Agenda item

Report of the Director (Policy and Governance) enclosed.

Councillor Beverly Murray, Executive Member (Early Intervention) has been invited to attend this meeting.

Members of the Panel received a report which provided contextual information in respect of community development delivery and future development.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Beverley Murray, Executive Member (Early Intervention) and Jamie Carson, Deputy Chief Executive/Director (Early Intervention and Support) to the meeting, who attended to answer questions in relation to Community Development.

Members of the Panel were provided with an update on the latest position on staffing following the Council’s management structure which resulted in some minor changes to the team.  The Health and Wellbeing team as it was now called; had an additional Community Development Officer post.  Get Up and Go sessions continued to attract positive levels of participation with a total of 26,642 young people attending sessions in 2015/16, which was an increase of over 20% on 2014/15.

The team continued to support local clubs and groups with 155 groups supported in 2015/16 which vary from luncheon clubs through to larger organisations such as the Prince’s Trust. The total number of groups supported was lower than the same time last year (200 in 14/15) which reflected a more targeted approach and also additional support was available from within the sector, for example from the VCFS Network.

Members of the Panel discussed many aspects of the report which included:

Targeted Activities; and questioned why few activities were being arranged for those residents in the middle age group.  It was explained that programme sessions were identified based on evidence available both locally and nationally.  Latest figures suggested that those residents in the middle age group would already undertake some kind of regular activity.  There was evidence to suggest both younger and older residents were more likely not take part in regular activities and these groups were classed as some of the most vulnerable groups in society.  It was therefore important to try to engage with these groups to prevent the feeling of isolation and encourage a more active lifestyle.

Working in Schools; and how the Council engaged with them.  The Panel was informed that the Council worked closely with some schools, but not others.  Schools were not required to buy in services from the Chorley Council; they can choose which service provider they want to work with, even if that was a neighbouring authority.  However, when it came to borough wide activities such as the Chorley Grand Prix, all schools within the borough were invited to take part.

Chorley Time Credits; was hailed a great success.  The Time Credits programme had delivered successful outcomes in terms of increased volunteering and benefits for communities in Chorley.  It was acknowledged that Chorley Time Credits was a positive and proactive means of encouraging and growing volunteering effort, supporting and strengthening links between existing volunteering groups in Chorley as well as encouraging and providing opportunities for new groups to get established.

The Panel was reassured that management arrangement of Chorley Time Credits had been put in place for when the Health and Wellbeing Team took ownership of the scheme.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Members of the Panel called for better communications around the success of the Time Credits and that up to date information on the number of organisations for where Time Credits can be spent locally be well publicised.

The Chair thanked both Executive Member (Early Intervention) and Deputy Chief Executive/Director (Early Intervention and Support) for attending the meeting and their contribution to the discussions.