Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 The purpose of this report is to advise the Executive the progress being made by the Local Strategic Partnership on the development of the Community Strategy. This report follows on from the report previously given to the Executive in April 2003

1.2 The draft community strategy has been prepared by and on behalf of the Bath and North East Somerset Strategic Partnership. The council currently holds one formal seat on the partnership, plus two interim co-options. Below the LSP, sit eight key partnerships. The council officers and members are integral to all of these, thus providing the strongest opportunity for the council to influence the heart of the process.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The recommendations to the Executive are to:

· note the content of the report,

· support the attached community strategy as a framework for consultation with the community of Bath and North East Somerset community during July and August 2003

· advise Members and Officers to exert their influence on behalf of the council in the key partnerships of the Local Strategic Partnership, ensuring that they alongside the respective Portfolio members provide feedback to the LSP on the proposed content of the community strategy

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The draft strategy attempts to build on work that is already underway. Additional financial burdens can not yet be identified, but it is likely that changes to our ways of working will be necessary, which will have financial considerations.

4 BACKGROUND

4.1 Since December 2002, the Community Strategy Task Group (a sub group of the LSP) has been working on the draft document, as well as other forms of summary communications. We believe that the document before you, whilst not professing to be perfect provides a good framework for consulting with a wide group of stakeholders and community members.

4.2 We describe the document as a framework for thinking. This is an attempt to take on board the very different views and concerns of the LSP members stakeholders and officers of the council, and formulate a framework, which is broadly agreeable to all parties as a basis for consultation, both within their organisations and within the key partnerships.

4.3 This document is not the final community plan; it is a framework for further discussion, which will lead to the eventual production of a long-term community strategy. However it does set out a series of well founded aspirations, based on the views of LSP members, wider consultation, detailed performance data and other quantitative information.

4.4 The community strategy will be subject to wide spread consultation using various mediums including an LSP website, return slips on post cards and leaflets, and written submissions from stakeholders on the full draft strategy. The results of the consultation will be taken back to the LSP in the Autumn, and the final recommendations for the community strategy will be bought back to the Executive in October 2003.

4.5 The community strategy priority themes where identified following an LSP workshop in December 2002, as previously reported to Directors Group and Overview and Scrutiny. Following this session and other consultation processes, including a Stakeholder event held in March 2003, the aspirations and ambitions for the priority areas have been amended and refined.

4.6 For the final plan to comply with the legislative requirements, it will need to meet the following criteria:

4.7 The draft strategy contains all of the above elements, except the action plan. During the consultation phase, it is envisaged that each key partnership will consider how it will respond to the aspirations, and set itself an action plan and targets to ensure the delivery of the aspirations. This should be fed back to the LSP for consideration.

5 THE REPORT

1.1 The attached community strategy is formulates from the two major consultation events held by the LSP. At the first (December 2002), the six priority themes were defined and the second (March 2003), built on the themes and established the five common themes.

4.8 The development of the community strategy commenced approximately eight months ago, the process having been led by the Leader of the Council as Chair of the Community Strategy Sub Group. The focus of the strategy centres around making life better for everyone and the achievement of improvements in key priority areas. This draft document provides a framework for thinking, and asks stakeholders and the community to consider some challenging aspects of life in Bath and North East Somerset.

4.9 The priorities operate at two levels, Priority themes that reflect a specific area of delivery and Common themes that are relevant to the whole strategy and to all of the bodies and agencies involved. The priority and common themes can be summarise as follows:

Common Themes

· BE Safe: Building Safer communities

· BE Inclusive: Working equitably and inclusively across communities

· BE Sustainable: Delivering actions and priorities sustainably

· BE Dynamic: Planning to create living and diverse communities

· BE Creative: Making better use of our resources by working together

4.10 Consultation has informed the development of the strategy so far. The next phase of consultation, which we are currently in will test the viability and achievability of the proposed aspirations, and begin to define the measures of success, responsible persons and timescales for implementation. The main ways in which this will be tested is through:

· LSP key partnerships

· Wider strategic and delivery partnerships

· Councillors of Bath and North East Somerset Council

· Officers of Bath and North East Somerset Council

· Parish Councils

· Bath and North East Somerset residents

· DAFBY

4.11 Following this extensive consultation phase, the results will be analysed and reflected as necessary and possible within the final community strategy. The final strategy will need to be agreed by the council's executive (with whom the statutory duty rests). Following this it is expected that the priorities and outcomes from the strategy will be considered as part of the councils corporate and financial planning process, and then be reflected where appropriate in the service plans for the council. Equally, it is hoped, the key members of the LSP will replicate this endorsement and streamlining procedure.

4.12 When all responsible bodies, including the Executive and full Council have signed up to the outcomes within the strategy the final and first community strategy will become effective from November 2003.

4.13 It is important to note that whilst the community strategy will address priorities for action, the LSP itself is not a delivery agent, it is a strategic conduit. Its role is to ensure that the respective providers, of which the council is key, can and will deliver the communities aspirations. The prime responsibility for ensuring the delivery of the final actions once established and agreed will rest with the agencies that sit on key partnerships that sit beneath the LSP. A key partnership exists for each of the priority themes, and also for community safety, the council holds positions on each of these key partnerships, so is in a key position to influence accordingly.

4.14 The LSP will monitor and measure the achievement of those actions, and act as a facilitator to ensure that issues are not addressed in silos, but are addressed holistically in a way that improves the communities overall wellbeing.