Agenda, decisions and minutes

None. 

Councillor Ray Manning was unanimously re-elected as Chairman. 

David Spreadbury nominated and Stephen Moir seconded Councillor Ray Manning as Chairman. There being no other nominations, Councillor Ray Manning was unanimously re-elected as Chairman. 

Cllr Tom Bygott was unanimously elected as Vice-Chairman. 

Stephen Moir nominated and David Spreadbury seconded Councillor Tom Bygott as Vice-Chairman there being no other nominations Councillor Tom Bygott was unanimously elected as Vice-Chairman.

The Chairman thanked the previous Vice-Chairman, Councillor Mark Howell, for his efforts in this role.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2009 were agreed as a correct record.

Engaging parish councils

It was understood that officers were liaising with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils and it was expected that an event would be held in October.

Improvements to A14

Stephen Moir reported that the Highways Agency had funding for improvements to the A14, but the economic downturn could delay the scheduling of the works.

Stephen Moir introduced May’s Cambridgeshire Together Briefing. Unfortunately the latest Briefing had not become available in time for the publication of the agenda.

It was noted that Cambridgeshire Together supported the renaming of the Chief Executive Liaison Group to the Cambridgeshire Public Service Board (CPSB), which consisted of the Chief Executives from the County Council, five District Councils, the Chief Constable, the Chief Fire Officer, NHS Cambridgeshire and Cambridgeshire Horizons. The name change represented a commitment to provide stronger leadership and direction for public services within Cambridgeshire.

Greg Harlock and Stephen Moir explained that the aim of the CPSB was to achieve the benefits of closer partnership working, without the upheaval of the establishment of a Unitary authority, which was seen as unworkable.

The Board NOTED the briefing.

Stephen Moir presented this report on the draft Cambridgeshire Area Self-Assessment, by explaining that this was a work in progress and amendments had been made by the editing group, which had occurred after the report in the agenda had been published. The Board agreed that the Assessment should include more statements on what the Partnership was trying to achieve and more examples of achievements.

Minor amendments.

It was suggested that the word “humble” in paragraph three of the first page of the report should be amended as the Partnership should be proud of its achievements. Michael Farrar stated that there were a number of typographical errors, which he could provide details of if requested.

Involvement of Audit Commission

It was noted the Self-assessment was being compiled for the Audit Commission and so the language used might not be easily understood by a layperson. The Board agreed that more timely and detailed guidance from inspectors would have assisted the Partnership in this assessment.

Health

The healthiness of Cambridgeshire residents should be mentioned and the challenges being faced with regard to improving health care in the Travellers’ community.

Voluntary sector

Kirsten Bennett agreed to provide Stephen Moir with examples of the role of the voluntary and community sector in the work of the Partners.

Tackling homelessness

It was suggested that the report should refer to how developers had accepted a target of 40% affordable housing in new communities, although it was acknowledged that the economic downturn had delayed the benefits of this agreement.

Meeting the challenge of an ageing population

It was agreed that efforts should be made to seek funding for warden schemes that allowed elderly people to retain their independence.

Tackling crime

It was suggested that the assessment should highlight achievements made in reducing Anti-Social Behaviour.

The Board thanked all the officers who continued to work hard in the production of this Assessment.

The Board

AGREED        That a parish, which has just completed its Community Led Plan, should be invited to present its findings at the next meeting of the Board. 

Kirsten Bennett introduced this bi-annual report on Community Led Plans in South Cambridgeshire.

It was suggested that the Board should formally acknowledge each completed Community Led Plan, perhaps in the form of a certificate. It was agreed that parishes that had completed their Plan should be given an opportunity to present their findings to the Board to allow its recommendations to be addressed.

The Board

AGREED        That a parish, which has just completed its Community Led Plan, should be invited to present its findings at the next meeting of the Board. 

Greg Harlock presented this report, which provided the Board with a complete performance report for 2008/09.

Crime

It was noted that crime was very low in South Cambridgeshire and the lack of crime “hot spots” made targets regarding the reduction of crime very hard to achieve.

Partners were encouraged to be vigilant with regard to arson in the coming summer months and ensure that rubbish was cleared promptly.

Smoking

It was noted that there was a low number of smokers in South Cambridgeshire and this number continued to decline. This left a residual minority of smokers who did not want to give up, thus making the national performance indicator difficult to achieve. All Partners were encouraged to do what they could to reduce the number of smokers in their workforce.

Fly-Posting

It was noted that there had been an increase in fly-posting due to the successful protest against the Hanley Grange proposal.

Climate change

It was noted that the guidance on this Performance Indicator had been received late and it was expected that the target for 2010/11 would be achieved. It was understood that recent attendance at a lecture at Pembroke College indicated that residents were keen to support initiatives to reduce climate change.

The Board NOTED the report.

John Reynolds gave a verbal report on crime reduction as the Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

There were no questions and the Board NOTED the verbal report. 

Rob Needle introduced this report which outlined what Neighbourhood Panels had achieved in the past year and invited comment from the Board.

Councillor Ray Manning reported that both the Cabinet and the Scrutiny and Overview Committee of the District Council were concerned that the County Council’s proposals could distract Neighbourhood Panels from their primary role of crime prevention. The District Council supported the forthcoming consultation exercise as it allowed the Neighbourhood Panels to decide whether they wished to adopt these proposals.

It was noted that East Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Panels had adopted the County Council’s proposals and several members of the Board supported the East Cambridgeshire model.

The Board decided to await the results of the consultation exercise and NOTED the report.

Patrick Joyce presented this report on cycling in South Cambridgeshire by announcing that £3.6 million had been secured from Cycling England to fund initiatives that encouraging cycling in Cambridgeshire.

Jonathan Barker strongly supported the initiatives and expressed disappointment at the lack of progress on the proposed cycle route from Cambridge to Ely, the absence of a cycling officer at South Cambridgeshire District Council and the decision of the Council to withdraw match funding of cycling schemes with the County Council. Councillor Ray Manning explained that the District Council needed to make efficiency savings, but he pledged to investigate how cycling could be supported with existing resources.

Jonathan Barker stated that the promotion of cycling could help to combat climate change, reduce congestion on the roads and encourage tourism. He suggested that disused railway lines could be used as cycleways.

Patrick Joyce explained that creating cycle routes in rural areas was expensive and inevitably did not have as many users as those cycle routes in urban areas. It was hoped that a cycle route from Cambridge to Cambourne could be established.

The Board NOTED the report.

Stephen Moir presented this report on the impact of the economic downturn on South Cambridgeshire.

It was noted that the District Council’s decision to offer business rate relief had been well received and saved at least one small organisation from going out of business.

In response to suggestions that resources should be focussed on mitigating the impact on young people, Stephen Moir stated that Cambridgeshire Together would be submitting a bid to the Future Jobs Fund, which had approximately £1 Billion to award. It was noted that there was a guarantee that from 2010 every young person who had been looking for work for a year will get a job or training lasting 6 months. The County Council were keen to support the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme.

It was noted that the voluntary sector could provide valuable experience to a person who was currently out of work.

The Board NOTED the report.

Ruth McCallum presented this report on the Rural Refresh Project, which involved the contacting of small groups, verifying their contact details and finding out their support needs. It was noted that continuation planning was a major challenge.

The Board NOTED the report. 

Councillor Ray Manning presented this report on the schemes which have received LPSA Reward Grants funding. The Board expressed its support for this grant scheme and the money awarded. It was expected that the remaining budget of £10,656.50 would be allocated.

The Board NOTED the report.

It had already been agreed that a presentation from a parish which had successfully completed a Community Led Plan would be heard at the next meeting.

The Board NOTED the Forward Agenda Plan.

Thursday 19 November at 2pm. 

The Board NOTED that the next meeting would be held on Thursday 19 November at 2pm.