Councillor Tony Smith introduced a report by the Director of Children’s Services that outlined a proposal for expenditure on child poverty activities based on priorities identified by Wirral’s Child and Family Poverty Working Group.  The report also set out a proposed commissioning process for progressing this proposal and related project management arrangements, including the role of the Working Group in respect of monitoring progress. 

The report took forward the longstanding view of the Working Group that community assets, not deficits, were the key to addressing issues of poverty and deprivation in Wirral.  It also recognised the role of schools in improving outcomes now and in the longer term for Wirral’s children.  The report also outlined a proposed approach which was about enhancing the vital role of schools and creating a platform for them to act as a catalyst for transforming local communities.  The approach had been proactively developed by all members of the Working Group, with support from officers as appropriate.

The report further set out the Working Group’s key areas of focus for 2013-14 in line with the Liverpool City Region Strategy on Poverty and Life Chances.

The Cabinet noted that, in respect of funding for child poverty initiatives, expenditure had been committed to support the Springboard project and this expenditure had been dealt with separately in a previous report to the Cabinet in September 2012.  A further report on progress in relation to Springboard would be brought to the Cabinet for consideration in due course.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet agrees the following

(1)  the £100,000 allocated for priorities allocated by the Working Group be utilised to commission the delivery of the project outlined in this proposal;

(2)  the Wirral Child and Family Working Group acts as the key stakeholder group for this project;

(3)  regular reports on progress in relation to the delivery of the project and on Wirral’s wider contribution to delivering the Liverpool City Region Strategy on Poverty and Life Chances are produced for the Children’s Trust in line with existing governance arrangements;

(4)  to commit to ensuring that the lessons learnt from the implementation of the project are considered as the Council and its partners further develop neighbourhood working in Wirral; and

(5)  to review the progress of the project alongside other Council priorities and consider the allocation of additional funding in the 2014/15 budget and agrees that any further allocation will be based on the project beginning to evidence the impact of the investment on improved outcomes for children and families.