Leasowe, Saughall Massie and Moreton Area Forum 27th February 2013 Part 3 | Moreton Youth Club | Moreton Day Centre

Leasowe, Saughall Massie and Moreton Area Forum 27th February 2013 Part 3 | Moreton Youth Club | Moreton Day Centre

Continued from Part 2.

English: Wallasey Town Hall, Wirral, England a...
English: Wallasey Town Hall, Wirral, England as seen from the promenade. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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.

Continued at Part 4.

Leasowe, Saughall Massie and Moreton Area Forum 27th February 2013 Part 2 | Moreton Youth Club

Leasowe, Saughall Massie and Moreton Area Forum 27th February 2013 Part 2 | Moreton Youth Club

Continued from Part 1.

Caroline Laing said that officers had been asked for savings [in the Youth and Play Service] of £1.2 million which had led to a report to the Cabinet meeting of the 18th February.

She continued by saying that the Budget option would consolidate the existing youth clubs into four youth hubs and would result in a reduction in the number of outreach teams and the closure of eleven satellite youth clubs. The proposals would be discussed and had been recommended to the Budget Council meeting of the 5th March. The Leasowe Youth Club was proposed to be closed with no recommendation to be saved, meetings had been held with Leasowe Community Homes and 7 Waves Community Radio over an exit strategy, there would be a locality manager to give advice and guidance to voluntary organisations and there would still be some outreach provision which would be focussed on more targeted activity.

Cllr Blakeley said that before he asked for questions about Moreton Youth Centre, he want to ask if Moreton Youth Club would stay open until the Birkenhead hub costing £1 million opened?

Caroline Laing said it was worded until but she didn’t know the answer.

Cllr Blakeley said it sounded like the Moreton Youth Club wouldn’t close until the super Hub was open and asked for any questions?

A member of the public asked what criteria were used to decide what youth centres closed and which stayed open?
Caroline Laing answered that the decision was made by Cabinet, but in relation to the Budget four would be retained.

A member of the public involved with a voluntary group that used a youth club said that they hadn’t been consulted on closure and knew of another voluntary group in the same position. Tracey Smith said that managers had been provided with the detail of the consultation. Cllr Lewis asked the member of the public to see him at the end so he could liaise between her and the locality manager. Caroline Laing pointed out that the locality manager appointment had not yet been made.

A member of the public called Steve said that the youth club had been known as Cadburys Youth Club and that he’d been one of the first to go it many decades ago. It had been built for the people of Moreton, but had since gone to Wirral Council. He said it was scandalous that now people would not have anywhere to go to at night, that there would be more people hanging around if they removed provision and questioned how people would be able to afford the bus fare to Birkenhead and back finally saying it was “not right”.

Continued at Part 3.