Minutes of Meeting of Worcestershire Voices Board
Tuesday, 4 February 2014 at 2.00 pm
Onside Advocacy, Williamson House, 14 Charles Street, Worcester WR1 2AQ
Present:
Michael Hunter (MH), Derek Markie (DM), Cat Illingworth (CI), Jim Smith (JS), Sally Ellison (SE), Kate Harvey (KH), Richard Quallington (RQ)
In attendance: Lorna Pearcey (LP) Worcestershire Voices Co-ordinator, Julie Crandon (JC) admin support
Apologies: Nick Parker (NP), Sue Fry (SF), Sally Macintyre (SM)
1. Welcome and Apologies
MH invited members to share positive Worcestershire Voices (WV) experiences since the last meeting at the start of December.
2. Declarations of Interests
None recorded.
3. County Council Spending Review – What can Worcestershire Voices ‘do’?
What do we need to do to understand and support the sector at this time?
Discussion
JS had been asked what action WV was taking to understand and support the sector. With service provider impacts now hitting home and clients worried about services and staffing etc., there is a risk that organisations will be losing skilled staff members. JS suggested that WV should be consulting and gathering evidence.
The following suggestions were noted for inclusion in a targeted sector survey:
• An introduction indicating that it is clear from policy formers that budgets will be cut, highlighting the effects so far and indicating that we need to work within that reality.
• Ask the questions: ‘what is the impact and what do you need going forward to help minimise it?’ and ‘what can we do to enable your service to go forward’?
RQ outlined the details of a support programme that had been submitted to Suzy James (WCC) – they are very broad proposals at this stage and should be regarded as circulated for information only. The work programme will come out once resources are available. RQ will circulate the information that he has sent to Suzy, who has now responded asking for a detailed budget.
LP is meeting with John Taylor next week and will make a start on this work, with a view to having something ready to circulate w/c 17 February following the decisions made on the consultation on 12th February.
Following a group discussion, the following actions were identified:
Actions:
• Lorna and John Taylor to develop 3 - 4 questions and an introduction to survey
• JS, SE to comment then send to all Board members for comment
• Lorna to get the list of 80 organisations directly impacted from cuts from Suzy James/Richard Harling
• This survey monkey questionnaire to be sent to 75 H& WB orgs, 80 listed above, orgs on WV database, through Board member contacts
• Issue of a press release alerting VCS orgs of this questionnaire and pointing to WV website to access information.
• The evidence gathered would inform the proposal to Suzy James.
• RQ will circulate details of the support programme.
In summarising these actions, the chair stressed the importance not to promise anything that could not be delivered.
SE felt that the concerns of the voluntary sector should be an agenda item at the Health & Wellbeing Board, and presenting this evidence would be another way of raising the WV profile.
Action:
• SE, JS, JT to meet to discuss possible inclusion on March H & WB agenda. It was agreed that this would need to be purposeful rather than just describing the issues and focus on tangible action/development.
Board members asked if meeting notes were available from the DASH meeting with Richard Harling. To date only action points had been circulated but a fuller set of notes had been requested. CI reminded everyone that there was agreement that members attending meetings would post their own notes on the website; KH added that it was also important to have a WV record of meetings attended.
Actions:
• ALL – Agree who will take meeting notes for meetings attended with several Board members present. Send notes to Lorna to put on website.
• Lorna: Send meeting proforma to all Board members again and put on website.
• CI put Future Lives consultation results on website.
• Lorna to ensure Action Points from meeting with Richard Harling to be put on website.
• Lorna put more detailed notes when issued on website.
4. Minutes of the last meeting – 2 December 2013
The minutes of the last meeting were considered. Lorna requested that the words “suddenly realised” be deleted in the paragraph relating to the admin associated with the launch event. With this amendment, the minutes were agreed by all to be a true record of the meeting.
4.1 Action points from last meeting:
• NP: Uncertain as to progress NP has made on this point. This action to be carried over.
• Lorna: Action Plan – no progress. CI expressed concern that this plan is being continually pushed back. MH took this on board but would like the governance sub-group to make its recommendations at the next board meeting before any work is done, in order to be clear about the way forward. CI suggested an interim 3 month work plan be devised in order to have something in place before the action plan is finalised. It was agreed that the board’s planned action for the coming 3 months will be put on the website under the title of “work strands”.
Action: Lorna to put 4 key priorities or work strands on the website
• Meeting about developing the compact – no action taken.
• DM confirmed that he had received no contact from Vicky Greenfield.
• WV LEP engagement, DM to chase this up.
• Frequency of meetings: Lorna advised that dates had been diarised for March and April, but thereafter frequency would be determined by the recommendations of the governance sub-group.
4.2 Previous actions:
September 2013:
• Minute 9.2: Final TLI summary to be circulated – SE still to do this. The full report is available which was submitted to BIG – SE will check with the grant officer for confirmation that she is able to put this on the website. SE will also upload the presentation she is giving on 18 March.
• Minute 2: Cat to get Google analytics application from Nexus and Julie C / CI to interrogate and provide monthly updates for Board.
October 2013:
• Minute 5.5: this has been actioned. Lorna will circulated a draft to Board members.
• Minute 5.5: SM will routinely upload agendas of sub-groups on the website, together with all board papers and agendas.
November 2013:
• Minute 5.5: MH has met with Philip and John Taylor re: Well Connected programme and will continue with that dialogue. KH is also involved with the work of the Well Connected Group and is happy to provide an update. She will also put together a few notes for circulation. Well Connected to be standing agenda item for update.
• Minute 6.4: LP/CI had met and a revised communications plan will be circulated for comment.
5. Updates
The following points were noted:
5.1 WV Position Statement
Discussed above.
5.2 Health & Wellbeing Board:
SE reported on the topics covered at last week’s meeting, amongst which were mental wellbeing and the county’s suicide prevention plan. SE expressed concern over the number action groups that had been set up and the difficulty in obtaining information.
A new group – the Health Improvement Group – is being set up and is looking for representation: MH has requested terms of reference before anything further can be done.
MH explained the role of Health & Wellbeing Board which is tasked with looking at strategic and commissioning. The Health Improvement Group will report to the Health & Wellbeing Board on matters such as public health etc. Members need to consider what contribution the voluntary sector is making to health improvement as currently defined: recognising that the voluntary sector offers an insight into the wider determinants. CI requested a paper be circulated to ensure a better understanding.
Action:
• MH to circulate information to Board members
5.3 Compact
Nothing to update
5.4 WLEP
Vicky Greenfield had not been chased with regard to the LEP, and it was considered unhelpful to form a group alongside this.
DM currently sits on 2 groups: Task & Finish – concerned with European funding and strategic planning for an LEP, and Social Inclusion – looking at elements within those programmes; the one group more geared towards the voluntary sector and social enterprise.
WLEP has now produced a Strategic Plan explaining what is being done with the allocated money. DM updated on current developments and felt WV should be involved in an advisory capacity.
6. Items for discussion from sub groups
6.1 Forum
The forum group meeting had not taken place as suitable dates had not been found. The purpose of this meeting was to debrief and discuss how matters will be taken forward.
Action:
• All forum members to respond to requests from meeting dates to Sally M.
6.2 Governance
The Governance group had met and discussions had taken place about the structure of the Board etc. However, another meeting was need to cement these discussions and develop recommendations that would be presented at the next Board meeting in March.
CI expressed concern over the lack of available information on the Governance sub-group, and would have been interested in being involved.
6.3. Communications
CI requested that any members who could not stay for the duration of the meeting to declare this at the outset of the meeting.
Action:
• All Board members to declare at beginning of meeting if they need to leave early to ensure Chair can revise agenda accordingly.
Website
CI advised that only 3 board members had created a log on to the site. There was a need for board members to become more engaged and it was unacceptable for members to comment that nothing was happening on the site when there was a clear lack of involvement on their part
There was a request for members to join the Communications Sub-Group and/or a request for a communications professional will be invited to a future meeting if Board members had one they could invite as membership presently comprised just CI, JS and Lorna.
Action:
• KH advised that she had a contact she can invite.
A skills development session was suggested at the end of a future board meeting covering how to add items on the forum, upload documents etc.
Actions:
• Lorna to put on agenda for next meeting and ensure meeting room has internet access.
• CI to run session for Board members – 1 hour session.
• CI/Lorna to develop a paper ‘Joining and using the Forum’. When completed this could be sent to all 75 on the WV database (and Board)
Members were asked to think about uploading questions that could stimulate debate, adding events or forwarding LP pictures that could be used on the marketplace banner.
Action: ALL
There were still a few things not working properly and CI will take this up with Nexus.
Action: CI will take this up with Nexus.
A discussion followed relating to the lack of a website instruction manual. Apparently the production of a manual was not in the design brief, but the board asked CI to liaise with Nexus on this point.
Action: CI to discuss with Nexus.
It was agreed that board papers and agendas will be uploaded on the website in addition to being circulated by email. In future, when all Board are familiar and signed up to website, papers will be posted there instead. This would encourage board members to visit the forum at the same time. The use of Dropbox was discussed with links put on the website, and this may be a solution for the future.
E-bulletin
The first WV e bulletin had been issued today, and it will go out on monthly basis from now on. JC will contact members for information for inclusion in the bulletin, and the onus is upon board members to action this request. . Both JC and Lorna had requested regular information but little had been forthcoming, and renewed her plea for a flow of information to go into the e-bulletin and for the website.
There was a question relating to the bulletin and its aims, i.e. publicising news from the sector or WV aims etc? Lorna advised that she saw the direction heading towards publicising anything with a strategic focus. MH signs off the e-bulletin before it is distributed.
Action:
• Send news, events, updates, interesting articles (links) to Lorna/JulieC each month to go into e-bulletin.
[JS left the meeting after this discussion].
6.4 Volunteering
The volunteering workshop took place the previous week and the facilitator’s report will be ready by the end of the month. All sectors had been represented at this workshop. SE reported on feedback she had received where delegates were asking if anything will actually be done with the information gathered bearing in mind that plans had been drawn up in the past and there was already a volunteering strategy in place.
MH and RQ both felt that volunteering was everybody’s business and not just a particular organisation, and the workshop was aimed at arriving at a shared vision for Worcestershire.
7. Any other business
There was a suggestion to hold another social event later in the year following on from the bowling event. This was agreed by all as an excellent idea. RQ suggested a walk in the Malvern Hills in Spring.