To welcome Forum Members to the meeting.

The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed those present. He explained that he would do the agenda items up to and including the minutes, before passing over to the Vice Chairman who would Chair for the rest of the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Charlotte Lee, Alison Bourne, Barbara Grossman, Sophia Howes, Darren Pridmore, Nicola Davidson, Sarah Scott and Tracey Croucher.

To receive any declarations of interest.

Councillor C Da Costa declared a personal interest as she was a trustee and Chairman of the West Windsor Hub.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th September 2020.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY; That the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th September 2020 were approved a true record.

To receive an update from Jesal Dhokia.

Jesal Dhokia, Transformation Project Manager, explained that it was a blueprint project in Clewer and Dedworth. 5 community response groups had met in September and engaged with residents, local people and councillors, with the 5 groups meeting at least three times each. From the meetings, 27 potential ideas had come out, with five projects due to be taken forward:

·         Mini Youth Consortium – working with disadvantaged young people to help them to access things like workshops.

·         Promoting a green community – planting more plants and trees, helping the local community to improve.

·         Creating opportunities for employment/training – residents were not aware of the opportunities available or where to go. Work would be undertaken with the Citizens Advice Bureau.

·         Supporting mental health and transport – encouraging transport by bikes, engaging with young people and working with local businesses, like Maidenhead Cycle Hub.

·         Creating a network of food organisations – to ensure that everyone had support when it was needed.

Work had also been done to look at the skills gap and discussions would take place with volunteers to see what they wanted and hopefully match their skills to professionals.

Isabel Santacruz said that Thames Valley Police would be interested in taking part in the project. Jesal Dhokia said that she would share her email so that anyone interested could get in contact: Jesal.Dhokia@RBWM.gov.uk.

To hear from Nicola Davidson.

Nicola Davidson had passed on her apologies for being unable to attend the meeting but had sent across an update which was read out by the Vice Chairman:

“Nicola Davidson of Our Community Enterprise reported that charitable funders had been adjusting their priorities on the whole, to enable funding opportunities to continue for the causes that needed it the most.

If your charity or project supported residents of the Royal Borough and required funding support, or help to get ready for a funding search, you could contact Nicola using details on the group contact information sheet.  This help would be free for organisations within the Royal Borough since we were contracted by the Council to make this support available to you.”

To receive an update from David Scott on Prevent and Covid.

David Scott, Head of Communities at RBWM, explained to the group about the Berkshire Public Health website. Confirmed cases per 100,000 had reduced steadily over the past few weeks, with a current rate of 105.7. There was an information centre available where a report could be downloaded containing all the data on Covid-19 from across the county. David Scott shared his screen in the meeting and talked through the various graphs that were part of the pack.

The direction of travel had generally been positive and RBWM had been focussing on getting key messages out to residents. There was a desire to not have a spike in cases before Christmas, especially as rules would be relaxed for the 5 day Christmas window. Work was also being done with schools and community influencers which could help share key messages.

David Scott also gave an update on Prevent. This was the national strategy to prevent terrorism and was designed to safeguard communities to stop anyone being engaged or radicalised with extremist beliefs. Prevent came under the umbrella of Contest, which consisted of four Ps; Pursue, Protect, Prepare and Prevent. RBWM brought together a range of agencies to prevent people being brought into terrorism and it was important to promote awareness of the risks within the local community. There was also an ‘Act Early’ initiative which was targeted at family and friends who had concerns about someone. They would be given further support and advised what to do and how to make a referral. A handbook for elected members had been created on Prevent but it was also useful for organisations and residents as it contained a concise summary of what Prevent was about. RBWM ran a ‘Channel Panel’ which received referrals and investigated what could be done to support individuals. David Scott said that members of the One Borough group could help with the Prevent messaging and make sure that their communities were aware.

Jeff Pick said that he published information in a newsletter that he sent to a number of people, he would include some information on Prevent in the next one.

To discuss the above titled item, suggested by Councillor Tisi.

The Vice Chairman said that this item would be considered as part of the Membership Updates item later in the agenda, where organisations could provide detail of their plans over Christmas as well as a general update on their activities.

To hear from Anna Fallgren on calls made to residents during the pandemic.

Anna Fallgren, Library Supervisor, gave the group an update on welfare calls being made to residents during the pandemic. The helpline was operated Monday to Friday, 9am until 4pm. Advice could be given on what support RBWM could offer and residents could also be put in touch with community groups that would be able to offer support. While those on the shielding list were no longer required to shield, many residents still liked receiving the welfare calls. There were over 1,500 vulnerable residents on the database that still wished to be contacted, while 1,015 had declined further calls. Work was being undertaken with community wardens who would be able to visit some residents in person. In total there were four members of staff who could make and take calls, with each member making on average 13 calls a day. Feedback from residents had been positive and that they had appreciated the calls, it had also provided a good communication link between community groups and vulnerable residents.

Jeff Pick said that he could put out a message in his newsletter about the welfare calls that being made and also to ensure that nobody was missed off the list.

To hear from Elaine Keating and watch a video created by the Girls Policy Forum.

Elaine Keating, Youth Engagement Officer, explained that the Girls Policy Forum had been set up two years ago for girls aged between 11-19. The group had been involved with a number of different projects and recently the girls spoke at the Inclusion Summit, where they made a pledge to make their schools more inclusive. They had joined up with Parallel Windsor, Sportsable and Braywick Leisure Centre to encourage more inclusivity and had created a video. Elaine Keating showed the video to the meeting, which could be viewed on YouTube here.

Andrew Douglas said that the Girls Policy Forum was an incredible group who cared passionately about their local community and it had been great to work with them to produce a ‘Festival of Inclusivity’.

Jeff Pick asked if the Girls Policy Forum was working with Angela Ferrucci. Angela Ferrucci said that she would be in touch with Elaine Keating in due course.

Councillor Rayner said it was a fantastic video and the Forum had done a great job. She said that it was one of the great successes of the One Borough group, that it allowed organisations and groups to connect with each other.

Isabel Santacruz asked if it was possible to refer girls who might be interested in joining the Girls Policy Forum. Elaine Keating said that she would be happy to discuss this with Isabel by email after the meeting.

To receive updates from members of the group.

Councillor C Da Costa said that the West Windsor Hub would be open until 23^rd December and was offering food support to residents. The hub would open like normal in the new year. Emergency days were available on the hubs Facebook page. Unfortunately the hub had been broken in to last week but the public had responded amazingly and given the hub more than they had before the break in. There would be presents given to each family along with a substantial food hamper.

Norden Farm had been working on their annual big parade project which would still be going ahead, with plenty of workshops taking place. Christmas shows were taking place virtually with schools. The Community Outreach Programme had been a success and Norden Farm were currently evaluating all the work that they had done over the year. Norden Farm would be open until Christmas Eve, before reopening in the new year on 13^th January. Shows would be running and the theatre was a Covid safe venue.

Councillor Baldwin gave an update on Food Share Maidenhead. He said that there were three different pods currently running, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Areli, the company behind the Nicolson’s Shopping Centre redevelopment, had accommodated the food share in recent weeks, in the old Argos unit and also the old Tesco unit. The food share was expecting to distribute food to around 180 families over the festive period, which including the homeless could be increased to anywhere from 800-1,000. Therefore the site would be busy, which was open from 12pm to 6pm. Councillor Baldwin passed on his thanks to David Scott and other officers at RBWM for their help.

Tiia Stephens said that Driven Forward had a community fridge in Windsor, which would be closing on 21^st December and reopening on 4^th January. Deliveries would be happening and these were open to anyone along with supermarket collections if they were needed. If emergency supplies were needed over Christmas, Driven Forward could be contacted either by email or via their Facebook page. The organisation was looking to deliver around 30 food parcels across the festive period.

Rebecca Mistry said that the Baby Bank would be closing on 18^th December and reopening on 4^th January but would be available for emergencies.

Councillor Tisi said that she had worked with Councillor Price to produce an infographic with contact details for various organisations and groups in Windsor, she would share this with the group after the meeting.

Evan Brown said that St John Ambulance had been exploring different proposals to relocate to. He would be speaking to reserve members to see if they knew of any options too. Offering first aid training had been a challenge but Zoom sessions had been held with participants. The biggest challenge for St John Ambulance looking forward was playing a key role in administering the vaccine once it was available.

The Vice Chairman said that Men’s Matters had recently received a donation of fudge  ...  view the full minutes text for item 181.

The dates of future meetings are as follows (all 11am):

·         Tuesday 16^th March 2021

·         Tuesday 22^nd June 2021

·         Tuesday 14^th September 2021

·         Tuesday 7th December 2021

Members of the group noted the dates of future meetings. The next meeting was due to take place on Tuesday 16^th March 2021, starting at 11am.