Decision details

The Cabinet Office has appointed Locality to lead on delivering a national programme to recruit and train Community Organisers who will work to enable people to take action on their own behalf to tackle the issues which are important to them. The report provides an update on the programme in Bath and North East Somerset.

(1) To WELCOME the introduction of five community organisers into Bath and North East Somerset as part of the national scheme;

(2) To ENCOURAGE action to Regenerate Community Trust (RE:generate) as the local host for the scheme to work closely with local elected members, community groups, parish councils and other local forums and public service bodies to maximise the effectiveness of the initiative;

(3) To AGREE that the Council enter into a Co-operation Agreement with RE:generate as set out in the report;

(4) To ASK Officers to work with the scheme to identify service improvements and potential cost savings from improved working with the local community; and

(5) To AGREE that feedback and learning from the Community Organisers Programme and its impact locally WILL be used to identify opportunities for linking to existing or emerging forms of community engagement.

Given that the Community Organisers scheme is to be introduced in Bath and North East Somerset, it is considered appropriate to ensure that the advantages of the scheme can be maximised through effective joint working with public services.

An alternative option would be for the Council not to engage at any level with the Community Organisers scheme. It is considered appropriate however for the Council to have an overall approach to such a key initiative and that this would not maximise the potential benefit to our area. It could also lead to a disjointed approach which could bring additional risk and possible cost, particularly in officer time.