Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 To report on the LSP progress to date, and advise on the current work programme as identified in Appendix A.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 To note the content of the report.

2.2 To provide comments on the progress of the business plan to date.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 None

4 BACKGROUND

4.1 A local strategic partnership (LSP) is 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 organisation;

· 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

4.2 The LSP held its first meeting in June 2002 following the adoption by Full Council of the recommendations of a "Pre-Partnership" group, comprising local partners, including voluntary sector, equalities, and residents' representatives. The formation of the LSP arose out of a government recommendation that Local Authority boundaries should aim to establish a multi agency partnership that can contribute, at a strategic level to the well being of the area. It was also envisaged by the then DTLR (now Office for the Deputy Prime Minister), that the LSP would have a strong role to play in the council's statutory duty to produce a Community Strategy (Local Government Act 2000, part 1).

5 THE REPORT

5.1 At the LSP meeting of 3^rd September the business case for the establishment of the LSP was set out. The driving factors were as follows:

· The establishment of a community strategy for Bath and North East Somerset, and more generally the principle to work in partnership to improve the overall social, economic and environmental well-being of the district;

· Organisations who form the LSP believing that their stated purpose is to `improve the quality of life in Bath and North East Somerset;

· Opportunities are enhanced through partnership working.

5.2 The LSP resolved to develop an action plan that balanced commitments with resources. They further resolved that the development process and the general benefits of partnership working will accrue to partners over time, and in the short term some partners may contribute more than others depending on the range of work involved. However, every group involved in the LSP resolved that its key contributions would be the exploitation of its knowledge, conduits to its community, and the time and effort of people within the partner organisations. An important principle of the LSP was that all members would have parity of esteem regardless of the resources they are able to allocate.

5.3 The current member organisations of the LSP are as follows:

· Bath and North East Somerset Council

· Avon and Somerset Constabulary

· Primary Care Trust

· Somer Community Housing Trust

· Bath and North East Somerset Association of Parish Councils

· Voluntary First

· Racial Equality Council

· DAFBY

· Bath Association of Residents

· B&NES Initiative

· Learning Partnership

· West of England Coalition of Disabled People

· Envolve

· (Councillors Metcalfe and O'Flaherty recently co-opted on an interim basis to represent Transport and Cultural interests respectively)

5.4 Councillor Robin Nicoll currently chairs the LSP. However, his capacity as Chair is as an independent person and not as a Councillor for Bath and North East Somerset Council

5.5 A progress report on the LSP went to the Overview and Scrutiny Corporate Issues Panel in December 2002. The panel noted the contents of the report, and asked for a further report in 2003, more specifically on the progress of the Community Strategy.

5.6 The Business Plan attached at Appendix A is that agreed by the LSP on 3 September 2002, however it has been updated to show the progress that is being made to date.