Present at the Meeting:
- Councillor Mrs S J Birch (Chairman)
- Councillor Mrs B Bourne
- Councillor Mrs S Loudon
1 Apologies for absence
Councillor Mr P Tushingham, Councillor Mr H Cadman, Councillor Mr M Klieve and Councillor Mr R Splaine
2 Urgent business
None
3 Minutes of last meeting
The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 26 November 2007 were approved as a correct record.
4 Discussion with Township Managers and Township Coordinators :
The Select Committee prepared and shared a series of key questions with the witnesses prior to the meeting. During the meeting our discussion was framed around these questions. Key issues raised:
- The Township Programme has made a significant difference to certain parts of the community.
- Works best when people are ready and willing to be involved and share their knowledge and experience.
- Forums have created a place where conversations happen that wouldn’t otherwise take place.
- Takes time to get it right; different organisations bring different agenda’s.
- Some partners are not fully engaged in the process with particular difficulty gaining regular commitment from the PCT.
- We need to be clearer on people’s roles and what is expected of them / what they should offer; this applies to community members, elected members and officers.
- Townships should be the strategic hub for that area and should influence organisational and partnership wide plans and priorities including the LAA.
- We need to understand and influence the links to the developing PACTS.
- Focus tends to be on cleaner, greener, safer agenda; can be difficult to widen generally to other areas such as economy and health; but we have had some successes.
- Personalities play a big part in the success or otherwise of the programme.
- Amount of resource is a barrier to success. But we need to consider the best use of these resources.
- Townships should be about involvement and participation.
- We need to make sure we keep the people with the ‘good ideas’ and ensure that community involvement in ‘getting things done’ is maintained and developed.
Resolved: The Select Committee thanked the Township Managers for attending.
5 Forward plan for future meetings
Resolved: The select committee agreed that we would hold an informal meeting in the PPI meeting room on the 3 rd floor of Wigan Town Hall at 2.30pm on 9 January 2007. Due to time constraints we were unable to discuss and share our thoughts and understanding of the discussion. This meeting will be used for that purpose. Township Managers will provide a summary of successful initiatives. The next formal meeting will take place at 6pm on 6 February.
