Venue: Committee Room 1, Wycombe District Council
\n\t\t\n\t\tItems\n\t\t\n \n\t\t\t\tNote \n\n\t\t\tNo.\n\t\t\tItem\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tElection of Chairman
\n\nMinutes:
\nRESOLVED
\n\n
That Mr F Downes be elected\nChairman of the Community Cohesion and Equalities Forum for the\nensuing year.
\n\n
\nMr F Downes in the Chair
\n\n
Appointment of Vice Chairman
\n\nMinutes:
\nRESOLVED
\n\n
That Mr K Ramdeholl\nbe elected Vice-Chairman for the ensuing\nyear.
\n\n
2.05
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tApologies for Absence / Changes in Membership
\n\nMinutes:
\nApologies were received from Mr M Holt, Ms M\nButler, Mr K Ramdeholl, Mr S\nChoudhry, Mrs P Pearce, Mr N Gibson, Mr\nR Pushman, Mrs M Clayton and Mr P\nHodson.
\nDeclarations of Interest
\n\nTo declare any personal\nand prejudicial interests
\nMinutes:
\nMrs L Clarke declared a personal interest as a\nMember of the Women’s Local Government Society.
\nMinutes PDF 79 KB
\n\nof the meeting held on 10 March 2009 to be\nconfirmed
\nMinutes:
\nThe minutes of the meeting held on 10 March\n2009 were confirmed as a correct record.
\n\n
Mr J Tripp asked for Mr P Hodson to clarity the following point which appears\non page 3 of the minutes:
\n“The results observed that none of the\norganisations provided a statutory function although a number\ncontributed to these”.
\nHe said that REC’s do provide a statutory function.
\n\n
\nAction: Mr P Hodson to respond.
\n\n
Terms of Reference PDF 27 KB
\n\nTo receive and confirm.
\nMinutes:
\nMembers had received the Terms of Reference\nfor the Forum.
\n\n
It was highlighted that the Forum name was\nincorrect on the document.
\n\n
\nAction: Clerk to amend
\n\n
\nIt was proposed that\nthe Forum should keep the current Terms of Reference and look at in\nfurther detail at a future meeting of the Forum.
\n\n
A Member said that in\ntheir opinion the Forum should be much more about action and not\njust a debating forum and that there is a real need to look at the\nTerms of Reference in greater detail.
\n\n
In discussion a Member\nsaid that Point 3, under item 3 should read:
\n“To provide a\nchannel of communication and consultation with the county’s\ncommunities” not community as detailed, commenting that there\nare several communities within Buckinghamshire.
\n\n
The Chairman accepted\nthe amendment and agreed that the Terms of Reference be tabled for\na future meeting of the Forum.
\n\n
\nAction: Clerk to amend
\n\n
\n
\n
2.20
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCommunity Cohesion in Schools PDF 139 KB
\n\nMinutes:
\nMembers had received a report from Mrs Y\nThomas, Policy and Equalities Manager for Buckinghamshire County\nCouncil (BCC).
\n\n
The Officer highlighted that the report\noutlines what BCC are doing in schools and made the following\npoints:
\n\n
\n
Following discussion Members then made the\nfollowing points:
\n\n
A Member enquired if there was any feedback on\nthe conference and the Officer said that the young people involved\nhad raised concerns that adults were making things worse and that\nin fact young people did not have any issues in engaging with\npeople who were different. They also commented that
\nPVE was not just about young Muslims becoming\nradicalised it was a wider issue and should include looking at the\nrise of the British National Party (BNP) and animal protestors.
\n\n
Mr J Williams commented that the work with\nschools was impressive and enquired how the Fire Service could\nassist and ensuring a consistent message is given out. Mrs Y Thomas\nsaid she would contact Mr J Williams to discuss and highlighted\nthat she works closely with schools and police officers.
\n\n
\nAction: Mrs Y Thomas
\n\n
Members discussed the recruitment of BME\ngovernors and the Officer advised that they have trained community\nmembers and approached community groups such as the Muslim parents\nassociation to help with the recruitment of more BME governors.
\n\n
\n
\n
\n
2.35
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRacist Incidents in Buckinghamshire Schools PDF 300 KB
\n\nMinutes:
\nMrs Y Thomas, Policy and Equalities Manager\nfor Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) Childrens’ and Young People’s Services\ngave a presentation on Racist Incidents in Buckinghamshire Schools\n- Report on 2007-2008 returns.
\n\n
The main headlines from the report were as\nfollows:
\n\n
\n
The Officer explained that it is the\nresponsibility of schools to report racial incidents. Reporting is\nbased on a perception of what is understood to be a racial incident\nby an onlooker or the person involved in the incident and there may\nsometimes be a lack of knowledge regarding what is a racial\nincident. Training in this area had been carried out in\nschools.
\n\n
Mrs Thomas advised that for the first time the\ninformation for Chiltern and South Bucks had been reported as\nseparate districts. The Officer commented that all districts with\nthe exception of Chiltern had seen a reduction in the number of\nreported incidents and Officers had worked with a school in the\nChiltern area.
\n\n
Some schools were still not reporting racist\nincidents and send in Nil returns. Officers continue to encourage\nschools to take up training on an ongoing basis.
\n\n
The Committee was advised that an online\nreporting system will be introduced. This will mean incidents can\nbe logged as and when they happen. This will be good for the County\nCouncil as it will enable Officers to see when incidents are\noccurring and identify possible trends such as time of day or year.\nIt was highlighted that most primary school incidents happen in the\nplayground and for secondary schools these are in the classroom as\na result more training has been targeted at play assistants for\nprimary schools and for teachers in secondary schools.
\n\n
\n
Members made the following points in relation\nto the report:
\n\n
\n
The Officer was thanked for a very\ncomprehensive report.
\n2.50
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tChiltern District Council Community Cohesion Strategy Presentation PDF 36 KB
\n\nMinutes:
\nMr P Nanji,\nPrincipal Leisure and Communities Officer, Chiltern District\nCouncil gave a presentation on Chilterns Community Cohesion Plan\n2009-2012.
\n\n
The presentation highlighted the following\npoints:
\n\n
\n
The plan was due to go to Cabinet for approval\nin December 2009 but it is now anticipated this will be early next\nyear.
\n\n
Members made the following comments:
\n\n
\n
The Officer was thanked for updating the\nCommittee.
\n3.05
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tEquality Bill 2009 & Specific Equalities Duties PDF 64 KB
\n\nPapers:
\n\n\na) \nReport
\n\n\nb) \nDraft response to Specific Equalities Duties - To Follow
\nMinutes:
\nMember had received a report the purpose of\nwhich was to provide the Forum with an overview of the Equality\nBill and outlines the policy proposals for the specific duties to\nsupport the new Equality Duty.
\n\n
Mrs A Sarchet\nintroduced the report and invited Members to NOTE the report and\nAGREE that it wishes to respond to the Government’s\nconsultation proposals for the specific equalities duties. The\nForum was also asked to AGREE the contents of its response, which\nincludes the results of the consultation exercise carried out by\nthe BCC Cohesion and Equalities Team.
\n\n
The report highlighted the following\npoints:
\n\n
\n
The Officer commented that the report was\noriginally due to be discussed at the June meeting of the Forum but\ndue to a high number of apologies received that meeting was\ncancelled. The consultation process on the specific duties closes\non 30 September 2009. To date the County’s Cohesion and\nEqualities Team have prepared two consultations questionnaires, one\nfocussing on the procurement proposals and one of the remaining\nissues, which, together with supporting information, were sent to\ncolleagues through the Bucks Equalities Network, other relevant\nofficers within the County Council and the community and voluntary\nsector. In addition a workshop was arranged with officers who have\na procurement and/or commissioning role so that the procurement\nproposals could be discussed.
\n\n
The Officer advised that the Cohesion and\nEqualities Team had collated the responses and drafted a\nresponse.
\n\n
A Member asked how many questionnaires were\nsent out in total and the Officer advised that over 100\nquestionnaires went sent out and 11 responses were received.
\n\n
The Chairman asked that if any Member had any\ncomments to send them to Mrs A Sarchet\nby 5pm on Monday 28 September 2009.
\n\n
The Chairman was asked to clarify who the\nresponse was to be submitted on behalf. The Chairman confirmed in\nagreement with Members the response would be a joint response on\nbehalf of Buckinghamshire County Council and the Forum.
\n\n
\nMembers NOTED the report and AGREED that it wishes to respond to\nthe Government’s consultation proposals for the specific\nequalities duties. The Forum was also asked to AGREE the contents\nof its response, which includes the results of the consultation\nexercise carried out by the BCC Cohesion and Equalities Team.
\n\n
3.20
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPerformance Monitoring Report PDF 134 KB
\n\nMinutes:
\nMembers had received a Performance Update from\nAngie Sarchet, BCC, Community Cohesion\nand Equalities Manager.
\n\n
Angie Sarchet\nintroduced the report and highlighted the following:
\n\n
N101-\nPlace Survey
\n\n
Members were informed that results indicated\nthat a higher percentage of people now feel people from different\nbackgrounds get on well together and a lower percentage feel that\nthey do not. Results for all Bucks, Aylesbury, Chiltern and South\nBucks are above that reported nationally (76%), and the result for\nWycombe is on a par with it.
\n\n
The Officer commented that the BME categories\nas defined have changed and this made trend analysis\nimpossible.
\n\n
Responses from female\nrespondents has increased from 62% to 79.6%.
\n\n
Analysis of the Place Survey results show that\nrespondents under 21 and those aged 21-30 reported significantly\nhigher levels of disagreement compared to the overall figure of\n20%.
\n\n
NI01-Delivery Plan Performance Update
\n\n
The consultation around reviewing the role of\nthe Racial Equality Councils (RECs) has\nbeen delayed but this will be compensated for by extending the\nconsultation period by eight weeks so that it closes in\nJanuary.
\n\n
The exclusion report is usually received at\nthe September meeting of the Forum. However, the Officer who would\nnormally produce and present the report was unable to attend the\nmeeting and this item will be moved to the December meeting.
\n\n
CCEF Action Plan
\n\n
Assessing the impact of new migrants on\nlocalities – this action has been included in the research\nproject with ICOCO and therefore no longer needs to remain as a\nstand alone action.
\n\n
The Officer highlighted that it had been two\nyears since the action plan was drawn up and that there had been\nconsiderable change in Forum membership during that\ntime. It was proposed\nthat a half day conference be scheduled for early Summer 2010,\nwhich would provide opportunity for an in-depth discussion of the\nfindings of the ICOCO research report and review the role of the\nForum, including taking account of earlier comments made at the\nmeeting.
\n\n
NI04-Place Survey
\n\n
The overall score suggests people in the three\nupper age bandings all agree that they are able to influence\ndecision significantly more whilst those in age back Under 21\nreported significantly less agreement.
\n\n
NI35-Building resilience to extremism
\n\n
The two funded districts (Aylesbury and\nWycombe) had self assessed against the indicator and their targets\nfor improvement were highlighted. Buckinghamshire has undertaken a\nself assessment as a process for identifying improvements that\nwould support the work of partners and has set its own improvement\ntargets.
\n\n
Following a successful partnership bid for\nfunding to the CLG £50k has been awarded and training will be\nrolled out.
\n\n
In March 2009 the Government published a\nrevised version of its counter terrorism strategy, commonly known\nat Contest 2. The revised strategy sets out its strategic context\nlooking at issues such as the background to international terrorism\nand the UK, its impact, the current threat and how this has\nchanged.
\n\n
In response to the report Members made the\nfollowing comments:
\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\nThe Forum NOTED the report.
\n3.35
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tUpdates from Partners
\n\nMinutes:
\nBuckinghamshire Fire and Rescue
\n\n
The Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Equality\nand Diversity Strategy which was previously presented to the Forum\nhas now been embedded in the service.\nThe service still needs to be looking externally at the equality\nimpact and a community impact assessment will be undertaken to\nquantify and qualify data.
\n\n
Members were informed that the South East Fire\nImprovement Partnership are holding an Operational and Diversity\nevent for Fire and Rescue services on 23 September 2009 at MK Dons\nstadium in Milton Keynes. Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue will be\nlaunching their Community Cohesion Strategy and Community\nEngagement guidance at the conference. Copies of the documents will\nbe circulated to Members for information.
\n\n
\nAction: Mr J Williams to forward documents to Clerk for circulation\nto Members
\n\n
\nThames Valley Police
\n\n
\nInspector Sarah\nPoolman informed the Forum that she had\nbeen in post since August.
\nThames Valley Police\ncontinue to work closely with District Councils in relation to the\nprevent agenda and improving communication.
\nA prevent engagement\nofficer for Buckinghamshire has been recruited and officers are\ncurrently working closely with Wycombe REC and the Equalities\nForum.
\nSir Christopher\nPrentice, Ambassador to Iraq will be visiting Wycombe for an event\nwhich is to be held at Bucks New University and is aimed at young\nmuslims as part of efforts to tackle\nextremism and promote cohesion.
\n\n
Mr N Hussain highlighted that he is Chairman of\nAylesbury Independent Advisory Group and that he is attending a\nNational Independent Advisory Group conference in November.
\n\n
\nChiltern REC
\n\n
\nBuckinghamshire\nConsortium has agreed its constitution.
\n\n
Buckinghamshire Forum of Faiths
\n\n
Mr P Lawson reported that following the\napplication to the ‘Faith In Action’ programme for\nfunding, they had been awarded £12k. The project is for\n2010-11 and the aim is to have one set up in each of the district\nareas. Members can contact Mr P Lawson in the first instance.
\n\n
\nAylesbury Vale District Council
\n\n
The Institute of\nCommunity Cohesion (ICoCo) has\ncompleted their baseline review, which had identified a number of\nissues and recommendations and identified the following four\npriorities:
\n\n
\nA report on the review\nwill be included on the December agenda for the Forum.
\n\n
The grants review has\nbeen completed. From 2010 applications would be considered against\nan outcomes framework. If any Member requires further information\nplease contact Ms S Moffat smoffat@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk
\n\n
Wycombe District Council
\n\n
Wycombe District Council received 3\nyears funding (2008-2011) from CLG to support projects to improve\ncommunity cohesion in Wycombe District.
\n\n
In 2008-2009, the funding programme\nsupported projects delivering (i)\ncohesion through sports, (ii) cohesion through arts and (iii)\nintergenerational work.
\n\n
There is £146k available and for\nthe remaining two years the council is requesting applications to\nrun projects up until March 2011 that will contribute to at least\none Wycombe-One Community themes, these are:
\n\n
Improving cohesion:
\n\n
The information is on the website\nwww.wycombe-one.org/ and\nthe deadline for applications is 9 November 2009.
\n\n
\n
\n
Planned Future Agenda Items PDF 17 KB
\n\nMinutes:
\nMembers had received the report detailing the\nplanned future agenda items for the future meetings of the\nForum.
\n\n
A Member asked how they could contribute to\nthe work plan and were advised to contact Mrs A Sarchet.
\nDate of Next and Future Meetings
\nThe next meeting will be held on Tuesday 15\nDecember 2009, 10.00am, Large Dining Room, Judges Lodgings,\nAylesbury.
\n\n
Provisional dates for 2010
\n\n
\nTuesday 30\nMarch, 10am, Committee Room 1, Wycombe District Council
\n\nTuesday 29\nJune, 10am, Council Chamber, South Bucks District\nCouncil
\n\nTuesday 21\nSeptember, 10am, Mezzanine 3, County\nHall, Aylesbury
\nTuesday 7 December, 10am,\nLarge Committee Room, Chiltern District Council
\nMinutes:
\nThe next meeting will be held on Tuesday 15\nDecember 2009, 10.00am, Large Dining Room, Judges Lodgings,\nAylesbury.
\n\n
2010
\n\n
\nTuesday 30\nMarch, 10am, Committee Room 1, Wycombe District Council
\n\nTuesday 29\nJune, 10am, Council Chamber, South Bucks District\nCouncil
\n\nTuesday 21\nSeptember, 10am, Mezzanine 3, County\nHall, Aylesbury
\nTuesday 7 December, 10am,\nLarge Committee Room, Chiltern District Council
\n\n