Agenda and minutes

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In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

 

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the Minutes of the Poverty Reduction Policy Development and Delivery Committee held on 27 September 2017 be signed and approved as a correct record.

Rachel Moxey, Head of Poverty & Prevention

The Head of Poverty & Prevention provided a presentation to outline the Swansea Works Programme.

 

The aim of the programme was to simplify the services that were currently being provided to the people in Swansea who were currently not in work.

 

She outlined the following:

 

Package of support

 

-                  Offer a city wide employability model (not just for target areas, will be offered to all);

-                  All to have access to opportunities created through regeneration;

-                  Build on existing employability work (via 5 programmes, funded externally);

-                  Increased activity to improve life chances.

 

Goals

 

-                  Holistic, person centred approach to engage, employability and skill support;

-                  Employment routes for local people to demand / growth sectors

-                  Harness prosperity to reduce poverty.

 

Need

 

-                  24,000 economically inactive in Swansea;

-                  In-work poverty is very high;

-                  Short term and cyclical unemployment high.

 

Growth Sectors

 

-                  Social Care / Health;

-                  Digital;

-                  Construction;

-                  Creative Industries;

-                  Marine;

-                  Hospitality;

-                  Call Centre.

 

Approach

 

-                  Join approaches up;

-                  Uniform approach in best way for the citizen;

-                  Pooling resources internally & externally;

-                  Wrap around support provision;

-                  Identifying & filling gaps in provision;

-                  Stretch targets on current delivery;

-                  Working with partners

 

The 5 stage model:

 

-                  Early identification & engagement;

-                  Personalised planning & co-ordination;

-                  Skills development;

-                  Employment;

-                  In work skills development.

 

Outcomes

 

-                  Increased individual support;

-                  Moving from 20-50% into work rate;

-                  Wider number of client groups;

-                  Linking prosperity to need to tackle poverty

-                  Reducing the impact of welfare reform

 

Councillors asked various questions, which the Officer responded to accordingly.

 

The Head of Poverty and Prevention informed the Committee of a leaflet that would be circulated shortly to Housing Associations, Libraries, etc and asked Councillors if they would also pass it on to any other relevant groups.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The presentation be noted;

2)              An update be provided next year (around March 2018) on progress of the scheme.

 

Andrew Vie & Becky Cole, Gwalia.

Becky Cole of Gwalia (Part of the Pobl Group) provided a review of the Summer Programme entitled ‘Whats on Blaenymaes 2017’ that had taken place within the Blaenymaes area.

 

She outlined details of the 5 week pilot scheme which had been based on the WLGA’s response in order to address ‘holiday hunger’.  A Food and Fun school holiday enrichment programme, developed and piloted in Cardiff in 2015, was the first UK example of a multi-agency project providing healthy meals, nutrition skills, sports and other physical activities in the school holidays.

 

The Blaenymaes area had been chosen due to the highest concentration of properties in one area and the highest number of partners in the geographical area, including many 3^rd sector volunteers.

 

There was a high probability that children in the area would not be receiving sufficient meals during the school holidays.  This was based on the fact that there were 284 children recorded as being in receipt of free school meals.

 

Following 2 planning meetings involving 22 partner agencies, the scheme was devised in just 10 weeks and 17 partners volunteered their time for the scheme.

 

The scheme was advertised via posters that were displayed in shops, community facilities, District Housing Offices; Social Media; On the Gwalia (Pobl) website; Text messages to all tenants and slips were sent home to schoolchildren at the end of term.

 

The scheme covered 25 days with a variety of partner agencies providing activities in various locations within the area, mainly in community based buildings.  Both breakfast and lunch (mainly packed meals) were provided.

 

An average of 32 children attended each session and all children were fed (a maximum of 70 on one day!).  Some children were also able to take surplus food home for their families.

 

The scheme had been a huge success with the following lessons learnt:

 

·                 Food poverty was a sensitive subject;

·                 Some children reported not having breakfast;

·                 Some children requested additional food to take home for family members;

·                 Building relationships were imperative to getting families engaged;

·                 A more targeted approach was required;

·                 Some residents were not aware of the various community facilities within their locality;

·                 All partners promoted other sessions and activities to encourage wider engagement;

·                 There was a willingness from partners to recreate the scheme at other times of the year

·                 Hope to expand the scheme and widen take up.

 

The scheme would run again during half term next week.  A planning event was scheduled for November and the Poverty Partnership Forum would discuss the schemes future at a meeting on Friday. Swansea were also expecting to be part of the WLGA’s ongoing project, which would run in 2018.

 

Once the evaluation document had been finalised it would be circulated to the Committee for information.

 

The Head of Poverty and Prevention spoke on behalf of Amanda Owen, Co-ordinator Healthy Directions, Swansea, who couldn’t be present, to express our thanks to Gwalia for pulling the scheme together.  It had been a resounding success and it was hoped that advice packs could be devised for other community / partner organisations who may wish to run similar schemes.

 

The Committee were extremely impressed by the ‘feel good’ factor that had been created by the various agencies. resulting in an ‘uplifting’ feeling in the community.  They looked forward to receiving further updates in due course.

The Vice Chair presented the Workplan for 2017-2018.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The Work Plan be noted;

2)              An update on the Swansea Works Programme be provided in March 2018.