WITHOUT WALLS PARTNERSHIP

Minutes

DATE19 November 2008

VENUEMarriott Room, Central Library

PRESENTBoard Members:Liz Burdett – Director, LSC (North Yorkshire)

Terry Collins, CYC (Substitute for Iain Spittal)

Sir Ron Cooke - Chair

Pete Dwyer – Director, Learning, Culture and Children CYC

Cllr. Ian Gillies – City of York Council

Rachel Johns – Chair, Healthy City Board

Peter Kay – Chair, Economic Development Partnership

Bill McCarthy, Chief Executive - City of York Council

Janice Murray – Chair, York@Large

David Rees – York Environment Partnership

Colin Stroud, Chief Executive – York Council for Vol. Service

Cllr. Andrew Waller– City of York Council

Gary Williamson – Chief Executive, LYNYCC

In attendance:Matt Beer, Head of Marketing & Comms, CYC

Charlie Croft, Asst Director (LCCS)

John Oxley, Archaeologist

Secretariat:Nigel Burchell, Head of Strategic Partnerships

Roger Ranson, Asst. Director, Econ Devt. & Partnerships

Denise Simms, Senior Partnership Support Officer

Bill Woolley, Director of City Strategy

APOLOGIES:

Brian Cantor, Vice Chancellor - University of York

Jane Marshall - Chair, YorOK Partnership

Rita Sanderson – Inclusive York Forum Representative

Cllr. David Scott – City of York Council

Iain Spittal, Chief Superintendent – North Yorkshire Police

Clare Suddaby, External Relations Manager – Jobcentre Plus

1WELCOME AND APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Brian Cantor, Jane Marshall, Rita Sanderson, David Scott, Iain Spittal and Clare Suddaby. Peter Kay and Gary Williamson were welcomed as new members of the Board representing Economic Development Partnership and the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. Partners also thanked outgoing members, Len Cruddas, Chris Hailey-Norris and Iain Spittal, for their contributions to the Without Walls Partnership and wished them well for the future.

2MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

Minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2008 were agreed.

MATTERS ARISING

SCS / LAA Launch – Partners agreed that the SCS launch event had been hugely successful and they thanked the Strategic Partnership Team for their efforts in making it a success.

Economic Development Partnership Update – Partners were asked to note private sector membership of the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) and draft terms of reference. These would be considered by the EDP when they meet for the first time on 4 December.

In response to the draft composition paper, concern was raised that the Economic Development Partnership did not propose to include a representative from the Voluntary or Third Sector. It was stressed that the VCS made a considerable contribution to the local economy and not to include them would make EDP the only delivery partnership without VCS representation.

Indication within the draft terms of reference (Para 2.3 c) that EDP would collaborate “with other theme leaders to achieve the overall vision for the city” was commended. However, it was noted that there was no reference to environmental sustainability and in particular the SCS Strategic Ambition relating to balancing physical growth with environmental challenges.

Action – It was agreed that Peter Kay would feed in the concerns at the first meeting of EDP in December.

Feedback from the first meeting of the Business Forum – It was reported that the first meeting of the York Business Forum (on 8 October) had been very successful. A summary report of discussions had been produced. Discussions took place around the four themes of transport and infrastructure, city development, skills and training needs and the impact of the economic downturn. Actions would be followed up before the next meeting in Feb 09.

Partners were keen to ensure that there were links between the Forum and the Economic Development Partnership to make certain that they did not operate independently of each other.

Follow-up on credit crunch item discussed in July – Partners had received an update on the steps that the council had taken to make improvements within the city given the current economic situation. Five project areas were being supported with the use of LABGI (Local Authority Business Growth Initiative) Funding. A key initiative was establishment of a York Enterprise Fund of £250k to help new business start-ups. In addition, all pupils would have access to enterprise advice, there were plans to extend credit union services, sustain the activities previously undertaken by the City Centre Partnership and to produce a booklet aimed at assisting residents to maximise income. Cllr Waller confirmed that the council were also now paying invoices within ten days to assist local businesses.

Additional comments regarding the rising cost of fuel were around making it easier for people to insulate their homes. It was confirmed that a re-launch of the grants available was imminent and new arrangements would have local impact in terms of the local contractors used. Good work was also underway with retail forums concerning energy saving initiatives.

Forward meeting plan – Partners were presented with a tentative forward meeting plan for 2009. It was pointed out that the template for the forward programme used the same headings as the proposed new agenda structure, which were:

  • Administration and Governance;
  • Major Strategic Discussions; and,
  • Monitoring and Performance.

It was suggested that structuring future discussions in this way would keep focus on the SCS ambitions and strategic partnership issues. It was confirmed that one of the discussion items for the Partnership meeting in March 09 would be the LDF Core Strategy preferred options.

Action – It was agreed that:

  1. All future Partnership agenda would be structured under the headings suggested;
  2. Partners would feed in further views regarding items for the forward plan to the Secretariat.
3A HERITAGE STRATEGY FOR YORK

John Oxley, the Council’s Archaeologist, presented a paper to partners regarding the process adopted to develop a Heritage Strategy for York. John explained that the Sustainable Community Strategy had been used as their starting point. They had concluded that heritage was critical to key concepts contained within the SCS, e.g. York’s distinctiveness, the city’s brand etc. Heritage had also been included within the LAA as a key measure of success, in respect of the target around Conservation Area Appraisals. The Heritage Strategy would be designed to provide a policy framework, which could be used by Without Walls, that defined heritage.

In developing the Heritage Strategy, the working group had facilitated four thematic workshops concerning:

  • Cultural involvement;
  • Visitors and tourism;
  • Training and learning; and,
  • Historic environment.

The themes provided a useful framework that would help form the strategy. Themes emerging from the workshops included:

  • To ensure that the strategy did not get bogged down in minutiae;
  • That there was an emphasis on heritage as forward looking;
  • The contribution of the rich and diverse heritage to the special character of York;
  • The importance of following World Heritage Site (WHS) protocols;
  • Heritage as a learning resource.

Comments from Partners regarding the Heritage Strategy included:

  • The definition of York’s heritage was commended, however the notion of emphasis on being purely forward-looking was questioned;
  • WHS protocols were tight and could act as a straitjacket;
  • A stance on this was already being developed via the planning framework. Consequently, the LDF, City Centre Area Action Plan and appraisal of the central historic core would in effect form the WHS management plan;
  • Adopting WHS protocols would act as a road test of the concept before making a final decision on whether to bid;
  • WHS status would apply within the city walls only, however the Heritage Strategy would encompass the whole city;
  • The business impact should be considered and this would be much wider than just retail / tourism;
  • It was important to look at how the WHS protocols would work for York and how that could be reflected in the Area Action Plan;
  • The heritage theme cut across all partnerships and made York a World Heritage City (if not a site);
  • The Environment Partnership, and English Heritage in particular, were keen to support this work as an item for discussion at a future YEP meeting;
  • WHS unlocked funding, but there would be an economic cost associated with meeting the standard. These costs should be evaluated;
  • Consider how WHS could be harnessed to fuel economic growth and protect the environment;
  • St Emilion had been preserved in aspic. Gaining WHS status could stifle diversity;
  • It would be important to take the best advice possible in order to progress the city and show people how it can be done well. Infrastructure would need to be in place to blend our future with the past;
  • The working group should take the views of young people into consideration since they are our future. This could be explored in more detail with educational providers;
  • The Heritage Strategy could include an annex that set out York based elements of good building design. Design context should be set out in order for people to be able to agree/disagree with it;
  • The Hungate development had a full design statement;
  • It would make some sense of what people meant by good design;
  • What justification would there be for attempting to codify design from this point forward and not, for example, 200 years ago?
  • There could perhaps be general standards that applied to the whole city;
  • York was unique in that it represented so many different historic periods;

Action – it was agreed that Partnership Chairs would consider the Heritage Strategy document in light of their delivery theme.

4LEARNING CITY YORK – SKILLS PLEDGE

Liz Burdett presented a report on the ‘Skills Pledge’ and funding available through the Train to Gain skills offer. Liz explained that skills development was an issue that cut across the whole partnership and collaborative action would have a positive impact on LAA skills targets. Skilling up the workforce was an important message to convey and one which the public sector could lead the way on. The council had very recently signed up to the skills pledge. The pledge was a commitment by employers to develop their staff to at least NVQ level 2 (equivalent to 5 GCSEs at A – C grade).

Advice, support and funding was available to meet the Skills Pledge from the £60 million of regional public funding available to March 2010. A list of organisations that had signed up to the Train to Gain skills offer was considered, however it was noted that signing up larger organisations would tap into significant numbers of employees.

Partners were asked to take away a short questionnaire regarding the skills challenge and to complete it on behalf of their own organisation. In addition, to disseminate the message to their own networks and partnerships, with the offer that Julia Massey (Manager - Learning City York) would facilitate discussion within these groups if required.

Comments from Partners regarding the Skills Pledge included:

  • One GP Practice had signed the pledge and perhaps their experience could be used as a pilot to encourage others to join;
  • Improved skills were vital to the city’s future prosperity and, therefore, the pledge should be actively promoted within all organisations and partnerships;
  • The private sector were already spending four times the amount spent by the public sector on training, however this may not be linked to the pledge;
  • The skills offer seemed highly linked to NVQs and employer training did not necessarily lead to an NVQ qualification;
  • There was scope to be more flexible now;
  • The system embraced alternative skills training since all qualifications could be equated against the NVQ scale;
  • Language was an issue, as it was difficult to understand whether the offer was worth having;
  • This could be promoted to businesses as being a manifestation of an employer of choice i.e. investing in their people;
  • The Train to Gain process was confusing to employers once they were in the system. It was important for Train to Gain administrators and employers to understand each others language;
  • It was important for employers to take advantage of what was available as funding often passed York by.

Action – It was agreed that:

  1. The Partnership would endorse employer sign up to the Skills Pledge and that Delivery Partnership Chairs would take on a leadership role within their own network in terms of completion of the Skills Offer questionnaire;
  2. Learning / Thriving City Partners should clearly spell out the advantages of this scheme to employers;
  3. Train to Gain administrators to recognise that the private sector training schemes often operate outside the formal public sector offer.
5LSP DEVELOPMENT

Bill McCarthy presented a paper that covered three initiatives, which were relevant to the development and future direction of Without Walls. These were:

  • Development of the council’s Engagement Strategy;
  • Comprehensive Area Assessment and the strategic partnership review; and,
  • Alignment of the council’s Corporate Strategy with the SCS and LAA.

Engagement Strategy – Bill explained that the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act introduced a new legal duty ‘to inform, consult and involve’, which would come into force in April 2009. To meet this duty the council would produce a Strategy and ‘toolkit’ for managers, which would give practical advice on best practice for community engagement. Partners were invited to consider the extent to which they would like to be involved with the strategy. Options ranged from being consulted on the strategy through to formal adoption as the strategy of the LSP.

Partners comments on the Engagement Strategy included:

  • The Partnership had a stake in this and should be involved;
  • The toolkit would make self-assessment possible and would ensure that best practice was shared;
  • The implications of involvement for Partnerships would be to help shape the toolkit in Spring 09, then to sign up to the Strategy as working practice by April 09;
  • Use of the website as a means of communication was key;
  • Residents could often be bombarded by information, Partners should work together and communicate joint messages where possible;
  • Engagement mechanisms differed across the various partnership groups;
  • Better coordination and rationalisation of engagement and consultation activities could lead to efficiency savings.

Action – it was agreed that the Engagement Strategy Development Group would provide a short summary of the direct implications for Without Walls and the constituent partnerships.

CAA and Review of Strategic Partnerships – It was explained that new performance inspection arrangements (CAA), effective from April 2009, placed the Sustainable Community Strategy at the heart of the inspectorate’s view. Future assessment would be high level and emphasis would move from that of individual organisations to emphasis on the overall area. Partners were asked if they needed further clarification on the new inspection regime and to feedback of plans to carry out the review of partnerships.

Comments from Partners included:

  • Despite departure of the Safer York Partnership Chair and Vice Chair, focus on drug misuse and crime reduction should be maintained. Arrangements needed to be put in place to keep the commissioning of drugs treatment going, otherwise impetus would be lost.
  • This highlighted the wider issue of reliance on key individuals and the need to ensure succession plans were in place;
  • The Without Walls Partnership would be reviewed alongside the eight delivery groups;
  • Partners were encouraged to contact the Chair with their views on the LSP and these could be fed in to the review process;
  • Clarification was required about the role of partnership, i.e. advisory vs. policy formulation;
  • The importance of the LSP’s role in producing the SCS and developing the long term agenda for the local area is clearly set out in government guidance;
  • Credibility was gained via different routes and consensus, rather than statute worked just as well.

Action – it was agreed that progress in terms of the Partnership review would be reported back to the next meeting in March 2009.

CYC Corporate Strategy – Bill McCarthy reported that the LSP had shaped the direction of the council, in that they were aligning their Corporate Strategy under the seven themes of the community strategy. Partners were asked to consider whether their organisation had plans to do the same.

Partners commented that:

  • Partnership organisations could look at the SCS in light of their own strategies;
  • Inspectors would question how Partners were contributing to the Community Strategy and evidence of strategy alignment would be powerful proof;
  • The business sector could check their corporate strategies for incompatibilities against the SCS;
  • The recent SCS refresh had involved ‘bottom-up’ review from Without Walls partners, consequently it would already be rooted in some partner’s strategic plans.
6ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Partners received details of a project looking at the economic performance of cities, which the council’s Economic Development Unit was involved in. Material produced for the project entitled “Unlocking city potential and sustaining city growth” was circulated for information. Partners were informed that, as part of the project, the Centre for Cities would produce a specific report for York, which would be brought back to a future Partnership meeting. In addition, the Economic Development Unit were investigating the possibility of undertaking some master planning work with Yorkshire Forward and URBED.