Skip to main content
Business - Renfrewshire Council
You are in Meetings

Meeting Details

Forum for Empowering Communities Group
17 Nov 2020 - 14:00 to 16:00
  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Agenda
Notification
Committee Members
Membership
S McDonald, Active Communities; M Mathieson, Barnados; I McLean, Bridgewater Housing Association; J Gonani, DEAR; A McNiven, Engage Renfrewshire; J Wilby, Paisley West & Central Community Council; S McLellan, RAMH; S Cruickshank, Renfrewshire Access Panel; K Taylor, Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau; N Hanssen, ROAR; and C Masson, Save the Children.
Chair
A McNiven, Chief Executive, Engage Renfrewshire.
A McNiven, Chief Executive, Engage Renfrewshire, presided.
Present
M Mathieson, Barnados; I McLean, Bridgewater Housing Association J Gonani, DEAR; S McLellan, RAMH; and C Masson, Save the Children.
In Attendance
G Lovesey, Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau; R Robertson, Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership; and S Graham, S Kraft and C MacDonald, (all Renfrewshire Council).
Standard Items
Items Of Business
Apologies
Apologies from members.
S McDonald, Active Communities; J Wilby, Paisley West & Central Community Council; K Taylor, Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau; N Hanssen, ROAR; and M Hill, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Declarations of Interest
Members are asked to declare an interest in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest.
There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to commencement of the meeting.
Minute of previous meeting held on 3 September 2020.
  1. pdf FEC 3 Sept20 (195Kb)
1
There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Renfrewshire Forum for Empowering Communities Group held on 3 September 2020.

DECIDED:    That the Minute be approved.
2
There were no matters arising.
Report by Director of Finance & Resources.
3
The Rolling Action Log was submitted for approval.

RFG. 17.11.20(2) – Greener Communities.  It was noted that S Graham and J Wilby would report back on progress made with Clyde River Foundation.

DECIDED

(a)  That the update be noted; and

(b)  That the Rolling Action Log be approved.
Verbal update by Partnerships Planning and Development Manager.
4
S Graham, Partnerships Planning and Development Manager and R Robertson, Community Link Team Manager gave a verbal update on the progress of the Hubs.

It was noted that Neighbourhood Hubs were set up in spring 2020 to provide additional support to people who were shielding during the lockdown period. The purpose of the Neighbourhood Hubs was to provide support to improve the quality of life for residents referred to the Hubs by the Local Assistance Team that was in direct contact with residents. The Hubs helped people to access food, support, and befriending amongst many other aspects. It was highlighted that Neighbourhood Hubs had dealt with a total of 510 referrals and 107 prescription referrals to date.

The Neighbourhood Hubs had also led on the Connecting Scotland programme and it was anticipated that by end of this year 1,250 devices and/or connectivity would have been distributed to vulnerable people directly or through partner organisations.

DECIDED:  That the update be noted.
Report by DEAR (Not available - Report to Follow).
5
There was submitted a report by Black Lives Matter Renfrewshire Group members relative to the Black Lives Matter Renfrewshire Draft Strategic Plan.

The report advised that following the events and movement of Black Lives Matter in 2020 in America and worldwide, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Renfrewshire group was formed as a sub-group of the Diversity Equality Alliance in Renfrewshire Group and led by black andethnic minority voices. The remit of the group was to agree a set of actions that would steer the activity of the group, leading to the formation of a local, community response within Renfrewshire.

A draft Black Lives Matter Renfrewshire strategic plan had been produced and a copy of the plan was attached as an appendix to the report and set out the Group’s Mission Statement; Vision Statement; Priorities; and Objectives.

The report requested that Forum members provide feedback on the strategic plan and to sign up to the race equality statement which was outlined within the BLM Renfrewshire Mission Statement contained within the appendix.

Discussion took place on the timescale for feedback and it was agreed that the timescale be extended by two months to support the work.

DECIDED:

(a)  That it be agreed that Forum members provide feedback to the BLM Renfrewshire group on proposed Black Lives Matter Renfrewshire draft Strategic Plan and that the timescale be extended by two months; and

(b)  That it be agreed that Members of the Forum sign up to the race equality statement which was outlined in the BLM Renfrewshire mission statement contained within the appendix.
Report by Chief Executive, Engage Renfrewshire.
6
There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive, Engage Renfrewshire relative to the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.

The report advised that the Scottish Government had announced a £60 million Youth Guarantee Programme for Scotland for 2020/21 which guaranteed every young person aged between 16 and 24 the opportunity at university or college, training or employment.  This was to be further supported by additional funding for apprenticeships and the new Job Start Grant; providing £250 or £400 for people with children, supporting around 5,000 young people a year starting a new job after a period of unemployment.  The long-term goal for the Youth Guarantee Programme was to move young people into the Green New Deal to help the nation tackle climate change.  It was noted that the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Groups had been awarded £10 million to support more young people to access the labour market, strengthen their links with employers, and create more opportunities to employ young people.

The Scottish Government were investing £135 million in extra resources to tackle the attainment gap; support educational catch up; and were recruiting 1,400 additional teachers and 200 support staff.  Digital learning opportunities for young people was also increasing with the intention that this would build resilience in the face of COVID-19 and create new opportunities for young people to learn.

The report advised that the Government’s Kickstart Scheme aimed to provide paid 6-month work placements for young people on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.  The job placements would support the participants to develop the skills and experience they needed to find work after completing the scheme.  Conditions of the Scheme were outlined within the report and it was noted that the placements would commence between November 2020 and December 2021.

An initial bid for 400 places was being created by Renfrewshire Council, in partnership with Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce and Engage Renfrewshire who would act as the Intermediary Body for the programme.

DECIDED:  That the report be noted.
Report by Director of Finance & Resources.
7
There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the proposed timetable of meetings for the Forum for Empowering Communities Group for 2021.

DECIDED: That the timetable of meetings, detailed in the report, for the Forum for Empowering Communities Group for 2021 be approved.

Attendance

Name
No attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
Name
No other member attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for Sending ApologySubstituted By
No apology information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for AbsenceSubstituted By
No absentee information has been recorded for the meeting.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

Visitor Information is not yet available for this meeting