Tracey Smith gave an update and feedback on the Neighbourhood Plans.

The areas in the consultation process included:

Your Economy

Your Health

Your Family

Your Neighbourhood

Tracey’s update focused on ‘Your Family’ and ‘Your Neighbourhood’.  An information handout was available for people to read.

Some of the points raised were:

Finding Employment

• Not enough jobs in the area, not knowing where to get information about jobs, a lack of skills and qualifications.  A need to tackle the benefits system as it often pays more than working and expensive child care.
• More information given on where to find jobs.  Not all people have access to the internet.  Information is required in libraries, One Stop Shops and Children’s Centres.  Try to make the Job Centres less intimidating.
• Provide either free or less expensive childcare.  Also provide better transport within the area to enable people to get work.

Training and Skills

• Need to organise training schemes, provide advice and training to assist those who genuinely want it.  Offer training courses at a reasonable cost or provide local ‘back to work’ or how to retrain courses free.
• Encourage and give incentives to local businesses to offer work experience and part time work to young people.  Have work experience projects for people on job seekers allowance, so they can get experience of recent work
• Encourage apprenticeships within the Council and provide coaching  to improve self esteem and provide advice and training through secondary education.  Volunteering is also a good opportunity to gain experience.

What is the Council doing to help?

• The Council has invested in improving people’s skills, including the apprenticeship scheme, which has supported well in excess of 300 local people.  There are free courses available which include specific courses on CV writing and Interview Skills.  More information is available on line www.wirral.gov.uk/lifelonglearning or by telephone 0151 630 3486.
• The Council has also invested in the Connexions Service for young people to get free impartial advice through One Stop Shops and other Council facilities.
• Help can be provided for childcare through the Family Information Service – www.wirral.gov.uk/fis  or 0800 085 8743.  It can help parents find affordable childcare locally and also provide financial advice.
• The Council are also encouraging local businesses to come to the area.
• Helping businesses succeed and create jobs for local people is a big priority for the Council.
• For more details see handout

Services for Children and Young People

• More after school learning facilities, a better quality of education especially around road safety and personal responsibility and parent education
• More recreational facilities and team building for teenagers along with more places for them to go.  More after school activities and in school holidays and evenings.
• More free facilities for young people and teenagers
• Youth Clubs that are in the area need to be open at the weekend and in the evenings and offer a safe environment with good facilities and sports activities.
• Improve playgrounds as current facilities are poor.

Services for Older People

• A way to signpost vulnerable people to agencies that can help them
• More support for people who are housebound and visits to elderly and ill people.  To keep them from growing lonely, also to increase the amount of home help.
• A buddy scheme to help those in sheltered accommodation and better transport facilities so they can get out and about.
• More attention on older people keeping active.
• Raise awareness of the services that are available and provide information on who to contact using newsletters, the local radio and newspapers and council buildings

What is the Council doing to help?

• There is extra funding this year for the Sure Start Centres and we have a target to make sure at least 80% of children aged 5 and under are registered with the local centre.
• There is also extra funding available to continue the work with the anti-social behaviour team.
• Most of the Youth services are either free or heavily subsidised and the opening hours are generally decided according to demand.  All of the Youth Hubs are open evenings and weekends already.
• There is money in the budget for the maintenance and clean up of play areas throughout the Borough and have doubled the size of the dog fouling enforcement team this year.
• There are excellent facilities throughout the Borough for local residents.  It is agreed that these need to be advertised and publicised more.
• There is a new website launched www.wirralwell.org working together with colleagues in the voluntary sector.
• For more information, see handout or if anyone has any issues please contact Tracey Smith
•  

Tracey explained that an Action Plan is being written for each theme raised from the Neighbourhood Plans.  There is funding of £53,500 available for the following initiatives:

• Improving Community Safety
• Improving Community Life
• Improving Training & Skills
• Improving Regeneration

Applications for the funding are available from 2^nd July – 17^th August 2012.  A funding pack is available here at the Forum or from the Wirral Website or by telephone. 

17. How do you promote Youth Activities?  It might be an idea to advertise in schools.

A.  We are open to any suggestions in order to promote the activities.  There is also a Contacta Bus which is regularly at Fishers Lane, so this is a good way to promote activities.

  At Pensby Boys School on a Wednesday after school,  ‘Everton in the Community’ run football courses.  4-5pm for ages 4-8 years and 5-6pm for ages 8-14 years

17. We need a Skate/BMX Park as the roads are unsafe.

1. There is a park behind the Glegg Arms which is extremely popular and busy.  There is also an initiative to convert Heswall Squash Club into a sports barn to cover all forms of sport.

17. What is available for girls?

1. There are activities available, we just need to advertise and promote them better.

  There is a newsletter available from the Wirral Older Peoples Parliament which lists all activities available for people in the local area.