Councillor Denise Roberts, welcomed forum members and 8 members of the public to St James Centre, Laird Street, Birkenhead.

Ian Brand read the following Neighbourhood Working Statement:-

A report proposing a new approach for Neighbourhood Working was recommended by Cabinet in January, and will now be voted on by all Councillors in the coming weeks.

The new Neighbourhood Working Approach will create four neighbourhood teams in Wirral and devolve decision making and budgets directly to local communities.

It aims to tackle issues at source and target resources based on the needs of individual areas. Budgets and decision making would be devolved to local areas, to be designated according to need.

Multi-agency teams, made up of public services including the local authority, police, and health, would be based in communities.

The move will result in the abolition of the existing 11 Area Forums.

Instead, local committees, chaired by Councillors and working with residents, would have a key role in drawing down and allocating resources, based on a neighbourhood plan which would have strong input from local people.

The benefits of joining up services and sharing knowledge are already well documented, reducing costs, promoting good practice, and enabling early intervention to reduce the demands on public services. Not only can they result in better, more effective services, but they are the way forward in terms of working more closely and effectively with Members, partners, and local people.

Wirral’s budget deficit is well documented, and initial reports that this new way of working can not only reduce costs, but also result in better outcomes for local people, can only be welcomed.

Wirral still has a way to go in finalising plans for neighbourhood teams, but it is proposed that a neighbourhood team will be established in each of Wirral’s four Parliamentary constituency areas, with staff and services being located within them.

Each team will be report to its own Public Service Board, which includes public services such as the Council, Police, Health and Education. This team will co-ordinate the delivery of a Neighbourhood Plan.

The Neighborhood Plans will be produced by each area’s Constituency Committee, to be chaired by a Councillor and including councillors, community representatives, voluntary and community sector representatives, and - by invitation - the local MP. This plan will outline each area’s needs and priorities.

An over-arching Wirral Together Public Service Board wlll have overall responsibility for the successful implementation of the scheme and for the Neighbourhood Plans.

Should the proposal be agreed, teams will begin working in communities from May 1.

Q: If there is a different lot of people when will the people have a chance to say what needs doing where?

A: Tracey Smith – it is split into 4 parliamentary constituencies and staff will be based in the community so they can be approached daily and the public won’t need to wait for forums. 

2. MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING AND MATTERS ARISING:

Tracey Smith – with regards to the FinanceDepartment looking in to holding an event/drop in session their response is detailed below.

Action: Finance Department to look into holding an event/drop-in session for residents, community/voluntary groups to attend to be able to gain further advice and support on these changes and to give residents as much information to help them understand the changes that may effect them.

Response from Finance

From an operational perspective since the early reforms started to be implemented, April 2010 we have consistently been administering the corresponding changes as part of the routine administration of the Housing Benefit /Council Tax Benefit schemes.  This necessitated advising those affected, including stakeholders such as landlords, where it was appropriate to do so, of the imminent change and then writing to the individuals concerned as the change to their claim was actioned.  On an ongoing basis this has continued and the same practice is being followed with the more significant reform changes:-

Extension of shared room rate to under 35 year olds – Those affected were written to, on three occasions during 2011/2012 , advising of the change, that it would affect them and how.  Their landlords were also contacted and advised accordingly and encouraged to speak directly with any tenants affected about their increased liability for rent.

Social Sector size criteria – Have all been written to, Nov 2012, advised of the change and implications, asked to fill in a benefit review form, landlords also working directly with officers and will be advised of all tenants affected in near future

Benefit Cap – All those identified as being affected, likely to be affected, written to in Nov 2012.  Further plans to write and potentially undertake home visits in certain cases and once the schedule for implementation on Wirral is known.

Council Tax Support Scheme – Public consultation and targeted consultation, all those of working age currently in receipt of Council Tax Benefit will be written to in February, circa 22K, advising of the change, what it broadly means and a revision of their Council Tax Benefit claim as it transfers to Council Tax Support Scheme will follow, notification of entitlement to follow etc. Every household in Wirral will be informed of the changes along with their Council Tax bill for 2013-14 and invited to apply if applicable.

Local Welfare Assistance-The council is responsible for Crisis Loans and Community Care grants previously administered by Department of Working Pensions. The Council is currently setting up the required processes to administer this new scheme.

Council Tax Discount and Exemption changes-These changes will affect in excess of 8,000 properties and will result in the owners being billed for an additional £3million. Owners affected by these changes will be written to at the end of February.

These changes are also publicised through the Council’s web pages, which also includes the recently concluded Public Consultation around the Council Tax Support Scheme and to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3. UPDATE ON BUDGET CONSULTATION:

Tracey Smith – 6,522 people responded.  It was the biggest consultation ever.  There were a lot of petitions.  Report will go to cabinet on 7^th February and full council on 18 February.  Full report will be available on the internet and if you are not on the internet a hard copy can be provided.  Tracey thanked everyone who was involved.

Cllr Steve Foulkes – money has been released since the last forum for £30k; have the successful bidders been told?

Tracey Smith – there was one last meeting on 1^st February and once the report has been done the successful people will be told. 

4. PARTNER ORGANISATION UPDATE:

Julie Mann gave an update on Libraries.

Libraries have been asked by the Council to work with Neighbourhood Forums so we can expand and enhance our role in the communities we serve.

The Council has also asked that we make the Forums aware of the contribution volunteers are making in libraries both in Wirral and in other parts of the country –

The Wirral picture - At present we have approximately 21 volunteers working as IT Support within Wirral Libraries. Our first aim was to replace the IT assistance formerly provided by PENTRA but we hope to extend this to all sites that require it in the future. As there are changes in the benefits system ahead which will require more and more people to apply online, it is likely more of Wirral’s population may require access to our computer suites and help in using the technology. We have volunteers currently working in Bebington, Birkenhead, Wallasey, Prenton, Bromborough, Rock Ferry, St James, Moreton, Seacombe, Heswall & Wallasey Village libraries and our recruitment process is ongoing. We carry out informal interviews, CRB and/or identity checks, obtain references and require all our volunteers to abide by the council’s policies on Customer Care, Data Protection & use of the Internet & Email. Our partners, The Reader Organisation, are recruiting volunteers who we hope will be able to go out to some of our “Home Reader” clients and read with them in their own homes – thus helping to alleviate loneliness & social isolation.

We are investigating the possibility of setting up a second-hand bookshop in one of our libraries, organised and staffed by volunteers.

The wider picture – volunteers are being used widely in libraries throughout the country. In some cases libraries are run entirely by volunteers as an alternative to a library closing completely. In some of these libraries, support is still provided by the council & by qualified library staff. Volunteers are also working alongside paid staff to support them and enable opening hours to be extended or at least not reduced.  Finally volunteers are used as extra help to enhance library services – acting as “meeters & greeters”, facilitating reading groups, assisting with the Summer Reading Challenge for children and with story time sessions, running second-hand bookshops, helping in home reader services and as local studies assistants.

The Council also believes that the Forums need to be aware of the particular needs of various groups such as children, older people, people with special needs, and asked to investigate the ways in which their needs can be better catered for in the library –

We already work with partner organisations such as Reach out, Connexions, CAB and the Wirral Society for the Blind and Partially-sighted and The Reader Organisation. Some of our libraries are used as bases for Literacy Buddies to work. A wide variety of courses are held in our sites.

We are careful to look at Equality Impact Assessments and are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME:

Public member – re: park and ride at the North end of Birkenhead – this project has finished but there are no cars parking in there. 

Cllr Harry Smith – I jump started Merseytravel to do that one as they wanted to do Bidston first but they never had the problems that the North End did.  I had meeting last week and what I have managed to kick start is yellow lines and disabled bays outside the station which will hopefully be done Sunday, weather permitting.  The bridge is not built yet and it will not be built until the next financial year.  Things are in motion and Frank Field was big help.

Cllr Pat Lansborough – Ian mentioned that we may look at a demise in the area forums. The whole team has worked so hard and I hope they continue.  Thank you to Tracey, Michelle, Louise, Andy and Helen. 

Cllr George Davies – International Trade Centre is now starting to develop.  Graham Burgess is very conscious that he is new to the Wirral and is visiting all wards to know what needs doing. 

Cllr Denise Roberts closed the meeting and announced this will be the last forum in this format and thanked everyone involved and all who attended.