Sutherland District Health and Social Care Partnership Meeting

The next meeting of the Sutherland District Partnership will take place next Friday (20 November 2015) at the Ben Mhor Assynt Meeting Room, Highland Council Offices, Drummuie, Golspie.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will start at 10am and run till 1pm.

The agenda will cover: Localism and Empowering Communities; Early Years and Young People; Older Adults and Community Safety.

Discussions will be held on:

• Cost for transport for schools sporting competitions
• Engagement with Young People – Vocational Development Opportunities, Employability Group update
• Safe Highlander Programme for Sutherland and
• Training for Childminders.

This will be followed by discussions on:

• Power of Attorney
• Fuel Poverty Task Group
• Community Development Fund – Key themes
• CLD Plan
• New Futures Sutherland exit strategy
• NHS Strategic Plan
• North Coast Medical Cover, redesign
• Sutherland Older People Improvement Plan
• Reaching High Event for Sutherland
• Cold Calling.

Community Safety updates will be given on the Scottish Ambulance Service by Steven Gorman,  SAS Area Manager; Police Scotland by Inspector Jamie Wilson; and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service by Ricky Dibble SFRS Station Manager.

Leader of the Caithness and Sutherland Area Cllr Deirdre Mackay said: “One of the things we will be discussing at the partnership meeting will be ‘Engagement with Young People’. Our Head Teachers are keen to develop vocational opportunities for our young people. This will help our young folks that want to continue to live and work in Sutherland. Not everyone wants to leave their home area. We are looking at our school leavers’ aspirations and what they would like to do in life, but we also need to understand the current and future needs of our local employers. We can then tailor the school curriculum to meet local employers’ employability requirements.”

“I will also be giving an update on the recent Fuel Poverty Task Group which was set up in response to the situation in Sutherland. I will be raising the range of actions identified by the Task Group across all partners and setting out the next steps with a specific focus on supporting young, elderly and vulnerable people.”

Members of the public are welcome to attend and will have the opportunity to take part in a question and answer session at the end of the meeting.

Further information about the District Partnership is on the Council’s website: http://www.highland.gov.uk/info/1347/social_care_and_health/388/district_partnerships/7