Area Partnerships and Consultation
Three Area Partnerships are proposed to take over from the present 6 Local Area Partnerships (LSPs) which are coterminous with the Districts they currently serve. With the single unitary and the three community areas planned, people are invited to forward their comments to the NSP by 26 September about the draft terms of reference etc.
Consultation letter For information as to what these Area Partnerships would do, who would be members and what their structure would look like etc. click on
Partnership update-aug08.pdf . The VCS Consortium is considering a response so it would be very helpful if voluntary and community organisations would also forward their views to georgecourtice@ca-north.org.uk
Area Meetings
At the beginning of June meetings in Hexham, Ashington and Alnwick were arranged for voluntary and community organisations to find out more about the state of local government reform and for them to identify what was working best and what they wanted to retain or reformed. A summary report is available
Area Meetings Report.pdf 50.46 KB 11.07.2008 16:54
Changes to Local Government and the arrival of 'natural' communities
The new council was elected on May 1 and, although no single party has overall control, the Liberal Democrats have formed an administration. The leader of the council is Jeff Reid and the Deputy Leader is Roger Styring. Here is the Party breakdown of the 67 divisions.
- Lib Dems 26
- Conservatives 17
- Labour 17
- Independents 7
Meanwhile the voluntary and community sector needs to make sure that its interests, and those of its beneficiaries, are central to the discussions over converting seven authorities into one. It is a massive task in itself, but if new ways of working don't evolve and new and better relationships don't develop then the opportunities will be wasted. The Consortium has already written to all the successful candidates pointing this out.
ltr to new cllrs.doc 28.00 KB 07.05.2008 18:07
Currently a number of VCS voices are present on a variety of work streams and cluster groups. David Francis, Director of CAN, leads the activity davidfrancis@ca-north.org.uk and reports to the Consortium on progress. An immediate concern is to ensure that the best relationships and arrangements, built up over the years with the outgoing District Councils, are preserved. A baselining exercise is coming to fruition which examined the whole gamut of engagement from grants to discretionary rate relief.
To get your head around the language of transition and to discover the difference between a workstream and an accelerator ...and much more... have a look at the latest Joint Implementation Team (JIT) News release
JIT News acc projects July 08.pdf as well as this one
JIT News July 08.pdf .
For those who want to know how the jockeying for senior postions on the new council has worked out, try this
NewCouncilNews_DirectorAppointments July iss3.pdf You will see that crucial Director level jobs are still to be appointed...so watch this space.
And for those who want to know the details of the structure:
LGR JIT Structure Diagram 1.pdf and
structure diagram 2.pdf For previous months:
JIT newsletter June08.pdf
Much of the debate over the last few months has centred around the borders of the the proposed Belonging Communities and in which of the Community Areas (formerly known as Characteristic Areas) they were going to be included. This is the latest version we have been able to obtain.
Map of Bel Comms and Areas March 08.pdf However, the new administration appears eager to distance itself from the name "Belonging Communities" and plans to use an alternative.
The Whole Council Blueprint Design
The Joint Implementation Team has produced a blueprint which details the priorities and how things are to be organised. The aim is to ensure that when the changes take place everyone sticks to this agreed framework. A hard copy of the summary can be requested by emailing: generalenquiries@newnorthumberland.org.uk or by calling 01670 533308.
