New chair announced for Maternity Voices Partnership in Sefton and Ormskirk

NEW and soon to be parents and carers have a new champion to give their views and experiences of Maternity Services to for Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust. Abi Cattlin, 30, from Southport has been appointed as chair of the Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) in Southport, Ormskirk and Sefton to allow parents to give feedback about their experience. She takes over the role from outgoing chair Dani Gillet which will see her developing, leading and representing the partnership throughout the year. The mother of 2 who gave birth to both of her children at Ormskirk Hospital said that she wants to increase awareness of the MVP and grow engagement from families who are using or have used local Maternity Services in the last few years. The MVP is an NHS working group, a team of women and their families, commissioners and providers (midwives and doctors) working together to review and contribute to the development of local maternity care. Members include:- mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, NHS doctors and midwives, and members of local community groups who provide their services and support to expectant mums and new parents and babies.

She said:- "I'm passionate about providing a platform for ongoing feedback, ensuring that women and families are actively involved in development and improvement of their local Maternity Services. At the end of the day, women are the experts by experience and should have an equal role in the process of understanding local needs and developing innovative solutions to address them.''

Listening events are held on a monthly basis in a relaxed atmosphere to encourage people to discuss their experiences, which is invaluable in helping Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS South Sefton CCG to develop local Maternity Services.

Abi continued:- "To me, the MVP is about being heard. We seek out the voices of those who have recently used or are currently using local Maternity Services and look for themes in the feedback. We then work together with Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust to change and improve care and ensure Maternity Services are centred around the people using them. We invite all women and birthing people to get in touch and help us work collaboratively together. If you've used our Maternity Services, or you'd like to help by doing something as simple as chatting with your local baby group, then we'd love to hear from you. You can also follow the MVP on:- Twitter and to see when our meetings on:- Facebook."

For more information about the Maternity Voices Partnership, visit:- VoicesMVP.WixSite.com or email us at:- Voices.MVP@Gmail.Com.

Triumphant return to live programme for Prescot Festival

1700 people flocked to concerts at the 1st fully live Prescot Festival in 3 years, equalling 2019's record attendance. Taking place mostly in and around the historic church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Knowsley's only Grade I listed building, dating to 1610 the 10 day programme featured an estimated 350 musicians, opening on Friday, 17 June 2022, with kings of swing Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats and ending, on Sunday, 26 June 2022, with songs from stage and screen with the ever popular Phoenix Concert Orchestra. In between, audiences enjoyed appearances from an array of School and Community Choirs, England number 1 ranking Foden's Band, Liverpool Bach Collective and much more. Organisers envisaged the 18th annual festival as a kind of fanfare to usher in a new era in Prescot's cultural and artistic history, which begins with the opening of the Shakespeare North Playhouse in July 2022.

The Artistic Director, Dr Robert Howard, said:- "As a festival we've been bringing arts and music to Prescot every year since 2005... And after an unavoidable hiatus, there was bound to be some uncertainty this year, but we can confidently say that the sheer quality of community music making and the enthusiasm of our audiences have more than exceeded our expectations. It's been a sterling community effort and given every reason to look to the future with hope and optimism."

The Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts runs in the 3rd week of June each year and organises and supports concerts year-round under the banner of Arts in Prescot. Audiences can keep up to date with festival news and upcoming events at:- PrescotFestival.Co.UK.

Early bird discount extended for Landlord Licensing scheme

AN 'early bird' discount offer for the owners of privately rented properties to sign up for the City's new Landlord Licensing scheme has been extended until 31 July 2022. Landlords signing up before then will benefit from a saving which will take the total cost of a 5 year licence down to £380 per property, rather than £550. The discount was initially going to end on 30 June.

Early adopters can also benefit from a range of other reductions:-

► £50 discount for each property with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or above.

► £50 discount on all properties licensed by the same licence holder, in the same block of flats.

► £30 discount for each property if the licence holder has an active membership of a housing related professional body

► These discounts are extended to landlords who are new to the rental market, or for those who buy a property with a tenant in situ, within 14 days of the completion of purchase.

► To date, over 18,000 applications have been received, but it is known that more landlords are yet to sign up.

► The new scheme, which runs until April 2027, is based on poor property conditions, targeting the 16 wards in the City where at least 1 in 5 homes is owned by a private landlord.

► Following the end of the extended early bird discount period, the Council will start its investigations into any potentially unlicensed properties and take action where appropriate.

► Around 45,000 of the 55,000 properties in the original City wide scheme; which ran from 2015 to 2020; are covered, giving the Council additional powers to drive up standards and keep vulnerable tenants safe, such as tackling fire and electrical safety hazards, excess cold and damp and preventing and tackling anti-social behaviour.

► The wards included are:- Central, Riverside, Greenbank, Kensington, Picton, Tuebrook and Stoneycroft, County, Anfield, St Michael's, Princes Park, Kirkdale, Old Swan, Warbreck, Wavertree, Fazakerley and Everton.

► There is no charge for landlords offering permanent accommodation to meet homelessness duties, providing the property meets licence standards.

Applications are made online and payment; which covers the 5 years of the scheme; is in 2 parts:-

► The 1st payment is for the administration needed to process and issue licence applications, including:- checks to make sure a licence holder is fit and proper. Applicants will also need to attach supporting documents such as a valid gas safety certificate.

► The 2nd payment will be requested once the licence has been deemed suitable to be granted and leads to checks for compliance and the enforcement of licence conditions.

► A list of fees and charges is at:- Liverpool.Gov.UK and landlords can start the application process now.

► Landlord Licensing is separate to HMO (Houses of Multiple Occupation) licensing, which is already mandatory and covers over 2,600 properties. The Council continues to provide a reactive service dealing with complaints and referrals covering all private rental properties.

So what are the benefirs of the Landlord Licensing scheme? An evaluation of the 2015 to 2020 City wide licensing scheme found:-

► Over 34,000 compliance activities of licensed properties, which identified 65% of properties were not fully compliant on the 1st visit

► Identification of 4,350 cases of the most serious category 1 and 2 hazards including:- disrepair and excess cold affecting the health and wellbeing of residents.

► Issuing of more than 2,500 legal notices, 169 formal cautions and 197 written warnings.

► More than 300 successful landlord offence prosecutions and issuing of 87 civil penalties.

► The scheme is pivotal to the success of the Council Plan and the City Plan, both of which aim to ensure residents live in safe, inclusive and welcoming neighbourhoods.

Cabinet Member for Strategic Development and Housing, Councillor Sarah Doyle, said:- "Thousands of landlords have already come forward but we know there are many others who haven't yet started the application process. We have therefore decided to extend the period in which they can get a discount. It can save them a considerable amount of money, particularly if they have several properties. Landlord Licensing is now mandatory, meaning it is legally enforceable. If they don't sign up, they risk being taken to court and facing a fine much greater than the cost of a licence. It is really important because too many vulnerable people in our City are in poor housing conditions. The money we raise gives us the ability to enforce standards, taking action when concerns are raised. Under the previous scheme, Council intervention forced bad landlords into taking action to improve their properties, and we want to build on this success."