15 countries in Oceania sign up with Northwest

THE NWDA is pleased to announce 15 Pacific Island countries from Oceania will use the Northwest as its training base in the 4 year period building up to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Dr Robin Mitchell, Secretary General of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC); Mr Vidhya Lakhan, President of the Fijian National Olympic Committee and Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday between Oceania and England’s Northwest.  They will be joined by Olympic Triple Jump gold medallist and LOCOG Board Member, Jonathan Edwards, who is a Board member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the vice chairman of their Nations and Regions Group.

The MOU is a commitment for the Pacific Islands of Oceania and the Northwest to work together exclusively on using the region as the Training base for Oceania National Olympic Committees in the build up to London 2012 and hopefully beyond looking to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The NWDA and its partners will now work with ONOC with a view to developing the agreement to start roll out early in 2009.

Dr Mitchell said:- “On behalf of all 15 Olympic Committees we are delighted to have made this long-term commitment between the Northwest region and Oceania which will benefit both parties.  Having visited the Northwest myself and seen the wonderful sports and educational facilities I know Oceania’s athletes and coaches will have the best possible preparation for London 2012.  I look forward to continuing our work with the NWDA and other partners over the coming years.”

Peter Mearns said:- “To include so many countries in one agreement makes this a unique understanding.  It also provides an opportunity for the whole of the Northwest to be inspired by the 2012 Games as every sub region has contributed to the development of this agreement.  The Northwest has the world class sports facilities and infrastructure to host these athletes and our clubs and coaches will be important in helping to welcome these athletes and support their preparations for London 2012.  I am delighted that Oceania have signed up with the Northwest and I look forward to working with them over the next four years and beyond.”

Jonathan Edwards said:- “It’s great to see teams developing plans to come and train in the Northwest.  Some of the athletes from the teams represented here today may not have had the opportunity to travel to the host country for a preparation camp before, and I hope that the financial awards that LOCOG is offering has helped to encourage these teams to train in the UK.  LOCOG is committed to ensuring that athletes are at the heart of our Games and these plans for Pacific island competitors to train with local athletes provide a terrific opportunity for both London 2012 participants and the region’s local athletes alike.

Wherever they train, I am sure they will receive a warm welcome and will thoroughly enjoy the experience – I know that they enjoyed the fantastic atmosphere when competing in the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 and it’s fantastic that some of the knock-on benefits of those Games are delivering a tangible legacy – with the Northwest set to benefit from London hosting the Games in 2012.”

The MoU sets out an agreement to develop wide ranging links.  These include:-

- Pre London 2012 preparation and holding camps.

- Oceania athletes and support staff training in the Northwest full or part time on education programmes or work placements, linking into club, coaching and competition structures in the region.  A number of Universities in the Northwest have been actively involved in discussions to date for example.

- Working together on a range of sports development initiatives back in Oceania to help grow sport and create a genuine sustainable legacy for sport in Oceania from the relationship.

- To develop wider educational and cultural exchanges between Oceania and the Northwest, linking to the values of the London 2012 Education programme and the Cultural Olympiad.

Following signing of the agreement the delegation from Oceania, which also includes Mr Dennis Miller from Oceania National Olympic Committees, will visit a number of the potential sites that may be used by their athletes including Edge Hill University and Wavertree Sports Centre.  Representatives from Oceania have previously visited sites across the Northwest including Preston Sports Arena, Cumberland Arena in Crewe, Leigh Sports Village and Robin Park Arena in Wigan.  The delegation arrived on Thursday and will stay in the region until Sunday.

Andy Worthington, Chair of the Northwest Steering Group for the 2012 Games, said:- “This agreement symbolises what the Olympic Movement stands for and provides an opportunity to develop a long lasting relationship through sport with countries on the other side of the world, while inspiring communities across the Northwest.  We are excited to be working with the Oceania countries and look forward to working with them to help them achieve their goals for London 2012.”

CHOICE OR CHORE FOR CARERS?

LOCAL councils are being urged to provide better support to carers managing direct payments, rather than saddling them with the burden of unnecessary administration and worry in the Government's drive towards personalisation of care services. 

Research launched on Thursday, 13 November 2008, by Carers UK – the campaigning, policy and information organisation of and for carers – shows the scheme, introduced in 1997, has been very successful for many families, but highlights a number of concerns.  Direct payments, part of the Government's 'Personalisation Agenda' - a major programme to change the way social care is delivered to disabled people, older people and carers – gives cash directly to families to pay for their own care arrangements.  But the cash brings new responsibilities, such as organising payroll and these often fall to the carer. 

53% of those carers questioned reported their overall experience of the scheme was positive, with 73% stating that the care they are able to purchase is better at meeting their family's needs than the previous service.  One carer said:- "Before we had direct payments I had no life.  I was a dog's body and I was invisible.  Now 6 years down the line we have 7 personal assistants and we all have a wonderful life."

However, nearly 1 in 10 reported a negative experience of the scheme.  Key for many was the lack of support available to help them manage the money, causing added stress, worry and feelings of being overwhelmed.  Indeed, a worrying 21% say they have less free time since taking on a direct payment because of the time needed every week to deal with insurance, tax, NI, training and all the other aspects of employing someone.  Another respondent to the survey told us "Direct payments just gave me more work.  I'm doing Social Services job for them.  Life is hard enough as it is without added responsibility and work."

Carers UK's research highlights how the success of direct payments is heavily reliant on local authorities and their ability to support carers.  Indeed, local councils can 'make or break' direct payments, according to the charity.  The amount of paperwork involved can be highly 'off-putting' for carers and 79% of those surveyed have no contingency plans in place should something go wrong.  In addition, in some areas there simply aren't suitable services available for carers to purchase with direct payments. 

Imelda Redmond, Chief Executive of Carers UK, says:- "Our survey shows direct payments have enormous potential to improve carers' lives, offering more freedom, control and choice. 

However, for the scheme to truly work, carers need adequate support to ensure direct payments do not simply become an additional administrative burden, on top of the existing 'workload' of their caring responsibilities.  Our survey demonstrates that for some families, becoming a 'small business can be overwhelming.  Without support, problems arise and instead of transforming lives, direct payments can cause added stress, work and make the situation worse.

However, ultimately we believe that direct payments can work, but local authorities have a duty to provide carers with the
right support, to ensure it is truly a choice, not a chore, for carers."

To download a copy of the new Carers UK report, Choice or Chore, including the full results, visit www.carersuk.org.

 Media Question Time 2008 - Results

OUR first Media Question Time was held on Wednesday, 12 November 2008, at the Latin Lounge on Post Office Ave.

Despite the huge interest and lots of phone calls to the Latin Lounge and to us, the turn out was not as big as we expected it to be, but it was still a good start.

Also affecting the night was the cornering off of part of the road, after a ram raid happened at the Lloyds TSB, just a few hours before the start of the event.

Many questions were posed, mainly about how to get into the media and also about the radio coverage of events.  Audio highlights will be added to our Liverpool Reporter site on Monday next week and to our dedicated page you can view by clicking here.

We are now looking at running another event next year. We would like to thank all who attended and also to the panel; without their help, we could not have held it.  We would also like to thank the Latin Lounge for their assistance.

If you have any venues that you think it should be held in or any ideas as to who you want to quiz, please let us know ASAP to news24@southportreporter.com.