Have your say: Rotherham hits £6m jackpot

ROTHERHAM has netted a £6 million reward for hitting Government-set targets—with children and the town centre set for big cash boosts.

The grant—split over two years—will be mostly aimed at flagging borough council departments and projects in need of a financial boost.

“The funding is being targeted predominantly at areas that are currently under-performing and should contribute towards a driving up of performance,” assistant chief executive Matthew Gladstone said in a report.

About £500,000 will go on safeguarding young people, helping to plug the growing £4 million-plus budget black hole in children’s services.

The department, given a Government notice to improve, is still 30 per cent short of front-line social workers. Agency staff—costing up to double—are currently filling the shortfall.

The town centre will benefit from £727,000, helping to drag Rotherham out of recession, part of which will be increasing free parking for shoppers.

The Imagination Library is in line for £250,000. Dolly Parton’s kids book-gifting scheme, launched in November 2007, is expected to cost £400,000 in its third year.

The Rotherham Partnership, including the borough council with other public, private and community sector organisations, was given priorities to work towards four years ago.

Partnership manager Carole Haywood said: “This reward grant really justifies partnership working and is a credit to Team Rotherham—the authority and all its partners in the statutory, business and voluntary sectors—who have worked so hard to deliver services to local people.

“Back in 2006 the Local Area Agreement set out our priorities and we have managed to achieve around 75 per cent of the targets as laid down by the Government. These covered all the services provided by the various partners.

“During the past six months, the partners have been working closely together to identify the areas of most need to spend the extra funding based on our priorities as a partnership.

“The key priorities will be health, improvements to the town centre, helping the Imagination Library, safeguarding children, improving life skills, volunteering and improving perceptions around anti-social behaviour.”

Council leader Roger Stone said: “Not only is the extra funding obviously excellent for Rotherham but in gaining it, it also highlights what the authority and its partners have already achieved.

“The money will now be allocated by an independent panel to priorities across the borough for the benefit of local people.”

Three other bids have been carried forward for year one, but currently lack detail and which the panel says need “redesigning”. These are:

• £530,000 for “enforcement and preventative action, customer focus and interaction and community recognition and involvement.”
• £500,000 for “enterprising neighbourhoods” and raising employment and skill levels.
• £200,000 for Rotherham’s voluntary and community sector.
• A carers’ resource centre will be set up at the RAIN building, on Eastwood Lane, with £120,000 funding. And £80,000 will be spent on “physical activity and well-being”.