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

Camilla Sheldon

Decentralisation and Big Society Department for Communities and Local Government February 2013 1

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 we do things” ’ ve already got, so unless we think everything is perfect we need to change the way UK Parish Councillor 2

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

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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 4

Public service reform at a time of fiscal restraint

National commissioning – e.g. Work Programme More effective and efficient public services by maximising economies of scale.

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

Whole Place Community Budgets/ Public Service Transformation Network Devolving power - very local tailoring, identifying gaps and trade-offs, removing duplication, making best use of local community resources.

Our Place! Community Rights

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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 6

We ’re helping communities to take control…

What do you want to do?

Have ideas about how your neighbourhood or community should develop?

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

Want to raise money for local community projects?

Have ideas about how to fix local problems?

Think you could run a local public service better?

Want to run your community with your neighbours?

Could you improve the way your housing is managed?

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

What

’

s the solution?

Neighbourhood Planning Community Right to Build Community Infrastructure Levy Community Right to Bid Community Asset Transfer Community Shares Our Place!

Community Right to Challenge Establish a Parish Council Right to Manage Right to Reclaim Land Compulsory Purchase Order

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The available support…

DCLG Community assets £17.5m 2012/15 Right to challenge £10.5m 2012/15 Right to build £17m 2012/15 Neighbourhood planning £7.5m 2013/15 Neighbourhood Budgets £8.2m 2012/15 Community shares £590k 2012/15 Tenant Empowerment Fund up to £8m 2011/15 Office for Civil Society National Citizen Service £240m 2012/15 Community First £80m 2011/15 Community Organisers £27m 2011/15 OCS also fund infrastructure organisations including: - Social Action Fund - Investment and Contract Readiness Fund - Innovation in Giving - Mutuals Support Programme We’re joining this up for communities via a new website and advice line Others, e.g.

Big Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund Big Society Capital Government also provides support for community action in specific areas including education, health and culture . 8

We are seeing change: Communities are on the case and momentum is building…

Creating demand Over 200,000 web hits Over 6,000 applications and enquires Where we are now 477 designated neighbourhood planning areas; three ‘yes’ votes 556 Community assets listed under Community Right to Bid 12 Neighbourhood Community Budget pilot areas 95 Community Share offers £9m combined value 140 Challenge organisations supported 2 Community Right to Build Orders approved Project start: supporting campaigns for new parishes In next 12 months 1,000 areas designated; dozens of referenda 1,000 assets listed 100+ Our Place! areas (12-24m) 145 share offers £22m 300 organisations supported 8 Community Right to Build orders 30 campaigns for new parishes supported Our ambition 1000s of areas designated; 100 ’s referenda 10,000 assets listed 1000s of Our Place! areas 1000 share offers £100m+ One Year On… Over 1,000 communities using one or more of the Rights to date

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....in every region!

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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 -

the way a neighbourhood works.

to revolutionise

 12 pioneer neighbourhoods have been testing this (under the name Neighbourhood Community Budgets)  No blueprint 11

“we want to see the community [in Bradford] taking ownership of local issues”

… there is local aspiration

“create a sense of 'ownership' and belonging [in Queens Park]” “…give the people of [White City] ultimate control over the decisions which affect them” “services that are Haverhill-specific, driven by local people and managed by the One Haverhill Partnership” “a community led approach to service delivery [in Sherwood] focused on preventative rather than reactive activity” “lone working eradicated! Our public, private & voluntary service ‘team’ [in Ilfracombe] will work with the community to identify & tackle problems together” 12

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Type Parish Councils Neighbourhood Ilfracombe; Haverhill; Local Authorities Cowgate, Kenton Bar & Montague (Newcastle) White City; Norbiton; Sherwood (Tunbridge Wells); Shard End (Birmingham); VCS Queens Park; Little Horton (Bradford); Poplar (Tower Hamlets); Castle Vale (Birmingham); Balsall Heath (Birmingham)

12 Our Place! Pioneers

Themes Troubled families; Health & well being; Community assets; Housing; Worklessness; Skills and training Social enterprise; Local Economic Growth; Anti social behaviour; Gang violence;

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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.

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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 Increase in volunteering Levering in of private sector funding and resources – leading to improved quality

Future:

 co design of services with the community is ‘business as usual  volunteering to improve life chances for all is ‘business as usual’ 16

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: A n investment of £1 million in this new approach is forecast to yield benefits to the NHS of £4million over a 5 year period. 17

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 18

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 19

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

possible.

working in this way as soon as 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

points as possible to reflect different starting • Neighbourhoods will be expected to

share learning, mentor new areas and potentially become Our Place! champions

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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.uk

www.communityshares.org.uk

www.gov.uk

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