Meeting documents
Area Forum (Bidston and Claughton)
Monday, 3rd October 2005
Present
Chair
Cllr Denise Roberts
Ward Councillor
JR Cocker, Cllr George Davies, Cllr Steve Foulkes, Ann McLachlan, Cllr Harry Smith
Community Representatives
Rev. Pat Billsborrow (Prenton Churches Together), Jean McIntosh, Alison Moulder (Bidston Community representative)
Lead Officer
Kevin Miller
Area Service Co-ordinator
Michelle Gray
Birkenhead & Wallasey PCT
Ms C Maddaford (Director of Nursing and Quality)
Merseyside Police
Inspector Mark Smith
Council Officers
Gary Cummings (Area Streetscene Manager), Rosemary Curtis (Education and Cultural Services), David Griffith (Senior Inspector, Pupil & Student Support Services), Jan Johnson (Minute Taker), Tracey Smith, Jim Thompson (Crime and Disorder Project Officer), Carol Williams (Endeavour)
In attendance:
Stuart Crompton (Merseyside Fire Service)
Apologies
Graham Cole (Business representative), Pat Landsborough (Claughton Community Group), Collette McDonagh (Slatey Road Area Residents Association), Ray Rowland (Noctorum Residents Association)
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
- Minute 2 - MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES
- Minute 3 - PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
- Minute 4 - AREA CO-ORDINATORS REPORT / AREA PLAN UPDATE
- Minute 5 - PRESENTATION: BIDSTON AND NORTH BIRKENHEAD ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION GROUP
- Minute 6 - PRESENTATION: WORKING TOGETHER FOR WIRRAL'S CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
- Minute 7 - PRIMARY CARE TRUST UPDATE
- Minute 8 - ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Minute 1 - WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Minute Text :
The Chair, Councillor Denise Roberts, welcomed forum members and 23 members of the public to the Area Forum for Bidston and Claughton, being held for the first time in the St James’ Centre. The Chair informed people that there was a loop system available for anyone with sensory impairment. The meeting would include time for questions and if not able to provide an answer this evening, the Area Co-ordinator Michelle Gray would follow this up and feedback the information to the relevant individual.
A round table introduction was held to ensure members of the public were aware who was present.
Minute 2 - MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES
Minute Text :
Minute 3 referred to the Chair of Bidston Rise’s Tenants Association’s concerns re ‘non policing’ of their area. As Lead Officer, Kevin Miller had sought clarity on the Forum’s behalf and invited Inspector Mark Smith to comment. Inspector Smith clarified that there are six community safety officers that work out of Laird Street. Two cover the Oxton/Claughton area, two cover the Beechwood area and two cover the Noctorum area. Their pattern of working is 8.00 a.m. until midnight. Neighbourhood police officers work until 4.00 a.m. and normal response police officers cover a 24 hour period. Operation Leopard is an initiative currently running aimed at increasing visibility and community involvement. Inspector Smith was invited to attend the next meeting of the Tenants Association on Monday 10 October in the Narrowgate Centre for an exchange of ideas.
Peter Crawford reported that he had received useful information from Area Co-ordinator on Electric and Magnetic Fields/pylons and there is ongoing research in this area.
Minute 3 - PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Minute Text :
Councillor Foulkes raised an issue on behalf of a young person regarding the Wreck (Recreation /Playground Tollemache Rd, close to Flaybrick Cemetery). She is very pleased with the layout of this but wanted to know why is it aimed only at a very young age group? Councillor Foulkes asked whether the forum had any thought about the issue of teen shelters?
Frank Harrison commented that it did appear to be targeted towards younger children and that it would be useful to try and involve children in Area Forums. It was acknowledged that there is a Youth Forum for each area of the Wirral and work is going on to strengthen their links with the Area Forums. The Area Co-ordinator refers to this on page 38 of her report explaining how we are trying to engage with Youth Forums.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that the Area Co-ordinator to find out further information on Teen Shelters and how they work.
Minute 4 - AREA CO-ORDINATORS REPORT / AREA PLAN UPDATE
Minute Text :
Michelle Gray, Area Co-ordinator gave an overview of her report, covering the following:
- Minutes from the last meeting held on 6 June 2005 and matters arising.
- Local updates, including press releases and information relevant to the forum area.
- Community Initiative Funding, including a progress report from organisations funded previously; a summary of funding allocated for 2005-6, which was approved by Cabinet on 22nd September. The successful groups should receive the funding at the beginning of October.
The Area Co-ordinator informed the forum that a late application had been received from the North Birkenhead Neighbourhood Forum (NBNF), requesting £500 for their Good Food Project, to cover a variety of equipment and materials. There is just over £500 left in the funding budget and the Forum were asked if wished to support this project, or carry over the remaining fund into 2006-7.
Pat Billsborrow declared an interest in this. Councillor Smith and Pat Billsborrow commented on the value of projects, such as this that involve young people and encourage healthy eating. The Forum were in favour of supporting this application, but reminded people of the importance of adhering to the deadline in future.
Councillor Foulkes observed that communications were improving, with the message getting through about applications to the point where we are fully subscribed and congratulated all involved.
- An update of progress made in relation to the development of the areas plan, identifying the needs and aspirations of local communities, which is available on the internet. The area plan subgroup, made up of Councillors, Police, Primary Care Trust, Community Reps and other Council Officers, met on 13 September. The group reviewed the plan and decided to concentrate on two themes - Safer Communities and A Healthy and High Quality Environment. If anyone has any comments or feedback please pass these to the Area Co-ordinator by the end of October 2005.
- An update on Youth participation work on Wirral over the past six months.
- An update on Streetscene.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that a recommendation to approve the application from the NBNF be referred to Cabinet with the next round of funding applications.
Minute 5 - PRESENTATION: BIDSTON AND NORTH BIRKENHEAD ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION GROUP
Minute Text :
Jean McIntosh, Community Representative for Bidston, gave a presentation on the work of the Bidston and North Birkenhead Environmental Action Group (BNBEAG) which aims to provide for a cleaner, better life. The group is a unique partnership between the community, local authority, agencies and ‘Partners in Grime’. The partnership includes Wirral Partnership Homes, Groundwork Wirral, Merseyside Police, Wirral Voluntary & Community Sector Network, Wirral Council, Wirral Community Safety Partners, Radio Merseyside, A1 Clearance Company. Jean briefed on work carried out, improvements that have been made and future plans. Actions already undertaken include:
- Massive Community Clean Ups
- Children’s Litter Picks
- Leaflet and Poster Campaigns
- Awareness Presentations
- Environmental Awareness Open Days
Engaging the community is a top priority and the group encourage people of all ages to contribute.
Average expenditure by Birkenhead North Area Housing Office annually reaches £18-22k, however, since June last year, with the end of the BNBEAG Clean Up and start of a poster and leaflet campaign, this figure had dropped to £11,300.
Future plans are to continue with tried and tested projects, to introduce new projects and to develop further links and partnerships.
The Chair thanked Jean for her interesting and informative presentation and asked if there were any questions from the audience.
Q – Member of the public commented on no longer having the free ERIC service. Noted that a lot of household rubbish is accumulating in preparation for 5th November. The arrangement last year was to try and remove as much of this as possible before the event, and asked whether there is anything in place for this year?
A – Stuart Crompton, Merseyside Fire Service said there will be a scheme run by the Police and Fire Services within the next week or so to remove as much of this rubbish as possible. The Fire Service policy is that, until 4 November, any rubbish fire reported will be attended to by an appliance. Councillor Davies also confirmed that Area Housing Officers have instructions that, over the next 2 weeks, there would be a blitz. Councillor Smith commented that all dumped rubbish was investigated for evidence and people were regularly fined under a programme of removing rubbish established on a fortnightly basis.
Q - Member of public had contacted Streetscene re: rubbish being dumped by contractors at the bottom of Lansdown Road. Could this be removed and the contractors fined?
A – Garry Cummings commented that this should have been actioned by now.
Jean McIntosh commented that Wirral covers 60 sq miles, with a team of just 58 people from Streetscene and Technical Services. Jean stressed the importance of local communities starting to help themselves in looking after their own areas to make them places to take pride in.
Councillor Foulkes briefed that, further to the previous debate about charging for the ERIC service, tipping had increased by 20%, however, that tipping was not bulky items that would have been removed by ERIC, it was mostly builders’ rubble. There were issues about people charging to take rubbish away and then just tipping. One encouraging sign this week is the launching of a voluntary organisation called WIRE that will offer a free service to take items and recycle them.
Q – A member of the public commented on an individual in Station Road who regularly dumps rubbish.
A – Councillor Smith agreed to discuss this matter further following the meeting.
Tracey Smith informed the Forum that a representative from WIRE would like to come to all 11 Area Forums to do presentations.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that WIRE be invited to give a presentation at the next meeting of this area forum.
Minute 6 - PRESENTATION: WORKING TOGETHER FOR WIRRAL'S CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Minute Text :
David Griffith, Children’s Service Development Manager, Education & Cultural Services gave a presentation on the proposed changes in the way services for children will be organised in Wirral. There is ongoing consultation with groups, organisations, and young people. He would look at proposals, particularly as they would affect Forum areas, and would be happy to answer any questions about any aspect of the consultation over the next 2 months.
‘Every Child Matters’ is the Government document set up following the death of Victoria Climbié. The Childrens Act 2004 instructed all services to work together to deliver the following five key outcomes for children in Wirral:
- Being Healthy
- Staying Safe
- Enjoy and Achieve
- Make a Positive Contribution
- Achieve Economic Wellbeing
There is also concern in social care circles that many children don’t achieve their potential and that better support is necessary between agencies that work with children. The Education & Cultural Services and Children’s Services within Social Services are to be combined to form a Children & Young People Department. David reported that the Children and Young People’s Plan would be available by the end of this month. It would work in partnership with universal services, such as teachers and GP’s and targeted/specialised services such as Youth Offending workers, Paediatricians, etc. The Plan would be to form multi-disciplinary Children’s Services Teams of 11 areas in 4 districts. Bidston/Claughton would be one area.
The development team want to know what people think of the proposals, and there is a comments form at the back of the consultation paper, which is also available online. It is important that people should be aware and provide feedback.
Q – Why do actions happen after an event?
A – Lead Officer, Kevin Miller, responded as the existing accountable officer around child protection. It is recognised that the best system in the world cannot accommodate for the fact that there are people who do harm to children. But we all need to work together to try to protect children. David Griffith reported that approximately 80% of children will have no contact with social services, but there are a minority for whom that won’t be the case. This could be for a variety of reasons, such as disability or parents have difficulty in looking after them. Advice and parenting skills offered by Sure Start is one form of help that is available.
Councillor Cocker noted that play workers had not been included in the universal services slide and a member of the public stated that it was covering the 0-19 age group.
Q - Teachers having to deal with very large classes mean some children don’t get the necessary attention. Have we determined the right class size and can’t they be maintained at a lower level?
A – David Griffith confirmed that there were very few classes of more than 30, with many having much smaller numbers. He also pointed out the large group of support available in classrooms with learning mentors, classroom assistants etc. They make a tremendous difference to relationships within the school and to the rate at which some children can learn. He also reported on a protocol that has been devised with the Police to assign a police constable to every school to enable them to get to know school and children in the school.
Q – Would it not be a good idea to teach good citizenship in schools to instill in children a better attitude to society.
A – Citizenship has been included in the Children and Young People’s Plan.
Q - How can community members themselves help?
A – Teams would be created at a local level because we want areas to feel a responsibility for the children in that area and be supported by the teams of professionals that are available to them. There will be 19 Children’s Centres in Wirral, 10 are planned at the moment and arrangements are being put in place for the other nine. At the end of the process, in 10 years time, we may have 22 centres in Wirral, which would be 1 per ward.
The Chair thanked David for his informative presentation.
Minute 7 - PRIMARY CARE TRUST UPDATE
Minute Text :
Cathy Maddaford, Director of Nursing & Equality at Birkenhead & Wallasey Primary Care Trust (PCT) informed the forum on developments within the PCTs. She reported on two main issues.
i. The Department of a Health paper, ‘Commissioning a Patient Led NHS’ that outlines proposals for the future of the PCT on Wirral. There are currently two PCTs, Birkenhead / Wallasey and Bebington / West Wirral. Their main function is to commission the health needs of the population and to provide services such as health visitors, district nurses, etc. The proposal is combine these and have one Trust covering Wirral. There will be a public consultation and the PCTs will be seeking your views on that.
ii. A public consultation on an initiative called ‘Your health, Your Care, Your Say’. Cathy made copies of this available for feedback and comment. Following the consultation the Government would produce the new legislation on integrated health and social care.
The Lead Officer confirmed that, over the next few months, the title would become familiar and the more comments people can provide to feedback as part of the consultation the better.
Frank Harrison commented that strategic agencies should be thanked for involving and seeking the views of the communities.
Minute 8 - ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Minute Text :
The Chair thanked everyone for coming, the speakers for their presentations, and the St James’ Centre for the use of the building. If anyone wants a brief word with members of the Forum they would be available directly following the meeting.
Q – Does anyone know anything about a major development in Bidston Village, around Lennox Lane?
A – Councillor Cocker responded that he was not aware of this, but would ask through the planning system. Councillor Foulkes informed of the update on the local development framework available on the website.
Q – Is there any news on Housing Market Renewal (HMR)?
A – Councillor Davies confirmed that HMR would be available in November. Fiveways Tranmere, Crossways, Tranmere and North End being the three priorities.
Q – Would there be an archeological survey on site of the proposed new houses by St James Church?
A – Please speak to Councillor Cocker after the meeting.
Michelle raised a question on behalf of a Noctorum resident on the issue of an unadopted footway on Noctorum Road that is in need of some attention and agreed to forward this to David Green for action to be taken.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 2 February at the Discovery Centre, Noctorum. There will be a presentation from WIRE and if anybody has any suggestions for further presentations please get in touch with Michelle Gray, on 0151 691 8213 or michellegray@wirral.gov.uk
Minute Decision :
Resolved that:
i. Councillor Cocker to check the planning system re: major deevlopment in Bidston Village
ii the Area Co-ordinator to forward a request for action on Noctorum Road footway to David Green.
(Minutes Published: 24 October 2005)