A PILOT project in Caldicot and Abergavenny has helped set up small local enterprises in the county.

The scheme, which started in Caldicot and Abergavenny in April 2014, was to develop small local enterprises and reduce the dependency on adult services.

The scheme aims to help people become more independent, and engage people in their communities and be supported by their communities rather than rely solely on statutory services.

The report on the community co-ordination and small local enterprise scheme will go before Monmouthshire council’s cabinet on Tuesday. It says the number of people needing long-term care packages has fallen by five per cent.

The scheme which started in Caldicot and Abergavenny in April 2014 was aimed at developing small local enterprises and to reduce the dependency on services.

The number of long-term care packages has fallen from 1,620 in 13/14 to 1,542 in 14/15. The target for cost avoidance was between £123,000 and £246,000 in 2014/15 and the scheme which is in its third quarter is on target with £211,978.

The report states coordinators have engaged with 1,000 individuals in the past year, worked directly with 43 people, and an additional 202 people are being supported with 49 small local enterprises between which 80 job opportunities are provided.

The report shows 25 small local enterprises have been set up this year with eight close to being set up. Of the 80 people employed by small local enterprises 17 of those are paid, 50 of those are voluntary and 13 are in training.

The report says more needs to be done to intervene earlier to reduce the number of people receiving long-term care packages. It states vast wellbeing resources are already in the community but this is ‘fragmented and disconnected’ and the benefit for ‘vulnerable and or isolated people is not being realised.’ It recommends joining with partners and citizens on the front-line to create new opportunities for people to get involved in the community such as the Men’s Shed, which is a project which gives men an opportunity to socialise and offers alternatives to craft classes and coffee mornings.

The project is a partnership between the council, Monmouthshire Housing Association and Abergavenny Community Enterprise.