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Angus Community Planning Partnership |
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Angus will be a place where a first class quality of life for all can be enjoyed in vibrant towns and pleasant villages set in attractive and productive countryside. The area will be dynamic and outward looking contributing to the culture, environment and economy of Scotland |
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Introducing community planning
In Angus, we are committed to working in partnership to improve the planning and delivery of better services for the county’s citizens. The Angus Community Planning Partnership provides the framework to help us achieve this.
The partnership was established in 1998 and published the first Angus Community Plan in 2000. Last year a Progress Report & Review of the Community Plan 2002/03 was produced and I was please to take over the convener’s reins this year.
The Local Government in Scotland Act (April 2003) formalised the roles and responsibilities of community planning, placing a duty on local authorities to initiate and facilitate the community planning process and a duty on partners to engage in that process.
The legislation sets out the need for partnership work to ensure that public services are joined up within a local authority area. It is my belief that no single agency has all the answers – we can all benefit from working in partnership.
Community planning aims to get :-
I am particularly pleased that the legislation emphasises the importance of engaging communities in the process. However it is disappointing that there has been no recognition nationally of the task in developing effective partnership working nor indeed the resources required to engage communities in that process.
In Angus we have gone some way in addressing these difficulties by pooling resources to employ a community planning team and this has been vital in allowing us to progress, co-ordinate and implement our partnership priorities.
This report sets out much of the activity undertaken over the year to managing the Angus Community Planning Partnership process and outlines the actions being taken to engaging the community in that process.
The Progress Report & Review for 2003/04 sets out in detail the priorities and actions to be undertaken by each of the thematic partnership groupings and the priorities for the local communities in Angus.
There have been considerable achievements over the year in terms of the priorities outlined in last years Progress Report & Review, and we can now set out some new priority actions. Partnership activity has grown over the year, and our high level priorities have now been translated into specific actions. We have now set out when these will be delivered so progress can be clearly monitored and reviewed.
In addition, we have prepared a Public Performance Report against a number of high level indicators, identified by the Partnership as being the most relevant to monitor in an ongoing way. These indicators help to ensure that the Partnership is on track with its work and this supplement details our progress against each of the indicators.
It is our intention, over the coming year, to work with the thematic partnership groups to identify a range of second-level indicators that show how our desired outcomes are being measured as themed activity progresses. This will be reported in next year’s supplement.
The Scottish Executive and the national level Community Planning Implementation Group recognise that the community planning process requires a long term approach. It is therefore with some pride that I report that a lot of positive work has taken place over the year in a strengthening partnership arena in Angus. We are well on track with the implementation of the community planning process and this will be to benefit of all our citizens.
Rob Murray, Convener of the Angus Community Planning Partnership, April 2004
The Angus Community Planning Partnership
"A commitment from organisations to work together, not apart, in providing better public services" extract from Community Planning Guidance
With the introduction of the Local Government in Scotland Act on 1 April 2003, the Angus Community Planning Partnership agreed that the leader of Angus Council should be appointed to the position of Convener of the Angus Community Planning Partnership, in recognition of the local authority’s responsibility to lead the community planning process in Angus. Over the year, the Angus Community Planning Partnership and the thematic and local partnership groups have strengthened their joint working. This is evidenced in the Progress Report & Review this year, both in terms of setting out achievements over the year, as well as providing more detail about action for the forthcoming year and beyond.
The Angus Community Planning Partnership has agreed to adopt the Angus Ahead logo and campaign as its promotional, marketing and communications arm. This has helped to ensure that all partners are communicating with one voice across Angus. In terms of communications more generally, the Partnership has developed and consulted upon its Communications Strategy and Action Plan. A working group comprising communications officers from each of the partner agencies has been established and is progressing the actions contained within the Communications Strategy, in a positive way.
This has included the development of an agreed protocol for sharing information and developing press releases under the banner of community planning, as well as preparing standard induction training for staff in all partner organisations in relation to the community planning agenda. The group is currently reviewing how communications are developed with the Angus community, across all partner organisations and plans to develop a customer charter detailing the standards that customers can expect when contacting any of the partner organisations. Angus Council’s A-Z of services and ACCESS Line and Offices are currently being developed to ensure partner information is available locally and a community planning website has been designed to sit within the Angus Ahead portal, when it comes on-line.
A number of recommendations for actions were detailed in the Progress Report & Review last year and these are detailed in the "What We Have Achieved" page.
There are a number of other partnership activities that have been progressed over the past year. These can be summarised as follows:-
City Region
A new City Region Partnership for Tayside and Fife has evolved from the Scottish Executive’s Cities Review. Whilst it is recognised that Dundee wishes to progress with the development of the waterfront area in their city vision, it was agreed that there was a need to look at other areas of work which would benefit the city region. Following consultation with the Community Planning Partnerships, it was agreed that the four areas to be progressed should be:-
Initial investigations have resulted in an agreement to carry forward work in relation to the economy and tourism and transport for the benefit of the City Region area. This amalgamation of Community Planning Partnerships across Tayside and Fife will meet on a bi-annual basis.
Resources for Community Planning
An investigation has been undertaken over the year into the finance arrangements across all of the partner organisations currently represented on the Angus Community Planning Partnership. A draft report was presented to a partnership meeting to highlight the various grant arrangements along with budget processes for each of the organisations. Following discussion at the meeting, it was agreed that further work of a pilot nature was required, in relation to one of the thematic groups, to establish how best to link resources to priorities and outcomes identified by the Partnership. It has been agreed to focus this work in relation to the Joint Management and Commissioning Group – Childrens Services, and this pilot exercise will take place early in 2004.
Community Planning Performance Indicators
A number of high level indicators had been identified in last year’s Progress Report & Review as draft indicators for consultation. Extensive consultation has taken place over the year with the thematic partnership groups. A draft report was prepared and considered by the Angus Community Planning Partnership. Further consultation was undertaken in relation to the draft report with partners across all agencies and thematic groups prior to reporting, in the performance report supplement to this Progress Report & Review, on progress against these indicators. It was agreed that we needed to focus the indicators on information that was readily available and that could have an interface with a developing second tier of indicators. Development work will take place over the next year with the thematic groups to develop a "basket of indicators" for each of the themed groups that will have a relationship with the high-level indicators for reporting purposes. It is intended to develop the performance report supplement for next year’s Community Planning Progress Report and Review, detailing these second level indicators.
Angus Council has also been involved with the emerging Tayside Research and Information Network. This is a group of information specialists from across partner organisations. The intention of the Network is to agree a set of information requirements, with particular focus on reducing duplication for agencies with a Tayside remit.
Rationalisation of Strategies and Plans
A comprehensive list of strategies and plans currently actioned by partner agencies was drawn together in the form of an audit. Communication with the thematic groups has identified the need for these groups to consider whether any of the strategies or plans within their arena can be rationalised as well as bringing to their attention the strategies and plans under each of the other thematic areas.
Community Planning Conference
As community planning is in the early stages of development, the Angus Community Planning Partnership considered it essential to bring together a range of partners, including the voluntary sector, elected members, board members along with senior managers and officers from all of the partner organisations involved in community planning. A conference was, therefore, planned and held in June 2003 focused on the work of the Community Planning Task Force/Implementation Group and Willie Rae the Chair of the Community Planning Implementation Group, outlined the emerging community planning agenda. Sandy Watson, Chief Executive of Angus Council, and then Chair of the Angus Community Planning Partnership, outlined the work of the Partnership for members and board members’ information and consideration. A presentation was then given by the Chairs of the thematic groups, or their nominated representative, regarding the work of the thematic group. The morning workshops focused on ensuring that elected members, and board members in particular, had an input to the work of the thematic groups over the coming year and the afternoon workshops focused on the development of partnership activity in relation to resources, monitoring and evaluation, communications and effective partnership working. This event helped to raise awareness amongst members and senior officials across partner organisations and it is intended to develop this concept into an annual event with a second conference being planned for 2004.
Community Planning Presentations
In line with the need to communicate developments in relation to community planning to elected members, board members and senior managers, it was agreed that there was also a need to deliver community planning presentations to partner organisations Management Teams and staff within Angus Council. The Community Planning Team was asked to co-ordinate this activity and undertook a programme of presentations over the year. In addition to this, Angus Council is in the process of developing management training for all managers, up to fourth tier, across the whole of the council. It has been agreed that there is a need to detail information in relation to the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, along with the efforts being progressed by the Angus Community Planning Partnership, within this management training package.
Corporate Planning
It has been agreed amongst partners that the Community Plan will provide an over-arching framework for partnership activity across Angus. In order to realise the potential from this, it is essential that each of the partner organisations reflects the principles of the aims of the Angus Community Plan within their own individual corporate planning arrangements. As Angus Council has the lead in relation to ensuring a community planning process is in place, it has agreed to develop its new corporate plan in line with the themes of the community plan. Each of the other partner organisations has considered this approach within their own corporate planning arrangements.
Principles of the Angus Community Plan
The three principles which underpin community planning in Angus are:-
Over the year, the Active Citizenship Strategy was developed and consulted upon widely. The action plan to accompany the Active Citizenship Strategy is currently being finalised following the consultation exercise. However, many of the commitments given within the Active Citizenship Strategy are currently being implemented and these are detailed further within the Engaging the Community section of this report.
In relation to sustainability, the Local Agenda 21 strategy continues to be managed and monitored. The Environment Forum is also developing a State of the Environment Report that will have a big impact in relation to sustainability issues. The Environment Strategy Group within Angus Council wishes to consider the issue of sustainability across all of the thematic partnership groupings and has devised a sustainability checklist that can be used for this purpose.
A draft of the Social Inclusion Strategy was considered by the Angus Community Planning Partnership early in 2003. At that time it was considered that further work was required in relation to the Strategy, prior to moving towards consultation. This work has now been almost finalised and consultation has taken place with partners in relation to the Strategy. It is intended to take the revised Social Inclusion Strategy to the Angus Community Planning Partnership for further consideration prior to wider consultation in 2004.
Communities Scotland gave a presentation to the Angus Community Planning Partnership and outlined the need for the Partnership to consider the approach being taken by the other Community Planning Partnerships across Scotland which have a Social Inclusion Partnership. It was agreed at the meeting that there was a need to consider the assessment criteria in relation to the work of the Partnership, as a tool for effective partnership working, as well as looking at the outcomes identified in relation to thematic partnerships work, and to identify whether these could be developed into outcome agreements.
Further to this, the Angus Community Planning Partnership believes that it would be of benefit to the community of Angus to develop a regeneration strategy or statement which is focused in nature, and supported by the wider principle of social inclusion and the strategy that has emerged in relation to that principle.