Citizens' Panel Festive Event 2004
On the evening of 9th December 2004 we held the third annual
Festive Event here at County Hall in the Council Chamber. Over 50
Worcestershire residents selected from the Worcestershire Citizens'
Panel, various community groups and organisations attended.
The evening, opened by Diane Tilley Head of the Chief
Executives’ Unit, and hosted by the Chief Officers Management
Board, consisted of a locally produced buffet, Electronic Voting, a
Question Time Session and an Open Discussion Forum.
The evening began with a presentation - 'You Said - We
Did/Didn't' which covered what we have done in response to
Citizens' Panel survey results, and if we have not done something,
why
Click to view the results from E-voting and Photos
from the evening.
Question Time and Open Forum
Attendees were invited to submit questions prior to the event
and read them out on the night. This not only allowed us to manage
people's questions efficiently, but also ensure a full and accurate
answer could be given by the relevant Chief Officer. The Question
Time session was also followed by an Open Forum with questions
taken from the floor.
Q - You asked us...
Do we make a profit from the sale of recyclable materials and
how is it spent?
A - We said...
Waste disposal costs are increasing, the market value of
recycled goods fluctuates, and actual income is very small.
District councils are responsible for collecting household
waste, and the county council is responsible for disposing of it.
(Richard Wigginton - Director of Environmental
Services)
Q - You asked us...
Why is public transport so underused in this county, and are
there any plans to improve this?
A - We said...
There is a perception that public transport is underused, but
this is largely because people tend to see large buses with few
people on them. A new strategy this year is to use smaller
vehicles in rural areas so services can still be provided, but the
service is more efficient.
The county council can’t control the bus companies – they are
independent commercial operators, who receive subsidies from the
county council for less popular/commercially unviable routes.
Work is underway to set up a consistent concessionary fares
scheme across the county to make it easier for people on low
incomes to access public transport. At the moment, schemes
vary from district to district and the situation can be confusing.
It is a legal requirement to provide a cheaper fares scheme
for older people, but this could possibly be extended to support
others on a low income too.
There are lots of ideas being developed to encourage more people
to use public transport – here are some ideas the citizens panel
identified at the event:
- ·Better timetable information/communication
- ·Make buses more accessible
- ·Make buses more trustworthy by running to time
(Richard Wigginton - Director of Environmental
Services)
Q - You asked us...
How is the county council planning to deal with greater care
demands from the ageing population?
How is the county council dealing with the need to recruit more
home care workers?
A - We said...
One of the county council’s main priorities is services for
older people, but at the moment we are £11 million underfunded.
Our strategy is to support people to live in their own homes and
communities for as long as possible, and so great investment is
being made in more home care packages tailored to meet the needs of
individuals. Our focus is on preventing people from becoming
seriously ill and having to be admitted to hospital, which can
often diminish confidence and independence.
We have a number of prevention teams who visit people in their
own homes, and we plan to set up more of them. Last year
there were 55 delayed discharges from hospital, and this year this
was reduced to 22 because of the dramatic increase in intensive
home care support packages now available. We hope to reduce
this figure to nil.
The difficulty in recruiting home care workers is a real worry,
and a number of actions have been taken to address the problem,
including roadshows, job fairs, the making of the ‘because of you’
video which celebrates the work of home care workers etc.
There are plans to work closely with schools with a view to
marketing the roles to younger people.
(Jennie Bashforth - Director of Social
Services)
Q - You asked us...
What steps are being taken to reduce traffic caused by
Herefordshire waste disposal vehicles?
A - We said……
Now that Herefordshire council has introduced a new kerbside
recycling scheme and a reclamation site in their own area, there is
less of a need for vehicles to come into the county. Planning
consent has now been given for a waste treatment site in
Herefordshire, so once this is built, there will be an even greater
reduction in landfill and vehicles coming to Worcestershire.
(Richard Wigginton - Director of Environmental
Services)
Q - You asked us...
If the stock in Malvern library will be replenished following
recent refurbishment?
A - We said...
Malvern library is now bigger as it is also a one stop shop. It
will have more books and computers during 2005. The number of
books being lent is generally decreasing, and by improving the
quality of the book stock, we hope to encourage more customers, and
a general increase in the use of the library. We would like
to thank our customers for their patience while refurbishment works
have been carried out.
(Trevor Norton - Director of Corporate Services)
Q - You asked us...
There is an increasing number of children not speaking English
as their first language in Worcestershire schools, and the funding
to support them will drop by 40% in April 2005 – what will
happen?
A - We said...
The county council has made a formal complaint about the fact
that our government grant has been cut in this area. We are
trying to find other resources to provide support, and plan to give
money to schools directly to address the issue.
(Julien Kramer - Director of
Education)
Q - You asked us...
Are there plans to increase cultural awareness training in
schools?
A - We said...
The county council has good quality training materials and
professional development opportunities for teachers, which it
promotes in schools.
(Julien Kramer - Director of
Education)