Venue: Bourges/Viersen Room - Town Hall
Contact: Paulina Ford, Senior Governance Officer Email: paulina.ford@peterborough.gov.uk, 01733 452508
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: |
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Declaration of Interest and Whipping Declarations At this point Members must declare whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or other interest, in any of the items on the agenda, unless it is already entered in the register of members’ interests or is a “pending notification “ that has been disclosed to the Solicitor to the Council. Members must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
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Minutes of the Meeting Held on 16 July 2012 PDF 108 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2012, were approved as a true and accurate record.
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Provision of Carers in Rural Areas PDF 63 KB Minutes: The report was presented at the request of the commission who were interested in the provision of adult home care support in rural areas and whether rural areas received the same level of care as urban areas.
The following key points were highlighted:
The Commission were asked to note and comment on the contents of the report.
Comments and questions were raised around the following areas:
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Provision of Primary Care in Rural Areas PDF 64 KB Minutes: The report was presented to the Commission at the request of the Chairman who expressed concern that there were few GP Practices and Pharmaceutical Services within rural areas which would in turn make it difficult for elderly and disabled people to access these services. The report was written by Peter Wightman, Interim Director of Primary care who was unable to attend the meeting therefore the report was presented by Jessica Bawden, Director of Communications, Membership & Engagement (designate).
The Commission were asked to note the current provision and current transition in NHS organisations.
Comments and questions were raised around the following areas:
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Disability Issues in Rural Areas PDF 64 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The purpose of this report was to propose a series of access audits for rural areas by disabled people living in Peterborough working with Peterborough City Council and the Disability Forum
The key issues were highlighted as follows:
· The proposal would ensure that the views and experiences of local disabled people were incorporated in to any and all future developments, and provide suggestions for improving existing rural provisions including:
v Work to date on access audits for the city had been unfunded and provided through the goodwill of untrained volunteers v There was no organisation currently providing access audits for Peterborough on a voluntary basis v Access audits for projects of this nature by qualified consultants were estimated to cost within the region of £10k v The Council’s own access audits would be in the region of £1k - £5k depending on the size and depth of audit required v The Council’s findings led them to believe that many professional access audits were carried out without the involvement and inclusion of disabled people v Disabled people living in rural areas would have the opportunity to influence decision making and plans in their neighbourhoods, they would also be able to improve skills, reduce isolation and improve general health and wellbeing v This pilot project in rural areas would be a unique example of best practice for involving local disabled people in rural issues related to access and inclusion v Older people were now living longer and many of the issues affecting older people in terms of accessibility and ‘getting around’ were the same as those with a physical disability
The next steps were:
· To seek funding, including applying for external funds to undertake access audits in rural areas · To identify priority areas with the Rural North Neighbourhood Committee · To identify disabled residents living in rural areas to assist with audits if appropriate
Comments and questions were raised around the following areas:
· Members were supportive of the work that was being carried out by the Disability Forum for disabled people · Members queried whether there was enough funding to change the current situation for disabled people regarding access in rural areas. The Disability Forum Manager advised the Commission that situations would be easy to change if highlighted when projects were developed as there was not always the right amount of consideration for disabled people which led to more money being spent on changing existing provisions for disabled people. This could be resolved easily by consulting organisations such as DIAL and listening to disabled people before proceeding with a development · Members suggested drop curbs were considered when doing road repairs, low level post boxes and cash machines, battery car charging points and basic wifi systems. If there was the knowledge that each village had different requirements by conducting an audit on even one village per year then a thorough review of each village could be completed within ten years.
· Members queried whether there was a designated Disability Compliance Officer to deal with major issues. ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The latest version of the Forward Plan, showing details of the key decisions that the Leader of the Council believed the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members would be making over the next four months, was received.
ACTION AGREED
The Commission requested to find out why there was no legal officer present at the meeting.
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Minutes: Members considered the Committee’s Work Programme for 2012/13 and discussed possible items for inclusion.
ACTION AGREED
The Commission requested that Engaging with Hospitals was added to the work programme.
The Commission requested an update on the progress of the development of the Energy Park.
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Date of the next Meeting 19 November 2012 Minutes: 19 November 2012
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