1

Camilla SheldonDecentralisation and Big Society

Department for Communities and Local Government February 2013

“You’ve Got the Power”Big Society in the UK

2

The challenge

“There is a gap between the kind of future to which most people aspire and the future they are likely to create if they carry on thinking and behaving as they do now”

Matthew Taylor, RSA June 2011

“Same old same old will simply give us more of what we’ve already got, so unless we think everything is perfect we need to change the way

we do things”

UK Parish Councillor

3

The political vision

“We know that the best ideas come from the ground up, not the top down. When you give people and communities more power over their lives, more power to come together and work together to make life better – great things happen”

David Cameron, Prime Minister

“Local residents…..are what make a neighbourhood, define it, give it life and purpose… neighbourhoods are where local democracy begins. They are the

building blocks of society.

People feel rooted in their neighbourhood. They are proud of it. It’s where they have the most immediate ties, the closest loyalties. It’s where they are most

ready to get involved.”

Eric Pickles MP

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

4

Public service reform at a time of fiscal restraint

• Main focus of Government is on promoting Growth

• But we’re also looking at more effective and efficient ways to commission public services

• And giving communities more control of their neighbourhoods

Localism Act 2011

Created to set communities free to build the future they aspire to

5

Whole Place Community Budgets/ Public Service Transformation Network

More effective and efficient public services by maximising economies of scale.

Single public service budget for more integrated outcomes and approaches in a local authority or across groups of authorities.

Devolving power - very local tailoring, identifying gaps and trade-offs, removing duplication, making best use of local community resources.

National commissioning – e.g. Work Programme

Our Place! Community Rights

Sharing services and savings across council areas

Public service reform at a time of fiscal restraint

6

Devolving power - the challenge

• Doing things at the lowest possible level wherever possible and only involving central government if absolutely necessary

• Giving away power to individuals, professionals, communities and local institutions

• A society where people, neighbourhoods and communities have more power and responsibility and use it to create better services and outcomes

7

We’re helping communities to take control…

Have ideas about how your neighbourhood or community should develop?

Have ideas about how your neighbourhood or community should develop?

Local places such as pub, shop or community centre closing?Local places such as pub, shop or community centre closing?

Want to raise money for local community projects?Want to raise money for local community projects?

Have ideas about how to fix local problems?Have ideas about how to fix local problems?

Think you could run a local public service better?Think you could run a local public service better?

Want to run your community with your neighbours?Want to run your community with your neighbours?

Could you improve the way your housing is managed?Could you improve the way your housing is managed?

Could you make better use of vacant or underused land or buildings in your community?

Could you make better use of vacant or underused land or buildings in your community?

Neighbourhood Planning Community Right to BuildCommunity Infrastructure Levy

Neighbourhood Planning Community Right to BuildCommunity Infrastructure Levy

Community Right to BidCommunity Asset TransferCommunity Right to BidCommunity Asset Transfer

Community SharesCommunity Shares

Our Place!Our Place!

Community Right to ChallengeCommunity Right to Challenge

Establish a Parish CouncilEstablish a Parish Council

Right to ManageRight to Manage

Right to Reclaim LandCompulsory Purchase OrderRight to Reclaim LandCompulsory Purchase Order

What do you want to do? What’s the solution?

8

The available support…

DCLGDCLG

Community assets £17.5m 2012/15

Community assets £17.5m 2012/15

Right to challenge£10.5m 2012/15

Right to challenge£10.5m 2012/15

Community shares £590k 2012/15

Community shares £590k 2012/15

Right to build£17m 2012/15Right to build

£17m 2012/15

Tenant Empowerment Fund up to £8m 2011/15Tenant Empowerment Fund up to £8m 2011/15

Neighbourhood planning£7.5m 2013/15

Neighbourhood planning£7.5m 2013/15

Office for Civil SocietyOffice for Civil Society

National Citizen Service£240m 2012/15

National Citizen Service£240m 2012/15

Community First £80m 2011/15

Community First £80m 2011/15

Community Organisers£27m 2011/15

Community Organisers£27m 2011/15

Neighbourhood Budgets£8.2m 2012/15

Neighbourhood Budgets£8.2m 2012/15

Others, e.g.Others, e.g.

Big LotteryBig Lottery

Heritage Lottery FundHeritage Lottery Fund

Big Society CapitalBig Society Capital

OCS also fund infrastructure organisations including:-Social Action Fund-Investment and Contract Readiness Fund-Innovation in Giving-Mutuals Support Programme

OCS also fund infrastructure organisations including:-Social Action Fund-Investment and Contract Readiness Fund-Innovation in Giving-Mutuals Support Programme

Government also provides support

for community action in specific areas including

education, health and culture.

Government also provides support

for community action in specific areas including

education, health and culture.

We’re joining this up for communities via a new website and advice line

We’re joining this up for communities via a new website and advice line

9

We are seeing change:Communities are on the case and

momentum is building…

Creating demandCreating demand

Over 200,000 web hits

Over 6,000 applications

and enquires

Over 200,000 web hits

Over 6,000 applications

and enquires

Where we are nowWhere we are now

477 designated neighbourhood planning areas; three ‘yes’ votes477 designated neighbourhood

planning areas; three ‘yes’ votes

2 Community Right to Build Orders approved

2 Community Right to Build Orders approved

556 Community assets listed under Community Right to

Bid

556 Community assets listed under Community Right to

Bid

95 Community Share offers £9m combined value

95 Community Share offers £9m combined value

12 Neighbourhood Community Budget pilot

areas

12 Neighbourhood Community Budget pilot

areas

140 Challenge organisations supported

140 Challenge organisations supported

Project start: supporting campaigns for new parishes

Project start: supporting campaigns for new parishes

In next 12 monthsIn next 12 months

1,000 areas designated; dozens

of referenda

1,000 areas designated; dozens

of referenda

8 Community Right to Build orders

8 Community Right to Build orders

1,000 assets listed1,000 assets listed

145 share offers£22m

145 share offers£22m

100+ Our Place! areas (12-24m)100+ Our Place! areas (12-24m)

300 organisations supported

300 organisations supported

30 campaigns for new parishes

supported

30 campaigns for new parishes

supported

Our ambitionOur ambition

1000s of areas designated; 100’s referenda

1000s of areas designated; 100’s referenda

10,000 assets listed10,000 assets listed

1000 share offers£100m+

1000 share offers£100m+

1000s of Our Place! areas

1000s of Our Place! areas

One Year On…Over 1,000

communities using one or more

of the Rights to date

10

....in every region!

11

Our Place!

The concept is simple

The Our Place! approach means putting the community at the heart of decision making and bringing together the right people - councillors, public servants, businesses, voluntary and community organisations, and the community themselves - to revolutionise the way a neighbourhood works.

12 pioneer neighbourhoods have been testing this (under the name Neighbourhood Community Budgets)

No blueprint

12

… there is local aspiration

“we want to see the community [in Bradford] taking

ownership of local issues”

“…give the people of [White City] ultimate control

over the decisions which affect them”

“services that are Haverhill-specific, drivenby local people and managed by the OneHaverhill Partnership”

“lone working eradicated! Our public, private & voluntary service ‘team’ [in Ilfracombe] will work with the community to identify & tackle problems together”

“a community led approach to service delivery [in Sherwood] focused on preventative rather than reactive activity”

“create a sense of 'ownership' andbelonging [in Queens Park]”

13

14

12 Our Place! Pioneers

Parish Councils

Ilfracombe;Haverhill;

VCS

Queens Park;Little Horton (Bradford);

Poplar (Tower Hamlets);

Castle Vale (Birmingham);

Balsall Heath (Birmingham)

Local Authorities

Cowgate, Kenton Bar & Montague (Newcastle)

White City;Norbiton;Sherwood (Tunbridge Wells);

Shard End (Birmingham);

Type Neighbourhood Themes

Troubled families; Health & well being;Community assets;

Housing;Worklessness;

Skills and trainingSocial enterprise;

Local Economic Growth;Anti social behaviour;

Gang violence;

15

Our Place! Ilfracombe

Small coastal town, pockets of deprivation and social isolation. Population: 12,500

Focus: Involving residents to improve health and wellbeing; local businesses to improve skills and employment prospects; joining up the way service providers work in Ilfracombe to save money and meet residents’ priorities

Outcomes: New management/delivery model – One Ilfracombe. Local management of devolved budget from North Devon Council and Community

Centre transferred from Devon County Council. New role for Parish Council as community engagement vehicle. Innovative Virtual Bank to create a balance of payments for the town

Future: One Ilfracombe will manage, deliver and commission services Services will be redesigned the around the person, not the agency and will focus on

prevention and reducing demand; The community and volunteers will help design & provide the solution to local issues.

16

Our Place! White City

Ward in Hammersmith & Fulham: deprived neighbourhood adjacent to areas of significant wealth and redevelopment. Population – 25,000

Aim: to decentralise decisions on, and delivery of, public services and increase democratic participation and social responsibility.

Outcomes: A new community-led social enterprise - White

City Enterprise - able to deliver local

services, including a Parent Mentor Network

and provide local jobs Local Neighbourhood Community Safety Panel Community leadership of the design and delivery of a collaborative care centre Community involvement in management of social housing – leading to improved quality Increase in volunteering Levering in of private sector funding and resources

Future: co-design of services with the community is ‘business as usual volunteering to improve life chances for all is ‘business as usual’

17

Our Place! Poplar

(Part of) two wards in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived boroughs in London (and the country): ethnically diverse, population of 25,000; area is characterised by poverty, high levels of worklessness and poor health.

Focus: health (specifically diabetes), jobs, education

and young people

Outcomes: A care package approach to tackling diabetes

looking at prevention and treatment A network of trained volunteer ‘Health Makers’ Training and support services delivered from local community centre

Future: Further collaborative activities between the partner agencies and community in Poplar.

Local people involved in service design, delivery and decision making. Efficiencies: An investment of £1 million in this new approach is forecast to yield

benefits to the NHS of £4million over a 5 year period.

18

Our Place! Haverhill

Established market town located at the conjunction of Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.15 miles from Cambridge and 22 miles from Bury St. Edmunds. Diverse population(c24,000): areas of high deprivation, alongside areas of relative affluence.

Focus: young people and the physical environment

Outcomes: A joined-up skills/work offer ensuring that FE

training is more geared to local business needs more apprenticeship / work experience opportunities

are available for young people Better local coordination of public realm services, supplemented by a growing army of

community volunteers

Future: Moving towards a single, locally managed youth services offer

for Haverhill Expanding this approach into other public service areas

19

What we learned

• An Our Place! approach generates better services Services are tailored to the needs of the neighbourhood Communities can reach and influence hard to help groups Public service providers work better together, with the community and with business

• An Our Place! approach makes neighbourhood spend go further

Communities are taking control of local services and assets, to reduce waste and generate savings

Local people are coming forward to volunteer alongside statutory services Free professional support for community organisations Businesses are coming forward with ‘in-kind’ support

• An Our Place! approach creates more resilient communities Communities are influencing decisions about services and ‘spend’ in their

neighbourhood New community role for councillors Increased democratic engagement

20

Our Place! next steps

• We want to build a movement of people taking a neighbourhood approach to tackling the issues which matter to them

• We want to see at least another 100 areas working in this way as soon as possible.

• We are making available £4.3 million to support other neighbourhoods (LAs and VCS) – through a mix of grant and advice.

• Over 200 organisations have already made contact

• Support will be available to local authorities, other service providers and community organisations who have identified an issue they wish to address

• Aiming for the support to be as flexible as possible to reflect different starting points

• Neighbourhoods will be expected to share learning, mentor new areas and potentially become Our Place! champions

2121

What’s the catch?

• There isn’t one - the new powers and opportunities, if used well, can radically improve where people live

What next?

• Encouraging use of the new powers and opportunities

And the end game?

• Whatever our communities want it to be…our message to them is:“You’ve got the power”

www.mycommunityrights.org.ukwww.communityshares.org.uk

www.gov.uk

22