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Long standing plans to support improvements to health and care in Sefton have reached an important milestone with the establishment of Sefton Partnership – a collaboration between the NHS, Sefton Council, Sefton CVS, Healthwatch and other local organisations.

On 1 July, Sefton Partnership was formally established for the borough, as one of nine local area partnerships within the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. These partnerships will lead on shaping health and care in their areas, and for Sefton means a continuation of long standing work to bring health and care closer together, to improve and shape services around the needs of local people.

Deborah Butcher, place director for Sefton Partnership, said: “It’s the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for health and care. We will enhance and accelerate the ambition for Sefton Partnership, whilst ensuring we continue what the NHS, the Council and other local partners have been working to deliver for some time. The new changes brought about by legislation will give us the mandate to remove some of the barriers between organisations, to help them provide a more seamless service, focused on the individual, to better provide for their health and care needs.’

After nearly a decade of proudly supporting, coordinating and commissioning care for the health needs of Sefton, NHS Southport and Formby and NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) will be replaced by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, which is the new statutory NHS organisation.

The CCGs’ services and staff will transfer to NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, though they will continue their work on improving outcomes for Sefton residents by supporting the work of Sefton Partnership in the borough. The CCG’s websites and social media accounts will be reshaped to support Sefton Partnership. A new management structure, drawing from the expertise and talents at the CCG and Sefton Council, is being established for the Partnership and plans for how it will support the needs of the borough are being finalised.

Fiona Taylor, chief officer of the CCGs, said “I’m immensely proud of the achievements that the CCGs and partners have made over the last nine years. Not only have they enabled progress towards improving the health and wellbeing of people in the borough, they have helped to lay firm foundations for collaborative working and high standards of care that Sefton Partnership can build upon.’ 

‘I’ve been working closely with the place director Deborah Butcher, to facilicate an effective transfer and help Sefton Partnership hit the ground running. I wish Deborah and my colleagues in the NHS, Sefton Council and our partner organisations all the very best, as they take health and care in Sefton into this new era.”

Deborah Butcher, place director for Sefton Partnership, said: ‘On behalf of everyone in Sefton Partnership, I’d like to thank Fiona for her dedication to Sefton, her contribution to improving health care, for all that she and her team have achieved and for her tireless dedication to improving the lives of people in the borough.”

Dwayne Johnson, Chief Executive of Sefton Council, said:

“We are all sad to see Fiona leave but we will all remember her passion and commitment to residents of Sefton. Fiona has been a loyal and dedicated NHS employee and worked in partnership with the Council for a very long time. We will miss her positive personality and her open and honest approach, but wish her every success in her future.”

For more information follow us on Twitter @SeftonPartners or go to:

www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/your-place/sefton

The adult learning centre on Cambridge Road in Waterloo has reopened following substantial renovations. The centre offers courses for adults to learn something new and develop their skills.

The centre has been improved with new facilities, including woodworking tables and an immersive room. This is in addition to the redecoration which has give the centre a fresh, new look while maintaining important pieces of the centre’s history. Those in attendance of the opening included MP for Bootle Peter Dowd and Cllr Ian Maher, who gave speeches discussing how far the centre has come and its importance for the community.

Several of the school’s former attendees were present at the opening. Terry Liggett, a pupil of the years 1966 – 1971, said “I saw the what it was before the repairs were carried out and it’s quite amazing to see what’s happened. It’s an opportunity for new generations to come back and enjoy their learning process. I think it’s fantastic, and great for the community.”

More information on courses available can be found here

With support from local schools, Sefton Council will again assist eligible families with free school meal vouchers during the long summer holiday.

In addition to the rollout of vouchers, worth £15 per child per week, the Council is encouraging as many residents as possible to find out from their child’s school if they are eligible so than claim the support, which can be used to buy food in supermarkets and online.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: “With local families struggling to cope with the spiralling cost-of-living, I am pleased that Sefton Council, with support from schools to distribute, has again been able to continue providing these holiday vouchers.

“This additional £15 per week for each eligible child will help families manage over this difficult period but if people are experiencing severe hardship, a disaster or emergency over the long summer break, or at any other time.

“Details of our Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme can be found at the ELAS webpage.”

Sefton Families that don’t receive free school meals at the moment but think they might qualify should contact their child’s school or visit the Free School Meals webpage.

The vouchers, which the Council is providing through its Household Support Grant funding allocation from the Department of Work and Pensions, are for buying food and essentials only. They cannot be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, phone top-ups or stamps.

Cllr Hardy added: “In addition to the school meals vouchers, we have now paid out over £12.5 million of the one-off, £150 Council Tax Energy rebate payments to the almost 83,500 eligible Council Tax Band A to D households, which will also provide them with some help.

“And, over 20,600 households have responded to the letter we sent them by using the secure code to provide their details and register to receive the payment.

“I would urge anyone who has received the letter to register today, and if they have any concerns about the process to visit the Council Tax Energy Rebate webpage where they can find out more.”

Sefton Council confirms it is on track to be net zero carbon by 2030 after it submitted its Climate Emergency Annual Report to cabinet, confirming a 13% reduction in total emissions from the baseline, rising to 28% once projects started this year are complete.

The fall was partly driven by staff continuing to work in an agile way. Staff emissions generated at home are included in our calculations but staff related emissions are significantly lower as fewer staff commute in to offices.

Additionally, the street lighting LED replacement project has already saved a whopping 812 thousand kwh electricity…. Which is enough to power 262 homes for a year!

Some projects started this year will soon start to result in carbon savings including a 59tCO2 saving from the retrofit of Southport and Bootle town halls and the green electricity contract due to start in April 2023, which alongside the project above will result in a 55% carbon saving from the baseline.

The 2030 target, which was set out in Sefton Council’s Climate Emergency declaration in 2019, is ambitious but critical to preventing further damage to the climate. All Council decision making reports now have to consider climate implications and training has been developed for all staff to ensure that all areas of the Council are on board with this ambitious but necessary work.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory and Corporate Services said:

“I am delighted to see that we continue to make progress towards our 2030 net zero target. It is testament to the hard work of everyone at the Council to have seen so many projects in the pipeline that contributes to the reduction in our carbon footprint and it’s great to see we are still on track to reach that critical date of net zero carbon by 2030.

“We have continued to take positive from the pandemic in terms of the way we work and ensuring our impact on our climate is as small as we can make it.

“A 28% reduction in emissions when this year’s projects have been completed is so encouraging and I hope we can keep up the momentum as we move into 2023 and start to be powered by green electricity.”

You can find further information on Sefton’s Climate Emergency progress at Sefton Council’s website