Our Society in Dudley Borough – our local partnership approach to the Big Society concept and Localism agenda

Our Society – the approach

Not starting from scratch

Our approach recognises that outcomes and activities sought in a Big Society already exist across our Borough, in our neighbourhoods, local businesses, public sector agencies, voluntary organisations, communities and faith groups. 

We recognise however that existing activities are not enough.  The borough needs to do more and needs to do differently to meet the challenges presented in this current climate of austerity and a retreating state.  We need to respond locally to the Government’s drive within the Big Society concept and the related legislation, by enabling and supporting the expansion of civic and civil society.

Relationship Change

The changes in National Policy necessitate that the relationship between local government and the local Public Sector and the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector and with citizens will be different in future.  There will be less public sector delivery and more commissioning and establishment of alternative delivery mechanisms. There will be more transparency and greater involvement of citizens in decision making, influencing services and challenging services. 

Changes required will encompass; transforming balances of power, changing the capacity of public sector organisations to become more open to influence, and moving from being a controller to an enabler; and building capacity within the communities and people of the Borough to hold greater responsibilities in designing services and plans and to bid for service delivery contracts.

Our agreed principles

Existing commitments in our Community Strategy, Local Compact and Comprehensive Community Engagement Strategy will guide our approach, and in particular principles in our Community Strategy around;

• promoting equality and tackling inequality,

• delivering in partnership and

• involving people.

In order to achieve a changed relationship, with public sector agencies as enablers, a commitment is required to the 6 essential steps to decentralisation in summary:

• Lift the burden of bureaucracy

• Empower Communities to go things their way

• Increase local control of public finances (ie. Community budgets)

• Diversify supply of public services

• Open up government to scrutiny

• Strengthen accountability to local people

It is important that a changed relationship  between the public sector and the voluntary, community and faith sector  is negotiated between sectors to ensure a best-fit that suits all partners.  Both sectors and different organisations will have their own expectations of how new National Policy will effect local delivery, that may be quite different.  A mutual agreement of how the relationship will change locally is required.

What are we doing about it?

Activities that fit the Big Society ideology are already happening and will continue to happen as various people within and outside of organisations recognise the potential and the need to do something either as a business opportunity or as a philanthropic or social act.

Working in partnership with the public sector and the voluntary community and faith sector, we are preparing for new legislation and putting in place the framework for a changed cross-sector relationship, which is also being used by the Council’s internal Our Society Group.  We are;

• recognising what local changes we need to make,

• identifying where appropriate activities exist that could be developed and/or learnt from;

• identifying where new activity and policy development is required, and what this should look like.

There are 2 main interconnected strands to the Our Society work, integral to Localism and Open Services:

• Community Empowerment 

• Community Rights

Civil and Civic Action, including volunteering is a third area focus, which will be interweaved throughout the Our Society work.  There is past, current and new activity that we can already learn from.

Community Empowerment  

This is about the public sector being more open to influence with individuals and communities influencing public service design and delivery to better meet their needs.  This approach is not about communities and individuals being consulted by public services. The aim is for an open and ongoing two-way relationship between the service providers and their users and potential users. The outcome will be service transformation through the experiences and considerations of people and communities.

This work centres around engaging together - Dudley's empowering approach to engaging communities. Work on engaging together (previously called in it together) began in 2007 and has involved key public services and the voluntary, community and faith sector. Research undertaken in the Borough identified that involving communities and service users in decisions to shape or improve services, or even delivering services with public agencies isn’t easy and that not everyone feels confident about working with community groups and the public.

There is past, current and new activity that we can learn from, including: 

• Established and new user forums
• North Dudley Engagement Strategy proposals
• Neighbourhood Planning developments
• Big Local, Community Development Trust, East Coseley

Community Rights

As within the Localism Bill, this is about communities being able to; develop new homes, businesses, shops and amenities without the usual need for planning permission; express interest in bidding to take over a local public service which they would like to run better or differently; and protect land and buildings that are important to them and to help save facilities that may be threatened with closure.

This work is being guided through a research and learning project being funded through Barrow Cadbury and led by Urban Forum and Dudley Council for Voluntary Services, entitled ‘Community Rights Made Real.’ 

The project will raise awareness of the proposed community rights, test willingness for communities to take up these rights and will focus on marginalised communities.  The outcomes of the project will inform National Policy and Urban Forum will disseminate the learning gained in Dudley Nationally.  Local opportunities will also be identified to support communities to take up the rights.

There is past, current and new activity that we can learn from, including:

• Lye and Wollescote Chapels asset transfer

• Transition Stourbridge waste minimisation proposals for a ‘Tip Shop’

• Wrens Nest Community Centre asset transfer

• Parents and carers delivering services for parents and carers

• Micro commissioning for personal budget users

The Our Society Steering Group

An Our Society Steering Group has been set up within the DCP to provide strategic leadership, steer the Our Society Planning Group’s work, be a conduit to decision makers and seek to remove barriers. 

Current members are:

• Andy Gray (DCVS Chief Officer),

• Dennis Hodson (DCP Director),

• Geoff Thomas (Assistant Director - Policy & Improvement),

• Lorna Prescott (Senior Development Officer DCVS),

• Joanne Weston (Development Manager DCP),

• Melissa Guest (DCVS Communications Development Officer),

• Andy Wright (DMBC Head of Corporate Policy & Research), and

• Donna Roberts (DMBC Research & Intelligence Officer).

The Local Authority has created their own internal Our Society Group to raise awareness among service areas and staff that are most likely to need to respond to the Localism Bill and the Open Services White Paper and support those services in preparing appropriate responses to approaches from the community.

Contacts:

DCP—Joanne Weston, 01384 811633, joanne.weston@dudley.gov.uk

DMBC—Andy Wright, 01384 814147, andy.wright@dudley.gov.uk

DCVS—Lorna Prescott, 01384 265363, lorna@dudleycvs.org.uk