'Communities in Control' - White Paper Workshop, Kent

Date and Time	Venue	Cost	Contact
03 Nov 2008	Ashford Borough Council	Free	Emily Parrett

PtP in conjunction with SEE have run a series of free workshops across the Region, aimed at LSPs, councillors and local authority officers. The aim of the events has been to update delegates on the Government's community engagement agenda and to find out what initiatives are already in place locally, and to ascertain areas of concern and uncertainty.
The events have very successful with some lively discussions and sharing of good practice.

Background:

The White Paper “Communities in Control: real people, real power” aims to bring communities closer to local decision making, and build a stronger role for local councillors. Highlights of the White Paper include:

A new duty for local authorities to promote democracy
Extending the existing ‘duty to involve’ local people in key decisions
Councils to be subject to a new duty to respond to petitions
Powers of overview and scrutiny to be updated and made more visible to the public
Making it easier for people to get a directly elected mayor

The new Local Area Agreements have given authorities an opportunity to work with their key service delivery partners to respond to local needs and lead the design and delivery of public services in their localities, whilst a slimmed down list of assessment indicators has the potential to allow local authorities more freedom to prioritise the issues that really matter in their areas.

Comprehensive Area Assessments (CAAs), which are replacing Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPAs) from April 2009, will focus much more on the performance of an area, rather than individual organisations and will expect to find evidence of strong partnership arrangements and services that are clearly driven by the needs of the local community. ‘Communities in Control’ gives an insight into how the government is expecting this to be done.

Why SEE and PtP are holding this event:

To raise awareness of the White Paper
To explore the likely impact on local authorities and LSPs
To showcase good and innovative practice already in place
To explore what kind of support SEE and PtP might offer to the Region

Objectives/Outcomes of the event:

Delegates develop their understanding of the White Paper
Delegates are aware of how the White Paper might impact an area through the Comprehensive Area Assessment
Delegates discuss their current community empowerment activities and how these might be developed further.

12:00: Registration and Refreshments

12:30: Welcome and introduction from host

12:40: Presentations