INVERLEITH & FORTH VOLUNTARY SECTOR FORUM
North Edinburgh Arts Centre
6th August 2014
10-12am
WELCOME AND APOLOGIES
Morag Wilson - http://steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk/ (MW)
Jen Richards - http://www.pchp.org.uk/ - (JR)
Kate Wimpress - http://www.northedinburgharts.co.uk/ (KW)
Angela Dias - http://www.nwcarers.org.uk/ (AD)
Steph Guerin - http://www.freshstartweb.org.uk/(SG)
Dorothy Maclauchlan - http://www.lifecare-edinburgh.org.uk/(DM)
Helen Tait - http://www.pepequalities.co.uk/ (HT)
Elaine Lennon - http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbourhood-partnerships/inverleith/ (EL)
Jim Pattison - http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbourhood-partnerships/forth/ (JP)
APOLOGIES
Kevin Ross - Granton Youth Centre
Kirsty Sutherland – Pilton Community Gardeners
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The minutes were approved.
MATTERS ARISING
Community Transport
HT wanted to put some context to the comments made at the last meeting with regard to
Community Transport.
Having not been at the previous meeting HT asked for further clarification on the issues noted in
the minutes around community transport. As the (CEC) designated community transport
operator for the northern quadrant of the city, HT expressed her concerns that these issues had
not been brought to her attention or discussed in a professional manner. HT addressed the issues
raised as follows:
 Is transport available to the community? – PEP has 90 affiliated community groups. It is
not always possible to accommodate every request with only 10 minibuses available for
hire however we do our utmost to please were we can. (Early bookings are advisable)
 Should it be called community transport? - Community Transport is the term used to
describe passenger transport schemes which are owned and operated by local
community groups. Services are provided on a not-for-profit basis.
 Where are we in terms of the Community Transport Review? – Stage One of the Review
has come to a conclusion and pointed out opportunities for both savings and service
delivery. In progressing Stage 2 the Council is keen to build on the approach taken in
Stage 1 working closely with service providers and EVOC

Transport Contracts from elsewhere – PEP only has contracts with local community
groups using our service on a daily basis
Further Background Information:
It is noted that North West Carers also quoted ‘due to high booking fees we had to cancel’.
PEP receive a minimal grant to provide 5,200 passenger journeys per annum. PEP actually
provides overall approx. 40,000 passenger journeys per annum. We therefore are responsible
for ongoing fund raising through our bus appeal to cover running costs & maintenance costs
etc and fleet renewal.
 10 weekly safety checks throughout the year
 2 x 6 monthly safety checks on tail lifts
 Weight checks yearly
 Tyres Yearly MOT’s
 Insurance Volunteer Expenses (Drivers & Escorts)
Expenditure on keeping the fleet on the road is high and I therefore suggest the hire fee of £40 is
a not for profit figure. Should you wish to discuss this further then PEP is pleased to continue to
listen to groups with an aim to continual improvement of services where applicable.
NP Response to last minutes
JD informed the Forum that she had received a response from Scott Donkin, Forth & Inverleith
PIM, to the minutes circulated from the last meeting. JD expressed her appreciation of Scott’s
response and felt that this needed to be discussed under Any Other Business. JD circulated hard
copy of the email to all attending.
WELFARE REFORM PRESENTATION – ALAN SINCLAIR – WELFARE REFORM MANAGER – CEC
KW Introduced Alan Sinclair and thanked him for his attendance at the meeting. Alan informed
the meeting as follows:
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) can be paid for 3-6 months.
With the introduction of Welfare Reform it became clear housing policy needed reviewed. It was
also recognised that there was not enough in the budget to mitigate the full impact of Welfare
Reform and in particular the Bedroom Tax. JD has added the following to the minutes for
everyone’s information:

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be provided by councils to claimants who are
entitled to housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit, where they need
further financial assistance towards their housing costs.

Councils are responsible for administering DHPs and they have relatively wide discretion
as to how they are distributed. DHPs can be used to help claimants in a variety of ways,
including paying a shortfall in benefit where a tenant is affected by the removal of the
spare room subsidy (referred to as “the bedroom tax”).

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides councils with funding for DHPs.
Up until 2011, GB funding was £20m a year, but has since been substantially increased to
help councils mitigate the impact of recent welfare reforms. GB wide, DWP funding in
2013-2014 is £180m and planned funding in 2014-15 is £165m.

Legislation limits the expenditure on DHPs to 2.5 times the DWP allocation. This allows
councils to “top-up” their allocations by up to 1.5 times from their own funds.

The Scottish Government has provided £20m to councils in 2013-14 to allow them to top
up to just below the maximum permitted by legislation, and by £22.8m in 2014-15 to
allow councils to top up to the maximum permitted by legislation.

In 2013-14, total Scottish DHP funding is £36.3m which may increase slightly when the
DWP makes decisions on all bids received from councils for a share of “reserve” funding it
has made available. Total Scottish funding in 2014-15 is £38m.

The Scottish Government has written to the DWP asking for the legislative cap on DHP
expenditure to be lifted to allow them to provide an additional £12m DHP funding. If the
DWP does not lift the cap, the Scottish Government has committed to use £12m in other
ways to ensure that tenants in arrears, solely because of the bedroom tax, are not
evicted.

Councils have been dealing with substantial increases in applications for DHPs which has
caused additional administrative costs. Much of the additional demand for DHPs has
come from tenants affected by the bedroom tax, although some councils have indicated
that there is still a substantial group of tenants affected by the bedroom tax, and who
may be building up arrears, who have not applied for a DHP.

The level of discretion available to councils has led to some concern that a “postcode
lottery” is developing. The UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee recommended that
complete discretion “…should be replaced by a standard entitlement structure, to apply
across the whole of the United Kingdom, above which local authorities would be free to
move, taking account of local circumstances.”

Concern has also been expressed about the longer term future for DHPs. Although the UK
Government has indicated that there will be £40m within the DHP allocations in 2015-16
to help mitigate the bedroom tax it is not clear what will happen to funding beyond this
point.
Alan expressed his surprise and concern at the lack of engagement from housing tenants in
particular when applying for DHP. However there may be a few factors to why this is:
I.
II.
CEC has worked with tenants over the years to try to ensure tenants are not evicted for
rent arrears and as long as a tenant can be shown to be trying to alleviate the issue there
will be no eviction.
People are also aware the Scottish Government have stated that in the event of gaining
Independence that they will abolish the Bedroom Tax. This may convince people that it
doesn’t matter, however, if there are rent arrears people can still be evicted. Things
improving but very frustrating. Money is there to be used to mitigate the impact of
Welfare Reform but people not applying. The process is fairly straightforward through
the team within revenues & benefits dealing with it. Scottish Government has given more
money but TENANT MUST APPLY FOR IT.
Welfare Reform Teams have been set up to identify customers. This work has included going
round houses and chapping on doors. However, for every 20 doors, 1 person answered.
CEC SLAB funding to ensure advice is out there for people. Many organisations got money to
provide extra resource and information and support services. CABs in particular are now
operating 5 days a week. By April 2014 DWP expected 1 million to be on UC only 5500 so far. No
IT system that can cope with it. Scaling it up nationally is a huge challenge. The principle of
Universal Credit is fine but reality very different. The Forth and Inverleith area seems to tap into
CAB & the Granton Information Centre.
The Scottish Welfare Fund was the Social Fund. Scottish Government took the view to have
Scottish system administered by Local Authorities who all work under the same set of rules, unlike
LA’s in England who all have their own rules and systems. There are three levels:
Low/Medium/High. Initially the focus was on identifying and awarding payments to High level of
need but it became obvious that the budget wasn't being spent. Therefore a decision was made
to change priorities down to medium & low need however, due to the issues mentioned there are
still funds available. The Welfare Team have promoted this fund as much as possible and are
doing their utmost to ensure applications are processed as soon as possible, claims over the
phone can result in a decision there & then. Set up partnership with Bethany whereby a person
is assessed and directed to Bethany to choose what they need, CEC then pay Bethany for any
goods received. This contract with Bethany ended in March. Once a new provider has been
decided upon Alan shall inform JD who shall inform the Forum.
Strong partnership working has been achieved which has included; Job centre plus, which has
worked really well and has resulted in joint bids for funding etc. NHS Lothian is an important
partnership. Many people would rather approach their GP than the Council. Employability
projects are also involved, the Government are focussing on what people can do rather than what
they can't.
An impact study was carried out by a Housing Association which showed 90% wanted payments
to be made direct to landlords. 30-50% could not manage payment of rent on their own DWP has
never dealt with rent side of things. Findings showed that 90%+ paid their rent.
PIP
Taking over from DLA taking too long for people to be assessed.
DHP
The Welfare Team and others continuing to promote it & encourage take up. Tenants need to
apply and CEC doing everything they can to ensure all who qualify are taking it up.
Alan will pass on info on how to apply etc to be circulated to forum members
UC is a huge task, principal is good but practically it's very, very difficult. New claimants are not
being put on UC at the moment.
KW thanked Alan for his extremely helpful and informative presentation and discussion. Alan can
be contacted direct by email: Alan.Sinclair@edinburgh.gov.uk
ELAINE LENNON & JIM PATTISON SfC – LOCAL COMMUNITY PLAN DRAFT PRIOROTIES FOR
FORTH AND INVERLEITH NEIGHBIURHOOD PARTNERSHIP
LCP Draft Priorities identified through consultation:
Inverleith
Consultation was carried out over the last year. Consultation and engagement with the
community was carried out through various events, which included Community Council meetings,
health event, open days & online surveys. Findings were collated and things raised that were not
about partnership were removed and priorities were considered that could be tackled through
partnership working.
Once priorities are approved the next step is to decide how to take things forward, which shall
include looking at the Priority Groups (Subgroups) and deciding if this is the most effective
structure moving forward.
Identified Priorities:




Increase Opportunities for All Ages to Participate in Physical Activity
Encourage Walking and Cycling to School
Positively Engage Young people
Encourage better community use of local green spaces
Forth
Forth Neighbourhood Partnership followed a very similar process which created an opportunity to
identify a few partnership opportunities to work with.
Identified Priorities:




Increase Opportunities for all to live healthy lifestyles
Improve employment opportunities – with a particular focus on young people
Positively engage and support young people
Improve the way we engage with and support our communities
JP informed the meeting that the draft priorities were circulated a few times to all known local
organisations. Jim and Elaine thought that the Forum would like to provide some feedback on the
draft priorities which was welcomed by the Forum. Good sessions were held with Pilton
Community Health Project, Youth Services and also NE Arts engaged. There didn’t seem to be a
lot of feedback from older people within the community. Jim informed Forum members that any
further comments and suggestions would be welcomed and advised that members could contact
Scott Donkin, Partnership and Information Manager to put these forward. Scott can be contacted
at: scott.donkin@edinburgh.gov.uk
This is an opportunity for Forum members to engage if they feel they haven’t already done so.
This was welcomed by the Forum members. Comments should be forwarded before 26th August
deadline . The priorities presented today are not final it's all part of process.
Jim and Elaine confirmed that working groups were suspended last year. Once agreement is
reached regarding the priorities, discussions shall take place on what is the best mechanisms to
put in place to achieve the priorities set out, this may be focus groups. At the moment, there are
no plans to reconvene the previous subgroups.
The meeting discussed the issues of communication (two-way) and the challenges we all face with
regards to this. JD informed the meeting that she is in the process of working with Saty Kaur,
Senior Partnership and Communications Officer, with a view to compiling a comprehensive
calendar of all NP meetings. This will allow JD to revisit the dates the local VSFs meet. It’s hoped
that a more efficient and effective cycle of meetings take place, which should enable the Forum to
meet the month before a NP meeting is taking place to allow time for any Agenda Items the
Forum would like added to the NP Meeting Agenda. This is in the hope that the two-way
communication channels can become more effective and efficient, ensuring some consistency
with information sharing. Some attendees made comment that the Health and Social Care
Subgroup was very good, however, others commented that there was divided opinion and some
did not find the group useful and after a strong start this group seemed to tail off. JP suggested
putting these ideas forward as a Forum or as individuals to the Neighbourhood Partnership Team.
KW thanked JP & EL for their information and attendance at the Forum.
INFORMATION EXCHANGE
Pilton Equalities Project - http://www.pepequalities.co.uk/
HT was delighted to inform the group that funds had been raised for 2 new minibuses through
funding streams and fundraising activities. The Forum members were delighted to hear this good
news.
PEP’s block contract will cease and will revert back to grants. Each grant needs to be under
£100,000 therefore HT has to find ways of integrating projects to reduce the number of grant
applications. HT felt that the health & social care group would have been very valuable at the
moment.
Freshstart - http://www.freshstartweb.org.uk/
SG informed the meeting that Freshstart are currently working in partnership with EVOC’s
Financial Inclusion Team offering one to one work on budgeting and income maximisation. More
classes are being run at Ferry Road Drive. Freshstart expect a decision regarding their Investor In
Volunteers award in October.
Lifecare - http://www.lifecare-edinburgh.org.uk/
DM informed the meeting that Lifecare continuing with day services for frail elderly people and
those suffering from dementia. Outreach care to the community is being developed. Fairly new
but continuing & developing. DM also informed the meeting with regards to the Almanor For
Merchants which provide grants of £500 pa for Edinburgh people who have modest means and
who are over 55. The application process is a simple one. KW asked if referrals could be made,
DM confirmed that yes they can. The hope is that the grant improves quality of life; referrals
could be made on behalf of volunteers and older people to help with heating bills. The office is
based on Hanover Street and has been operating since the 1600s doing a wide variety of things
and at the moment is working in partnership with Dunedin Canmore, sheltered housing at
Liberton. The amount is a standard one off payment of £500 per annum. More details can be
found here: http://www.mcoe.org.uk/our-charities.html
Pilton Community Health Project -http://www.pchp.org.uk/
JR informed the meeting that the summer programme is coming to an end. The Forum is still
running. A lot of time working with NHS integrated funding plan and an Action Plan has been
completed, can see clearly what everyone is doing. Members of the Forum expressed a real
interest in seeing the document, Jen shall circulate JR felt it was a very positive exercise and
experience. PCHP website under developmentNorth West Carers http://www.nwcarers.org.uk/
AD introduced herself and explained that she is new in post and is hoping that she can give a
more comprehensive update at the next Forum meeting and that she would appreciate the
opportunity to meet one to one with people.
Stepping Stones - http://steppingstonesnorthedinburgh.co.uk
MW informed the meeting that Stepping Stones were very successful gaining funding for summer
events. A Family Fun Day was organised which included, free family swim at Edinburgh Leisure
and Face painting amongst other activities. Edinburgh Leisure kindly allowed use of their venue at
Ainslie Park for free. Funding has also been received for the Stepping Stones Garden which shall
be used to purchase a shed & picnic table. The building has been redecorated on the outside and
new wood cladding & signage has been erected. Everything working as normal but very busy. Due
to demands on the service and as a way to address these demands, families are being asked to go
from 3 to 2 sessions per week.
North Edinburgh Arts- http://www.northedinburgharts.co.uk/
KW informed the meeting that the garden is now open, lovely accessible. Unfortunately the
greenhouse burnt down. Community support has been great with 160 people at the opening. The
response has been fantastic. The garden includes plots for growing. There is open access Tuesday
afternoons for people to come along to garden. NE Arts and Urban Union linked through art
strategy, with a view to reducing anti social behaviour etc. Programme working nicely. The café
has improved greatly however more volunteers are required. The café received a healthy eating
award. The opening hours are 10am-2pm. KW shall forward an electronic copy of the flyer asking
for volunteers and the wordpress site for the project. Kw asked the meeting if people had signed
up to refuse workfare placements, the majority had although it was pointed out that there are
some benefits to the Workfare process for people who genuinely want to get back into the job
market.
ELECTION PAPER FOR NEW CHAIR – DISCUSSION
KW suggested that this Agenda item be carried forward to the next meeting to ensure there was
time to read and respond to Scott Donkin’s email in response to the last minutes. All agreed.
A.O.B.
JD informed the meeting that she had received a response from Scott Donkin to the last set of the
Forum minutes. JD again reiterated that she welcomed and appreciated Scott’s responses. The
meeting attendees read through the comments and two members who attended the last meeting
confirmed that they were an accurate record of what was discussed. The members also wanted
to assure people that the meeting and discussion were conducted in a non-adversarial way. JD
felt that the discussions around the NP in particular were more about people’s feelings of
frustration and disappointment that the communication between NP and Forum was not as
strong and effective as it could be, this was confirmed by the members who attended the
previous meeting.
All members welcomed Scott’s response and also would welcome Scott’s attendance at the
Forum meetings.
The Forum decided that the email should be circulated to all members of the Forum and that
anyone who wishes to comment or respond to Scott would forward any comments to JD who
would compile a collective response, if any was required.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
5th November 2014 – 10-12 - Pilton Community Health Project.