December MCC Scrutiny Committee meetings

Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee meeting         

Macc attended the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee meeting on 7 December. This meeting focused on two main reports for review and discussion. Firstly, the Disability in Manchester report, which provided an overview with a specific look at inequalities in life chances of people living with disability and the impact that Covid-19 has had on this community. Manchester has a large number of people living with disability and it was acknowledged that when Manchester City Council teams work with disabled people’s organisations, including VCSE groups and services in removing the barriers, it has a very significant positive impact on disabled residents. Elaine Astley from Breakthrough UK explained that the Social Model of Disability should be adopted by all council departments. This model was developed by disabled people and explains that disabled people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. This model was originally adopted by the Council when first developed but has since been lost. Elaine continued that disability is a cross cutting issue and by adopting this model and working with disabled peoples’ organisations at an early opportunity, barriers for disabled people can be identified, supported much early and situations can often be prevented. As Manchester’s population of children with a disability is higher than the national average, this needs to be seen as a priority. Manchester City Council has recently set up a new Equality Leadership group and are appointing an access advisor in the city centre growth and infrastructure team and a new highways access group, which aims to make public spaces more accessible for residents experiencing disability.

Elaine explained that the Manchester Disabled People’s engagement panel was working co-productively to support city leaders at an early stage and to promote the Greater Manchester Disabled People’s panel, and highlighted the great work this panel has done to support disabled people in Manchester during Covid-19. Elaine said it was essential for the work of these panels to continue and to use the social model of disability to help to ensure that the needs of disabled people are fully included in all decisions that impacted them.

The Compliance and Enforcement Services report provided an overview of service activities during the recent pandemic and detail about challenges, successes in enforcement action and future workload in light of recent legislative changes.

You can access the recording of the December Equalities and Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting by accessing the following link here: https://vimeo.com/651227429. There is an invitation to VCSE colleagues to attend the Scrutiny Committee meetings. Macc would encourage VCSE sector colleagues to attend any of the six Scrutiny Committee meetings, which are relevant to your organisation and or to send information that showcase the vital work your organisation does. Each Manchester City Council Scrutiny Committee meeting is open to the public, streamed live and recorded.  For more information, visit https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/mgListCommittees.aspx?bcr=1. 

The next Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee Meeting will be on Tuesday 11 January at 10am in the Manchester Town Hall Extension. The meeting will include attendance from Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Beverley Hughes and a report on climate change, specifically in regards to events and leisure estates. If these themes are relevant to your work and you would like to attend this meeting and/or provide a case study of your work, please contact [email protected] and she can support you with this.

Health Scrutiny Committee meeting

Macc attended the Health Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday 8 December. This meeting focused on the Suicide Prevention Local Plan and the Our Manchester Carers’ Strategy update.

The Suicide Prevention paper explained Manchester had the highest suicide rates in the country two decades ago, but this number has now fallen to less than the national average. The meeting discussed the Suicide Prevention Local Plan, which focuses on training, awareness raising and support for frontline workers. These initiatives are not just vital for Manchester but nationally. The Council’s Suicide Prevention Partnership is working with VCSE partners including 42nd Street and Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN) in addition to statutory partners. 42nd Street moved all of their support services for young people online during the lockdown period. They found that these online workshops were well attended due to ensuring they were scheduled after school and college sessions and with a focus on peer support. 42nd Street also provide walk and talk sessions, and continue to support high numbers of LGBTQ and BAME young people. CAHN has delivered suicide prevention workshops, suicide first aid training for both staff and the wider community, and virtual safe talks delivered with national charities to provide practical suicide prevention techniques. They also want to employ a suicide prevention officer to support the local community. There is a huge amount of work delivered by statutory services including training early help teams, homeless support teams and MCC contact centre staff. There are also safe talks being delivered to barbers, hairdressers and tattooists in the city centre. GMMH provide a number of Crisis Cafes across Greater Manchester and a 24 hour support helpline. There is also work to support victims of domestic violence including children through training rail staff on how to support victims of domestic abuse appropriately and working with retailers to provide safe spaces to access help. There is also work being undertaken to support early help teams, rail network staff, veterans and the homeless community as part of this strategy.

The Our Manchester Carers Strategy report stated that Manchester has over 65,000 carers, with only 20,000 known to health services. The Our Manchester Strategy aims to reach more carers and increase the level of engagement at an early stage. To achieve this, the Our Manchester Carers team are working to support the Manchester Carers Network, which is made up of 18 Manchester VCSE organisations and services. Gaddum is the lead organisation, who co-ordinate the network to support all providers, and part of the delivery of the carers strategy has been the development of Manchester Carers contact point. Gaddum are leading this work along with three other VCSE partner organisations, which are Manchester Carers Forum, Wai Yin and LMCP. This work has made a real impact on the lives of carers as supported by two carers testimonies at the meeting. Locality partnerships have been developed to work in communities with Manchester Carers Centre in North Manchester, African Caribbean Care Group in Central Manchester  and Manchester Carers Forum in South Manchester. As this funding was awarded for two years, it will cease in March 2022 but there is a recommendation to commissioners to continue to fund this work due to the positive impact for carers in the city.

Manchester City Council launched the Emergency Fund in July 2020, specifically for carers experiencing hardship due to the pandemic. By accessing the fund, recipients receive support from the website for a welfare benefits advisor and most claimants used the money to purchase white goods. Due to the feedback from claimants explaining how important this funding is, the fund has been extended until 2022 and may be extended further. 

You can access the recording of the December Health Scrutiny Committee meeting by accessing the following link here: https://vimeo.com/651230342. There is an invitation to VCSE colleagues to attend the Scrutiny Committee meetings. Macc would encourage VCSE sector colleagues to attend any of the six Scrutiny Committee meetings, which are relevant to your organisation and or to send information that showcase the vital work your organisation does. Each Manchester City Council Scrutiny Committee meeting is open to the public, streamed live and recorded.  For more information, visit https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/mgListCommittees.aspx?bcr=1

The next Health Scrutiny Committee meeting will be on Wednesday 12 January at 10am at the Manchester Town Hall Extension. The meeting will focus on an update about the North Manchester General Hospital and a Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco Control Services update. If one or both of these two themes are relevant to your work and you would like to attend this meeting and/or provide a case study of your work, please contact [email protected] and she can support you with this.