Local Governance Modernisation - Essay Example

CONTENTS Page 2 2. Introduction Pages 2 - 3 3. Background Pages 3 - 4 4. Middlesbrough Local Strategic Partnership: Pages 5 - 8 A Case Study 5. Conclusion Page 8 6. References Pages 8 - 9 ABSTRACT The modernizing agenda for the public sector is clearly set out by the New Labour Government in the White Paper, Modern Local Government: In Touch with the People (DETRa, 1998). The White Paper was a culmination of a series of consultations undertaken at the beginning of the New Labour Government's time in office and demonstrates a clear focus on modernizing public services, with a priority of bringing decision making to the local level by engaging and empowering local people to influence the decisions made by those responsible for delivering services. This agenda was reinforced by the Local Government Act (2000) which placed a duty on local authorities to produce a Community Strategy for the local area. The New Labour Government's commitment to partnership working was demonstrated by the introduction of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) as a vehicle for developing and delivering the Community Strategy. In March 2001 Government Guidance on LSPs (DETRc) was produced that clearly set out the aims of an LSP as a way for improving the engagement and empowerment of local people within the local decision making process. This commitment was reinforced with the availability of funds to support this priority for those areas identified as being deprived and in most need. This paper examines how successful this agenda has been by using a case study of Middlesbrough LSP to examine the implementation of these changes. INTRODUCTION The New Labour Government came to power in 1997 with a clear remit of modernizing public services. One aspect of this agenda was the introduction of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). LSPs are defined as 'a single body that: - brings together at a local level the different parts of the public sector as well as the private, business, community and voluntary sectors so that different initiatives and services support each other and work together; - is a non-statutory, non-executive organization; operates at a level which enables strategic decisions to be taken and is close enough to individual neighbourhoods to allow actions to be determined at community level; and should be aligned with local authority boundaries' (DETRc: 4). LSPs were introduced to bring together to bring the public, private, community and voluntary sectors at the local level to make decisions about local priorities. They are expected to tackle important issues for local people and improve quality of life, particularly in deprived areas, by driving forward: sustainable growth economic, social and physical regeneration improvement of public services engagement and active participation of local people in decision making (DETRc: 4) One of the more difficult elements for LSPs has been to ensure that local communities are actively engaged in this process, The Government Guidance on LSPs states that local communities should play a vital role within LSPs, 'Effective engagement with communities will be essential to partnerships' success' (DETRc:14). The survey of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in 2003 (ODPMa: 32) identified that satisfactory community engagement was the biggest issue facing LSPs. This included achieving a balance between inclusivity and keeping numbers manageable; ensuring adequate support mechanisms for voluntary and community sector members to enable them to make effective inputs; engaging harder to reach groups and ensuring geographical communities were engaged. The research highlighted that one of the main benefits of having an LSP was seen as the successful input of community views within the planning process though developing effective working processes and systems were another main issue. BACKGROUND The Local Government Act 2000 placed a duty on local authorities to prepare a Community Strategy for promoting or improving the economic, social and environmental well being of their area, and contributing to sustainable development. (DETRb: 4) The main objectives of Community Strategies were seen to allow local communities to articulate their aspirations, needs and priorities and to co-ordinate the actions of the Council and public, private, voluntary and community organizations that operate locally. The government produced guidance on the production of Community Strategies in December 2000 and this set out the four essential components of a Community Strategy: a long-term vision for the area focusing on the outcomes that are to be achieved; an action plan identifying shorter-term priorities and activities that will contribute to the achievement of long-term outcomes; a shared commitment to implement the action plan and proposals for doing so; arrangements for monitoring the implementation of the action plan, for periodically reviewing the community strategy, and for reporting progress to local communities (DETRb: 6). The guidance set out an essential requirement for local authorities in the preparation of a Community Strategy 'to consult and seek the participation of such organizations and people as they consider appropriate' (DETRb: 10). LSPs were introduced following the publication of Government Guidance in March 2001. They are non-statutory bodies that bring together at a local level a range of stakeholders from the public, business, community and voluntary sectors. They are committed to improving the quality of life and governance in a locality and to providing a single overarching framework within which more specific local partnerships can operate. LSPs can decide their own structures and constitutions, in theory providing them with the flexibility and freedom to choose their own way of working that suits the needs of local partners, However although the Government guidance on LSPs state that the full role of LSPs can be developed locally there are four core tasks: prepare and implement a community strategy for the area, identify and deliver the most important things which need to be done, keep track of progress and keep it up to date bring together local plans, partnerships and initiatives to provide a forum through which mainstream public service provides (local authorities, the police, health services, central government agencies and so on) work effectively together to meet local needs and priorities work with local authorities that are developing a local public service agreement to help devise and then meet suitable targets develop and deliver a local neighbourhood renewal strategy to secure more jobs, better education, improved health, reduced crime and better housing, closing the gap between deprived neighbourhoods and the rest and contributing to the national targets to tackle deprivation. (DETRc: 5-6) Although its not a legal requirement for localities to have an LSP the 88 local authorities eligible for Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF) must have an accredited LSP in place to receive this funding (www.neighbourhood.gov.uk). Consequently LSPs cannot be classified as voluntary body for those eligible for NRF. To encourage community participation in local decision making from within the 88 NRF areas, the Government established the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), providing funds directly to the voluntary and community sectors (NRU). The CEF Supplementary Guidance (NRU) sets out the specific objectives of the funding which is to help local communities to engage effectively with LSPs and to: - develop a robust community and voluntary sector network (the CEN) - resource outreach and support to the community and voluntary sector - build a positive and effective relationship between the CEN and the LSP - ensure that the voluntary, community and faith sectors are represented on the LSP by facilitating their selection (and by developing a protocol for joint working) - ensure inclusion of the most deprived communities and marginalised groups - ensure that different perspectives and priorities are respected - contribute to improving service delivery and bending mainstream funding - provide community support for the delivery of Local Neighbourhood Renewal Strategies in the most deprived neighbourhoods (NRU: 2) MIDDLESBROUGH LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP This case study examines how well the Middlesbrough Local Strategic Partnership has responded to the challenges of bringing decision making to the local level. All sources of information are drawn from the Partnership's website which contains all the details of the Partnership model and Partnership publications (www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk). The partnership model implemented by Middlesbrough LSP will be presented and analyzed against the objectives set out in the CEF Supplementary Guidance (NRU: 2) as outlined above. The Partnership Model Middlesbrough LSP comprises of a Board, Executive and seven Action Groups: Board The core membership of the Board is made up a core membership that includes the Chair of the Partnership; three representatives of Middlesbrough Council and one representative from each of the following organizations: Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust Middlesbrough Police National Probation Service Teesside Job Centre Plus Cleveland Fire Service University of Teesside South Tees Acute NHS Trust Tees & North East Yorkshire NHS Trust Tees Valley Learning Skills Council Connexions Tees Valley Middlesbrough College Middlesbrough Town Centre Company West Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Trust Erimus Housing In addition there are five places allocated to private sector representatives, one advisory place to the Government Office for the North East, four places to the Community Council Cluster Groups, and twelve places to the Community Network. There are also reserved places for all Chairs of the Action Group who do not form part of the core membership, but are permitted to vote. (Middlesbrough Partnership b: Section 5.1) Executive The Executive comprises seventeen representatives as follows: Community Network - six places Cluster Groups - two places Private sector - one place Others - six places - Chair of the Partnership - Chief Executive of Middlesbrough Council (Middlesbrough Partnership b: Section 5.2) Action Groups Middlesbrough Partnership has seven action groups working within six theme areas, plus two advisory groups. The groups are responsible for ensuring the implementation of actions in the Community Strategy. The Chairs of the Action Groups have the responsibility to determine the Groups' membership, in agreement with existing members, within the parameters of the Action Group Terms of Reference. However the Partnership has set out the following requirements: a) Ensuring all sectors have opportunity to participate b) Strong community and voluntary sector representation c) Involvement of appropriate levels of management from partner agencies to ensure the role of the Action Groups is fulfilled. (Middlesbrough Partnership b: Section 5.3) The Community Network currently has the following representation on the Action Groups: Health & Social Care Partnership - 4 representatives Children & Young People's Partnership - 4 representatives Safer Middlesbrough Partnership - 4 representatives Improving the Environment Action Group - 3 representatives Middlesbrough Learning Partnership - 3 representatives Transport Action Group - 1 representative Economic Vitality Action Group - 2 representatives (www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk) Community Network There are several different networks which are involved with the Partnership: Middlesbrough Community Network; Black and Minority Ethnic Community Network; Area Cluster Groups; Lesbian and Bisexual Women's Network. Middlesbrough Community Network is responsible for co-coordinating the voluntary and community sector's input to and involvement in Middlesbrough Local Strategic Partnership. The Network's membership covers groups from the voluntary sector, community organizations, faith groups, Black and Minority Ethnic community and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual communities. The Community Network is co-coordinated and developed by specialist staff, funded through the Community Empowerment Fund), available specifically to support voluntary and community sector involvement in the Local Strategic Partnership. The Community Empowerment Fund Project is based at Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency (MVDA) and its role is to develop the Community Network, providing a range of support to all members and Partnership representatives in particular, to enable them to take part in LSP processes, decision making and activity (Middlesbrough Community Network: 1). The Partnership and the Community Network have developed a protocol of joint working to improve consultation and involvement. This protocol includes specific measures on how joint working will occur (for example better sharing of information and a joint approach to implementing the Partnership Engagement Framework) and it stresses the need to ensure that the voluntary and community sectors are included as equal partners in all aspects of the work of the LSP (Middlesbrough Partnership d). Community Strategy The Community Strategy sets out the underpinning values of the Partnership and includes the commitment to empower local people to become involved and influence the work of the Partnership. Whilst community engagement and empowerment does not appear as a specific theme of the Community Strategy it is clearly stated within the document that they are crosscutting themes and are a requirement for the effective delivery of all the themes within the Strategy (Middlesbrough Partnership a: 10 ). The Community Strategy has been written by the themed Action Groups, which are effectively the operational arm of the Partnership. Local Area Agreement A relatively new remit for the LSP has been the development and agreement of the Local Area Agreement (LAA). This is essentially the delivery plan for the Community Sector, and within Middlesbrough's LAA there is a section that details the level of voluntary and community sector involvement in the development of the content and consultation of the final document (Middlesbrough Partnership c: 22 - 26 ). Summary Middlesbrough LSP has many strengths within its Partnership model and there appears to be progress in achieving the objective of bringing decision making to the local level including; - There is strong voluntary, community and faith sector representation on the Board, Executive and all of the Action Groups. The Partnership has specifically identified representation that ensures a balance between the public, private and voluntary and community sectors as a means of ensuring that the voluntary and community sector is viewed on an equal footing with other organizations that deliver services. - An active and well supported Community Network is in existence, with resources to support its development. There are networks across geographical neighbourhoods and different communities of interest, for example the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Network and Gay and Lesbian Network. - Community network representatives sit on the Action Groups, and are therefore involved in the planning and development of the Community Strategy and subsequent local priorities and targets. - The Statement of Voluntary and Community Involvement within the Local Area Agreement explains the importance of community engagement for the work of the Partnership. - There is a protocol that formalizes the working relationship between the Partnership and the Community Network, and this includes the joint approach towards Public Engagement. The Middlesbrough Partnership has developed mechanisms to strengthen the influence of local communities in local decision making, however it is difficult to ascertain the added value that this has brought to the work of the Partnership. There is a continuing challenge for the model to respond to the evolving and developing role of LSPs, with the focus now on delivering and performance managing services. CONCLUSION Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and Community Strategies were introduced as a result of the Local Government Act 2000. They have helped make great strides to improve the local quality of life and are now established in all areas and are working in an increasingly complex and challenging environment with important expectations being placed on them. The consultation paper on the future of LSPs (ODPMb) examines the future role of LSPs, their governance and accountability, and their capacity to deliver Sustainable Community Strategies and Local Area Agreements (LAAs). A key element continues to be the effective engagement, involvment and empowerment of local communities. REFERENCES DETRa (1998), Modern Local Government: In touch with the People available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.aspid=1165212 DETRb (December 2000), Preparing Community Strategies: Government Guidance available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/186/Preparingcommunitystrategiesgovernmentguidancetolocalauthorities_id1507186.pdf DETRc (March 2001), Local Strategic Partnerships: Government Guidance available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/896/LocalstrategicpartnershipsPDF175Kb_id1133896.pdf Middlesbrough Community Network, August 2005, Constitution available at www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk Middlesbrough Partnership a, 2005, Community Strategy available at www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk Middlesbrough Partnership b, May 2005, Constitution & Terms of Reference available at www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk Middlesbrough Partnership c, January 2007, Local Area Agreement available at www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk Middlesbrough Partnership d (undated), Protocol between Middlesbrough Partnership and Middlesbrough Community Network available at www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU), March 2003, Neighbourhood Renewal Community Empowerment Fund: Supplementary Guidance available at http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/publications.aspdid=10 7 ODPMa, February 2003, Evaluation of Local Strategic Partnerships: Report of 2002 Survey available at http://www.gos.gov.uk/goee/docs/190905/190912/National_Evaluation_of_LSPs.pdf ODPMb, December 2005, Local Strategic Partnerships: Shaping their future - a consultation paper available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.aspid=1162320 www.middlesbroughpartnership.org.uk www.neighbourhood.gov.uk Read More