To receive any apologies for absence

Karnail Pannu was introduced as the group’s new Chairman by Cllr Mrs Rayner. Karnail Pannu welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked people to introduce themselves.

Apologies for absence were received from Claire Whetton, Ella Robinson, Samreen Aslam, Shabana Farooq, Corporal L Walker, Craig Miller, Alison Alexander, Cllr Sharma and Cllr Majeed.

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously agreed as an accurate record.

To discuss the future of the group

Cllr Mrs Rayner stated that she hoped the group would be a useful forum for different community groups to raise issues that affected them.

Karnail Pannu made reference to the One Borough handbook and asked if it could be published on the Council website.

An opportunity for attendees to raise community issues for discussion

Eileen Denny said that WAM Get Involved had discovered, during attempts at developing partnership working, that a number of small and medium sized charities were experiencing cashflow problems as the money they receive from the Council is paid in arrears. She went on to explain that this affects charities’ ability to commission for services. She asked if the possibility of the charities being paid quarterly in advance could be investigated by the Council. Cllr Mrs Rayner and Harjit Hunjan agreed to investigate this. Cllr Mrs Rayner said that grants from the Council are paid in advance and that £100,000 is available each year. Eileen Denny said that this information would be circulated in the next WAM news alert.

Marianne Hiley said raising awareness of available treatments in order to reduce the number of visits to A&E was proving challenging. A falls prevention scheme was recently launched as it had been identified that falls were the most likely cause of a hospital visit for adults. Marianne Hiley also said that greater education of services for children through Children’s Centres, family contact and health visitors was needed, due to a 55 per cent increase in A&E admissions for children aged 0-5 compared to the same period last year.

Christine O’Hare said that clients using Citizens Advice who suffered from mental health problems had repeatedly asked about what services were available for them. She suggested that Citizens Advice welfare officers could shadow relevant RBWM staff to enhance their understanding of what services were available from the Council.

Zena Pike said places were available on mental health first aid training courses. She said she would prepare more detailed information for the next meeting. Asma Aziz raised the point that free support was available through Family Friends. She said that 80 per cent of the group’s referrals related to isolated mental health issues.

To receive an update

The update was given by Debra Beasley in Craig Miller’s absence. She told the group that a risk assessment to get a detailed understanding of communities’ awareness of the Prevent programme had been completed by Council officers, in order to create a future action plan and work programme. Officers were currently compiling the data from the questionnaires and interviews and a recommended strategy and action plan would be put forward once the information had been analysed.

Based on the initial findings, it is likely that the strategy and action plan will have an educational and awareness raising theme in the first instance. This would be confirmed once all of the data had been processed.

It was noted however that there had been a relatively low level of responses to the questionnaire.

To receive an update

Harjit Hunjan reminded the group that the Council had signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2013 in order to establish better links with the Army at both barracks within the Royal Borough. He said it was hoped a celebration of the Armed Forces Covenant would take place later in the year to underline the Council’s commitment to it and highlight its achievements, such as the installation of the bandstand in Alexandra Park. Harjit Hunjan also stated that he hoped more applications to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund, along with more companies signing up to the Corporate Covenant, would be encouraged.

Nicola Davidson informed the group that three successful projects had been created and delivered in the Royal Borough thanks to support from Covenant funding.

An opportunity for all Partners to update the group

Emma Mills told the group that fire awareness training was currently being offered, and Royal Berks Fire and Rescue hoped to make people more aware of how residents could be referred for a free home visit.

Christine O’Hare raised concerns at the possible impact on residents that could be caused by the proposed Welfare Reforms, and stated that Citizens Advice was concerned at a possible increase in homelessness as a result. She said attempts were being made to reduce waiting times for residents who were applying for Housing Benefit over the phone.

Zena Pike informed the group that a new mental health project called Recovery College, aimed at people who wanted to get into Higher Education, had been started. She said she hoped to provide a full briefing on the project at the next meeting. Concerns had been raised over whether the project would be able to continue at the York Road Centre going forward. Barbara Grossman offered the use of the Maidenhead Synagogue for the group’s future meetings.

Emily Roberts said that funding of between £25,000 and £50,000 for projects tackling hate crime was available in the form of grants from the Home Office. However the deadline for applications was October 14^th. Details on how to apply would be circulated on the next WAM Get Involved news alert. Emily Roberts stated that the instances of hate crime in the Royal Borough being reported to the police had increased in the two weeks prior and the month after the EU membership referendum; however levels had now decreased and the number of reports being made was broadly similar to the same period last year.

Nicola Davidson said that the Council had purchased a licence for a database listing available financial support for people with educational needs. The licence lasts for one year and access to the database is available at the libraries in Maidenhead, Windsor and Ascot. Nicola Davidson said a link to the database would be provided on the Council website.

Eileen Denny reminded the group that the annual Volunteer of the Year Awards were held recently. She said that a new calendar enabling community groups to view and list upcoming events would be launched on the Council website shortly.

Asma Aziz informed the group that the Family Champions group had recently successfully trained five new volunteers, who would be able to provide support for people affected by mental health issues, child development and domestic violence. Three of the volunteers had gone on to attend a positive parenting course with a view to receiving further training.

Cllr Mrs Rayner stated that the Council is currently looking at different ways of delivering its services. The use of libraries as a hub to enable residents to access services more quickly was being implemented, with phone lines to libraries now open for longer.