Agenda and minutes

J Edwards                         (Adult Learning Services Leicestershire County Council)

C Lawrence Sims                (Clarity & Relaxation)

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Introductions were made and the minutes were approved.

Matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held; Tuesday 5 November 2019.

Page 3:  Information on how to access the Community Engagement Forum funding pot was circulated. Application forms were provided for those in attendance to take away.

Page 3:  Information on the Plastics Pledge was circulated with the minutes.

Information on the Borough Council’s Assisted Service Collection Scheme can be accessed from the Council’s website and through the Council’s Customer Service Centre on Bell Street. To request information online email: CSC@oadby-wigston.gov.uk or telephone: (0116) 2888961.

Page 4:  The Environment Working Group notes were circulated with the minutes.

Page 4:  A listing of funding givers and their funding opportunities was circulated electronically.

Page 5:  The presentation slides which outlined the Community Garden project were circulated with the minutes.

Page 5:  The Reduce Your Use of Plastics quiz sheet was circulated with the minutes.

Page5:  The Reduce Your Use of Plastics presentation slides were circulated with the minutes.

The following requests were received and awarded funding at today’s meeting.

AGE UK Wigston received £500 for part funding the purchase of a Bowling Mat.

Menphys Hub Christmas Party for 30 SEND families received £250.

Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston Disability Forum received part funding of £500 towards marketing materials, room hire and transport costs.

Menphys Hub received a one off award of £500 towards craft project equipment.

All Awardees are only eligible to apply for funding once every two years.

Action:

Wigston Young People’s Youth Group is to apply for funding to support this cohort at the next Community Engagement Forum meeting on, the 19^th May 2020.

A Pullin, a member of the Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston Disability Forum provided a brief verbal presentation to those present about this newly developing Forum. It was supported by a range of photos, taken locally of some of the barriers local people face when travelling across the Borough whilst using their wheelchairs or pushchairs on pavements.

The aim of this Forum is to raise awareness of the inequalities people with a disability and their carers face. This Forum also seeks to address how inequalities this cohort face can be diminished and their quality of life improved.

This Forum was instrumental in accessing the provision of spaces at the Oadby and Wigston Towns Light Switch-On events in 2019 for people with a disability and their Carers. It is hoped such an identified space will be provided by South Wigston Light Switch-On Coordinators in 2020.

The Disability Forum also requested the local Council ensure its policies are disability risk assessed and, where appropriate consider the idea of having reflective stickers placed on the bins of residents who require assistance with the placing of their bins on the edge of pavements and back to their properties on collection days.

This Forum currently meets monthly at the Council Office, on Station Road, in Wigston. Going forward it has now developed a list of meeting dates and venues to cover March 2020 to December 2020. This list with accompanying dates and times will shortly be circulated. The Forum meets from: 12:30p.m to 2:30p.m.

This Disability Forum is open to both individual residents and group representatives whether there is an issue of disability or none. Light refreshments are provided.

Apart from the Council Office on Station Road, Wigston, meeting venues will now include the Menphys Centre in South Wigston and Oadby Library.

For further information on how to contact the Disability Forum members, email the Borough Council’s Community Engagement Officer using the following information: veronika.quintyne@oadby-wigston.gov.uk or telephone: (0116)2572648. This Forum is working towards self-sustainability.

Following a brief verbal update from the Community Engagement Officer on the developing Oadby & Wigston Borough Council’s ‘Engaged’ Citizens’ Panel, which is open to all residents, students, Council Staff and businesses, those present were invited to sign up to it, if they had not already done so.

To sign-up to the Panel, which takes about three minutes and gives access to the ability to be consulted on a range of local Council policy issues , attendees were instructed to place the following website address in their browser. www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk/citizens-panel.

The following two streams of funding were shared with attendees at today’s meeting.

My Community Locality Fund

This fund provides support to those wishing to start up community businesses. The fund opens on the 26^th February 2020. For further information open the following link.

https://mycommunity.org.uk/funding-options/bright-ideas-fund/.

Severn Trent Community Fund

This is a three part funding pot to support community wellbeing. Three sizes of grants are available as follows:

£2,000 - £10,000

£10,001 - £75,000

£75,001 - £250,000

Applications opened in January 2020. For more information click to open the following link. https://www.stwater.co.uk/about-us/severn-trent-community-fund/.

Oadby & Wigston Hindu Association / the Anand Group

It was suggested that an invitation be extended to Oadby & Wigston Hindu Association to attend the next meeting to provide an update on the Holi Festival and the work of the Anand Group.

Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston Multi-Cultural Group

In light of developmental changes occurring within Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston Multi-Cultural Group, this Forum is to pick up issues which might previously been covered by the Multi - Cultural Group.

Menphys of Bassett Street, South Wigston

Menphys organisation is now open. It has a café and other services it provides to those within the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Development) arena and the wider community.

The date of the next Community Engagement Forum meeting is on: Tuesday 19^th May 2020. The venue is: The Council Offices, Station Road, Wigston, LE18 2DR. The time of the meeting is 13:30 p.m.