§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps have been taken by the South Sefton Partnership to build a stronger community by helping local people(a) to be involved in planning and decision-making at local level and (b) supporting community initiatives. [128881]
§ Yvette CooperThis is one of Sefton Partnership's four key objectives. The Partnership has recently prepared a small booklet "South Sefton Partnership—The Story So Far" which aims to illustrate steps taken to date on these four key objectives.
The steps taken in respect of this objective are as follows:
Supporting the creation of the 13 Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAG) in South Sefton to co-ordinate regeneration activity at local level.Creating and funding 12-month Making it Real capacity-building project to help the NAGs complete neighbourhood audits and develop local action plans.Creating the NAG Support Team and the NAG Development Fund to support the on-going work of the NAGs at neighbourhood level.727WFunding a consultation exercise, run by Venus, to identify ways that young people can be actively involved in the regeneration process.Funding the Neighbourhood Skills Works project to provide NAG members with the skilled required to play an active role in local regeneration activities.Funding the Volunteer Support Project in Netherton and Litherland which aims to help groups provide a high-quality youth services through training and supporting volunteer workers.Launching the South Sefton Key Fund, a project to provide groups with easy access to grants of up to £10,000 to support community projects in South Sefton.