Board
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 20th July 2006 at Committee Room No. 1
BOLSOVER LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
BOARD
Minutes of the Bolsover Local Strategic Partnership Board meeting held on Thursday, 20th July, 2006, at 9.30 a.m., in Committee Room No. 1, Sherwood Lodge, Bolsover.
PRESENT
Mrs. Mandy Chambers - North Eastern Derbyshire PCT (Chair)
Mr. Andrew Marsh - Learning and Skills Council
Mr. Ian Murray - Chesterfield College
Councillor Geoffrey Carlile - Derbyshire County Council
Mr. Bernard Strutt - Derbyshire County Council
Mrs. Marie Cox - INVOLVE
Miss Natalie Price - Partnership Team
Mrs. Laura Khella - Partnership Team
Chief Supt. Debbie Kelly - Derbyshire Constabulary
Mr. Wes Lumley - Bolsover District Council
Mr. Andrew Street - Alliance SSP
Mr. Richard Colgrave - Partnership Team
Mrs. Pam Brown - Partnership Team
Mrs. Clare Munks - Parish/Town Councils
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. David Eccles (part) - Bolsover District Council
LSPB11/06 APOLOGIES
Apologies were received on behalf of:
Mr. Andrew Pidluznyj - Jobcentre Plus
Councillor Eion Watts - Bolsover District Council
LSPB12/06 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
A Declaration of Interest was received from Mrs. Cox in respect of Agenda Item No. 4 – Matters Arising – Infrastructure for Community and Voluntary Sector Support.
LSPB13/06 MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING HELD ON 11TH MAY, 2006
AGREED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 11th May, 2006 , be accepted as a true and correct record.
LSPB14/06 MATTERS ARISING
Page 4 – LSPB07/06 – Sustainable Community Strategy – Miss Price circulated a copy of an example Proforma detailing the indicators which linked into key organisations for information and comment. It was intended that this would prove useful to key agencies in their reporting requirements and also emphasise and clarify ownership and accountability of targets to the public at large.
Page 2 – LSPB05/06 – Urgent Items for Consideration by the Chair of the Local Strategic Partnership Board – Infrastructure for Community and Voluntary Sector Support – The Chair reported that difficulties had been experienced in terms of engaging partners with the review. However, the Steering Group had now reconvened and agreed to widen its membership. A Draft Action Plan would be submitted to the next meeting of the Executive Support Group for consideration. The new organisation would be in place for 1st October, 2006.
The Chair reminded those present that Board members had been requested to offer the Transitional Co-ordinator post as a secondment opportunity and several offers had been received. This post would be available until December after which time it was hoped to secure funding for a permanent post. Mrs. Judy Derricott, North Eastern Derbyshire PCT, had been seconded to undertake the roles of the Transitional Director and move the initiative forward.
The Local Strategic Partnership had provisionally agreed Neighbourhood Renewal Funding to the value of £90,000 for a new organisation from October 2006. This was a considerable investment and consideration would, therefore, need to be given to “value for money”. Mr. Strutt raised his concern regarding the future sustainability of the new organisation. Mrs. Brown advised that this matter had been raised at the Executive Support Group and future funding would be sought as soon as possible. Mrs. Cox commented that funding from the Big Lottery would be available at the end of October to infrastructure organisations.
Page 4 – LSPB09/06 – Letter from Derbyshire County Council Re: Derbyshire Police Re-organisation – Chief Supt. Kelly reported that the Home Secretary had decided to withdraw any decisions about amalgamating the Police Forces in the East Midlands. It would be necessary, however, to review delivery of services to deal with cross border issues in relation to “Level 2 services”. It was acknowledged during discussions that the East Midlands Forces had been under-funded for many years and that there would be financial implications when introducing Level 2 services across the region. The Government would continue with the recruitment of 300+ PCSOs, but these posts would only be funded until 2008. Councillor Carlile commented that he felt it was important, through partnership working and the Local Strategic Partnership, to help the East Midlands forces achieve the appropriate Level 2 support. Derbyshire County Council would give every assistance possible to ensure that appropriate resources were made available.
LSPB15/06 URGENT ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE CHAIR OF THE LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BOARD
The Chair reported that one item had been received for consideration.
Market Towns Regeneration Alliance Programme
Mrs. Khella briefly explained that Bolsover had been allocated £97,000 for capital projects over a two year period and that all initiatives would need to be agreed by the Local Strategic Partnership. The Employment and Enterprise Action Group had considered various initiatives and it had been discussed at the last meeting of the Executive Support Group . Two initiatives had been identified these being:
· A Master Plan for Shirebrook – total cost £80,000 (£40,000 being secured through English Partnerships)
· CCTV in Bolsover Centre – total cost £40,000 (£20,000 Neighbourhood Renewal Funding)
Mr. Street added that the Sustainable Transport Initiative was also available – this, again, would need to link in with the Local Strategic Partnership.
AGREED that (1) the above two projects be endorsed, and
(2) the comments be noted.
LSPB16/06 LOCAL ENTERPRISE GROWTH INITIATIVE
Mr. Eccles gave a brief historic overview of the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI). He advised that the Initiative linked in with the Employment and Enterprise Action Group and that £7.2 million had been secured over a period of six years.
The LEGI outcomes were delivered through three integrated workstreams:
· Promoting Entrepreneurs
· Access to Employment Opportunities for Local People
· Enhancing Performance and Local Business
A fully integrated approach was utilised – when the bid was approved it went through the East Midlands Development Agency. An Executive Board has been established and the two County Councils were heavily involved in ensuring that the Initiative was fed into the Local Area Agreement.
A copy of the presentation notes to be circulated with the Minutes.
Mr. Lumley queried whether the website linked in with other organisations. Mr. Eccles advised that this could be arranged. And that he would liaise with the Partnership Communication and Information Officer.
Mr. Murray commented that it was encouraging to see that work was being undertaken to engage with schools and queried whether links would be made with Chesterfield and West Notts Colleges. He also queried whether the Colleges could be involved in developing vocational skills. Mr. Eccles noted the queries and said that he would feed these back accordingly.
Mr. Street reported that the Alliance SSP was in the process of arranging an Enterprise Week in September.
The Chair asked that appropriate arrangements be made to link in with the Education and Training Action Group.
The Chair thanked Mr. Eccles for providing an update on the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative.
AGREED that the comments be noted.
Mr. Eccles left the meeting at 10.05 a.m.
LSPB17/06 LOCAL AREA AGREEMENT
Mr. Lumley reported that the six monthly performance review had taken place during early July and that no major issues had been raised. He continued that Miss Price was currently undertaking a mapping exercise which would identify any gaps which needed to be addressed.
Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for the next financial year would be routed through the Local Area Agreement. Further discussions would, therefore, be taking place with Mr. Lowe at Derbyshire County Council to agree the most efficient and effective way of administering this. The Chair queried whether the allocation of funding would be affected. Mr. Lumley advised that it would still be necessary to agree the allocation of funding at a local level.
AGREED that the comments be noted.
LSPB18/06 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
The Chair reported that the Annual Performance Review with Government Office for the East Midlands, had taken place on Monday, 17th July, 2006.
Self Assessment and Improvement Plan
Miss Price stated that the Self Assessment document had been submitted to Government Office for the East Midlands and formed the basis for discussion.
The Chair commented that discussion had taken place in relation to the Health targets and Local Education Authority representation on the Education and Training Action Group. Government Office for the East Midlands would pursue the problem of Education representation through the Local Area Agreement. Mr. Murray advised that the Local Education Authority and Learning & Skills Council had appointed a Manager which should help address some of the concerns raised. Mr. Murray highlighted the lack of school representation on the Education and Training Action Group.
The Chair thanked the Action Groups and Miss Price for their input into the Performance Management process for the current financial year.
AGREED that the comments be noted.
TEN
Miss Price reported that due to technical problems the TEN system was not yet live. It was hoped that the system would be up and running within the next two weeks. The system would be launched in September, following the consultation period during August.
Miss Price advised that the system was fully populated and all the major PSA and Community Strategy targets, together with links into the Local Area Agreement, were available. Other information included links to key organisations and details of Executive Support Group and Board members.
The Chair confirmed that partner organisations would be responsible for updating the system.
The Chair thanked Miss Price for populating the system.
AGREED that the comments be noted.
Performance Monitoring against Community Strategy
Discussed earlier in the Agenda.
LSPB19/06 NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL FUND
2005/06 End of Year Report
Mrs. Khella advised that the End of Year Report had been provided for information purposes only. A copy of the report would also be sent to all projects which had operated during 2005/06.
The Chair reported that Government Office for the East Midlands (at the Performance Management Review) had commended the document and thanked Mrs. Khella accordingly.
AGREED that the report be received.
2006/08 Action Plans
Mrs. Khella briefly explained the phased approach to the commissioning process.
Mrs. Khella reported that the Executive Support Group had considered the need to over-commit the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund programme by 10%. It had been suggested, and agreed, that a cross-cutting project be identified; this being achieved by convening a meeting consisting of two representatives from each Action Group and being facilitated by a Neighbourhood Renewal Advisor. The meeting is scheduled to take place on 8th August, 2006. Action Groups had also been requested to submit Commissioning Briefs for reserve projects.
AGREED that (1) the 2006/08 Action Plans be endorsed, and
(2) the comments be noted.
LSPB20/06 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S & PARTNERSHIP TEAM CHANGES
Mrs. Brown briefly explained the report.
AGREED that the Chair and Vice Chair’s decision be ratified.
LSPB21/06 COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
Mr. Colgrave explained that communications were becoming more strategic as the Local Strategic Partnership evolved. The document had been widely consulted upon.
AGREED that the Communications Strategy be utilised and endorsed.
LSPB22/06 CORE COST CONTRIBUTIONS – KEY AGENCIES
Mrs. Brown briefly explained the report. It was confirmed that Derbyshire County Council were already contributing in excess of £6,000 towards the core costs of the Partnership and, therefore, no further contribution will be requested.
AGREED that the report be received.
LSPB23/06 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday, 19th October, 2006, at 9.30 a.m., Committee Room No. 1, Sherwood Lodge, Bolsover
The meeting concluded at 10.42 a.m.