Core Strategy Group
Core Strategy Group 
- Dates of Future Meetings
- Background
- Objectives
- Membership
- Frequency of Meetings
- Quorum
- Accountability
- Responsibility of Members
- Dealing with Sensitive Matters and Possible Conflicts of Interest
- Access to minutes and associated papers
- Decisions and Disputes
- Protocol
- Minutes
- Bi-Monthly Report
Dates of Future Meetings
- Friday 9th May, 10.00am - 12.00pm, Committee Room 2.
- Friday 11th July, 10.00am - 12.00pm, Godley Suite, Hyde Town Hall.
- Friday 12th September, 10.00am - 12.00pm, Etherow Lounge, Ashton Town Hall.
- Friday 7th November, 10.00am - 12.00pm, Committee Room , Council Offices.
Background
The Tameside Supporting People Core Strategy Group is a multi-agency group that is responsible for overseeing the implementation and review of the Tameside 5 Year Supporting People Strategy, 2005-2010.
Members of the Core Strategy Group should inform and consult other stakeholders on the work of the Group and represent their views at these meetings.
Objectives
- to oversee the progress of the Supporting People Programme in Tameside
- to drive improvements and promote innovation in the delivery of the Programme
- to ensure service users are involved in the delivery of the programme
- to oversee the implementation of the Supporting People Strategy
- to monitor the implementation of the Annual Plan
- to make recommendations to the Joint Commissioning Group
Membership
The membership of the Tameside Core Strategy Group includes:
- representatives of the commissioning partners
- Tameside MBC
- Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust
- The National Probation Service, Tameside
- Chair plus 2 other representatives of the Tameside Supported Housing Forum
- representative of the Tameside Registered Social Landlord Forum
- representative of Third Sector Coalition
- service user representatives
- Youth Offending Team
- Drugs Intervention Project
- Representatives of support services within Tameside MBC including policy and equalities
The Group may invite other members on an ad hoc basis to contribute on specific aspects of the Supporting People Programme.
The Accountable Officer.will chair the Forum
The Tameside Supporting People Team will service the meetings.
Frequency of Meetings
Bi-monthly
Quorum
Attendance by 2 commissioners and 2 providers is required to enable decision making.
Accountability
The Core Strategy Group will report to the Joint Commissioning Group
Representatives of the Supported Housing Forum will report to the Supported Housing Forum on the work of the Core Strategy Group
Representatives of the Registered Social Landlords Forum will report to that Forum on the work of the Core Strategy Group
The Chair of the Supported Housing Forum will report on its work to the Tameside Housing Partnership.
The Supporting People Lead Officer will present the recommendations of the Core Strategy Group to the Commissioning Group for consideration and approval.
Responsibility of Members
It is the responsibility of individual members to attend meetings, or to find a representative if they are unable to attend.
Dealing with Sensitive Matters and Possible Conflicts of Interest
The Core Strategy Group may at times have to consider confidential information on matters related to commissioning, procurement or performance. Members are individually required to declare known conflicts of interest prior to the commencement of meetings. The Group will determine whether or not any declaration necessitates exclusion from discussion on specific issues.
Access to minutes and associated papers
All minutes and associated discussion papers are public documents and may be freely distributed to individuals, their organizations, agencies or institutions. The Supporting People Team will place them on their website. Minutes that include information relating to tenders, personal or financial matters of individuals, groups of individuals, companies or agencies will not be publically available.
Decisions and Disputes
The Core Strategy Group will normally make decisions by reaching consensus. In the event of a disagreement a vote will be taken of members (but not co-optees) and the majority view will prevail.
Protocol
1. Scope
- This protocol is intended to guide support-provider representatives attending the Core Strategy Group. It applies equally to both external support provider representatives and to Tameside MBC's own 'in-house' support provider representatives unless stated otherwise.
- This protocol is appended to the Core Strategy Group Terms of Reference and should be read in the context of these terms.
- Reference to 'support providers' in this protocol refers to housing-related support providers whose services are eligible for Supporting People funding.
2. Role
- To represent the general interests of the support provider sector at meetings of the Supporting People Core Strategy Group and to articulate the views, concerns and ideas of the sector on matters of:
- The Supporting People strategy
- Supporting People policies and emerging policies
- CLG and other government guidance
- Information and guidance from national organisations relevant to the Supporting People programme
- The relationship between the support provider and service user representatives on the Core Strategy Group and the support provider sector is intended to be complementary to and not a substitute for, the relationship between the support provider sector and the Supporting People Team.
- To receive matters of concern, views, opinions and ideas from support provider sector organisations, agencies, individuals and other stakeholders; to raise these matters at meetings of the Core Strategy Group as appropriate and to offer feedback to these same stakeholders on outcomes
3. Declarations of Interest
- A support provider representative with an interest in a matter discussed at the Core Strategy Group must disclose to the meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of the discussion, or when the interest first becomes apparent.
- The interest referred to in 3.1 includes but is not limited to:
- A personal interest (including personal financial interest) of the representative
- A financial or other economic interest of the employing organisation of the provider representative
- A financial or other economic interest of an organisation legally related to the employing organisation of the provider representative (for example, a parent or subsidiary company)
- Once an interest has been declared, the other members of the Core Strategy Group in attendance will decide by consensus on the most appropriate manner in which to conduct the remaining discussion on the matter. It is recognised that there may be occasions where it is appropriate and informative for a contribution to the discussion to be made by the representative who has declared an interest.
- In matters where the Core Strategy Group decide that there is a potential conflict of interest, then there should be no further engagement in the meeting by the representative declaring an interest while the matter is still being discussed.
- Support provider representatives with an interest in a matter discussed at the Core Strategy Group should not seek to improperly influence a decision about that matter.
4. Confidentiality
- Support provider representatives must not disclose any information of a confidential nature acquired during the course of meetings of the Core Strategy Group. Meetings of the Core Strategy Group will clearly indicate items considered to be confidential.
5. Role of the Supporting People Team
The Supporting People Team will offer practical assistance, advice and information to support provider representatives to help facilitate their role, in any way considered appropriate by mutual agreement between representatives and the Supporting People Lead Officer.
6. Tenure
- External support provider representatives will stand for one year. Nominations and elections for new representatives will be held at the Supported Housing Forum and the Registered Social Landlords Forum in April of each year