NVSC - Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium
Local Area Agreement
September 17, 2008
The delivery document was signed off in Newham by the Newham Partnership Board in July - the full report is available at: http://www.newham.gov.uk/Services/PartnershipsAndOutsideBodiesInNewham/AboutUs/TheLocalAreaAgreement.htm.
The Delivery Plan was developed, through the Local Area Partnership Boards and it has been a real struggle to get the Voluntary Sector recognised as a delivery partner and there have been few successes. However your representatives on each of the LAPB's will continue to make the case - for the sectors to be seen as key stakeholders.
NVSC has continued to press for properly elected representatives on each of the LAPB's - and that there should be consistency between the LAPB's. We are hoping that this issue, alongside the lack of representatives on the Newham Partnership Board will soon be resolved.
In the meantime here are some headlines from each of the LAPB's that we do have representatives on, together with the names of the reps.
Better Health and Wellbeing theme has 4 outcomes and 6 indicators.
The LAA team is compiling a list of activities which will contribute to the indicator targets.
The Better Health and Wellbeing Local Area Partnership Board has reconvened the LAA Working Group to look into the activities and performance measures.
Voluntary sector involvement in these processes has resulted in improved recognition of the mental health needs of people of working age and in breaking down the reports received for some of the indicators by age bands to monitor the impact on older people.
The performance management framework is to be discussed at the next Better Health and Wellbeing Local Area Partnership Board meeting.
Your reps are: Sahdia Warraich, Sue McCarthey,John Connor and Maureen Keane.
Employment and Workforce Development:
Organisations expressed concerns over the way DWP funding will be distributed as it will have two main impacts. The main one being that local organisations will struggle to secure contracts due to their scale and on a secondary level, the funding is not devised to encourage training or support with only 20% of the allocation set for intervention. As target groups have changed, there are now harder to help groups that are entering mandatory intervention.
The LA is keen to invest in more people getting into work and there are particular concerns around people with children. This is in line with regional/ national policies after a report by the Child Poverty Commission. Community Links have followed this up with a specific piece of work on Newham .
Your rep is: Colin Zetie
Building a Sustainable Community - although there is no elected rep from the Sector, Colin Watts does attend this meeting with the key aim of developing a Landlords Charter in which all landlords i.e private ,Housing Association and Council are required to adhere to certain terms of reference in order for them to retain their 'license to operate as a landlord' in Newham. These conditions will include 'state of repair' ; 'internal services' and control of rubbish disposal within the bounds of their property boundaries. It might also involve a 'regular' MOT type certificate being required to be kept in force and renewable on a regular annual/bi-annual inspection.
Building an Active and Inclusive Community: this group also has 4 targets and the one that is of direct interest to the sectors is around volunteering - although currently the outcomes will be delivered only by Newham Volunteers.
We have also discussed over the past few months the development of 8 Town Centres across the borough, the development of a Money Advice Team, the Place Shaping survey, the forthcoming Census pilot project and the Your Newham website.
Sadly, the opportunity to select as a key indicator "the environment for a developing and thriving Third Sector" was not taken, although the Council will be monitored on this indicator.
Your reps are: Caroline Rouse, Gurdial Bhamra and Sarah Ruiz.
Children and Young People
Children and Young People have 16 mandatory indicators. This will be a real challenge and can only be delivered if all partners work together - including the Third Sector - there needs to be ownership of the strategy and adequate resources allocated.
The LAPB have looked at what is being delivered well in other boroughs and the lessons that we can learn.
Children's Workforce Development, Children's Trusts, 14 - 19 Reform, Targeted Youth Support and the development of C&YP Framework for moving forward on a joint approach to delivering outcomes are just a few of the major initiatives that will need to be tackled in the coming year.
All partners need to be fully signed up to the delivery of the LAA - and need to have an accurate assessment of what they are delivering. Delivering for Children and Young People - taking stock and moving on will be the focus for the next year.
Your reps are: Paul Leslie and Lorraine Cavanagh
We do not currently have any elected reps on the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
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