Performance Reward Grant Scheme
To consider whether the Area Board wishes to support any expressions of interest received in relation to this scheme.
To include a short presentation from Cheryle Davies on the Community Payback scheme.
Minutes:
The Chairman invited Tracy Geiran to give a presentation on the Community Payback scheme.
Tracy explained that the scheme related to the Unpaid Work Requirement which was available to Courts as a sentence or part of a sentence. This was promoted by the National Probation Service (NPS) as community payback to emphasise the fact that offenders were making amends to the community for their crimes. Offenders subject to the scheme were required to work between 6 and 18 hours a week, and were allocated to a project depending on suitability, risk, availability and diversity issues.
Experienced supervisors closely monitored the work of the offenders, who would wear orange high-visibility vests for health and safety reasons and to raise public awareness of the scheme.
In addition to the obvious community benefits of projects such as graffiti/litter removal, and footpath clearance, other positive outcomes included offenders learning new skills and potentially gaining qualifications as a result of their work under the scheme. This could increase the employability of the offenders and reduce the risk of reoffending.
Examples of projects undertaken as part of the scheme included:
· Installation of a pond and vegetable patch at Nythe School;
· Improvements to footpaths in conjunction with the Wiltshire Council Rights of Way team; and
· Rebuilding a dry-stone wall.
Obstacles for the scheme included the inaccessibility of rural locations for projects with lack of basic facilities and tools. As such the project had submitted a bid to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme for £73,000 towards three utilities trailers which would provide the teams with mobile access to hot water, toilets and refreshments during the day, enabling teams to be more self-sufficient and able to undertake work in more isolated rural areas. The investment would also be used to purchase high pressure cleaners for the removal of graffiti and chewing gum.
The Chairman thanked Tracy for the presentation and commented that further information, including details of how to suggest a project, was available in leaflets on the tables.
General support was expressed for the project, which was considered to be a innovative measure towards breaking the cycle of offending, in addition to the obvious community benefits. It was noted that the scheme was county-wide, and as such the support for all 18 Area Boards was being sought for the bid.
Decision
The bid from Community Payback was supported for submission to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme Panel.