Family Poverty Delivery Group

Family Poverty Delivery Group October workshop action notes

Attendees: Emily Edwards (Skills and Work Commissioning Unit), Lynne Woolley (SAWCU), Diana Martin, Eejay Whitehead, Richard Bundy, Eileen Buchan, Leila Hogarth, Roselyn Baker and Janice Lowndes.

Apologies: Sue Myers (Children’s Services), Mike Wright (Sustainable Regeneration), Sarah Callaghan (Children’s Services) and Aly Keogh (Children’s Services).

Notes:  EE gave an update on the development and approval of the Family Poverty Strategy. There will be a Council Policy Forum focusing on Family Poverty on 19 October 2011. The Family Poverty Cabinet Working Group will meet for the first time in November 2011. It is expected that Family Poverty will be the focus of the Salford Strategic Partnership Conference in January 2012.  DM raised the development of the new Neighbourhood Profiles (part of the new holistic Joint Strategic Needs Assessment).  EE stated that Family Poverty Needs Assessment would be embedded in the JSNA and Neighbourhood Profiles. This is expected to be completed by the end of the year.  JL mentioned that this years Public Health Annual Report will focus on and include data around childhood health this year. This will be available November 2011.  LW mentioned that a number of local partners / partnerships including Salford Royal Foundation Trust, VOCAL forum etc had emailed during the development of the strategy to offer support and suggestion shared actions. LW to send JL the SRFT consultation response. EE suggested expanding the membership of the Family Poverty Delivery Group to include partners from community / voluntary sector as well as  DM asked how Councillors and neighbourhood boards / committees could support the delivery of improved outcomes on the ground (through for example Neighbourhood Partnership Boards). EE stated that the work of the Family Poverty Cabinet Working Group would be vital in ensuring tackling family poverty and improving life chances is embedded across all portfolios and is seen as everybody’s responsibility.  There was a discussion on the role of Neighbourhood Partnership Boards in tackling Family Poverty and improving life chances locally. Neighbourhood Partnership Boards have representatives from community, schools, elected members, public services, businesses, GPs etc. There is a need to raise knowledge of the life chances / family poverty agenda within neighbourhoods and embed key local issues around life chances in community priorities. EE mentioned that there had been presentations at a number of local community groups / sub groups and that everyone had been very keen to look into specific issues, local needs, build on community strengths.  JL suggested focusing on lessening the impact of poverty in the short term through for example a focus on reducing risky lifestyle choices.  There was a discussion around ‘youth voice’ and how this could influence our approach to tackling family poverty, ensuring action is based on the views of young people in Salford. A piece of research by Salford Foundation was raised as an opportunity to engage with young people.  RB asked how the Family Poverty Delivery Group would feed into wider decision making bodies e.g. Community Safety Executive Group. EE explained that there would be regular feedback between the Family Poverty Delivery Group and Cabinet Working Group as well as the Think Skills and Work Board and Children’s Trust. It was suggested that Delivery Group members acted as the link between the Delivery Group and service areas - creating two way communications between service areas / partnership groups representing and the Family Poverty Delivery Group.  DM asked how Covalent would report on wider work by partners and communities. LW explained that partners could report through covalent but there were limited licences and that this would have to be co-ordinated through current Covalent users and by requesting spare licences for partners delivering on key actions. Community delivery could be reported through Covalent actions, or through local reporting boards if more appropriate.

Date of next meeting: Tbc