plans.
Having welcomed the approach to be adopted which would be managed by the District Council, the Executive acknowledged that work was yet to be undertaken on developing some of the Thematic Group Action Plans. A template for exception reporting had been proposed and D Buckridge undertook to circulate copies of this around to Partners for their perusal, together with a schedule of report deadlines, which would enable Lead Officers and Thematic Group Chairman to forward the necessary performance data on as appropriate.
The Executive received a brief update on the progress of each of the Thematic Groups, together with their respective Action Plans. In so doing, it was agreed that in the future, the Action Plans would be circulated electronically to Partners for information and that any actions which failed to achieve target would be raised at the meeting. Having regard to the risks which would be reported within the Progress Reports, it was agreed that only those which were regarded as a significant risk should be reported to the Executive.
Following a suggestion made by Mrs S Smith, it was agreed that a meeting of all the Thematic Group Chairman/Lead Officers should be held once a year to discuss the Action Plans and to clarify ownership of actions which were cross cutting across the Thematic Groups.
(b) Single Public Confidence Target
Dr S Lammin reported that there would be more emphasis placed upon
60 public services to deliver targets relating to public confidence, which was now regarded as a key measure for assessing the performance of such services. This would have significant implications for a number of services, in particular, the Police Authority.
The Executive acknowledged the difficulties that would be placed upon Partners to achieve high levels of satisfaction from the public, given the fact that a number of agencies were involved in the delivery of the target. It was reported that the Criminal Justice Board would be leading on a project, with a view to improving the levels of public confidence, which was likely to take 18-24 months to complete. The Executive agreed that the matter should be raised at the next meeting of the HSP Board.
(c) LAA Update
A Speed reported that the LAA Board had now set up the Cambridgeshire Public Services Board, which would be the key to delivering stronger leadership across the County. An Action Plan for the Board was currently being developed, which would form part of the Countywide Cambridgeshire Plan.
A brief update was also received on “Making Communities Count”, a project which had gained the support of Improvements East.
(d) LPSA Update on Progress
The Executive were acquainted with details of the allocation of reward grant under the Local Public Service agreement. Attention was drawn to a number of countywide projects which had been supported, together with details of projects which were specific to the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership.
4. GOVERNANCE
It was agreed that the Terms of Reference would be raised at the next meeting of the Executive.
Mrs C Sides reported that she would be requesting all Thematic Groups to give consideration to their respective memberships, with a view to ensuring that a good balance of Partners were on the Group.
Consideration currently was being given to the proposed meeting schedule for the HSP Board, Executive and all the Thematic Groups established under the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership. Consideration would also be given to the meeting cycle for Cambridgeshire Together.
Discussions ensued on the future of the Transport and Access Group which was a Sub-Group of the Growth and Infrastructure Thematic Group. In noting the lack of resources available to support the delivery of the Group, Partners were acquainted with a proposal to consider the future disbandment of the Group, with the transfer of their actions into the existing Thematic Group Action Plans. Following discussions on the proposal, a consensus amongst the Executive was that the Group should continue. It was agreed that a Sub-Group would be convened to discuss the matter further and that the outcome of those discussions be referred to the Growth and Infrastructure Thematic Group for
61 further consideration.
5. MIGRANT IMPACT FUND / PROCESS FOR SUPPORT FOR FUNDING BIDS
Having been advised that £3.5m of funding had been made available within the Eastern Region for projects to support the transitional impacts of migration, the Executive were advised that the County Council had taken a lead on submitting a funding bid to Go East, to support the delivery of a series of projects within Cambridgeshire.
In acknowledging the absence of a procedure for supporting joint Local Strategic Partnership bids for funding, Mrs Sides undertook to draft a procedure for consideration by the Executive at their next meeting. Partners acknowledged that there should be mechanisms in place to ensure that all funding bids supported by the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership should be compatible with the Partnership’s Sustainable Community Strategy.
6. ECONOMIC DOWNTURN – LATEST INFORMATION
Pursuant to the last meeting of the Executive, Partners gave consideration to a report which had been prepared by the District Council’s Head of People, Performance & Partnerships, which provided an update on the impact of the economic downturn on Huntingdonshire’s residents, businesses and services. The report had been considered by all Thematic Groups and has been updated since the last meeting, to include interventions/measures that local partners have introduced in response to the downturn.
7. ISSUES FOR HSP BOARD
Having reminded the Executive that the HSP Board had previously agreed to focus upon and discuss a number of specific topics at their future meetings, Mrs Sides reported that the topic for their July meeting would be Children and Young People. In that light, it was reported that a presentation would be delivered to Board Members on NEET, young people who were not in education, employment or training.
The topic for the next scheduled meeting of the HSP Board would be Health and Well-Being, where NHS Cambridgeshire’s Strategic Vision Document and the role of GPs and Huntingdonshire’s Community Primary Care Services would be discussed.
8. CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLES ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT – PROGRESS REPORT
The Executive was acquainted with details of a report by the District Council’s Head of People, Performance & Partnerships, which outlined progress made to date in respect of the implementation of the Children and Young Peoples Active Involvement Strategy. In noting that information from some of the Thematic Groups was currently omitted from the report, Partners were encouraged to forward details on to Ms G Hanby, District Council’s Senior Policy Officer (Young People), for incorporation within the document.
9. PRESENTATION TO THEMATIC GROUPS ON HOUSING STRATEGY
Pursuant to a former decision made by the HSP Board, the Executive were
62 acquainted with the outcome of discussions on the District Council’s Housing Strategy 2009-14, which had been considered by each of the Thematic Groups.
In noting that formal consultation on the Strategy was currently being undertaken, it was reported that the Thematic Groups’ comments would be reported to the HSP Board at their October meeting.
10. THEMATIC GROUP UPDATES
The Executive received a number of reports detailing discussions at recent meetings of Thematic Groups.
Miss H Ali, Democratic Services Officer, Huntingdonshire District Council, Pathfinder House, St Mary’s Street, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3TN Email: [email protected] Tel: 01480 388006
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64
Strategic Children and Young People Lead Officer: Charlotte Black Partnership Board Chairman: Wayne Birks Terms of The Partnership will strive to improve outcomes for children and young people in Reference Huntingdonshire in the following areas:-
♦ to be healthy: to enjoy good physical and mental health and live a healthy lifestyle ♦ stay safe: to be protected from harm and neglect and to grow up being able to look after themselves; ♦ enjoy and achieve: to get the most out of life and develop broad skills for adulthood; ♦ make a positive contribution: to the community and to society and not engage in anti-social or offending behaviour; ♦ achieve economic well being: to have a good start in life and are able to achieve their full potential; ♦ the partnership will do this by working to ensure that services to children and young people:
§ are of a high quality; § ensure the participation of children and young people in all decision that affect them; § are inclusive and accessible; § contribute to the reduction of inequalities and the raising of achievement.
Date and Thursday 14th May 2009. future meetings Meetings are held 4 times per annum.
Next Meeting – 2nd July 2009. In attendance PRESENT: and Partner Wayne Birks - Abbey College, Ramsey Charlotte Black - Cambridgeshire County Council Dan Buckridge - Huntingdonshire District Council Jon Collen - Huntingdonshire District Council Adrienne Dunn - Cambridgeshire County Council Sarah Ferguson - Cambridgeshire County Council Gill Hanby - Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor Andrew Hansard - Huntingdonshire District Council Lia Howlett - Young Lives Ashley List - Cambridgeshire County Council Stuart McCarthy - Westfield Junior School Barry Smithurst - Holywell Primary School Harry Taylor-Jackson - Ramsey Town Council Helen Taylor - Huntingdonshire District Council Russell Waterston - Cambridgeshire Constabulary Mary Whitehead - Cambridgeshire County Council
APOLOGIES: Tracey Collins, Maggie Hunt and Kim Taylor.
65 Issues 1. Cambridgeshire Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership Discussed Members have been updated on the work of the Cambridgeshire Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership. The main issues being progressed include the development of a Children's Trust, the Big Plan 2 and Children's Workforce Strategy although with a focus on safeguarding and ensuring that arrangements in Cambridgeshire are effective.
2. Highlight Report for 2006 - 2009 Plan
In discussing the Partnership's achievements since 2006, Members have noted those areas where significant progress has been made these include bullying, children and young people's involvement the parent and care involvement and LPSA reward funds and the area partnership review.
With regard to the Partnership's progress against key performance indicators, the Group has recognised the benefits of developing a central data base on performance to be accessible by all the Partners and it was reported that the LEA Performance Team was working on such an idea.
Whilst discussing children and young people's involvement, Members have acknowledged that more could be done to involve them in the Partnership's meetings. It was felt that this could possibly be achieved by holding future meetings on school/college campus and by inviting the pupils to discuss a particular project/topic.
3. Progress and Tasks towards 2009 - 2012 Area Plan
Members have been updated on progress of the 2009 - 2012 Area Plan. There has been a delay in finalising the plan which has resulted in the following revised timetable being produced:-
♦ County Action Plans available to Area Leads by 14th May; ♦ Area meetings held between 1st and 21st June as required; ♦ Area Plan completed by 25th June; ♦ Area Partnership agrees final draft 3rd June; and ♦ Final amendments made by 14th July and agree electronically by the Partnership.
4. Cambridgeshire County Council Play Policy and Pathfinder Project
The Group has been updated on the development of the Cambridgeshire Play Policy, Huntingdonshire Play Strategy and progress with the Cambridgeshire Plan Pathfinder Project. Members have been reminded that Cambridgeshire County Council was accepted as a first phase play pathfinder 2008, securing £2.5m for the development of an adventure playground and 29 smaller play spaces. It was reported that applications for second year funding for play spaces open from April to August 2009 with the aim of completing play spaces by the end of March 2010. Members have agreed that the newly formed Hunts Play Partnership should become a sub group of the CYP Partnership.
66 5. Presentation on St. Neots Bullying Project and Plans for Rolling Out
The Group received a DVD presentation by Schools in St. Neots on anti- bullying. Having remarked on the success of the DVD, Members have discussed ways in which the project can be trialled in other areas and it has been agreed that the co-ordinator, Adrianna Dunn ? should be invited to present the project to a future meeting of an Advisory Group Board.
6. New post-16 Diplomas
The background to the workings of the new post-16 diplomas, which aim to bridge the vocational gap by extending the range of qualifications available, has been explained to the Group. It was reported that by 2013, 17 diploma should be available.
7. Update on CYPS Structure
As a result of recent changes to the children and young people services, Members have noted that three new posts have been created to manage the locality teams across Cambridgeshire. Of these Sarah Ferguson will be responsible for the St. Ives Area and the post of Huntingdonshire Manager will be filled over the summer.
8. Economic Downturn
Members have been updated on the latest impact of the economic downturn on Huntingdonshire residents, businesses and services. It was reported that areas affected include Managers as well as posts at senior levels and operatives. Members have been requested to forward any information on employment and the implications for children and young people to Mr Dan Buckridge, Senior Policy Officer, Huntingdonshire District Council.
Contact for further details –
Helen Taylor, Huntingdonshire District Council, Pathfinder House, St. Mary’s Street, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3TN.
Email – [email protected]
Tel: (01480) 388008.
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68 Thematic Environment Forum Lead Officer P Jose, HDC Group Terms of • The Forum should raise awareness of the environment issues relevant to Reference Huntingdonshire, through this Group and other existing networks, enabling increased awareness of key issues for local stakeholders; • The Forum should have a key role in identifying, proposing and overseeing the delivery of key environmental projects in the District; • The Forum should oversee, and at a strategic level, monitor the progress and delivery of projects; • The Forum is a mechanism for maintaining clear links with key partners; • The Forum should work in partnership with other Thematic Groups established under the Huntingdonshire Strategic Partnership to ensure the delivery of common objectives and aims; • The Forum should be responsible for the establishment of clear strategic links between Parishes, the District and County Council and where appropriate Regional and National Groups/Bodies in relation to environmental projects and priorities; and • The Forum should act as a mechanism for enhanced partnership working between Member Groups and Organisations.
Date and 9th June 2009 Freq. Of meetings 4 per year. Future meeting schedule as follows:-
22 nd September 2009 1st December 2009
In H Ali – Huntingdonshire District Council attendance Cllr K Churchill – Huntingdonshire District Council and Partner J Farrow – Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations H Field – Huntingdonshire District Council D Hemmings – Cambridgeshire County Council C Jablonski – Huntingdonshire District Council P Jose – Huntingdonshire District Council S King – Huntingdonshire District Council H Lovell – Department of Health S O’Donovan – Environment Agency J Orr – Environment Agency S Smith – NHS Cambridgeshire Cllr D Sutton – Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils
Apologies Apologies for absence from the meeting were submitted on behalf of M Baker, L Berkshire, F Blum, C Bradley, Cllr C Hyams, J Martin and Cllr T Rogers.
1. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Councillor K J Churchill was elected Chairman of the Group for the ensuing Municipal Year.
2. ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
S King presented a report on adapting to climate change. In so doing, it was reported that the first phase of the Local Climate Impacts Profile had now been
69 completed, which comprised a media search of all environmental events which had occurred over the past 10 years. A total of 12 severe weather events had been recorded and categorised as follows:-
• 7 rainfall events • 2 heat wave events • 2 gale wind events • 1 snow fall event
A comprehensive database of evidence had been created, which demonstrated the type of event, the consequences of the event and the impact of them upon service delivery, cost, employee time and reputation.
The second phase of the Local Climate Impacts Profile would be to conduct interviews with key service areas in the Council, together with external partners, to verify the data collected and to add further observations to it.
S King reported that once all evidence had been collated, the next stage would then be to compile a final report for the District Council and its partner organisations, with a view to identifying and agreeing areas of priority risks which would require adaptive action. It was anticipated that this work would be completed by September 2009.
Having made requested for partners to forward information which would contribute to the Local Climate Impacts Profile, a number of suggestions for data sources were made, which included the following:-
• Town and Parish Councils
• Cambridgeshire County Council’s Emergency Planning Team • A&E Managers at Hinchingbrooke Hospital • NHS Heat-Wave Plan
In respect of events relating to water, the Group commented upon the need to differentiate between surface water flooding and fluvial flooding.
It was agreed that progress with the Local Climate Impacts Profile would be raised at the next meeting of the Group, with a view to discussing the means by which the information collated and actions identified could be cascaded to all interested groups and organisations. 3. NHS CARBON REDUCTION STRATEGY
The Group received a presentation from H Lovell, representative from the Department of Health, on the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy. By way of background, C Jablonski reported that the District Council had employed its own Environment Strategy, in which a number of projects had been identified for further action.
Attention was drawn to the carbon footprint for the NHS, which was reported as follows:-
• 60% - Procurement • 22% - Building Energy Use • 18% - Travel
70
A similar exercise had been conducted by the District Council, where it was reported that around 60% of the carbon footprint for Huntingdonshire was directly related to building energy use.
The Group also noted the carbon reduction targets that the NHS would be working towards up to the year 2050, together with details of how these targets would be achieved. The Group noted that efforts would be placed upon the NHS to manage more effectively areas relating to the following:-
• Energy and Carbon Management • Procurement • Travel and Transport • Water
• Waste
• Designing the Built Environment • Organisational and Workforce Development • Engaging with Partnerships and Establishing Networks • Good Governance • Managing Finance
To assist the Group with their future work, H Lovell agreed to forward the following information to partners:-
• Forum for the Future – details of climate change scenarios • Series of documents from the East of England Strategic Health Authority • Regional Framework for Sustainability - Draft Plan • Link to the website on Good Corporate Citizenship Assessment • Saving Carbon, Improving Lives PowerPoint presentation.
4. ST NEOTS ENERGY STRATEGY
P Jose presented a report on the St Neots Low and Zero Carbon Energy Strategy, which would aim to identify opportunities for low and zero carbon decentralised energy in St Neots, Huntingdonshire and the surrounding area. Having acquainted the Group with the background to the Strategy, it was reported that the study would take into account a number of existing initiatives and potential opportunities. It was intended that the study would aim to prevent wasted energy usage, which had previously been identified as a problem across Huntingdonshire. Attention was also drawn to a number of outputs that the project would aim to deliver.
In response to questions, it was reported that St Neots had been chosen as the pilot area due to there being a number of opportunities arising from current and predicted residential and business growth up to the year 2030. It was however acknowledged, that the model to be adopted in St Neots would be adapted in order to meet the individual needs of the District in the future.
It was anticipated that a final report on the delivery of the Strategy would be made available in October 2009.
5. HSP ENVIRONMENT FORUM ACTION PLAN REPORTING
The Group received a report detailing a draft Action Plan which would monitor the
71 progress of the following outcomes to be delivered by the Group:-
• Mitigate and adapt to climate change • Efficient use of resources • An environment that is protected and improved.
C Jablonski reported that the actions which were reported had been lifted from the District Council’s Environment Strategy and comprised a number of activities that the District Council would undertaken internally within the organisation, together with activities to be employed across the District.
C Jablonski undertook to circulate a blank template around to all partners for completion of actions to be included on the Plan and offered his assistance to partners wishing to discuss the matter further.
A suggestion was made by a Member that the Good Corporate Citizenship Model, discussed earlier in the meeting, should be incorporated as an action within the Plan.
It was noted that this item would be raised as a standard item on future agendas. 6. PARTNERSHIP PROJECT UPDATES
J Orr advised the Group that the Environment Agency’s Corporate Strategy for 2010 – 2015 was in its final stages of completion. It was anticipated that the Strategy would be available by September/October 2009. Details of a Climate Summit event in London were also received.
D Hemmings reported that Cambridgeshire County Council were currently finalising the data collection for National Indicators 185, 186 and 188 and a lot of work currently was being undertaken in this respect.
Cllr D Sutton reported that Somersham had recently launched a “Shop Locally” campaign within the village.
S Smith reported that the NHS Cambridgeshire offices located at Fulbourn would be relocated and some thought would be given to the implications of the move upon staff and travel arrangements. Additionally, S Smith registered her interests in the District Council’s retrofit project. In so doing, P Jose undertook to discuss the matter with S Smith outside of the meeting. Attention was also drawn to NHS Cambridgeshire’s National Physical Activity Strategy.
C Jablonski reported that the sustainable new build development taking place at Mayfield Road, Huntingdon was progressing well. This project would see the construction of 29 properties built to the Code Level 5 standard in environmental efficiency. A brief update was also received on progress made to date in respect of the Community Energy Challenge. Partners were encouraged to forward details of parishes wishing to partake in the scheme to C Jablonski directly.
S King reported that the District Council had launched its Green Champions project within the organisation and that the first enforcement meeting would take place on 26 th June 2009.
72 7. PR / PROMOTION UPDATE
H Field reported upon the successes of the monthly Green Page which appeared in the Hunts Post and thanked all partners who contributed in the latest edition. The theme for June would be waste and partners were similarly encouraged to forward ideas/suggestions for articles to H Field directly. Additionally, it was reported that the District Council was now regarded as a Breathing Places Council, which formed part of the BBC campaign on environmental issues. 8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
A suggestion was made to invite Cambridge Water to attend the next meeting of the Group. Additionally, partners concurred with a suggestion made by P Jose to invite representatives of the HSP Growth and Infrastructure Thematic Group to the September 2009 meeting.
In noting that the next meeting of the Group would be held at the Environment Agency Headquarters in Brampton, J Orr reported that at the conclusion of the meeting, he would be inviting all partners on a tour of the site.
Habbiba Ali, Huntingdonshire District Council, Pathfinder House, St Mary’s Street, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3TN e-mail: [email protected] ( 01480 388006
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Thematic Growth and Infrastructure Lead Officer Malcolm Sharp, HDC Group Terms of • To support and co-ordinate, as appropriate, the strategic growth and Reference infrastructure development for Huntingdonshire, through the delivery of actions relating to key plans including the: - Local Investment Framework - Core Strategy and other LDF documents - Local Transport Plan and associated strategies - Housing Strategy - Local Economy Strategy - Environment Strategy • To act as Project Board for the delivery of the Investment Framework for the District (by consultants) as required by Planning Policy Statement 12: - to match projected growth as outlined in the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) to 2021 and taken forward in the District’s Local Development Framework; - to match options for growth as put forward in the RSS Review process to 2031. • To ensure the co-ordination and delivery of the growth and infrastructure elements of the Huntingdonshire Sustainable Community Strategy. • To co-ordinate and deliver other work required by the LSP. • To ensure stakeholders have engaged in the process of strategy development and implementation on growth and infrastructure related issues. • To disseminate good practice. • To anticipate and co-ordinate the implementation of new legislation. • To provide the LSP with performance management information. • To support the LSP in development of the Sustainable Community Strategy. • To ensure smooth working between agencies and other SCS thematic groups.
Date and Freq. Of Monday, 1 st June 2009 meetings Future Meeting Schedule: October date TBA (2pm)
In attendance Mr D Buckridge – Huntingdonshire District Council and Partner Mr M Collier – Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils Mr J Craig – Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor D Dew – Huntingdonshire District Council Mrs A Jerrom – Huntingdonshire District Council Mr P Jose – Huntingdonshire District Council Mr P Knight – Huntingdonshire District Council Ms J Peadon – Huntingdonshire District Council Mr S Plant – Huntingdonshire District Council Mr R Probyn – Huntingdonshire District Council Mr M Sharp – Huntingdonshire District Council Mrs C Sides – Huntingdonshire District Council Issues Discussed ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Councillor D Dew was elected Chairman pending his formal appointment to the Group by Cabinet on 18 th June 2009.
Malcolm Sharp took the Chair for this meeting
75
REPORT OF THE LAST MEETING / MATTERS ARISING
The report of the meeting held on 2nd February 2009 was received and noted.
It was noted that the County Council’s response to EERA regarding the Regional Scale Settlement Study was due shortly and that would be followed by a statement from EERA in the autumn, it was therefore expected that the implications could be discussed at the Group’s autumn meeting.
As a result of the LIF model update an action plan had been drawn up and would be discussed later in the meeting.
It was reported that Sustainability East had commissioned a document advising on how sustainable development could be embedded in the new institutional landscape in the East of England, once complete it was hoped this would shape discussions with local organisations.
STRATEGIC FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENT
The Head of Environmental Management informed the Group that the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment which had been originally completed in 2004 had been updated with major changes which would provide a robust tool for assessment of future development proposals. A master copy of the plan was held by Chris Allen and the HDC GIS system had been updated with new flood risk zones. It was requested that a summary of the report be brought to a future meeting following consultation with Planning and that the Environment Agency be invited to attend.
ST NEOTS LOW AND ZERO CARBON ENERGY STRATEGY
The Group was advised by the Head of Environmental Management of the study being undertaken by consultants AECOM on behalf of HDC to deliver an energy study for St Neots which should identify opportunities for low and zero carbon decentralized energy. The project was being managed by Renewables East who were also working alongside the Combined Heat and Power Association and it was expected that this initial study would in the longer term form part of a wider Huntingdonshire energy study which would consider a district wide evaluation of ‘decentralised and renewable energy’ options. It was envisaged that the study which would link closely to the LIF would help generate funding from Cambridgeshire Horizons.
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
Senior Policy Officer Dan Buckridge addressed the Group on the findings of a report by the Head of People, Performance and Partnerships detailing up to date information collated by the Policy team on the impacts of the economic downturn locally. The Executive and Board had requested feedback from each Thematic Group on the findings and suggestions for possible interventions. The report highlighted that in line with national figures local house sales and prices had declined dramatically however it was increasingly difficult for first time buyers to enter the property market due to high interest rates and deposits.
Less development had resulted in fewer planning applications and there were concerns that the construction industry may not have sufficient staff available for a future upturn, it was felt important to concentrate on apprenticeships and training
76 and Huntingdonshire Regional College had reported a higher demand for ‘Pathway to Work’.
The Head of Housing Services reported that despite the huge increase in preventative work being undertaken, demands on council services had risen greatly and was likely to increase further.
The Group heard that unemployment had had the greatest impact locally, with job seekers allowance claimants more than doubling. St Neots and Huntingdon were hot spots; however figures also included those who had commuted outside the area to work.
The Group had concerns regarding social housing provision and the possible pressure on developers to re-categorise their private developments. Richard Probyn was tasked to look at the future housing trajectory for the next meeting. It was also stressed that plans to maximise income from development when the market improved should be highlighted.
In the case of recycling, higher gate fees had been experienced however everything collected continued to be recycled and energy efficiency was being promoted to help residents weather the downturn.
Funding for community and voluntary organisations had fallen and there were moves toward merging and diversification. HDC were continuing to help where possible as it was felt this would help divert demand on council services.
ACTION PLAN
In considering the Group’s current action plan, it was agreed that Malcolm Sharp, Richard Probyn and Steve Plant would meet to discuss an improved format that would help ensure a streamlined approach to enable the Group to support the development of the Local Investment Framework and Sustainable Community Strategy.
FUTURE REPRESENTATION FROM OTHER PARTNERSHIP GROUPS AND GROUP MANAGEMENT
The Group were presented with a report by the Development Plans and Implementation Manager on the representation and future management of the Group, it was agreed that presently membership was too HDC orientated, it was suggested the membership list be rationalized with some of those members present being briefed when necessary and attending only a quarterly forum. Work needed to be done to encourage a County Council presence and invitations should be tendered to relevant Partnership groups.
TRANSPORT AND ACCESS SUB-GROUP
Richard Probyn updated the Group on the difficulties encountered with the administration of the Transport and Access Sub-Group whose remit was to look at softer issues of the main group. It was suggested that Claire Sides look at the redistribution of the actions considered by the Sub-Group as no further admin support was available. This would be reported on at a future meeting.
77 DATE OF FUTURE MEETING
The first week of October 2009 was suggested for the next meeting as the report would feed into the Executive meeting on 29 th October, Malcolm Sharp to liaise with members and advise.
Contact for Mrs A Jerrom, Democratic Services Officer, HDC further Tel No: (01480) 388009 details Email: [email protected]
78 Strategic Health and Wellbeing Lead Officer: Dr Sue Lammin - HDC Partnership Board Terms of Reference ♦ To provide a forum for the wider engagement of parties interested in health, including mental health and related issues so that they may jointly evolve solutions to protect and improve the health and wellbeing of residents in Huntingdonshire. ♦ To provide leadership and strategic direction to Hunts local strategic partner organisations and thematic groups to enable them to contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Huntingdonshire. ♦ To consider existing issues, or those likely to arise, that may require interventions to protect the health of people in Huntingdonshire, determinant of health, improve public health or affect change to services impacting on health/care services. ♦ To ensure the delivering and implementation of local health improvement priorities, in partnership, as identified in the Huntingdonshire Sustainable Community Strategy – Health and Wellbeing Action Plan – and in Cambridgeshire’s Local Area Agreement (LAA).
Date and 3rd June 2009. future meetings Meetings are held 4 times per annum.
In attendance and Dr A Bagade NHS Cambridgeshire Partners Councillor K J Churchill Huntingdonshire District Council Ms J Clarke Cambridgeshire County Council Councillor V H Lucas Cambridgeshire County Council Mrs S Smith NHS Cambridgeshire Mr N Winstone Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Ms C Deller, Dr S Lammin, Huntingdonshire District Council Mrs L Sboui and Mrs J Walker Apologies Mr A Akers Link Ms S Fergusson Office of Children and Young People's Services Ms S Hughes Hunts MIND
Issues 1. Election of Chairman Discussed Mrs S Smith, NHS Cambridgeshire was elected Chairman of the Group for the ensuing Municipal Year.
The Chairman welcomed three new Members. Councillor K J Churchill, representing Huntingdonshire District Council, Councillor V H Lucas, representing Cambridgeshire County Council and Jean Clark, Service and Development Commissioning Manager, Disability Services, Cambridgeshire County Council.
79 2. Action Sheet
The Action Sheet of the last meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Group was received and noted. A series of observations were made as follows:-
♦ Mrs Smith reported that the Group was still awaiting the nomination of a representative from Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Mrs Smith undertook to chase this outstanding appointment (S Smith); ♦ Dr Lammin confirmed that she would continue to liaise between the Huntingdonshire Health and Wellbeing Group and the Cambridgeshire Health and Wellbeing Partnership (S Lammin); ♦ It was noted that Steve Plant's assistance in promoting smoking cessation had led to an increase in performance from 49% to 85%. Despite this success, Mrs Smith and Dr Lammin undertook to meet with Val Thomas to seek to identify ways to improve performance still further. The Chairman also wished to record the Groups appreciation for the effort made by Steve Plant in promoting Chlamydia screening; ♦ New Members were alerted to the arrangements made for the JSNA Seminars programme and advised that they would be invited to the Seminars in due course. The Group were urged to view past presentations via the NHS Cambridgeshire website http://www.cambridgeshirepct.nhs.uk (J Walker); ♦ The Group were reminded that Mrs Sboui had been appointed as Young People's Challenger and that she would be trying to involve young people in the Action Plans of the various thematic groups. The Group noted that the Health and Wellbeing Group would be piloting the involvement of young people in work on tackling obesity and smoking cessation. It was agreed that progress on this pilot should be included as a standard item on each meeting agenda. (J Walker) ; ♦ The Group noted that the presentation on the ageing well in Huntingdonshire Strategy had been deferred to the September meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Group (J Walker/ J Emmerton); ♦ Following a presentation on the Obesity Action Plan at the last meeting of the Group, Mrs Walker undertook to contact Ms Hughes to determine whether progress had been made in publicising the ‘MEND’ programme in the MIND newsletter (J Walker); ♦ Mrs Smith informed the Group of the ‘Change 4 Life’ national campaign to tackle obesity. It was suggested that an article on this campaign would also be appropriate for inclusion in the MIND newsletter and in District Wide (S Hughes/L Sboui); ♦ Dr Lammin advised the Group that Chris Lloyd, Huntingdonshire District Council had been working with Environmental Health Officers from South Cambridgeshire District Council to develop a healthy eating award, and had focused specifically on healthy eating in the workplace; ♦ Further to the presentation on the housing strategy at the last meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Group, Dr Lammin advised that the Group's Action Plan had been revised accordingly (S Lammin); ♦ The Group were informed that no feedback had been made available in relation to the Children and Young People's items on the Action Plan. Mrs Smith and Dr Lammin would be meeting with Ms S Fergusson, Children and Young People's Services on 9th June 2009 to discuss this matter further (S Lammin/S Smith); ♦ Following a meeting with Kate Brown, Dr Lammin had removed the
80 Heritage item from the Action Plan. Mrs Smith undertook to contact Ms Brown to ensure that ‘access to heritage’ work would still be continued by the County Council, without the involvement of an LSP Thematic Group (S Smith); ♦ It was noted representation from the County Council would be reviewed following the impending election. ( S Smith)
3. Changes to Health and Wellbeing Groups at County Level
Dr Lammin acquainted the Group with the changes to and terms of reference of the new Cambridgeshire Health, Care, Wellbeing and Supporting People Strategic Thematic Partnership. The Group were advised that Councillor K J Churchill would be the Member representative for Huntingdonshire District Council, Officer support would be provided by Steve Plant or Dr Sue Lammin. (K Churchill/S Lammin/S Plant)
Dr Lammin reported that the first meeting of the Member Board had been held on 15th May 2009. As no Member was able to attend, the meeting was a reflection of the Officer Group. It was intended that the Officer Group would sit under the Member Board. Dr Lammin agreed to monitor the Group, and keep under review the alignment between the County and District Groups to ensure the Thematic Group remains effective / efficient given uncertainty about the County’s membership and terms of reference. (S Lammin)
4. Action Plan for Health Inequalities
Mrs Smith reported that an Officer Group had been established to examine the Health Inequalities across the County. The Group had identified that the most prevalent issues requiring to be addressed in areas of health inequality included – healthy eating, reducing smoking during pregnancy, participation in sport and recreation for vulnerable people, increasing breast feeding at six to eight weeks, cardiac rehabilitation, holiday activity schemes and physical activity for people with disabilities.
The Group were advised that proxy measures had been used to measure health inequalities over a year period. It was suggested that these findings be added to the Group's Action Plan to serve as a reminder of the areas of concern.
Ms Clark, Cambridgeshire County Council offered to provide details of the health inequalities relating to learning disabilities within the District. Dr Lammin undertook to liaise with Ms Clark with regards to incorporating learning disability issues in the Group's action plan. (S Lammin/J Clark)
5. Cambridgeshire Mental Health Promotion Strategy
Mrs Smith informed the Group that the Cambridgeshire Mental Health Promotion Strategy was being developed by NHS Cambridgeshire, and Inger O'Meara was leading on this strategy. It was explained that the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for mental health had explored the determinants of mental health, and subsequently identified the need for a wider mental health promotion strategy. The Group were advised that ‘New Horizons’, the strategy for the mental health framework, would be published within the next three months and that the Cambridgeshire Mental Health Promotion Strategy would
81 be based on this.
Mr Winstone, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust undertook to provide a description of what his organisation was trying to achieve in relation to mental health promotion. (N Winstone)
Dr Lammin and Mrs Smith would be meeting with Dr Liz Robin to discuss the organisation, development and delivery of mental health services, they would also raise their concerns that there was currently no mental health representative on the County community and wellbeing Group. (S Lammin/S Smith)
Mrs Smith reported on the planned events to promote mental health which included - 1. Cambridgeshire Celebrating Age - due to be held in October, intended to involve older people in their communities; 2. ‘Mindful Employer Programme’ – encouraging work places to support colleagues experiencing stress or difficult times; 3. Developing Cambridgeshire Physical Activity Strategy; 4. Anti-stigma work; and 5. Mental Health First Aid Training.
Inger O’Meara would attend the September meeting of the Group to discuss the Mental Health Promotion Strategy further. (J Walker)
6. Supporting People through the Economic Downturn
The Group were acquainted with a report by the District Council's Senior Policy Officer outlining evidence of the economic downturn on Huntingdonshire's Communities, Businesses and Services. The Group were asked to consider whether their organisations had any further evidence on the impact of the economic downturn, and to email this information to Mrs Walker who would feedback to the Council's Policy Team. (J Walker)
The Group were informed that the County Council would be hosting a ‘Weathering the Storm’ Conference on 25th June 2009.
It was suggested that the economic downturn be placed as a standard Agenda item for future meetings. (J Walker)
7. National Physical Activity Strategy
An update on the National Physical Activity Strategy was presented. Mrs Smith reported that the Department of Health had published a new strategy entitled ‘Getting the Nation Moving’, which aimed to get 2 million people active by the 2012 Olympics. The strategy had moved away from conventional ideas of sport and placed emphasis on exercise through activities such as gardening and dancing. NHS Cambridgeshire would be working with physical activity partners to develop the Cambridgeshire Strategic Activity Action Plan, which would identify who to target and how to deliver the strategy. Mrs Smith would be the Lead Officer for the development of the strategy and agreed to respond
82 to any relevant questions via email. It was hoped that the strategy would take six months to develop, and upon completion would be presented to the County Health and Wellbeing Group. (S Smith)
8. Monitoring of Action Plan
Dr Lammin updated the Group on targets achieved, projects delayed and items deleted from the Action Plan.
It was suggested that future action plans have a title placed at the top of each page, Dr Lammin undertook to include this on future plans. (S Lammin)
Having noted that satisfaction in relation to cultural, recreational and leisure services in Huntingdonshire would be monitored by the Quality of Life Survey, the Group were informed that this item would be removed from the Action Plan.
Having regard to the development of a street-skate facility in Stukeley Meadows, the Group were advised that the project had been delayed due to financial difficulties encountered by the company providing the metal work. The ramps were due to be completed by the end of June 2009.
Having been informed that information could not be supplied in relation to the number of free places provided on the ‘proud to be loud’ summer scheme, the Group noted that this item would be removed from the action plan.
Mrs Smith undertook to contact Simon Bell with regard to free swims for ‘looked after children’. At present this was unavailable. (S Smith).
With regard to the action to maintain and increase the number of people in Huntingdonshire who stopped smoking with support from CamQuit, the Group were advised that targets were due to be relaxed as the prevalence was not as high as initially thought. (S Lammin)
In light of the objective to reduce teenage conceptions, it was reported that Huntingdonshire had never had its own target. It was suggested that a member of the Hunts Sexual Health Forum be invited to a future meeting of the Group, as there had been no reduction in teenage pregnancies (J Walker).
9. Health and Wellbeing Plan
The Group received the draft health and wellbeing delivery plan for 2009 - 2010, which included updated targets where appropriate. Dr Lammin added that targets for learning disability would now need to be included. (S Lammin)
Mrs Smith expressed her thanks to all Group Members for their contributions over the year and to Dr Lammin and Mrs Sboui in particular for their efforts in producing the draft action plan.
83 10. Date of Next Meeting
The date of the next meeting would be circulated in due course.
Contact for further details –
Jessica Walker, Huntingdonshire District Council, Pathfinder House, St. Mary’s Street, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3TN. Email – [email protected] / Tel: (01480) 387049.
84
Thematic Economic Prosperity Lead Officer: Corrine Garbett Group and Skills Terms of ♦ To support and (where appropriate) co-ordinate the strategic Reference development of the local economy for Huntingdonshire, including
- Business and workforce development - Local Economy Strategy - Town Centre Vision Strategies - Joint Bids for Funding
♦ To ensure the delivery of the economic development and workforce skills elements of the Huntingdonshire Sustainable Community Strategy; ♦ To co-ordinate and deliver other work required by the Huntingdonshire Partnership; ♦ To ensure stakeholders have engaged in the process of strategy development and implementation; ♦ To anticipate and co-ordinate the implementation of new legislation; ♦ To provide the Partnership Board and Executive with performance management information; ♦ To support the development of the Sustainable Community Strategy; and ♦ To ensure smooth working between agencies.
Date and 27th May 2009 future meetings Meetings are held 3 times per annum.
In attendance Mr G Buck - Huntingdonshire Business Network and Partners Mr D Buckridge - Huntingdonshire District Council Mr S Clarke - Business Link Ms A Constantine - Huntingdonshire Regional College Mr J Davies - St. Neots Town Centre Initiative Mrs J Emmerton - Huntingdonshire District Council Ms R Evans - Cambridgeshire CCI Ms J Farrow - Hunts Forum of Volunteers Mrs C Garbett - Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor A Hansard - Huntingdonshire District Council Mr B Hooson - Huntingdonshire District Council Mr M Lyons - Federation of Small Businesses Mr N Nineham - Job Centre Plus Ms A Owen-Smith - Huntingdon Town Partnership Mr S Parsley - Country Working Limited Mrs J Walker - Huntingdonshire District Council
Apologies – Mr M Owens, NWES
Issues 1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN Discussed
Malcolm Lyons was elected as Chairman of the Group for the ensuing Municipal Year.
85 The Chairman congratulated Corrinne Garbett on her new position as Head of People, Performance and Partnerships. Congratulations were also expressed to Helen Donnellan who had been selected as the District Council's Sustainable Economic Development Manager.
2. ACTION SHEET
The Action Sheet for the meeting held on 11th February 2009 was received.
3. IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
By way of a report by Dan Buckridge, Senior Policy Officer, Huntingdonshire District Council, Members were updated with the latest impact of the economic downturn on Huntingdonshire residents, businesses and services.
The Group noted that 35% of Huntingdonshire residents out-commuted from the District for work, therefore job losses in neighbouring districts have had an impact on Huntingdonshire residents.
The Group were encouraged to note that although unemployment figures continued to increase, the rise in April 2009 was lower than in previous months. Further to the update, Mr Nineham, Job Centre Plus reported that Huntingdon Job Centre had recruited extra staff to meet the increased demand for job centre services. The Group were informed that Job Centre Plus had implemented new services and incentives in April 2009, details of these changes would be circulated to group members in due course.
Anne Constantine, Principal of Huntingdonshire Regional College reported that there had been a notable increase in the number of applicants aged between 16 and 18, this had been attributed to the lack of employment opportunities caused by the economic downturn.
The Group found the report on the impact of the economic downturn to be useful, and recommended that a further report be produced in due course.
4. ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND SKILLS - END OF YEAR REPORT 2008 - 2009
Ben Hooson, the District Council's Sustainable Economic Development Officer, acquainted the Group with the End of Year Report 2008 - 2009, for the Local Economy Strategy Action Plan which provided an overall assessment of projects which had been highlighted for completion during the year. The Group were pleased to note progress made, and were informed that the report would be presented to a future meeting of the HSP Executive, to highlight the actions of the Economic Prosperity and Skills Thematic Group.
5. ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND SKILLS - ACTION PLAN 2009 - 2015 - FORWARD PLANNING
The District Council's Senior Sustainable Economic Development Officer introduced the Local Economy Strategy Action Plan 2009 - 2015.
86 Members were advised that whilst the plan had been signed off by the Forum in early 2008, it would need to be reviewed regularly to ensure that it reflected the activities of the Group. The Group were urged to examine the action plan and feedback on any amendments or additions they felt ought to be made that would cover their activities both in the coming year and beyond.
6. HOUSING STRATEGY 2009 - 2014
Mrs J Emmerton, the District Council's Housing Strategy Manager presented the Huntingdonshire Housing Strategy. (A copy of this presentation was previously circulated). In response to a question, the District Council's Housing Strategy Manager undertook to determine whether there were any rules in place with regards to running a business from affordable housing, this information would be circulated to the Group when available.
7. PARTNER UPDATES
The Group were updated on recent events and upcoming activities (see attached) involving Members and Partners of the Group and copies of relevant material was made available.
It was suggested that a representative from Huntingdonshire Association of Tourism (HAT) be invited to a future meeting of the Group.
8. CALENDAR OF MEETINGS
13th October 2009 at 2pm in the Kestrel Room, Hinchingbrooke Country Park, Brampton Road, Huntingdon
Contact for further details – Jessica Walker, Huntingdonshire District Council, Pathfinder House, St. Mary’s Street, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3TN. Tel: 01480 387049. Email – [email protected]
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