Minute of the Building Stronger Communities Group
held on Thursday, 18th August 2016
St. Mary’s Community Facility, St. Kilda Road, Dundee
Present: Alison Anderson - Neighbourhood Services - Environment
David MacDougall - Maryfield Forum
Elaine Zwirlein - Neighbourhood Services (Chair)
Frank Robertson - Coldside Forum
Georgia Boswell - Hillcrest HA
Gladys Ramsay - Lochee Forum
John Hosie - Neighbourhood Services– Communities
Joyce Barclay - Health & Social Care Partnership
Nicky Maccrimmon - Children & Family Services
Paul Davies - Community Planning
Peter Allan - Community Planning
Robin Shields - Housing – Neighbourhood Services
Ron Neave - North East Forum
In Attendance:
Alistair Hilton - City Development - Planning
Derek Napier - Outdoor Learning
Ken Linton - Dundee Foodbank
Susan Smith - Dundee Social Enterprise Network
Vanessa Kelly - Strathmartine Communities Officer
Apologies:
Alice Bovill - Strathmartine Forum
Evelyn Cairns - Dundee Voluntary Action (Dundee TSI)
Gordon Reid - City Development - Planning
Action1. / Introductions & Apologies
Elaine welcomed everyone to the meeting, and a round of introductions was made for the benefit of new attendees. Apologies received are listed above.
Vanessa was asked to pass on best wishes from the group to Alice Bovill for a speedy recovery from a recent planned operation.
2. / Minute of July Meeting
The minute was agreed as accurate.
3. / Matters Arising
3.1 / Safe Places & Technology Enabled Care (item 9.3)
Joyce provided web addresses that had been mentioned at the July meeting relating to;
Safe Places:
· www.iammescotland.co.uk
· www.victoriascott.vpweb.co.uk/keep-safe-places)
Technology Enabled Care:
· www.facebook.com/Dundee-Technology-Enabled-Care-699860480115838)
4. / Strathmartine Update
Vanessa’s presentation focussed on the environment within the Ward. The main points are summarised below;
· The area is rich in green and open space, with several parks, and people make use of it for a variety of activities including walking clubs, cycling, etc.
· There are also several community gardens, which use different models of operation. Support on ‘what to do, when’ is essential, with Kate Treharne from the Environment Department providing this
o It is recognised that people benefit greatly from involvement in community gardening in terms of physical, mental and social health
o Produce coming out of the gardens is also able to be put to good use in the community
· Contrasting with these positives, Engage Dundee is highlighting a number of issues, including;
o Poor condition of roads and pavements in the area
o Overgrown areas
o Dog fouling
o Damage in (play)parks not being repaired
· It is of interest that people aren’t flagging up poverty related issues, but ones about the environment around them. This highlights the impact of the environment on people’s wellbeing
· An ongoing challenge is balancing community needs with positive activities that are taking place
Discussion followed, the main points of which are summarised below;
· There is scope for communities / community groups to be involved in maintenance of small pockets of land, but it is recognised that support will be needed and that capacity can change. The Pride in the City campaign is part of this
· The Capital Plan has £2.4m allocated to work on some areas of the city to both tidy them up and make them easier to maintain
· A useful source of both information and volunteers for community gardening are sheltered housing. Many of the older generation have knowledge to impart even if no longer physically capable of carrying out much of the work
· It is important to foster community ownership of community gardens in order to minimise risk of vandalism
· The Employment Support Service recycles pallets into raised beds, and is fairly cheap. Help in setting things up can also be brought in through the Community Payback Team
5. / Priority Updates
5.1 / Fairness
Peter outlined progress that is being made at various levels with respect to the recommendations of the Dundee Fairness Commission;
· At the UK Government level, an attempt was made to meet with the Secretary of State, but this has not been possible. A meeting with a small number of relevant MPs is in the process of being arranged instead
· At the Scottish Government level, a meeting has been arranged with Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities on the 30th September
· Locally, we will have an action plan by November. Progress has already been made through;
o Cost of the School Day project. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) will be commissioned to work on this
o Funds are being sought from the Scottish Government to commission Faith in Community Dundee to carry out a second phase of research into poverty and deprivation people are experiencing
o Discussion is taking place with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) regarding working together in this area
5.2 / Community Facility Improvements
Doug was not at the meeting. Paul to check with Doug regarding any update / PAD
5.3 / Social Enterprise
Susan circulated an update on the Dundee Social Enterprise Network (DSEN) and the Good to Go Bus (attached) and then presented briefly on these. Some of the main points include;
· As part of the Voluntary Gateway Dundee, DSEN provides a range of support services to proposed and existing social enterprises, with Dundee’s second Social Enterprise conference taking place on 27th October
· Involvement in the Health & Social Care market is important for several small and micro-providers, including through social prescribing, self directed support and tests of change
· DSEN is supported by the Rank Foundation to deliver the Futures Fund. This enables grants of £1,000 for business feasibility or £5,000 for start-up
· The Good to Go Bus is a Public Social Partnership that provides both a free shopping trip service and a bookable transport resource for local outings. Groups are being offered a service to and from the Dundee Flower and Food Festival
· Digital training courses are on offer to increase skills across the sector. Additional sessions are being arranged due to high demand
· Future opportunities include; environment projects, services and sales at the Waterfront, procurement, and community empowerment
Discussion followed, the main points of which included;
· Is there any information available on where an impact is being made?
o The Dundee futures Fund targets people who are unemployed / underemployed who know what they want to do. Many of the businesses that arise are centrally located, with fewer on the outskirts
o Information on continuing businesses will be looked at in the near future, but this is difficult from a purely numeric point of view as;
§ Some businesses don’t go ahead, but the person gets a job in the desired field
§ Some businesses grow and merge with others
o It is important to capture people’s stories as well as statistics
5.4 / Dundee Foodbank
Ken showed the group a two-person food parcel. This has been worked out by nutritionists to contain the basics of what people need for three days. Dundee Foodbank also aims to include a ‘wellbeing pack’ that includes items such as baby wipes, shampoo, etc. alongside this.
Ken went on to describe the work of the foodbank, with the main points summarised below;
· The Foodbank are providing support for around 150 people per week at present
· Foodbank access appears to have plateaued with 8015 customers in 2014-15, 8230 in 2015-16, and just over 8,000 anticipated for 2016-17
· People need to be referred to the Foodbank, and as a guideline can receive three parcels in a rolling six month period. There is some discretion available if an advice agency seeks to go over this number and is providing support
· It is important that those accessing the Foodbank are also accessing additional support to help deal with their emergency issues and/or chaotic lifestyles
· In previous years, benefit delays and benefit changes have been the top two reasons for access. This year, low income is the number one stated cause
· The food is donated by the people of Dundee, through permanent collection points at Tesco and Sainsbury’s and regular donations via some businesses, schools and churches
· The Foodbank has a new warehouse at Dunsinane Avenue that supports the seven distribution centres across the city, though 85% of parcels are issued at the Full Gospel Church site
· Liaison taking place with N-Power regarding setting up a ‘Fuel Bank’ as part of a £2.3m national scheme. This is likely to start in November and would be for those getting a food parcel who are also on a pre-payment meter. This could see them receiving electricity meter credit of £30 in summer or £49 in winter
· The Foodbank requires 81 volunteers every week and to enable this, a bank of 150 volunteers exists (allows for cover at peak holiday times). Further volunteers are always welcome
Discussion followed, with the main points including;
· Dundee Fairness Commission made several recommendations relating to food poverty. Peter suggested that he and Elaine meet with Ken and others on a number of topics;
o Identifying people on low incomes so that support can be better targeted. In this instance, information on where foodbank referrals come from would be useful
o Additional information on the Fuel Bank could be incorporated into the action plan
· An increase in referrals is anticipated once the Fuel Bank becomes active, but this has been anticipated and food stocks should be able to cope with this
· The message about local pick-up points needs to be spread, as parcels are heavy and so not always easy to transport from the Coldside distribution point
o Stigma might be a barrier preventing people accessing the centre closest to them
o It could be useful to not make use of the signs on the days local distribution points are open, to reduce the stigma of going into those venues to collect parcels on particular days
o Dundee Carers are piloting having a small number of parcels available at their main site for their young carers. If the pilot is successful, this may be carried on to their emerging locality based work / EZ / PA / KL
5.5 / Outdoor Education
Derek provided an update on Outdoor Education, the main points of which are summarised below;
· An Outdoor Learning Strategy was put in place for 2012-17
· Following consultation it was learned that people were unaware of activities available across the city.
· The Dundee Outdoor Learning Partnership was formed in 2016. This included the DCC Outdoor Learning Team, Leisure & culture Dundee, Environment staff, Countryside Learning Scotland and a range of clubs and organisations
· The ‘Dundee Outdoors’ website has recently been developed to promote clubs, groups, & activities, increase use of outdoor space and promote outdoor learning
· Engagement with organisations has helped to pull information into a single place (www.dundeeoutdoors.com) which can act as a hub. The site contains information on a wide range of activities, and also includes links to training for outdoor work e.g. as an instructor, gardener, etc.
o Derek would welcome any feedback on the site as it is still in its early days
Discussion followed, the main points of which included;
· The Olympics have kindled a range of outdoor interests. How can outdoor learning help to maintain this enthusiasm?
o The website will help to promote a range of activities that people might not otherwise know about e.g. two sailing clubs in Dundee, or opportunities to get involved in skiing tasters
· Is there equipment available to try out sports that can be expensive to get started in?
o This varies from sport to sport but where possible we do try to offer opportunities and also professional advice on what is needed to participate. Often there are beginners / taster sessions available e.g. dry-slope skiing
· What links are there with schools?
o The main service level agreement is with Children & Family Services, with most work taking place with S1-S4 pupils. Looked After Children at Primary School also get to participate in a range of activities (usually on referral by the Team Around the Child)
o A pilot was run last year for some P7 pupils whose families could not afford the ‘P7 residential’. Instead these children were offered a series of full day activities, and overall very positive feedback was received
o While links with schools are good, the cost / availability of transport for pupils is often the biggest barrier to participation / All
6. / Dundee Community Regeneration Fund:
6.1 / Grant Applications
All eight grant applications tabled were approved.
6.2 / Projects Failing to Report
No additional projects were reported.
7. / Chairs Group – Issues & Information Sharing
At their last meeting, the group discussed the Community Choices application (to encourage wider involvement in Participatory Budgeting). All forums had agreed to ring-fence £5k from their allocation and apply for an additional £15k each from the Scottish Government. The funding decision will be announced at the end of August, and if successful taking this forward will need some planning.
David MacDougall commented that the Maryfield Forum have discussed the Forum being the first fund applied to by several groups and asked whether we could increase the information available on other funds.
· Other representatives indicated that opinion varies across Forums on whether it is good to be the first fund to be approached. In some case DP Community Regeneration Funding can then be used as match funding
· Peter reminded the group that Big Lottery are keen to see an increase in applications from Dundee, especially with respect to their small grants funding that has a fairly quick turn around
· Paul mentioned the regular newsletter produced by City Development and suggested that it would be useful for community members and groups to sign up to receive this (email to ), or find it on their Twitter account (https://twitter.com/DCCFunding)
o Community Representatives indicated that having information online is not always helpful. Paul to suggest to Community Regeneration Team that they display hard copies of the newsletter for information / PAD
8. / Local Community Planning
John outlined three areas of work currently under development;
Community Access to Schools
· An agreement has been reached in twelve schools across the city, and head teachers briefed. John to supply the list to Paul for circulation
· Where there is an alternate green space near the school, opening up the grounds has not been considered
· There are a few issues around the PPP schools which are still being worked on e.g. Community Safety Warden Patrol routes and whether the gates should be locked at 10pm or not (the same issues as those affecting parks are being considered)
· Local resident feedback may also influence developments
Community Council
· A petition has been received to form a Community Council for City Centre & Harbour, and the first meeting to discuss this was held on the 17th August
· A public meeting is planned for September, on the Frigate Unicorn
· The LCPP does have space for a representative from this group if it does officially form
Engage Dundee
· Steady feedback has been received via a range of methods e.g. online, hard copy forms, completion at local festivals and via School & Family Development Workers
· Includes discussion of possible solutions, not just the raising of issues
· The Freepost card is available in various places to encourage engagement and feedback
· A meeting with the Evening Telegraph is taking place next week that will lead to a feature on Engage Dundee. John presented an open offer for community representatives to be involved – anyone interested should contact John ( or 435856) or their local Communities Officer
· A live discussion on Wave 102 is also being planned for early September. John is participating in this, and again community representatives are welcome to take part too / JH
Com. Reps
Com. Reps
9. / AOCB
9.1 / David raised the issue of bus routes changing without sufficient community consultation. It was suggested that this could be discussed at each of the next forum meetings and then thoughts brought together at the September Chairs Group. / Com. Reps
10. / Date of Next Meeting
Thursday 22nd September, 10:00 in the Douglas Community Centre, Balmoral Avenue, Dundee, DD4 8SD
Attachments: