Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Suite, King's Court, Chapel Street, King's Lynn. View directions

Contact: Rebecca Parker 01553 616632 

Items
No. Item

13.

Apologies for Absence

To note any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Helen SismoreGuidedogs, Eddie Burnham West – MIND, June Leamon – West Norfolk Patient Partnership, Kathy Warner - Phobbies, Tess Gilder – Park House, Councillors Miss S Sandell and S Young.

14.

Minutes from the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 94 KB

To confirm as a correct record the minutes from the previous meeting.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 January 2016 were agreed as a correct record.

15.

Matters Arising and not covered elsewhere on the agenda

Minutes:

Allison Bingham informed the Forum that she had requested that the Annual General Meeting in July be held at the Town Hall and if it worked well, suggested holding all further meetings of the forum there instead of King's Court.

 

16.

Channel Shift Update

Minutes:

The Assistant Director presented a PowerPoint to the forum giving an update on Channel Shift (Appendix A).

 

The IT Web Team Manager then gave a demonstration of the Borough Council's new website which was due to go live in June 2016.

 

Councillor Chenery of Horsbrugh asked about the people without access to the internet or wifi. The IT Web Team Manager explained that the face to face service would still be available, however the new website just allowed them to provide the best service across all digital platforms.

 

In response to a question from Pat French, the Web Team Manager explained that there was a browse allowed icon which brought up a toolbar when clicked and allowed you to highlight text on the screen which was then read out loud to you.

 

Polly Norman asked about those who needed 1-1 help and how long they would be expected to wait for it. The Assistant Director explained that there were still visiting officers available and that it would take about a week for someone to come and see them.

 

Councillor Bambridge mentioned the register/ sign up section on the website and queried whether you would have to sign in each time you wanted to use it. In response to this the Assistant Director informed the forum that this feature linked in with the new One Vue system which would be going live along with the website. She explained that it was a customer portal so when each customer logged in, they would be able to access all their personalised information such as how much council tax they paid.

 

Councillor Squire commented that she liked the new website and it looked a lot better and easier to use than the old one.

 

Councillor Chenery of Horsbrugh mentioned that he thought the use of simple language was good. The IT Web Team Manager explained that they had stripped everything back and it had all been completely re-written by colleagues who hade attended a Plain English Training Course.

 

David Norman asked how secure people's personal information would be. The Web Team Manager informed the forum that they had a HTCPS secure connection so that nobody else would be able to get into their session and everything would be encrypted. He also informed the forum that they had a Microsoft Azzura defence level which was also used for Official security documents so it would be very secure.

17.

King's Lynn Area Consultative Committee Representatives

Minutes:

The Secretary explained to the forum that the Kings Lynn Areas Consultative Committee would like to invite some non-Council members of the forum to attend a future meeting on 12th July 2016 at 6:00pm. The following volunteered to attend: Allison Bingham, Pat French, Genene Henshaw and Jackie Northern Jones.

18.

Bus Station Update

Minutes:

The Secretary read out the following email from the Acting Regeneration Programme Manager giving an update on the Bus Station:

 

A Survey was undertaken in the week commencing 14th March 2016 and a report was currently being drafted. Early indications shown that the large majority of users were satisfied with the work undertaken, however there were some comments relating to the absence of permanent staff in the information office and the need for more timetables available. All comments and the full report once written would be considered by both the project team as well as the project board.

 

They were also expecting the connection of the display units in stands G & H to be completed in the coming weeks, there had been issues around this which were now resolved.

 

Councillor Bambridge commented that she thought the bus station was fine but the taxi station was too dark and some of the lights were out. She also suggested getting a fence to seperate the taxi rank from the normal parking area.

 

Allison Bingham explained that there were plans to put in some new lights about 28th April - May time after a risk assessment had been completed.

 

Genene Henshaw commented on the lack of difference in colours and explained that when she went to the toilets she found it hard to notice the difference in colour with the doors and walls.

 

Polly Norman also commented on the toilets explaining that she found the disabled toilet very heavy and stiff so she had to get her husband to open it each time she used it.

 

Allison Bingham agreed to speak to Laura Hampshire, the Regeneration Officer about these issues.

19.

Events Update

Minutes:

The Chairman invited Allison Bingham to provide an update on upcoming events.

 

(i) Opportunity Awards

 

Allison Bingham informed the Forum that this year's Opportunity Awards would be held on 22nd June 2016 at 6:30pm at the Town Hall and the judging of nominations would start on 23rd May.

 

She mentioned that the Local Paper had agreed to include a nomination form in their paper and you could also get forms from the Members Bulletin, the Borough Councils website or a hard copy as requested.

 

Sharon Clifton, Communications Manager would be tweeting about the event closer to the time and there would also be a live feed on the night set up to announce the winners. She commented that the deadline for the nomination forms would be 18th May and the following week they would be judged.

 

 

(ii) Winter Warmer/ Celebrate Ability

 

Allison Bingham explained that they had been having some problems finding a venue due to village hall access and parking issues.

 

Polly Norman suggested the Deaf Association venue along Railway Road as it had good accessibility.

 

 

20.

To consider ways of engaging with disability organisations currently not represented on the forum who are operating within our area

Minutes:

The Chairman suggested holding a modest reception after the Opportunity Awards to try and get others to join. He informed the forum that he had asked Tess Gilder how much it would be to hold the event in the conservatory at Park House. For the catering and a tour of the house it would be £3.75 per person.

 

Councillor Fraser suggested getting someone from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to join. Councillor Horsbrugh suggested the Chief Executive Dorothy Hussein.

 

Councillor Bambridge mentioned that she couldn't find reference to the West Norfolk Disability Forum when she typed it into the search bar on the website. She said she also couldn't find it in the A-Z list. Allison Bingham agreed to look into this.

 

The Chairman suggested making a list of people to contact after the Annual General Meeting in July for the tea afternoon at Park House and asked those present which day of the week they thought would produce the best turnout.

 

Councillor Fraser suggested holding it one Thursday afternoon between 2:30pm - 5pm. In response to this the Chairman suggested 15th September 2016 as it was after the Annual General Meeting but before the next meeting.  

21.

Secretary's Correspondence

Minutes:

(i) A Boards

 

The Secretary read out the following email from the Town Centre Manager giving an update on A Boards:

 

'We were unable to produce a fair and robust scheme that would have been acceptable to all parties. Therefore it still remained the sole responsibility of County Highways to deal with A Boards on the highway'.

 

Councillor Bambridge commented that they would have to make sure they contacted County Highways about the issues. Councillor Horsbrugh suggested contacting Karl Rands who was head of Highways at County.

 

(ii) Toning Tables

 

The Secretary read out the following email from the Corporate Sales and Fitness Manager giving an update on the Toning Tables at Alive Leisure Lynnsport:

 

'As a result of a toning and fitness customer usage survey and facility review undertaken in August 2015, two exciting new developments have now been undertaken at Alive Lynnsport;

 

1. The Wembley Room has been redeveloped in order to provide an accessible space for the Toning Chairs

 

The Benefits to Toning users are;

 

·         New dedicated area that provides a more personal, social space

·         Closer to the toilets

·         Closer to the Bar and Cafe Area, so offering better social options, post workout

·         Better control of the temperature, (during the survey the cold air conditioning was the number ! negative comment)

·         No disruption from other gym users or through traffic

·         Quieter environment

 

2. The Toning Chairs have been replaced in the main fitness area with 360 synergy functional space with associated functional accessories

 

The Benefits of this new space are;

 

·         More inclusive exercise options

·         Increased space for peak time usage in the main studio

·         Responding to customer feedback with regards to wanting more functional space and more cable columns (wheelchair friendly machines)

·         Added value for existing customers

·         Small group fitness classes for member motivation

 

We are very proud of the work we have done and continue to remove barriers to exercise within our facilities. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any disruption caused to our users during the redevelopment works and we want to continue to work with our inclusive users to ensure that we are always looking for ways to make visits to our facilities more accessible and enjoyable.'

 

 

 

22.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 50 KB

To consider the attached Work Programme.

Minutes:

(i) Mobility Scooter Event

 

Allison Bingham suggested adding the Mobility Scooter event to the work programme. It was agreed by the forum that this would be added.

23.

Any other Business

Minutes:

(i) Representation on the Forum

 

Councillor Horsbrugh nominated David Norman to join the forum which was agreed.

 

(ii) Emergency 111 Dial

 

Polly Norman mentioned an incident when she had called the emergency dial 111 and gave them her postcode. She was sent to the Peterborough hospital instead of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.  Councillor Horsbrugh commented that he thought this issue needed to be resolved so people were directed to the right hospital.

24.

Date of the next Meeting

The next meeting of the West Norfolk Disability Forum was the Annual General Meetings and would be held on 27th July 2016 at 2.30pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the West Norfolk Disability Forum was scheduled to be the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 20th July 2016 at 2.30pm at the Town Hall.