Agenda item

To submit an Annual Report by the Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn.

The Chair welcomed Mrs Sian Purcell the Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn to the meeting.

Submitted – an Annual Report by the Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn.

The Chief Officer, Medrwn Môn reported that the aim of Medrwn Môn is to promote and support voluntary and community organisations by working with individuals, groups and communities on Anglesey and ensure they play a full and prominent role in developing the potential of the Island.  Medrwn Môn is a registered charitable company with a membership of voluntary organisations and local community groups.  It is part of a network of County Voluntary Councils operational throughout Wales.  Funding towards core work comes from the Welsh Government via WCVA.  She further noted that volunteers play an increasingly important part in local communities and Medrwn Môn promotes, supports and develops all types of volunteering, supports volunteers and voluntary groups on a local level, acknowledging that their unique contribution gives benefits to those that use and receive the service, the local community and the volunteers themselves. 

She noted that this Annual Report is for 2016/17 and the Annual Report for 2017/18 will be published in the autumn and was willing to attend this Committee annually in order to report on their work within local communities.  She referred that Medrwn Môn runs Community Voices which is a programme that is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.  In addition, Community Voices ensures effective ways to enable individuals and organisations to voice their opinions and ensure that their voices are heard during the planning and designing states of services, making sure that services providers get to hear exactly what the community needs.  The ‘Building Communities’ model, which has been adopted to facilitate the process using the different consultation methods to create a picture of the community’s assets that range from local services; buildings and green spaces; people, information and skills; to local networks and community activities. 

The Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn referred to the ‘Seiriol Alliance’ which received £10k devolved spending from the County Council as a pilot project and with Medrwn Môn’s support and advice, has allocated the finance between 3 Community Councils on the basis that they engage their communities in deciding how the money is spent.  She noted that an Intermediate Care Fund funding was devolved to Medrwn Môn to engage residents in Llanfairpwll in a process of identifying the need for a Community Hub in the area.  Using the Building Communities Toolkit developed through the Community Voices project, Medrwn Môn held several mapping sessions in the area as well as open events and focus group sessions.  The best venue for the project was the Memorial Hall in Llanfairpwll and the Community Voices project has been working with the local Community Council to identify how the capital funding could be spent.  Building works started at the beginning of the summer and the activities identified in the consultation process are now available through the newly established Llanfairpwll Community Hub which was launched in November 2016.  Bryngwran and Llanfaelog are a further 2 hubs receiving support from Medrwn Môn.  Both hubs worked with Community Voice to create a way of capturing information about local assets as well as information as regards to what the local community and its people need within these hubs.  She noted that 7 hubs within local communities on the Island are current established and supported by Medrwn Môn. 

She further referred to the Môn Community Link scheme which Medrwn Môn acts as a single access point for people to gain information on third sector organisations.  Community Link accepts direct contact from individuals, but also accepts referrals from partners at the County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. She said that a ‘Social Prescribing’ scheme will be established this year with Medrwn Môn being able to accept referrals from GP’s to a range of local services provided by community sector organisations. The scheme is to support individuals to take greater control of their own health.  The funding for the scheme will be sourced from the polling of funding from Besti Cadwaladr University Health Board, GP clusters and the Integrated Care Fund. 

The Committee considered the report and raised the following main matters :-

·           Clarification was sought as to the additional funding received by Medrwn Môn to employ staff to carry out specific projects.  The Chief Officer responded that Medrwn Môn has 9 permanent staff and 5 Local Assets Co-Ordinators are to be employed for a period of 2 years.  She further said that funding has been received through the ‘Children In Need’ project to fund the Youth Council with a secondment employee fulfilling the role as Project Co-Ordinator for a period of 3 years; 

·           Clarification was sought as to the funding Medrwn Môn receives. The Chief Officer responded in 2018/19Medrwn Môn are receiving £36,000 through the Integrated Care Fund (ICF) towards the Môn Community Link work and £74,000 through the Integrated Care Fund (ICF) towards the work of the Local Asset Co-ordinators (LACs) – both of these projects are part of a wider project working on Social Prescribing in partnership with the GP Clusters and Betsi Cadwaladr. Medrwn Môn further received £8500 towards core funding.  The Committee further questioned whether the County Council is afforded Medrwn Môn’s Statement of Accounts.  She said that as Medrwn Môn is a registered charitable company the accounts is submitted to Companies House and is available ‘on-line’ for public inspection.  She agreed that Medrwn Môn’s Statements of Accounts can be made available to the Scrutiny Committee;

·           Reference was made to the ‘Seiriol Alliance’ model and questions were raised as to whether a similar projects are to be extended to other areas within the Island.  The Chief Officer responded that it is anticipated that such a project at the Seiriol ward may be extended to other areas and she referred to the ‘Place Shaping’ strategy lead by the Local Authority.  She further said that the ‘Seiriol Alliance’ took time to develop but lessons have been learnt and it is hoped that similar schemes should progressed sooner;

·           Clarification was sought as to whether further community hubs will be available at other locations on the Island as statutory services are becoming more reliant on voluntary bodies. The Chief Officer responded that there is a potential to develop further hubs within local communities and she referred to the facilities at the Coffee House, Llanfaethlu, Siop Mechell, Llanfechell and ‘Tro Da’ scheme in Benllech and noted that there are also official hubs which have been adopted within the County Council’s arrangements which promotes communities to come together to afford better facilities within their areas;

·           Clarification was sought as to whether there is a lack of volunteers within some communities.  The Chief Officer responded that it seems that the same people volunteer within the local communities.  She further said that Medrwn Môn has been targeting people outside schools and leisure centres to promote the community activities/projects within their areas and encouraging new people to become volunteers within their communities.  Members questioned whether Medrwn Môn can support Community Councils to promote local activities.  The Chief Officer responded that Medrwn Môn is unable to work directly with Community Councils due to government structure which prohibits public services been directly supporting such a body.  However, she said that Medrwn Môn can afford guidance as regard to funding avenues.  She further noted that a representative from Medrwn Môn is a member of the Town and Community Councils Forum; 

·           Comments were made that Medrwn Môn’s website was out of date and needed updating.  The Chief Officer responded that she appreciated the comments and noted that Medrwn Môn’s website will be updated within the next few months;

·           Clarification was sought to how Medrwn Môn compares with similar voluntary body within the other local authorities in Wales.  The Chief Officer responded that due to the good partnership working with the County Council the Medrwn Môn model is unique and highly regarded by the other local authorities in Wales and by the Welsh Audit Office.

It was RESOLVED :-

·           To note the report and to request Medrwn Môn to attend the Scrutiny Committee annually in order to report on their work on the Island so that the partnership with the Council can be scrutinised;

·           That the Statement of Accounts be attached to the Annual Report by Medrwn Môn.