AGENDA ITEM 5
THE PARTNERSHIP AGENDA FOR CUMBRIA
1.
Executive Summary
1.1
This report presents CSP Partners with an update on the current and forward
agenda for Cumbria.
2.
Background
2.1
The paper covers
 the current LAA final report, showing progress against current targets
 the 2008 LAA and Community Strategy showing the way forward for
Cumbria including work around spatial planning within the Regional and
Sub regional Spatial Frameworks
 community engagement
 developing Area Profiles
2.2
The CSP review is, along with a commitment from Partners, the absolute
backbone of the developing agenda for Cumbria and as such plays an important
part in the delivery of outcomes and targets agreed both, locally with partners
and those negotiated with GONW.
3.
Local Area Agreement 07-10 – Full Year Report
3.1
Cumbria signed off its first Local Area Agreement (LAA) in March 2007 and
partners have been working together to deliver against the outcomes targets in
the Agreement. The report in appendix 1 (to follow) provides the full year update
on performance and will be discussed in detail at the Executive Board meeting on
14th May at 1.30pm.
3.2
This report contains an overview of the whole LAA as well as a summary of
progress made with each block, however it must be noted that the development
and delivery of the LAA has had benefits beyond that of improving performance
and delivering on targets. Improvements include strengthened partnership
working and increased collaboration between organisations about data sharing.
3.3
A Lessons Leant report has been developed which captures key learning points
about
 Building on successes and achievements- good practice
 Prioritisation and ownership of outcomes
 Commissioning and delivery
 Effective decision making
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Accountabilities and responsibilities
Financial, performance and risk management
Elected Member engagement
Impact on communities
4.
Community Strategy 2008-28
4.1
The format and content of the final version of the Community Strategy has been
extensively reviewed and revised in light of the consultation responses received
alongside development work with partners. The version presented to you in
appendix 2 has now been to Full (Cumbria County) Council (24th April) and will be
presented to the CSP Executive (14th May) for agreement.
4.2
Work has now started to finalise publication of the document and colleagues in
the CSP office will be liaising with partners to construct a delivery map, which,
together with the activities driven through the Local Area Agreement, will show
how the outcomes set out in the Community Strategy will be delivered by
Partners.
4.3
The Strategy and the issues raised within it are based on need identified through
a solid evidence base, to be included as an appendix to the final document, and
further locality focussed evidence will be used when Thematic Partnerships and
partner organisations develop activities to support delivery.
5.
Community Engagement Framework
5.1
In order to deliver the outcomes set out in the strategy and to communicate
improvements to communities, an improved approach to community engagement
is being addressed through the Community Engagement Framework.
5.2
Two years ago, Cumbria County Council published ‘Local Matters: a Framework
for Community Engagement’. This was followed by ‘Local Matters in Action’,
which offered evidence of best practice in listening to, and learning from,
Cumbria’s diverse communities.
5.3
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, demands this
strong commitment to community engagement and will impose additional duties
on local government to secure this.
5.4
Alongside this statutory duty, partners within Cumbria have recognised that, too
often decisions are taken without effective consultation or involvement. This can
alienate the community and is unlikely to result in effective organisational
learning. To address this we have developed the Community Engagement
Framework (appendix 3) in order to embed the commitment to community
engagement across Cumbria.
5.5
The framework and methodology will ensure that decision making and service
delivery is in line with community need. The Cumbria Strategic Partnership has
a key role to play in securing a robust approach to community engagement and is
asked to endorse and adopt this framework, and audit their practices to ensure
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decisions and services are open to scrutiny and challenge. An ad hoc officer
group is being established to support effective implementation of community
engagement.
6.
Area Profiles - Using a Locality Focussed Evidence Base
6.1
As noted above, a solid evidence base underpins the key strategic documents in
Cumbria. Their success in directing activity to improve quality of life in the
county depends, to a large extent, on the issues and challenges that they
highlight.
6.2
A series of Area Profiles has been developed under the banner of the Cumbria
Intelligence Observatory. The Profiles cover the traditional topics (including
aspects of deprivation, demographics, house prices and incomes). They also
incorporate the views of local residents about which issues are important to
them, how satisfied they are with public services and the extent to which they
feel that they can influence decisions in their local area. Although this citizencentric data is clearly crucial for service planning it has been absent in past area
profiles.
6.3
The profiles will be developed further over the coming months. They are
currently limited to 1 page in an effort to ensure that the information contained
remains actionable.
6.4
The full profiling spreadsheet will be available to download from the Cumbria
Intelligence Observatory website later this week. Comments and suggestions for
developments are welcomed.
7.
Response to the Regional Spatial Strategy
7.1
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 strengthened the importance of
regional planning by introducing Regional Spatial Strategies which bring together
economic, social and environmental issues linked to planning in a coherent
framework.
7.2
The Regional Spatial Strategy is part of the statutory development plan for every
local authority in the North West and provides a framework for determining
planning applications, development and investment, as well as for preparing both
Local Development Documents and Local Transport Plans over the next fifteen to
twenty years.
7.3
The Regional Spatial Strategy will play an important part in the delivery of the
Community Strategy due to the constraints that the strategy may place on and
opportunities it may open for, developments that are needed to deliver the
outcomes set out in the Community Strategy and Sub Regional Spatial Strategy.
7.4
A public consultation on the proposed changes to the draft Regional Spatial
Strategy for the North West of England was launched on 20 March 2008. The
Executive Board will be asked to endorse the proposed response to the draft
Regional Spatial Strategy set out in appendix 4 at its meeting at 1.30pm on 14 th
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May. By joining together in a response, we are providing a partnership voice
towards development in Cumbria and the North West as a whole.
8
Sub Regional Spatial Strategy
8.1
The sub regional Spatial Strategy set out in appendix 5 provides a long term
spatial vision, which expresses those parts of the Community Strategy that relate
to the use and development of land. It provides the spatial framework required
to support the implementation of the Community Strategy.
8.2
To achieve more balanced communities and reduce inequality in Cumbria, three
spatial objectives have been identified in the Strategy;
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To reduce the dependency for high level services/jobs on towns outside
Cumbria.
To increase the viability and complementary nature of towns and villages
throughout Cumbria.
To develop and maintain high quality modern and integrated transport
networks.
9.
The Local Area Agreement 08-11 - Draft Agreement and Next Steps
9.1
The draft LAA at appendix 6 has been developed through the CSP and its
Thematic Partnerships, with leadership provided by Cumbria County Council as
responsible authority. The framework for the development of the draft LAA has
been the emerging Community Strategy for Cumbria.
9.2
The draft LAA contains:

35 ‘designated’ targets – these targets are set against indicators selected
from the new National Indicator Set (NIS) of 198 indicators and are
negotiated with Government
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16 statutory education and early years targets – these targets are also
from the NIS
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a number of local targets – these are targets agreed by local partners for
inclusion in the LAA but are not negotiated with Government
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12 stretch targets – these targets are a legacy from Cumbria’s first LAA
and are set for 2008/09 and 2009/10
9.3
Negotiation is continuing on the content of the LAA. The draft (Appendix 5)
reflects the current position of negotiations. Significant progress has been made
on agreeing the priorities and indicators to be included in the Agreement, the
establishment of a baseline for each indicator, and the negotiation of targets for
the three years 2008 – 2011. Regular updates of the draft LAA are placed on the
CSP website.
9.4
The final draft LAA will be submitted to Government Office North West (GONW)
by 30th May prior to Ministerial sign-off in June. Cumbria County Council’s
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Cabinet (with delegated authority from the full Cumbria County Council)
considered the current draft LAA on 13th May, and delegated authority has been
given to the Chief Executive of Cumbria County Council to make final
amendments to the draft LAA, in consultation with the Leader of Cumbria County
Council, resulting from continued negotiations prior to final submission by 30 th
May.
9.5
Delivery arrangements are also being put in place during this period of
negotiation. This work is being co-ordinated through the Thematic Partnerships
of the CSP, in accordance with the shared Governance Framework agreed by
Partners last year. This work covers:
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Financial Planning
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Performance Management and Data Quality
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Risk Management
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Action Planning
Arrangements to provide further support to partners in this work are in
development
10.
Partnership Development
10.1
The Executive Board at its last meeting agreed to commission the Leadership
Centre to support partnership development in Cumbria. This is to build on the
existing governance framework and develop the concepts set out in the
‘Governance of Cumbria in Partnership’ paper.
10.2
Since then, the Leadership Centre has been developing its understanding of the
current context and opportunities for development work in Cumbria. Recognising
the potential for Cumbria to be at the forefront of new ways of working, the
Centre has used its network of national contacts at CLG, LGA and other sector
representatives on the Public Sector Leadership Alliance to broaden support and
interest in this work.
10.3
Central to the work will be a desire to make partnership activity more responsive
to the needs and aspirations of people living in Cumbria. Following the approach
taken in the draft Community Strategy, it will also explore how the collective
skills and energy of CSP partners can, together, have a greater impact on
achieving the outcomes.
10.4
The Centre has now identified three key dimensions of the work;
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Improving understanding and use of governance arrangements across the
partnership
Supporting development of the role of a public service board
Facilitating engagement of wider range of stakeholders in delivery on our
shared priorities
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10.5
A project inception meeting has been held and preliminary meetings are taking
place with a number of CSP partners – either individually or through joint
meetings.
10.6
This work will be fully integrated with planned activities to implement the
Community Strategy and LAA thereby ensuring most effective use of time and
energy.
10.7
The Leadership Centre and CSP team will collaborate on a joint approach to
communication to ensure all partners are kept engaged and involved throughout
this work, and a verbal update on progress will be given at the meeting.
11.
Conclusion
11.1
This paper has set out the emerging agenda for the development and
improvement of Cumbria. The partnership development has an important part to
play in this agenda as an effective partnership approach will be instrumental in
delivering the Community Strategy; to which, all other strategies and frameworks
are inextricably linked. The Regional and Sub regional Spatial Strategies provide
the spatial framework for the outcomes in the Community Strategy and the
Community Engagement framework sets out the processes which should be
fundamental to this work, helping to develop a clearer understanding of the
issues important in each locality in the county. The Local Area Agreement will
be a central part of the Community Strategy delivery plan and as such the targets
set out in the LAA will play a large part in delivering the strategic outcomes over
time for the County. And finally without the robust evidence base and data
gathering process, we would not be able to measure performance against
Cumbrian outcomes.
11.2
Partners are reminded that they are expected to ensure that all partner
organisations are familiar with both the process and the emerging content of
these important documents and projects and have been, and continue to be
engaged in their development and implementation.
Sue Stevenson
CSP Manager
14th May 08
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