Continued from Part 2.
Cllr Blakeley said that he was not in a position to answer.
Terry said that when he’d worked with Cadburys he’d been responsible for youth activities and had persuaded them to build it in the community, however it had not solely been funded by Cadburys and had been part funded by the Council, however it recent years Cadburys hadn’t been funding it.
Caroline Laing answered the points. Cllr Blakeley said that he’d read through the 1968 deed hoping to find a covenant that meant it would be saved, if it was sold half the money would go to Cadburys so Wirral Council couldn’t fully realise the asset. He wanted it to remain open and was hoping that when a million pounds was spent in Birkenhead that Moreton wouldn’t be forgotten.
A member of the public said that young people were very territorial, couldn’t afford transport and were too frightened to go outside their locality. They thought this would mean the Birkenhead youth would have the new super hub to themselves. Another member of the public said that it was a shame that only six months since the Olympics that they were shutting down youth clubs.
Cllr Blakeley said that he had got the message that the people of Moreton wanted to keep the Youth Club going, but that it was important to know what’s going on. He said it was good news that Moreton Youth Club was recommended to be maintained as it would give more time to fight its closure, therefore it was good news but not final news.
A member of the public asked if the youth club could be incorporated into the new combined One Stop Shop and library as it would make more sense as one facility? Cllr Blakeley said there would be a library update later, that it might be something worth looking at and that all suggestions could be explored. He thanked Caroline Laing.
Cllr Blakeley said that Graham Hodkinson, Director of Adult Social Services and Chris Begya were here for the next item on Moreton Day Centre.
Graham Hodkinson started by saying that they need to make savings in services for people with learning disabilities, he was going to talk about how they plan to make savings followed by a little about the consultation process, Chris Begya was also present and could answer any more detailed questions.
Mr. Hodkinson started by saying that they had to find savings of £109 million [over three years] and that the Department of Adult Social Services spent £77 million a year, therefore it was incumbent on him to present ideas as to how to run an efficient service. He said that Audit Commission data which was “readily available” [Ed – readily available where?] showed that Wirral Council was in the top 5% for its spend on learning disabilities and was an outlier as it spent the most on day services for people with learning disabilities.
He said that this cost each Wirral resident £500 which totalled £6 million [Ed – 319,800 (latest 2011 Census population figure for Wirral) * £500 = £15.99 million, so the figure is more accurately £18.76 per a resident], £5 million was spent on in-house provision and £1 million on transport. Mr. Hodkinson said that they had a duty to meet people’s needs and use public resources wisely, but he recognised that people didn’t agree with him, nevertheless he had a duty to do that.