Presentation to follow at meeting.
Minutes:
Bill Husband, Project Manager of NG7 TEA, presented information on the progress of the Lead organisation in supporting grant funding in the area, highlighting the following points:
(a) Initially, fairly rigid contracts were inherited. The grant funding process moved to softer outcome-driven contracts in November 2013, so there is now more flexibility to focus resources where they are needed.
(b) NG7 TEA are responsible for maintaining 3 grant streams: Children and Young People, Employment and Skills, and Community Associations.
(c) Young People’s activities are being provided by the Asian Women’s Project (indoor sports, table tennis, snooker, physical activities in gym, mixing music, broadcasting, console games and IT) and by KK Sports (football, gym, boxing, basketball, largely targeting older teenage Asian males in identified hotspots). Activities are targeted and diversionary.
(d) Budgets and outcomes have been inherited, and may providers are not interested in the low rates on offer. The old targets involved the number of hours young people were engaged for. Since November 2013, the new targets involve being part of the Young people’s Forum, being involved in early intervention work, and measuring outcomes with evidence.
(e) In the second quarter, the target was 63 hours, with the actual number of hours 54. The third quarter was showed improvement, with a target of 63 hours and an actual number of 68 hours. There was improved joined-up working with the City Council Youth Team, and increased interaction between providers to avoid duplication of provision and to provide better targeting.
(f) The activities for Children and Young People aren’t just school-holiday focused. KK Sports has good attendance, and teenagers taking part are rewarded with other activities such as paintballing. Postcode analysis is taking place, in conjunction with the City Council Youth Team, to see who attends and which areas need more focus.
(g) For Employment and Skills, NG7 TEA works directly with citizens referred by the Job Centre. They provide education in Digital Literacy, English, and 1-2-1 work. They are looking to expand into other areas, possibly including self-employment skills. In terms of Youth related Employment and Skills provision, they also provide information and assistance with volunteering, work experience and work trials, working closely with large local employers.
(h) NG7 TEA have recently moved premises, and are now broadening their offer. They are well on target, with the number of unemployed residents helped into work and local people engaged in “Get Britain Working” employment support initiatives at 162 across quarters two and three, against an overall target of 102.
(i) There are three community centres within the area, one of which hasn’t signed the service agreement yet. NG7 TEA is currently working with the other two to set budgets. The Sherwood Centre is sustainable, and is showing best practice in budget management that needs to be shared with other centres. Sherwood is exceeding the formal targets, whilst Edwards Lane is struggling on some areas. They will receive more targeted support to help them become more viable.
(j) Next year, there will be 400 homes in one of the most deprived areas of the City that will be covered by the new Basford Community Centre. Efforts will be made to bring them on board and work with them.
(k) A needs analysis is being conducted, and NG7 TEA welcome any feedback and contributions. These can be provided by email (bill@ng7tea.org.uk) or by submitting a contact form through the website (www.ng7tea.org.uk).
Following questions and comments from the Committee, the following additional information was provided:
(l) Whilst Sherwood was not covered in the update on Youth Provision, the majority of problem areas are in Berridge. Edwards Lane is on the border between the two areas, and Sherwood has historically been left out of Youth Provision. A detailed needs analysis will inform next year’s activities, and the provision through the grant funding process is still relatively new. The Committee requested that updates to future meetings should include both wards.
(m) Funding is also being received towards Employment and Skills from Central Government. A Digital Inclusion project is helping to connect people to the jobs market, and involves putting computers and laptops in community venues and work clubs, and providing staff to help. Funding is also being provided to support 18-24 year olds into training and permanent employment. NG7 TEA are involved with directing how this funding can best be spent. It is being split between Berridge and Sherwood.
(n) The first year of funding for each strand was locked in and very proscriptive. Each Area is free to decide to split funding as they see fit from April 2014. This split will be based on a thorough needs assessment from the first year. Breakdowns of funding and outcomes by Ward were requested by the Committee for future updates.
(o) NG7 TEA’s move has helped to improve service visibility massively. Referrals are mainly from the Job Centre, who have been made aware of the change of premises. People from outside the Area also use the services on offer, as people are willing to travel for good employment advice.
(p) The funding received by KK Sports is quite a large amount, and the Committee had concerns that it was being used for citywide services. KK Sports grant funding is used for local targeted services, and local youth benefit.
(q) The sustainability of the Edwards Lane Community Association is of great concern. It is not in an ideal location, and is tucked away so that many local residents do not know it is there. It needs a sustained focus.
(r) The Forest Fields Community Association will be re-opening in September 2014. There is currently no funding available for it from the community grant scheme, as it would have to be taken from another organisation. Nottingham City Council is hoping to bring in a self-financing consortium with minimal subsidy levels to run the Centre.
(s) A verbal update will be brought to the next meeting, and another full update in 6 months time.
RESOLVED to thank Bill Husband for his presentation, the contents of which were noted.