Contact: Martin Combs, Ext: 7479. Colin Hinxman, Ext 7343

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

1 Introduction

1.1 The Review Panel established by the Committee to conduct scrutiny of Hard to Reach Groups, comprising Councillors Chapman, Mrs. Edwards, Kimber and Price, met on 11 September to consider the way forward. They concentrated on reaching a definition of Hard to Reach Groups and identifying the County Council's partners for the purposes of this review.

1.2 A copy of the introductory briefing paper is attached as an Appendix to this report.

2 Recommendation

2.1 That for the purposes of this review, people should be defined as "Hard to Reach" if they are:

· Unaware of services provided by the County Council or its partners.

· Unable to take advantage of services provided by the County Council or its partners.

· Reluctant to take advantage of services provided by the County Council or its partners.

2.2 That consultations on the scope of the review should be undertaken with the main partners, who are considered to be other local authorities, the police service, the fire and rescue service, the health service, citizens advice bureaux and councils of community service.

3 Background

3.1 The Panel's approach was to set a manageable scope for the review and to avoid duplication with work being done by other partners. They were also keen to work on a collaborative basis and thereby to achieve improved access to services across the public sector.

4 Impact Assessment

4.1 The aim of the review is to improve public access to services and to avoid any group being marginalised or excluded from them.

5 Financial Implications

5.1 None, other than the need to avoid duplication and the cost of unnecessary work.

6 Legal Implications

6.1 None identified.

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