Investing in Communities Delivery Board Terms of Reference

THE ROLE OF THE INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES BOARD

Terms of Reference for the Board

1. Have regard to the partnership governance arrangements including the values, principles and commitments that partners are expected to adhere to.
2. To regularly monitor, ensure achievement and review the local area agreement and the sustainable community strategy and the commitment of strategic delivery partnerships to the arrangements, and achievement of outcomes and targets.

Delivering better outcomes:
3. To ensure that Local Area Agreements deliver on the vision for Bournemouth in the Sustainable Community Strategy set by Bournemouth 2026 Vision Board.
4. To set the strategic direction for delivery of the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement including the themes which will give focus and yet maintain joined up working
5. To ensure there are the necessary arrangements to achieve targets against indicators for the outcomes and targets in the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement including the setting up of any Strategic Delivery Partnership.
6. To ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place to ensure that Bournemouth receives a positive outcome from the Comprehensive Area Assessment

Coordinating the Strategic Delivery Partnerships
7. To apportion targets and outcomes to the Strategic Delivery Partnerships (from the priorities given to it from the Vision 2026 Board and from Local Area Agreements)
8. To apportion the monitoring of the National Indicators not already included in Bournemouth’s Local Area Agreements
9. To subsequently agree with each Strategic Delivery Partnership:
• Achievable targets to work towards Bournemouth Vision 2026
• Ways to remove blocks to implementation
• Suggestions about types of activities that will achieve better outcomes and achieve targets
10. To collate the outcomes, indicators and plans into a single Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement Action Plan
11. To ensure that Strategic Delivery Partnerships are joined up to avoid duplication and share best practice and knowledge
12. To ensure that Strategic Delivery Partnerships understand the Comprehensive Area Assessment and act on its conclusions

Setting up and managing financial arrangements and approving expenditure
13. To set up and manage the financial arrangements for the LAA.
14. To be responsible for apportioning and approving all expenditure in relation to LAA pump priming funding and performance reward grants in accordance to the conditions associated with them so that these can be apportioned to Strategic Delivery Partnerships.
15. To monitor the use of pump priming funds to ensure that the conditions of the Grant Recipient Agreement are met.
16. To decide upon the process of allocation of the amounts of Performance Reward Grant, communicate to target leads and publish in governance arrangements.
17. To be responsible for apportioning and approving all expenditure in relation to any future fund created from Performance Reward Grant.
18. To consider applications from the strategic delivery partnerships for any other grant funding such as from the Contingency Fund or a future fund made up of the Performance Reward Grant.
19. To recommend any reallocation of Area Based Grant funding to the Council for approval
20. To seek approval from the Executive Board as the accountable body, before amending any of the rules for financial management.
21. To record all decisions and transactions that affect financial expenditure and keep accounts that can be accepted by the Council and Bournemouth 2026.
22. To encourage partners to align funding to ensure the delivery of targets and outcomes.

Looking for efficiencies and additional resources
23. To ensure that wherever possible, resources – including staff, office accommodation, IT systems, training, consultations etc are jointly shared to ensure closer integration, to avoid duplication of effort and to avoid wasting resources.
24. To advocate on behalf of Bournemouth 2026 to ensure that adequate resources are made available from the bodies that are party to a local area agreement in order to deliver the outcomes set out in Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement
25. Identify and secure additional funding sources in support of the Local Area Agreement.

Monitoring the proper use of accounting systems
26. To gauge the suitability of systems and adequacy of resources that any Strategic Delivery Partnerships has to manage the grant as set out in its grant conditions.
27. To ensure that all those in receipt of grants (most likely to be strategic delivery partnerships) do so with full cognisance of their obligations for financial reporting, responsibility, liability and asset management set out in the grant conditions.
28. To co-operate with and support the work of the accountants and Auditors of the accountable body, the local authority
29. To account to the Executive Board for the quality of accounting arrangements

Managing the refresh of the LAA
30. To refresh the Local Area Agreement, in accordance to the requirements of government.
31. To seek the approval of the Council for any changes to a Local Area Agreement.

Communicating and sharing success
32. To establish and disseminate best practice across the partnership
33. To communicate clearly to the wider community successes in achieving the outcomes of the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement through for example the partnership website and newsletters, BH Life and through other media.

Managing performance and controlling risk
34. To monitor the progress towards the targets and the achievement of outcomes in the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement and report this to the Council’s Scrutiny Panels.
35. To ensure that named partners work together to meet the Local Area Agreement targets and fulfill their duty to have regard to the LAA.
36. To monitor progress against predicted trajectories and intervene early on in a Strategic Delivery Partnership when their performance is unlikely to achieve targets
37. To create a risk register using risk assessments completed by LAA performance managers and agreed with Strategic Delivery Partnerships.
38. To bring any risks arising from partnership working under control and report these arrangements to the Executive Board
39. To be the interface between Bournemouth 2026 and the Government of the South West in relation to the performance management of the Local Area Agreement
40. To account to the Executive Board for the performance of the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement

Intervening where necessary to secure outcomes
41. Use support and challenge to help Strategic Delivery Partnerships make progress towards their targets
42. Assess request for  additional resources from the Contingency Fund when needed to support progress
43. Assess whether the second award can be made to any Strategic Delivery Partnership  that is not yet making sufficient progress
44. To recommend to the Executive Board where intervention needs to progress to termination

Standing Orders:
• The Board has delegated authority from the Bournemouth 2026 members and the Local Authority with the remit to achieve the outcomes of the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement.  That is it does not need to return to these bodies to ratify decisions it makes on,
o funding distribution,
o its choice of strategic delivery partnerships,
o the wording of outcomes, sub-outcomes, indicators, targets, activities,
o sub-groups, task-groups and organisation relevant to the goals of the project.
• It does not have delegated authority to set funding levels or to move funds other than in line with the Bournemouth 2026 financial framework.
• The Chair of the Group will be elected by the Bournemouth 2026 Vision Board from nominations made by the Investing in Communities Board members.  The Chair must not represent an organisation that is responsible for the delivery of LAA targets.
• The Board reports to the Executive Board.
• The Board is responsible for making the following proposals to the Executive Board and other public sector organisations about the arrangements for:
o The commissioning arrangements to secure service providers
o The governance arrangements for the implementation of the LAA and the Sustainable Community Strategy
o The financial framework including the arrangements for pooling and aligning budgets maintaining adequate governance and auditing of funds used within the LAA
o The arrangements for the allocation of reward grants
o The arrangements for workforce development
o The arrangements for negotiating the Local Area Agreement with GOSW and through them to Central Government
• The Board must meet at least every 8 weeks, more often if required to agree Local Area Agreements.
• Meetings are called by the chair to whom members can make representation for any additional meetings
• The meetings are arranged by the Bournemouth 2026 Delivery Manager
• The Bournemouth 2026 Delivery Manager must provide at least 4 weeks notice (unless otherwise agreed) in writing (includes e mail)of the date place and time of any meeting
• A standing agenda must reflect the terms of reference and provide opportunity for Any Other Business. 
• The agenda must include proposals for items for the next meeting and the next meeting date.
• Additional agenda items must be relayed to the chair within 10 days of the meeting who considers whether they can be added
• Agendas and papers must be received at least 3 working days before the meeting
• Decisions are to be made by a simple majority with a casting vote held by the chair
• Quorum of 33% of the membership for any decisions decided by voting provided that at least one of the representatives is either the Leader of the Council or the Chief Executive of Bournemouth Council.
• The minutes and decisions must be recorded by the officer and signed by the chair at the next meeting with a full quorum
• The Investing in Communities Board is not a public meeting however members can invite any relevant parties to attend any of the meetings with the permission of the Chair.

Membership:
• Chair of Bournemouth 2026

Public sector representatives
• Chief Executive of Bournemouth Council
• Leader of the Council
• Dorset Police – Divisional Commander for Bournemouth & Poole
• NHS Bournemouth & Poole – Director of Public Health
• Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Learning and Skills Council
• Dorset Fire and Rescue Service
• Job Centre Plus
• Connexions

Forum & Strategic Delivery Partnership representatives
• Thriving Economy -  Chair of Forum and Chair of Strategic Delivery Partnership
• Health & Wellbeing - Forum Chair of Forum and Chair of Strategic Delivery Partnership
• Sustainable Environment - Chair of Forum and Chair of Strategic Delivery Partnership
• Safer & Stronger Communities - Chair of Forum and Chair of Strategic Delivery Partnership
• Investing in People - Chair of Forum and Chair of Strategic Delivery Partnership
• Representative from Change for Children Board
• Chair of Neighbourhood Working Strategic Delivery Partnership

Business Representatives
• Dorset Business
• The Bournemouth Chamber of Commerce

Voluntary Sector Representatives
• Director of Council for Voluntary Services
• 3 Voluntary Sector Representatives elected by Voluntary Sector Forum

Observers
• Government of the South West:

P = public sector representative
B = business/economy sector representative
V = voluntary sector representative
C = community sector representative

Supporting officers:
• Bournemouth 2026 Development Manager
• Bournemouth 2026 Delivery Manager
• Finance Manager, Bournemouth Borough Council

For members of the Investing in Communities Delivery Board click here