Agenda item

CAB & DIAL - The style they have for DIAL in particular and the work which has been done with appeals could not have been carried out without the support from DIAL. They have outreach services as a drop in within the community for each ward and the appointment system will cease at the end of May.

Twiggs - Their Activity programme is filling up but more forward planning would be useful. The KPI for new groups created are not new to Twiggs, however it was noted that this was not possible due to covid restrictions. Furthermore, it was noted that communication issues for allocating work tasks had been raised and taken on board by Twiggs. It was noted that this is a challenge to transition a service from being task orientated to community development led. The amount of volunteering hours was stated to be outstanding, and this will be collated to summarise its cash value in relation to the value of the contract.

Age UK has been delivering connecting communities which identified issues which covid only served to exasperate, the impact of loneliness is reported to be equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The project has had 2 years of funding with the hope of bringing people together. It explored working age, older and people with long term disabilities and resulted in an all age physical and mental health activity. This is being delivered in the form of a walking group and a chair-based exercise group.

Regarding the Housing & Cohesion Officer, a lot of praise has been given to this officer as you can really see how they have developed in their role. The recent report which came in, indicates how they have joined up a wide range of opportunities and their values, skills and understanding contribute to the success of the role. As an individual the officer genuinely cares about people and the operational responsibilities they had during covid were difficult, but they did a good job.

They have recently been working on two properties in St Helens and overnight you could see an amazing transformation, the street and the area improved immediately, and residents have given thanks for this.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are behind in their delivery but are recruiting a project officer to support this. However, if this is not satisfactory the Area Council will be seeking to reclaim funds.

The 5-star wellbeing funding which provided support around period poverty and men's mental health has come to an end.  However, some additional funding has been sourced by the provider as continuity is important and this will be to work with young people in Delta Academy, Darton until the end of the academic year.

The Reconnect Project funding with Carol Cotton has come to an end but Methodist North West Church have found additional funding for the post, which will involve more pastoral work.

Transition with the REDS funding has come to an end, the project delivered lots of physical activity and confidence building and was enjoyed by schools and young people.

It was stated that there is a good mix projects funded by the North Area Council but following the workshop back in March, some of the issues identified such as cost of living, anti-social behaviour, parking and careers advice for 14-16 year olds needs be explored further. It was agreed that another workshop to address this within the next month would be organised.

RECOMMENDED - A Community safety update will be requested from Cath Fairweather.