Meeting documents

Alexander Shephard DL, owner of Hedsor House, welcomed members of the BSP Board to the meeting.

Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Jim Booth (Chief Executive, Thames Valley Police Authority), John Cartwright (Leader, Aylesbury Vale District Council), Chief Superintendent Paul Emmings (Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board), Alan Goodrum (Chief Executive, Chiltern District Council), Jenny Hunt (Voluntary Impact), Sue Imbriano (Buckinghamshire Children’s Trust), Ed Macalister-Smith (Chief Executive, NHS Buckinghamshire), Patrick Martin (BALC), David Rowlands (Fire Authority) and Chris Williams (Chief Executive, Buckinghamshire County Council).

Members noted the following were in attendance as substitutes for the duration of the meeting:

Superintendent George Wrigley (substitute for Paul Emmings)

Gill Gowing (substitute for Alan Goodrum)

Jane Dudley (substitute for Ed Macalister-Smith)

Lesley Blue (substitute for Patrick Martin)

Changes in membership

The representative from the Learning and Skills Council was now Penny Askew (previously Jill Goddard).

The representative for the Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board was now Chief Superintendent Paul Emmings (previously Paul Tinnion).

The representative from OBMH was now Martin Howell.

Bianca Kerley would be attending Board meetings representing Job Centre Plus.

Lesley Clarke declared an interest in Item 6 as she was Chairman of Wycombe Youth Action. Wycombe Youth Action had received some funding from the Buckinghamshire Community Foundation.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2010 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

Decisions to be taken:

Contributor:

Jackie Fisk, Team Leader, Policy & Partnerships

The Board received the Update Report from the Bucks Strategic Implementation Group (BSPIG).

Jackie Fisk (Team Leader, Policy and Partnerships) told members the following:

·         At the meeting of the BSP Board in January 2010, members had considered priority areas which had been identified by the thematic partnerships. BSPIG had looked at the actions requested and a draft work programme had been produced (Appendix A).

·         A national report on ‘Total Place’ had recently been published. The Report had addressed the 13 pilot areas. BSPIG would keep the BSP Board updated regarding progress on the ‘Total Place’ initiative.

·         Rob Hathaway (Audit Commission Lead for Buckinghamshire) had recently updated BSPIG and had commended Buckinghamshire on the quality of its partnership discussions. Areas of focus for the Audit Commission would include the preventative agenda and the value for money agenda. Rob Hathaway had also asked for a list of areas in which Buckinghamshire could show particular innovation and good practice. These would be considered by the thematic partnerships.

·         The BSP Annual Report 2009/10 would be submitted for the July meeting of the BSP Board. The Report would include information on performance over the past year and also seek agreement for improvement work for the following year.

·         Performance for the Local Area Agreement (LAA) for the third quarter of 2009-10 was on track for most of the indicators. A full performance report would be brought to the BSP Board in July.

·         Appendix B showed a summary of BSPIG decisions which had been taken on behalf of the BSP Board, regarding the LAA pooled fund and the BSP Fund.

·         BSPIG had discussed a first draft of the Bucks Economic Assessment, and this had been circulated for wider comment by partners. Further information would be brought to the July meeting of the BSP Board.

·         The Report included information on the Buckinghamshire Pathfinder.

·         Members were asked to consider a change to the Board membership, with the addition of two places for voluntary and community sector representatives. This followed a focus at strategic level for expanding the voice of the voluntary and community sector. The two places would be debated with the sector by Community Impact Bucks.

·         Community Impact Bucks had been launched on 1 April 2010 and was the new integrated voluntary infrastructure organisation. Community Impact Bucks was a merger of Buckinghamshire Community Action, The Priory Centre, Vale Volunteers and Voluntary Action.

A member said that the Aylesbury Vale LSP had asked if the Board’s work programme could include the proposed High Speed 2 railway (HS2). Jackie Fisk said that BSPIG would discuss this at its next meeting.

A member asked why two items on page 13 were marked in yellow. Jackie Fisk said that these were ‘in principle’ decisions which needed to be looked at in more detail by BSPIG.

Sarah Ashmead (Head of Policy, Performance and Communications) said that funding for those items had been ‘earmarked’ but that more detail on how the funding would be spent was required. The two items  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Decisions to be taken:

Contributors:

Ian Flexer, Broadband Manager, Buckinghamshire Economic and Learning Partnership (BELP)

Andrew Grant, Chief Executive, Aylesbury Vale District Council

Graham Grover, Chief Executive, BELP

Andrew Grant (Chief Executive, Aylesbury Vale District Council) introduced this item.

Ian Flexer (BELP) then gave a presentation to members, which contained several proposals for Broadband provision in Buckinghamshire. During the presentation, Ian Flexer made the following points:

·         BELP believed that the data available greatly understated the number of small businesses working from home.

·         Any undertaking regarding broadband provision would have to consider several issues, including whether any financial return was required.

Members then asked questions. The questions and answers are summarised below.

A target of 40 mbps (mega bits per second) by 2015 seems a huge increase on the current provision. Is it going to be achievable?

It will definitely be possible. Every year the technology improves. If anything, we should aim for an even higher level of provision by 2015.

How will you secure the networks? Security of the networks needs to be prioritised.

Security of the networks is a priority issue, as is traffic control.

Why don’t you open up the provision to all areas and ‘seed-fund’ those areas which most want it?

We use the statistics as our starting point, but also use feedback from each area.

How does BT prioritise areas for provision?

Networks tend to work best commercially at a growth of clusters. Clusters can be extended to fill in ‘not spots’ (e.g. in Sittingbourne in Kent).

A member noted that Buckinghamshire Hospitals Trust and OBMH each had their own networks, and that this was not noted in the presentation.

Concerns were raised about the security issues of any shared networks, and this was noted but it was emphasised that the issue was around traffic segregation.

A member noted that SEEDA was working on a Broadband Strategy, with the aim of bringing local voices together.

It was also noted that BT had met with SEEDA recently and had agreed to hold two educational events. BT’s main advice was to choose provision on an open network.

Members then split into five tables and discussed the three questions at the end of the presentation. The three questions and the comments given are summarised below.

Peter Cowen (BT) was in attendance at the meeting as a supporting expert.

Question 1 - Is there sufficient information available to inform this support? Any gaps?

·         Board members emphatic on need for clarity on the funding of the business case and clarity on the strategy – is it a strategy primarily around supporting business, or is a social cohesion focus? The business case, and funding, will differ.

·         Awareness-raising is needed re: why 2mgps is not a sufficient level of provision.

·         We need to explain to residents why different levels of provision are necessary.

·         Are we aware of existing gaps in provision?

·         What provision will be required in the future by large users (e.g. hospitals)?

·         What is the main aim of increased provision – are we aiming to support big businesses, entrepreneurs or personal use?

·         What advantages are there to the public sector in funding increased provision?

·         Increased provision can encourage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation representatives will brief the Board on its work, and seek views from Members on how to continue to work in partnership to help local Buckinghamshire communities to thrive. 

Contributors:

Roy Collis DL (Trustee)

Graham Peart (Chairman)

Richard Dickson (Development Director)

Richard Dickson (Buckinghamshire Community Foundation - BCF) was welcomed to the meeting.

Richard Dickson gave a presentation about the work of the BCF.

In addition to the information in the presentation, Richard Dickson made the following points:

·         The BCF worked to achieve a balance between the public, private and voluntary/community sectors.

·         BCF offered very good value for money, supporting ‘grass roots’ groups.

·         There had been a record number of grant applications in the previous two years.

·         BCF had five paid staff, and a large number of volunteer staff.

·         The Bucks Strategic Partnership had contributed £0.1m to the BCF in 2009, and a report would be going to the next BSPIG meeting regarding the impact of the funding. BCF would also monitor the outcomes quarterly for the next few years.

A member asked if the BCF had criteria for giving grants. Richard Dickson said that a score-card system was used.

A member asked to what extent BCF measured outcomes. Richard Dickson said that BCF was still learning how to measure outcomes, rather than activity. Measuring outcomes was not an exact science, and these were difficult to measure. At the end of each year, the BCF visited groups which had received funding, to assess the impact of the funding.

The Chairman thanked Richard Dickson for attending the meeting.

The Chairman also thanked Alexander Shephard DL for allowing the BSP Board to use Hedsor House and for the warm welcome which they had received.

2010

13 July 2010, 2:30pm, The Coach House, Green Park Training & Conference Centre, Stablebridge Road, Aston Clinton

30 September 2010, 2:30pm, Uplands Conference Centre, Four Ashes Road, Cryers Hill, High Wycombe, HP15 6LB

2011

20 January 2011, 2:30pm, venue tbc

11 May 2011, 2:30pm, venue tbc

12 July 2011, 2:30pm, venue tbc

2010

13 July 2010, 2:30pm, The Coach House, Green Park Training & Conference Centre, Stablebridge Road, Aston Clinton

30 September 2010, 2:30pm, Uplands Conference Centre, Four Ashes Road, Cryers Hill, High Wycombe, HP15 6LB

2011

20 January 2011, 2:30pm, venue tbc

11 May 2011, 2:30pm, venue tbc

12 July 2011, 2:30pm, venue tbc