Community groups, such as those listed below, will use the following preliminary list
of actions as a catalyst for developing and committing to their own action plan to
improve social-well being with emphasis in the priority areas and areas of immediate
implementation. This is an estate based action plan that will to integrate into area
wide and city plans.
 | Recognise and make the most of their own assets responsibly. |
| Be generous with their gifts of time and other resources for their neighbours and
fellow citizens. |
| Vote and participate in community and civic activities. |
| Respect cultural differences and commonalties among all people. |
| Become neighbourhood centres for a range of services and activities. |
| Instil a lifetime love of learning. |
| Engage youth in a meaningful learning experience that links academics to the world
of work. |
| Adopt policies that promote a family-friendly workplace, including affordable
access for workers and their families to childcare and ongoing skill development. |
| Develop partnerships with schools and job training programs to provide necessary
skills and experiences for individuals to advance in the workforce and to meet
employer needs. |
| Modernise their systems and workforce, investing in training and new equipment. |
| Take responsibility for their impact on the environment by reducing emissions and
waste |
| Share their knowledge and experience with other businesses, providing mentors and
job match opportunities, and helping to create a thriving business community. |
| Invest locally, creating internal markets and benefiting from short links between
purchasers and suppliers |
| Become involved with the neighbourhood and community groups |
| Encourage community participation by  | Adopting local leadership policies, | | Operating at a level which enables strategic decisions to be taken but which
is close enough to individual neighbourhoods for actions to be determined at
community level, | | Being transparent, making it clear to the public who is responsible for
decisions, | | Implementing a scrutiny process that will help to clarify the reasons for
decisions and the facts and analysis on which policies and actions are based, | | Entering into agreements and compacts that ensure delivery of vital services,
promote participation, and encourage volunteerism and active citizenship, | | Exploring local rating schemes to fund local services, | | Strengthening the role of the area panels, giving them the support and
resources that will enable local initiatives and solutions; |
|
| Deliver services efficiently by | Developing strategic partnerships between the public, private and voluntary
sectors, | | Bringing 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, | | Implementing Best Value across all departments, challenging all assumptions
about how and why service is delivered, | | Consulting with local taxpayers, service users and the wider business
community in the setting of new performance targets, | | Inviting comparison with others' performance across a range of relevant
indicators, taking into account the views of both service users and potential
suppliers, | | Embracing fair competition as a means of securing efficient and effective
services, | | Ensuring public/private partnerships are accountable to local people while
maintain high standards of delivery and cost effectiveness, | | Continuing to give officers delegated responsibility to take decisions on
behalf of the local authority, enabling them to respond promptly and
effectively to neighbourhood demands, | | Coordinating programmes across all service delivery sectors, | | Prioritising service delivery to meet the needs identified by Parson Cross
Community Development Forum, particularly the needs of older people, | | Being responsive to changes in need and demand, | | Enforcing the law, particularly in respect of environmental health, safe food
and trading standards; |
|
| Promote community spirit by | Deploying a transportation system that assures access to services and jobs, | | Incorporating development controls, which encourage affordable housing,
minimal transportation impact, and family-friendly, safe neighbourhoods,
promoting quality in design and ensuring sustainable development. | | Responding to the needs of the few as well as the many, | | Supporting the development of citizenship and participation in democracy, | | Promoting a diverse political agenda, encouraging selection and support for
elected representatives from all sections of the community, | | Taking positive steps to ensure under-represented groups and minorities have a
voice, | | Giving a strong voice to this community at the highest level of government,
lobby those with the say and win benefits for our people, |
|
| Respond promptly to reports of crime and anti-social behaviour |
| Adopt crime prevention policies that fit the neighbourhood |
| Patrol the streets and be highly visible |
| Prioritise active policing based on the fears and concerns identified by local
people. |
| Support neighbourhood watch and community wardens |
| Take time to talk to young people and encourage them to talk back |
| Implement strong anti-drug policies |
| Implement low tolerance measures to combat street crime and repeat offenders
|
| Advise the community on personal safety, designing out crime and home security |
| Secure resources to implement diversion schemes and victim support and redress. |
| Protect witnesses and encourage participation in the courts and justice system |
| Use the powers available to deal appropriately with anti-social behaviour,
domestic violence and car crime. |
| Protect our property and make our streets safe at night |
| Promote volunteerism and advocacy on the social well-being agenda and areas of
action. |
| Coordinate individual ministries with areas of social well-being emphasis. |
| Open its doors to the community, providing safe and comfortable rooms for
activities and meetings. |
| Respect other faiths and seek joint working to promote harmony and tolerance. |
| Create a basic support system for families, screening all children at birth for
the level of support, which is needed by the family, and connecting the family with
appropriate services to provide that support. |
| Create a community-wide case management system that uses common intake and
eligibility information to meet individual and family needs. |
| Consolidate service provider infrastructure, where possible, to reduce costs and
invest in front line staff. |
| Engage with all providers in statutory, private and community sectors to develop
effective area wide services that are available at the time and at the point of
need. |
| Develop and deploy a coordinated, geographically accessible healthy eating regime |
| Develop programs that reduce unsafe behaviours, particularly among youth. |
| Provide help and advice to our youth, particularly in respect of sexual health and
substance abuse. |
| Support the Work of the Children's Commissioner. |
| Keep the community informed as to progress on social well-being goals and
programs. |
| Continue to promote social well-being outcomes and strategies to individuals and
groups. |
| Recognise employers with family-friendly workplaces. |
| Support environmental policies, promoting recycling and responsible waste
management |
| Be affordable |
| Be accessible and responsive to local issues |
| Utilise information from the Parson Cross Community Development Forum to help
shape their funding and development initiatives. |
| Becomes an advocate, along with others, for social well-being issues. |
| Increase the level of accessibility, particularly for social well-being causes, in
the Parson Cross Area. |
| Be responsible traders |
| Invest in their properties and keep the forecourts clean and accessible |
| Cooperate with the police and enforcement authorities to make shopping safe. |
| Provide fresh, affordable and healthy food |
| Encourage people to shop locally |
| Prevent young people from purchasing alcohol and other restricted products |
| Ensure your goods are safe, durable and of high quality. |
| Provide help and advice to customers in safe use of products and tools |
| Ensure your staff do not take up the parking spaces that customers need |
| Be aware of access issues for people with disabilities and older customers |
| Train your staff to be courteous, accurate and knowledgeable about your products
and services |
| Diversify, providing all the goods and services that people need. |
Parson Cross has a long history of voluntary activity, with a large, dynamic and
diverse voluntary, community and faith sector, with a wide range of relationships with
public agencies. In 1998, the Government published a national Compact or agreement with
the voluntary and community sectors, recognising the value of the sectors and the
importance of joint working. The Parson Cross Community Development Forum will negotiate
a compact that sets out a number of principles and guidelines as a framework for good
relations between the voluntary, community and faith sectors and the Local Strategic
Partnership. This compact places the city wide compact into a local setting.
The Compact will be agreed by all parties and enables;
| Recognition of the vital role that voluntary, community and faith groups make and
the importance of their continued independence. |
| Shared values, funding, consultation, strategic co-operation and Black and other
racial minority organisations outlining the commitments from all partners. |
The Compact recognises that voluntary, community and faith groups play a crucial role
in the development of society and to the social well-being, cultural, economic and
political life of Parson cross.
The Compact recognises that by working in partnership with the voluntary, community
and faith sectors, the partner agencies can play a positive role in supporting these
groups.
The following two action points will ensure that the Compact is effective in guiding
partnership working between partner agencies and the Voluntary Community and Faith
Groups:
| Draw up an action plan and a timetable for implementation of the Compact including
adoption of the Compact by individual organisations and adoption into the Standing
Orders of the City Council |
| Develop joint processes and procedures, which reflect the diversity of the
voluntary and community sectors, for reviewing the implementation of the Compact
annually. |
The voluntary, community and faith sectors (Voluntary Community and Faith Groups),
together with other agencies in the Strategic Partnership group agree on the following
principle and values:
| Voluntary, community and faith groups, as independent, not-for-profit
organisations, fulfil a role that is distinct from both the state and the market. |
| Diversity of funding sources; partnership working and strategic planning can be
one of the best guarantees of continued independence of the Voluntary, Community and
Faith Groups. |
| The importance of promoting equality of opportunity for all, regardless of race,
faith, age, disability, culture, gender or sexual orientation. |
| The need for special efforts to include groups who are excluded from
decision-making structures (such as geographically remote, self help or black and
racial minority groups). |
| That all partners should strive for integrity, objectivity, accountability,
openness and honesty. |
There is value in working together towards these shared principles and there is a
need for the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups to have support to play a full role in
partnerships.
Successful partnership is based on equal rights and responsibilities, mutual respect,
recognition of difference as well as similarity of purpose.
The independence of a Voluntary, Community and Faith Group includes its right, within
the law, to campaign and challenge policies and to determine and manage its own affairs
Partner-agencies that provide funding to the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups
sectors agree to:
| Implement a funding framework that invests in the capacity of the Voluntary
Community and Faith Groups infrastructure. |
| Promote funding policies that take account of the objectives of Voluntary
Community and Faith Groups organisations and their need to operate efficiently and
independently. |
| Respect the sector's independence and its' right to campaign, irrespective of any
existing funding relationship. |
| Promote the allocation of resources against clear, consistent and transparent
criteria. |
| Ensure that information about new and existing sources of funding, eligibility,
conditions of funding; grant size and application procedures are made widely
available in accessible formats. |
| Wherever possible, documentation for application forms, service level agreements,
leases etc should be standardised at appropriate levels and user friendly. |
| Ensure common and transparent arrangements for agreeing and evaluating objectives,
performance indicators and associated targets. |
| Ensure that funding conditions for the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups should
be no less favourable than for other sectors. |
| Ensure prompt payment of agreed funding. |
| Consult the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups upon changes to the funding
strategy during the planning stages. |
| Give reasonable notice to individual organisations about changes in the funding
position. |
| Recognise that significant changes to the funding programme and strategic planning
affect the viability of the Voluntary, Community, and Faith Groups. |
| Fund the proportion of an organisations core cost allocated to the management of
any particular project. |
| Assist voluntary and community groups to access additional streams of funding. |
| Recognise that many smaller community groups may not wish to have ongoing finding
from public bodies, but may still need access to one-off, fast track grants. |
The strategic partnership recognises the importance of the role that partner-agencies
have as funders and providers of resources to the voluntary, community and faith
sectors, some of which provide stability to the core resourcing of the sector. This, in
turn, can enable groups to generate additional funding and resources. The Voluntary
Community and Faith Groups value both financial and non-financial support provided by
LPG partner-agencies.
In order to meet the responsibility as recipients of funding, the voluntary,
community and faith sectors agree to:
| Pursue good practice in the use and administration of public funds. |
| Ensure effective systems for the management and accountability of finances. |
| Develop clear systems for planning and implementing work programmes and for
evaluating activities against agreed objectives. |
| Ensure equality of opportunity in both employment policy and in service provision |
| Submit applications that include details of core costs based on a fair and
proportionate allocation. |
| Develop clear and transparent procedures for the use of public funds and inform
funders when the organisation faces management or resource difficulties. |
The partner agencies agree to:
| Use a variety of mechanisms to ensure the flow of information between partner
agencies and the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups. |
| Consult on all issues that may affect the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups. |
| Ensure that consultation takes place at the developmental stage so that possible
implications for the sector are identified. |
| Enable the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups to raise concerns at an early
stage and have a role in shaping the agenda as well as responding to the agenda of
others. |
| Provide the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups with regular and clear
information about the functions of their departments, and the named contact people. |
| Take account of the diverse needs and perspectives of the Voluntary Community and
Faith Groups, including: |
| Providing jargon-free, concise and well laid out information |
| Where appropriate provide information in a variety of formats including
translations, Braille and recorded tape |
| Holding meetings in accessible buildings and at appropriate times |
| Allow a reasonable time for the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups to respond to
consultation. |
| Ensure that all communications are standardised at appropriate levels and
user-friendly. |
| Analyse and evaluate the results of consultation exercises and provide feedback of
the results and their outcomes to the Voluntary Community and Faith Groups. |
Consultation needs resourcing within LPG partner agencies and the Voluntary Community
and Faith Groups. The resource implications of consultations by Voluntary Community and
Faith Groups and umbrella bodies should be recognised.
The voluntary, community and faith sectors agree to:
| Pursue good practice in achieving inclusive representation when responding to and
feeding into consultation exercises. |
| The diverse expertise and experience of the voluntary, community and faith sectors
is a valued source of informed opinion. Effective consultation should enable the
Voluntary Community and Faith Groups to bring their knowledge and expertise to bear
on local policy development on behalf of the organisations and communities within
which they work. |
| Achieve inclusive representation by co-operating with each other through
intermediary bodies and regional or sub-regional networks. |
| Take account of the specific needs, interests and contributions of minority groups
and the socially excluded. |
| Ensure that feedback from consultation is disseminated widely within their
particular organisation, network or community of interest. |
| Identify the relevant networks and umbrella bodies for communication between the
Voluntary Community and Faith Groups and LPG partner agencies. |
Partner agencies and the voluntary, community and faith sectors are committed to:
| Seeking to co-operate on matters such as planning, policy development, service
delivery and other issues relevant to all parties. |
| Recognising that consultation needs resourcing within LPG partner agencies and the
Voluntary Community and Faith Groups. The time, resource and capacity implications
of partnership working should be recognised by all partner agencies and appropriate
resources made available. |
| Making use of appropriate training and development opportunities, recognising the
role of trustees or senior staff. |
| Ensuring that all parties are able to contribute as equal partners in partnership
structures. |
| Developing processes and procedures for reviewing the Compact on a regular basis. |
| Developing procedures to deal with disputes between Voluntary Community and Faith
Groups organisations and the LPG & partner agencies in relation to the
implementation of the Compact. |