Satellite Meetings; What we do

As previously blogged, our Summer of Listening has involved a number of city-wide events, listening to the people of Plymouth from a complete range of backgrounds and situations. The method that we use most regularly, and is arguably one of our most important, is our satellite meetings. These are where a few of our commissioners sit in with groups in Plymouth who may not usually have much of a voice in the city.

So far we have attended 13 satellite meetings across a range of groups in the city, with many more to come. During these the commissioners ask about the issues of unfairness that are faced in order to create their recommendations in 2014.

Groups that we have met with to date include; business Groups, older people, ex-offenders and homeless people, military spouses, those with mental health conditions, learning difficulties and physical impairments, people affected by welfare reform, looked after children, religious groups and asylum seekers/reugees.

Speaking to these groups has enabled us to identify a range of issues, such as; poor quality private rented housing, long waiting lists for healthcare, unfairness in aquiring and using disabled bus passes, lack of information of support networks for people with dementia and issues with public toilet opening hours.

We have been speaking to a complete range of people and each of which will help the commissioners to come up with valid recommendations to help make Plymouth a fairer place for all. These satellite meetings enable us to get up close to the issues of unfairness in the city and has proven to be an eye opener for everyone who’s involved.