Ø  Including Report and Action Plan from Liscard and Egremont Partnership Awayday in November 2009

Police – Justin Diggins, Acting Neighbourhood Inspector for Liscard and Seacombe informed the forum of the following:

Tackling Knives Week – an initiative raising awareness of knife crimes, which are rare in this area. This will take place between 6-8pm on by the Nat West Bank, and will involve a street projector highlighting key messages.

Love Lane Allotment area - plain clothes officers will be in the area in the evening on Friday 12^th and Saturday 13^th February 2010, to reduce criminality. AS Drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) will be used.

Operation Leopard - Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) was identified as a problem by within the Seacombe area. People associated with ASB will be approached on the mornings of Friday 12^th and Saturday 13^th February 2010 and be read a script, followed and tracked. This deterrent has been used effectively elsewhere. In the evenings we will be out and about in uniform/bright jackets and make a point of confronting people with ASB. If the initiative proves to be a successful deterrent it will be continued on a regular basis. A survey will be conducted after the initiative to monitor its effectiveness.

The Chair requested that results are fed back to the forum and Inspector Diggins agreed to do this.

Community Safety – Mike Collins informed the forum that the ASB team had moved to the Children and Young People’s Department, but that there were still close links between the Community Safety and ASB teams.

The Community Patrol had been involved in the following:

• Setting ASB orders (none active in this area at the present time)
• Initiatives around bonfire night, resulting in the lowest number of incidents
• First Aid Training
• Training on equipment for putting out small fires
• Attendance at the Crime Reduction Partnership meetings
• Meet the Public event at West Kirby Concourse

Fire and Rescue Service – Tony Money informed the forum that a full report was included on pages 13-15 of the papers and highlighted the following:

• Partnership working – the Fire Service are committed to working in partnership to achieve strategic objectives within the Local Area Agreement
• Courses for young people – a course for 11/16 year olds was successfully completed by all those who took part and funding has been received to run a further course

• Trailblazers Scheme – work is to be undertaken on this with the Police and the ASB team. Further information on this initiative will be given at the next forum meeting

NHS Wirral - Shymal Mukerjee informed the forum that a full report was included on pages 17-19 of the papers and highlighted the following:

• 2010 was the Year of Health and Wellbeing – commissioned projects working for health and wellbeing are being put into operation, including a focus on mental health, as this is a big issue.
• Wellbeing – evidence has shown that building actions on a daily basis from the following five ways can add seven and a half years to your life – Connect, Be active, Take notice, Keep learning and Give.
• Free Health Checks – these are available to all residents of Wirral and can be booked with your local GP.
• Rethink Drink – this year we are concentrating on alcohol problems and are launching this new initiative on 11^th February 2010, but are still working on initiatives to stop smoking.
• Seacombe Children’s Centre – this is progressing well, and a dental promotion for children has taken place.
• Voice of Wallasey – the patient group has elected a chair and an executive, enabling the people of Wallasey to have a say on health services.

Wirral University Teaching hospital NHS Foundation Trust – Jo Goodfellow informed the forum of the following:

• Maternity Services – the new in-patient ward had been opened, comprising of single rooms with en-suite facilities. Work on the delivery suite was still continuing and this is to be renamed Wirral Women’s and Children’s Hospital
• Elected Surgery Unit – this has a lounge area where patients can wait prior to going to have an operation, going onto a ward after the operation
• Nora virus – the effects of this very virulent bug are now tailing off

The Chair mentioned an article in the Daily Post stating that nine midwives are not having their contracts renewed as there was no funding available. Jo Goodfellow confirmed that she had not heard anything about this but agreed to look into the issue and report back to the forum.

Streetscene – Chris Jones informed the forum that there was an update available at the meeting and highlighted the following:

Colas Limited, the Council’s Highway Maintenance Partner, was undertaking footway schemes in Clarendon Road and Latham Avenue. Work in NewlandRoad was due to start in the next quarter.

The Chair thanked the partners for their updates.

Minute Decision:

Resolved that: -

(i)The partners be thanked for their updates

(ii) Inspector Diggins to report back on success of Operation Leopard

(iii) Tony Mooney to provide information on Trailblazers Scheme at the June 2010 meeting

(iv) Jo Goodfellow to report back on the renewal of midwives contracts