Agenda and Minutes

To consider the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2009.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2009 were agreed as a correct record.

Please find attached the draft Community Plan.

Vince Johnston introduced the item by advising that all the work on the Community Plan had now been brought together and the refreshed Plan had been circulated with the agenda. He confirmed that there were still some minor amendments to include such as an introduction from the Chair and some of the figures were being checked. Kate Fryatt suggested that the diagram showing the links between the various partnerships in Hampshire be included in the Plan.

 

It was noted that the Plan would be completed by the end of June for circulation to members in July and following this the document would be finalised. This would be presented to the full Partnership and the Executive at their meetings in September. The Plan would then need to be approved at a meeting of the Borough’s Full Council.

 

Vince asked the meeting to consider performance management and he gave a number of options for how this could be done. The preferred option was to focus on the three main themes and identify the key issues within these to examine. The linked partnerships would be asked to monitor each of their areas closely, recommending they use the Red Amber Green (RAG) system, allowing any major issues to be brought to the attention of the ESP.

 

It was AGREED that the final Community Plan be presented to the Partnership and the Executive at their meetings in September and that the process for performance monitoring be established.

Tony Lee introduced the item by giving a presentation on behalf of the Children and Young People’s Partnership (CYPP). The presentation considered:

 

·    The background to the establishment of the CYPP which was originally in response to ‘Every Child Matters’ and to encourage local multi-agency engagement with the Hampshire Children and Young People’s Plan;

 

·    Related developments such as the roll out of the Sure Start Children’s Centres and the mainstreaming of the Children’s Fund;

 

·    CYPP support to bids to the Commissioning Unit in 2009/10 which secured funding for In Touch, Pilands Wood Youth Club, Young Carers, RU Bothered, Hiltingbury (The Loft) and SYA (J’s);

 

·    The method of operation of the CYPP which met bi-monthly with each meeting concentrating on a theme from Every Child Matters and the sixth meeting each year being used to review the groups strategy;

 

·    Current functions which included communication, collaborative working, consultation and co-ordination between all the members;

 

·    Membership of the CYPP which was open to all organisations in the Borough working with children and young people and currently included representatives from Children’s Services, the Borough Council, the Police and One Community;

 

·    Issues and areas for development which were identified as:

 

-          lack of infrastructure to support the CYPP;

-          encouraging wider involvement with the voluntary sector;

-          better engagement with schools;

-          tension between early intervention and prevention agenda and targeted / acute need;

-          better connectivity with safeguarding;

-          clarity about the role and function of various partnership arrangements and especially the Extended Services Partnership.

 

The Chair thanked Tony for his presentation.

 

The meeting considered the table of performance figures for secondary schools and colleges in the Borough which was circulated with the agenda. Some concerns were raised about those schools that were not performing as well as they should. There was a discussion around the possible reasons for this and the work that was currently being undertaken that could help.  It was felt that a discussion needed to be held with a number of representatives from Hampshire County Council to establish what was being done and whether the Partnership or its members needed to take any action.

 

It was AGREED that a meeting be arranged with the relevant people from Hampshire County Council following the publication of exam results in late September to discuss the performance of schools within the Borough and that a representative from Southampton City Council be invited if appropriate.

A table showing the analysis of linked partner priorities and LAA priorities had been examined in detail by the Executive at their meeting in March. At this meeting it had been agreed that more information and input from the partner organisations was needed.

 

Vince Johnston advised that he had completed this work and an updated table had been circulated with the agenda.

 

Kate Fryatt advised that a similar document with slightly adjusted columns had been produced for the County Council and this should be used as an overlay.

 

It was AGREED to note the updated table.

Presentation slides for a Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) briefing were circulated to the meeting. The majority of the partners had already seen the presentation or something similar.

 

Vince Johnston gave an update on the progress and the impact on the Council of the CAA. Vince had no further information on the Place Survey. It had been completed and the Council had some of its own information but there had not been anything nationally.

 

The Chair thanked Vince for the update.

An update on the impact of the economic downturn on Eastleigh had been circulated with the agenda. Unemployment was increasing with the Eastleigh rate standing at 2.5% compared to 1.1% at the same time in 2008. This was, however, significantly below the national rate of 3.8%.

 

There had been 550 voluntary redundancies at Ford and of these 20% were residents in Eastleigh. The reduction in operations at Ford had also impacted on their suppliers who had also made redundancies estimated to total over 100 people.

 

It was particularly noted that there were some positive actions for employment at Eastleigh railway works and at the Vue Cinema and AMF Bowling development. It was also highlighted that PUSH had been involved in the ‘Future Jobs Fund’ that would help to provide jobs for 16 to 24 year olds. More information on this could be obtained from Teresa Smith at the Borough Council.

 

Diana Boyles advised that crime was substantially down and there had been a consistent reduction in crime over a significant period. Crimes on the increase included theft of petrol and shoplifting. It was felt that the reduction in crime had been due to the identification and distraction of individuals likely to commit crimes.

 

The street pastors in Fair Oak and Horton Heath had been very successful and there would be street pastors in central Eastleigh from July. It was hoped that this would also be extended to Chandler’s Ford. The Police had been experiencing some difficulty in engaging with Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice and Hound Churches Together and it was agreed that the Local Area Co-ordinator would be asked to look into this.

 

Diana asked whether more could be done to encourage communities to take part in the Big Lunch Street Party or similar events. It was felt that the cost and difficulty in obtaining a street closure was a hindrance to this.  Bernie advised that the Borough Council had done some investigation and she would follow it up.

 

Ken Dufton advised that since Christmas there had been a significant increase in the number of enquiries about volunteering. It was yet to be seen whether this would translate into placements. It had been necessary to allocate extra resources in the short term due to the additional work.

The dates for meetings of the ESP are shown below. All meetings will take place at the Civic Offices.

 

·    9.30am on 8 September 2009 – Executive

·    6pm on 17 September 2009 – ESP

·    9.30am on 16 November 2009 – Executive

·    9.30am on 12 January 2010 – Executive

·    9.30am on 2 March 2010 – Executive

·    6pm on 15 March 2010 – ESP

 

If you would like to receive a hard-copy of any of the cited documents, please contact: Alison Wright, Legal & Democratic Services, Eastleigh Borough Council. Telephone: 023 8068 8111. Email: alison.wright@eastleigh.gov.uk.

 

Please note that the ESP website (www.eastleighstrategicpartnership.org) holds a range of ESP-related information, including the minutes and agendas.

If you would like to submit items to be considered for inclusion in future meeting agendas, circulation to ESP members or posting to the ESP website, please contact Vince Johnston, Change & Development Team, Eastleigh Borough Council. Telephone: 02380-688077 Email: vince.johnston@eastleigh.gov.uk.

The dates of future meetings were noted.