060. local government review in lancashire

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APPENDIX 'A'

Local Government Review in Lancashire

Stage 3 Response to the Boundary Committeefor England

Lancashire County Council

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CONTENTS

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Foreword – County Councillor Hazel Harding Leader of theCounty Council

Chapter 1- A New Vision for Lancashire

Chapter 2 – Introduction & Overview

Chapter 3 - A New Council for Lancashire in theCommunity

Chapter 4 – Connecting with Local People

Chapter 5 - Local Service Access

Chapter 6 - Managing the Business

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Chapter 7 – Service Delivery & Integration

Chapter 8 - Conclusion

AppendicesList of County Council Public Access Points in Ribble Valley

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Foreword

In preparing this document for the Boundary Committee’s consideration Ibelieve that we have been given both an opportunity and a challenge.

The opportunity is that of having the chance to envisage local government asit could and should be for the people of Lancashire in the 21st century. Thechallenge is to translate our vision and ambition in a way that enables thereader to share them.

In doing this we have been informed by widespread consultation that allowedLancashire residents to tell us what they expected of a new Council for Lancashire.

The clearest message that people have given us is that they want and expect

local government leadership to stand up for and articulate the needs of theCounty at regional, national and international level. They look for representation for Lancashire.

Alongside this they want to engage with councillors at the most local level andfor services to be delivered appropriately.

This is not an impossible dream for Lancastrians – indeed our documentshows just how far the existing Council has come in terms of its currentworking. We know there is more to do but the progress so far gives us theconfidence to continue.

In terms of the strategic “voice for Lancashire” we are already recognized as apowerful force, with the ability to deliver, by sub-regional, regional andnational bodies.

At local level we have 78 councillors, all of them rooted in their communities,and supported through development programmes, partnership officers and thecommunity engagement team. Cabinet members serve as school governors,lead community associations, run surgeries, clerk Parish Councils and aremembers of 101 different organisations in their areas.

The same is true of every councillor – some in rural areas attend dozens of Parish Council meetings every month – and many also serve on DistrictCouncils. They are truly in touch with their communities and available tothem through e-mail, published phone numbers and addresses and now,websites.

Our Vision for a new Council would more than double the elected Countyrepresentatives but would equally build on the hundreds of local service pointswe already provide to prove that Lancashire is big enough to count and localenough to care.

Hazel HardingLeader of the County Council



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Chapter 1 - A New Vision for Lancashire

Our vision is a strategic, innovative and locally responsive New Council for Lancashire, where everyone matters.

A new Council for Lancashire would be the largest in terms both of population(1.2 million people) and geographic size (290,000 hectares). It would servemany diverse communities including medium sized cities and towns andclosely-knit, urban and rural communities and villages with their own identitiesand aspirations.

So why would these different communities be served better by a new Councilfor Lancashire than by a number of smaller unitaries?

There is no disputing that a single unitary Council for Lancashire would offer:

- the most powerful capacity, economies of scale and resource baseable to afford the full range of scarce professional expertise to deliver high quality services.

- the strongest voice to speak up for Lancashire people and their communities in the north west, competing as they will for priority andinvestment with the conurbations of Greater Manchester andMerseyside.

- a clear and consistent voice for Lancashire in Westminster, Europe andbeyond.

- the greatest flexibility to adopt different service delivery footprints to

respond to different communities of interest e.g. rural regeneration,Elevate in East Lancashire, waste management.

- innovation in ways people can access all services through any serviceoutlets, e.g. schools, and exploitation of 21st century informationtechnology.

- the full range of support systems to enable all Councillors to fulfil their organisational and community representational roles, includingindividual training and development.

As well as this strategic leadership, capacity and flexibility we believe that anew Council for Lancashire can effectively represent each and every one of itsdiverse communities.

Structures will be put in place to empower Lancashire people to make apositive difference in their communities. Extensive devolution of budgets andservices to locally elected Councillors through Local Cabinets; a voice for villages, towns and neighbourhoods, for example, through community forums;a stronger role for Parish and Town Councils and a new Local Advisory Groupof parish, community, voluntary, public and business representatives to sitwith, and offer views to, local Councillors before they take local servicedecisions.



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Structures alone cannot empower communities. Through strong leadershipcentrally and locally a New Council for Lancashire would build capacity toempower people at grass roots level and would commit resources to make ithappen.

Size is not an obstacle to successful community engagement. It is amatter of culture and organisation.

This response demonstrates how a New Council for Lancashire wouldbe responsive to the local as well as the strategic services needs of allLancashire people, as individuals and communities in villages, townsand neighbourhoods. It provides evidence of how the County Councilalready meets that challenge for 85% of local government services inLancashire. Building on that performance and the best practices incommunity engagement that exist across the County, our model willgive everyone in Lancashire a voice, a real opportunity to make a

difference to their future wellbeing, and access to high quality services.



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Chapter 2 - Introduction and Overview

The County Council's Position

The County Council welcomes the opportunity to submit views to the

Boundary Committee on their Report on draft options for a unitary structure of local government in Lancashire.

Option 1 largely reflects the County Council's proposal for a New Council for Lancashire. Of the options out to consultation, the County Council, therefore,would favour Option 1. However, it is extremely concerned that in all optionsthere are parts of Lancashire i.e. Cleveleys, Fleetwood and Whitworth, whereresidents are not offered any choice of a new Council and hopes that this willbe rectified. On a general point, as the options currently stand without Option1, Options 2 and 3 would not give most Lancashire people a choice of structure which would appear to be contrary to the intention of the legislation.

The Council welcomes the views of the Boundary Committee on theadvantages of a New Council for Lancashire, mainly that it:

- provides the lowest cost option for Lancashire.

- preserves Lancashire as a single entity. [Last Summer's MORI Pollshows the highest level of affinity amongst Lancashire residents for their County compared with elsewhere in the North West. Lancashirealso has a powerful identity nationally and internationally.]

- provides the setting for a high-performing unitary authority, building onthe current County Council's "good" CPA rating and its strong politicaland corporate leadership.

- has sufficient capacity to provide the full range of local governmentservices with economies of scale that would extend to functionscurrently delivered by District Councils.

- preserves existing partnership working, with many partners' boundariesbeing coterminous with the County Council area and enabling sub-

county partnerships to continue to operate.

- embraces a substantially stronger role for Parish and Town Councils,including delegation of services to those that acquire Quality Parishstatus.

- seeks to reflect local community identity and interests through anetwork of Local Cabinets with local Councillors responsible for localservice delivery and representing the needs of local communities.

The Council shares the Boundary Committee's view that one of the most

important challenges for a New Council for Lancashire would be todemonstrate that it could effectively engage with, and be responsive to,people in their communities. The Committee acknowledges that the



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proposals for Local Cabinets could possibly address this although they areseeking further views.

This response provides clear evidence of the County Council'seffectiveness in addressing the service needs of all Lancashire's many

and varied communities. A New Council for Lancashire is not a trade off between strong strategic capacity and local community representation.Our model can deliver both.

The Structure of this Response

Chapter 3 - A New Council for Lancashire in the Community - Structurescan be put in place tailored to local circumstances to give genuine influencefor villages, towns and neighbourhoods over the services in, and the wellbeingof, their areas. They will also enable the area’s needs and aspirations to beeffectively represented when determining Lancashire-wide strategies and

policies.

A large organisation can organise itself to deliver locally, but a smallorganisation cannot act strategically. A New Council for Lancashire cando both. This approach is commonplace in the modern business world wherecommercial success depends on both strategic strengths in global marketsand the quality and accessibility of the service or product delivered tocustomers in local high streets.

Working closely with communities is not something new for LancashireCounty Council. In the 1990's it pioneered a number of innovative localpartnerships with service agencies and community groups focussing on socialexclusion.

Two years ago, the new administration of the County Council committed itself to developing further a 'locality focus agenda' to connect the Authority evenmore closely with District Councils and the then emerging Local StrategicPartnerships in each District.

One of the first steps was an investment in a corporate CommunityEngagement Team, with a District Partnership Officer located in each of the

12 Districts. This has paid handsome dividends, through greater jointCounty/District working, a clearer local focus and direction for County servicesand greater quality of input to partnership working via the local LSPs.

Effective community engagement is more than just structures. It is aboutculture and commitment to make it happen. Size is not an impediment.

Chapter 4 – Connecting with Local People – provides evidence that showswe are becoming the type of organisation residents say they want and setsout in more detail the innovative communication and engagement activities wehave used to achieve this success.



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Chapter 5 - Local Service Access - shows how the County Council deliversservices into the heart of communities, and how a New Council for Lancashirecan bring its economies of scale and resources to bear on innovative ways for individuals and communities to access all local government services.

A New Council for Lancashire will meet the public's growing expectations for easier and more convenient service access in ways and at times which suitthem. That means greater accessibility to all services through outlets such asschools, through local contact centres and maximum exploitation of 21st

Century information technology.

Chapter 6 - Managing the Business - addresses issues around Council size,and the support systems which exist now and will be developed further toenable all Councillors to manage the business of the New Council, centrallyand locally, and to fulfil the important role of effectively representing people intheir communities.

Chapter 7 - Service Integration and Delivery - provides further evidence onservice delivery supplementing our Stage 1 submission. The earlier submission went into some detail about how the strategic capacity andsubstantial economies of scale of a New Council for Lancashire would benefitLancashire people through greater integration of services including housingand social care, waste management, cultural and leisure services, planning,highway maintenance and support for older people, young people and peoplefrom ethnic minorities.

This time our response focuses on how a New Council for Lancashire:-

- can be effective in combining the local dimension of the housingfunction with other neighbourhood services to improve the quality of lifefor residents at a grass roots level ie. peoples' liveability agenda.

- offers the best prospect of securing greater prosperity for all Lancashirepeople through its strategic capacity to deliver the North WestEconomic Development Strategy.

- can effectively deliver through its specialisms and expertise the

Government's major policy objectives in its Green Paper “Every ChildMatters”.

- would meet the challenge of the new licensing functions recentlybestowed on District Councils under the Licensing Act 2003.



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Continued Improvement

Lancashire continues to be rated a "good" council by the Audit Commission.In the recent CPA qualitative assessment undertaken in November 2003,inspectors found that Lancashire has made further improvements in services

over the previous year. In particular educational attainment, recycling andsocial care services had continued to improve. The CPA 2003 states that theCouncil has robust plans in place to increase its ability to deliver agreedpriorities through working in partnership with other organisations.

Our recent Audit and Inspection letter says the County Council "has thepotential to be an 'excellent' authority, and the score for themanagement of resources is even higher than in the initial CPAAssessment; now at the maximum 4/4 rating".

Education Performance Indicators show continued improvement overall year on year with 60% of key indicators showing improvement. The overallperformance in key areas is "good" with over 70% of indicators in the top twonational quartiles and almost 27% in the upper quartile. These upper quartileresults reflect the Council’s achievement in primary and pre-school education.Educational attainment has improved with a greater percentage of 16 year olds receiving 5 or more GCSEs, and improvements to the percentage of students gaining level 5 or above at Key Stage 3.

Social care PIs show overall improvement year on year with 80% of the key

indicators improving. For Lancashire 40% of the indicators are now in the top40% of authorities. A second 'star' on Social Services would lead to an"excellent" CPA rating for the County Council.

In its annual decision letter on Lancashire's Local Transport Plan Bid for 2004/5 the DfT were very complimentary about the progress made saying"…..a well presented and accessible document. It provides evidence of awell-managed programme and continues to make steady progress across abroad front. The programme includes some innovative and imaginativesolutions. You have provided evidence of wide-ranging and effectiveconsultation and partnership amendments." The LTP was rated as "aboveaverage".

A continued improvement in Environment Directorate Performance Indicatorsputs Lancashire in the top quartile for 29% of all its statutory BVPIs, with 6 PIsmoving into the top quartile during 2002/03. Year on year comparisons of out-turns also show an improvement in 41% of PIs compared with the previousyear.

The Inspectors also specifically commented that the Council has worked hardto develop its approach to community cohesion and the older people agenda

where there has been development and investment in services to supportpeople in their own homes while decreasing the use of residential care, andhas continued to work with the 12 District Crime and Disorder Partnerships



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within the County and with the Lancashire Youth Offending Team to reducecrime and anti-social behaviour.

The Inspectors acknowledged that the Council has taken a leading role in

establishing the Lancashire Strategic Partnership. The key to the success of the partnership is the commitment of the County Council and its partners towork jointly to achieve agreed goals. This partnership approach will help theCouncil play a leading role in ensuring there is a Community Strategy in placethat reflects all Lancashire's communities. This will be critical to the futuresuccess of the new Council and its ability to track improvements in the qualityof life of all who live and work in the County.



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Why a New Council for Lancashire?

The County Council believes that ONLY A SINGLE UNITARY for Lancashireis large enough to gain substantial economies of scale to deliver high quality

services; can speak up effectively for Lancashire, and maximise resources for the County from Whitehall and Europe - and yet act locally to represent localcommunities.

It would be a very different kind of Authority - a modern Council fit for the 21st

Century. It would bring innovative ways of integrating services, new ways for local people to access services which are more convenient to them and bringthese advantages to all Lancashire's diverse communities.

Partnership working is critical in tackling major social problems such as poor housing, unemployment, regeneration, health inequalities, crime etc. Partners

need to work with a local authority with strong capacity to deliver. Manyoperate at county or sub-regional level such as the Cumbria and LancashireStrategic Health Authority, the Lancashire Learning and Skills Council,Connexions, the North West Development Agency and many more. Engagingwith a single Council for Lancashire would simplify joint working. It wouldincrease the effectiveness of partners through the greater flexibility for jointworking which a single Council for Lancashire offers on the social andregeneration agenda.

As well as strategic partnerships, joint working at a local level is vital toengage local communities in the community planning agenda. Under a NewCouncil for Lancashire, existing Local Strategic Partnerships would beretained as a network of local partnerships together with the Lancashire LSP.

Through a network of Local Cabinets based on local communities comprisinglocally elected Councillors with extensive devolution of budgets and services,a county unitary authority would combine the strongest resource capacity andeconomies of scale with local service delivery meeting local needs.

EVEN MORE LOCAL COMMUNITY FORUMS CAN PROVIDE FOCALPOINTS TO HARNESS THE ENERGIES OF VILLAGES, TOWNS AND

NEIGHBOURHOODS TO MAKE THEIR VOICE HEARD.

Any local government reorganisation will be disruptive for local institutions,services, and residents and will mean substantial costs. A county-wideauthority would be the least disruptive option - the County Council alreadyprovides 85% of all local government services in Lancashire.

The Boundary Committee's own figures for the 'costs of being in business'show that a New Council for Lancashire would also be the cheapest solutioni.e. option 1 would be £12.9m, option 2 £23.1m and option 3 £25.9m. The fullcost of reorganisation would reflect these differentials.

The complex, inter-dependent characteristics of Lancashire's communitiesinevitably make the task of devising a structure of multiple unitary localauthorities in the County extremely problematic. This is borne out by the



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Boundary Committee's draft proposals under Options 2 and 3 which, toachieve a 'fit', proposes that West Lancashire and the County town of Lancaster are removed from Lancashire to neighbouring areas!

The County Council especially rejects the proposal to divide the current West

Lancashire District between Wigan and Sefton Metropolitan BoroughCouncils. There are very few real community links to justify that and theproposal would reduce and not enhance community cohesion. It would createsubstantial upheaval in West Lancashire and the neighbouring metropolitanboroughs for no tangible benefits.

In response to specific questions posed by the Boundary Committee, theCounty Council also opposes any suggestion to modify the New Council for Lancashire option by separating the County town of Lancaster from theadministration of the County of Lancashire. Surveys undertaken clearlydemonstrate that people travelling to and from Lancaster are far more likely to

have destinations or origins in the remainder of Lancashire than in the SouthLakes. There is also a very significant movement of traffic between the Portof Heysham and locations through East Lancashire and on to the East Coast.

The Council also notes the additional costs that would be incurred under Options 2 and 3 to create joint Cumbria and Lancashire Police and FireAuthorities.

OUR PROPOSAL WOULD PROVIDE THE STRONGEST ANDCONSISTENT VOICE FOR LANCASHIRE IN THE NORTH WEST, TOMATCH THE ‘CLOUT’ OF NEIGHBOURING GREATER MANCHESTERAND MERSEYSIDE CONURBATIONS, AS WELL AS IN WESTMINSTER,BRUSSELS AND GLOBALLY.

This is increasingly being recognised by bodies such as the Education andBusiness Partnership (contracted to the Learning and Skills Council to deliver,inter alia work experience opportunities, teacher placements, and enhancedlearning in schools involving local businesses), Business Links and theLancashire East and Lancashire West Partnerships. They are all nowrestructuring themselves on a pan-Lancashire footing so that they can moreeffectively deliver from a position of strength outcomes to benefit all

Lancashire people and communities.

A structure of multiple unitary authorities goes in the wrong direction. Thatwould create counter-productive competitive pressures between communitiesover relatively small distances. Lancashire's closely spaced communities,have a high level of inter-dependency. Investment needs in one area canoften be met more economically and effectively by development in another.

NOW MORE THAN EVER, THE WHOLE OF LANCASHIRE NEEDS TOPULL TOGETHER TO SECURE, FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH,LANCASHIRE’S PRIORITIES AND INVESTMENT RESOURCES.



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Chapter 3

A New Council for Lancashire in the Community

Introduction

Our Stage 1 submission explained how the model for a new Council for Lancashire would be underpinned by extensive devolution to local Councillorsof budgets and aspects of a very wide range of local services. Throughstructures tailored to suit each locality, individuals and communities will beempowered to influence service decisions and take more control of thewellbeing of their diverse localities. This response explains more fully how aNew Council for Lancashire, through devolved arrangements, will engagewith, and represent the interests of, all the diverse communities of Lancashire.

The New Council for Lancashire will ensure that the key ingredients for effective community engagement are put in place, in terms of structures and,probably more important, the right culture, driven by strong communityleadership.

Community Leadership

Community leadership is about empowering people to make a difference totheir wellbeing in the cities, towns and villages of Lancashire and developingeffective processes for doing so.

It is also about the role of a New Council for Lancashire in representingLancashire people nationally and regionally to ensure the County's voice isheard to secure the County's rightful share of investment resources.

Community leadership is also about developing and fostering a sense of place. The people of Lancashire already have a strong sense of place.Surveys conducted by Mori for both the Boundary Committee and for Lancashire County Council are testament to the identity and pride which thepeople of Lancashire have towards their Red Rose County. Lancashire is acounty that is readily recognised all over the world with a strong historic

tradition in both textiles and food production.

Lancashire communities face a complex and diverse set of challenges. Localpeople need to know that all the relevant organisations in their area – public,private and voluntary – are working together in a common direction. Councilshave a key role to play in developing a community strategy for their area, butthis is not something they can do alone. Good community strategies need toreflect the needs and aspirations of local people. A shared understanding isneeded with local partners about how they are going to be met.

Developing a vision is not easy. Different aims and interests can give rise to

competing demands for resources and action. The County Council alreadyaddresses those demands for 85% of local government services. The NewCouncil would have a leadership role to play on the Lancashire Strategic



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This exciting and challenging agenda is led by a dedicated and innovativecorporate Community Engagement Team, from which a District PartnershipOfficer (DPO) has been appointed to work in each of the twelve Districts inLancashire. Based in their district, the DPOs are senior and experienced

officers. They provide a highly visible and unique interface between theCounty Council and partners, principally the District Councils, but also other partners at sub-regional, district and sub-district level. This ensures partnershave a “route” into the County Council, leading to better mutual understandingand more effective relationships.

As lead County officer representatives on Local Strategic Partnerships, theDPOs are responsible for co-ordinating the County’s input across all servicedirectorates to key local issues including local Community and NeighbourhoodRenewal strategies. The DPOs also organise County representation at LSPWorking Groups and other multi-agency bodies at district level.

The County’s investment in the Community Engagement Team is alreadypaying dividends, with much greater co-ordination of services, support for local Councillors and greater engagement with local communities.

This approach is continually developing and the County Council is currentlyholding talks with Hyndburn, Rossendale, South Ribble and West Lancashiredistrict councils to pilot devolved decision making to local level and to pursuefurther opportunities for ‘joined up’ service delivery. It is not intended toprescribe a “one size fits all” approach. Activities to be devolved will beagreed locally to address issues pertinent to each District.

The first pilots will become operative in the four district areas later this year,with the remaining eight being phased in during 2005 and 2006.

A 'locality focus' will be at the centre of a New Council for Lancashire's policyobjectives, building upon ours and District Councils' experience and bestpractice in community engagement. The necessary culture, organisation andresources will be brought to bear to ensure individuals and communities areempowered to make a difference in their quality of life.



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Devolution and Localism

Structures

To provide the necessary structures and processes to facilitate devolution and

localism, a New Council for Lancashire would establish a network of LocalCabinets based on communities; a stronger role for Parish and TownCouncils, and for each Local Cabinet area a Local Advisory Group to offer views before local Councillors take service decisions, and would supportCommunity Forums to facilitate opportunities for individuals and communitiesin villages, towns and neighbourhoods to participate in local democracy.

Local Cabinets

Locally elected Councillors through Local Cabinets will lead the developmentof local community governance as well as being responsible for decisions on

aspects of a wide range of budgets and services. The range of devolveddevolution possible under a New Council for Lancashire was set out in somedetail in our Stage 1 submission. It is not intended to repeat that here.

The County Council recognises that Lancashire people and our partners maywish Local Cabinets to be based on other community footprints rather thanexisting District boundaries. Views will inevitably vary across the County anddifferent solutions may be needed in different areas.

If the outcome of the referendum in the autumn is that an elected regionalassembly is to be established and the new Council for Lancashire is theunitary structure to be implemented, the County Council will ask theLancashire Partnership to undertake an extensive and inclusive consultationto find out local people’s wishes for the areas upon which local Cabinets andthe even more local Community Forums should be based.

Extensive devolution of budgets and services to Local Cabinets needs to bebased on areas of a sufficient geographic size for effective service delivery.

At the time of our Stage 1 submission, it was felt that making use of districtboundaries for Local Cabinets that had been in existence for 30 years and

which many have come to identify with, was an appropriate starting point indeveloping the concept of local decision-making and influence.

That model would also build upon established partnerships, particularly LocalStrategic Partnerships and Crime and Disorder Partnerships in each District,and capitalise on the work undertaken on District-based community strategies.District areas also provide the building blocks for the local boundaries of manyof our key partners. With so much structural change elsewhere - a newelected regional assembly and unitary local government - people may prefer,at least initially, the stability of local partnership working and decision-makingbased on established boundaries.

But these are matters that will be put out to consultation and we willlisten to what Lancashire people say.



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Community Forums

Across Lancashire there are numerous local forums/action groups of one sortor another which address people's service needs at the level of villages and

neighbourhoods. These are more developed in some parts of the Countythan in others. A New Council for Lancashire would not be prescriptive nor adopt a rigid bureaucratic approach, and would want to build on what exists atpresent and develop local representative forums in areas that do not havethem at present only if local people feel they will be of benefit to them.

There can be 'no one size fits all' approach and there will inevitably be avariety of local groups/forums depending on local circumstances. But for simplicity, the concept of community groups/forums in all their various formatsis described in this response under the generic term 'community forums'.

However configured, it would be the aim for community forums to have thecapacity to identify local service issues, priorities and potential solutions andmake their views known to the Local Cabinet as well as to the Local StrategicPartnership.

Parish and Town Councils

Our earlier submission included proposals for embracing a stronger role for Parish and Town Councils where they so wish. This includes servicedelegation to those which acquire Quality PTC status. Parish and TownCouncils are an important element of devolution and localism and there will beliaison processes which ensure maximum engagement between LocalCabinets, Community Forums and Parish and Town Councils. A New Councilfor Lancashire would ensure that Parish and Town Councils are given supportin terms of information and, if appropriate, training and development to helpthem play their full part in local governance.

The County Council already has a strong relationship with Parishes.Annually, it meets with the Executive of the Lancashire Association for Parishand Town Councils to discuss matters of common interest. In the mid 1990's,

the Association and the County Council agreed a protocol for enhancedconsultation between the Authority and Parish and Town Councils across allservices. The Council's Champion for Parishes has, through his annual£10,000 allocation, contributed substantially to the Association instrengthening their staff support and enhancing IT systems. TheAssociation's Secretary has now been provided with accommodation at anominal rent within County Hall.

Corporate County Officers have for the last 10 years attended Area ParishCommittees to respond to issues on County services and to act as a conduitinto the Authority. This is now undertaken by District Partnership Officers.



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Area Parish Committees

There is an Area Parish Committee in each District - in one case two Districtsare combined - comprising representatives of all Parish and Town Councils.District Officers and the County Council's District Partnership Officers attend.

The Committees address issues of common concern to Parishes across theDistrict area. This arrangement would be replicated under a New Council for Lancashire for each Local Cabinet area.

Local Service Forums

Currently in each District area of Lancashire the County Council hasestablished District Liaison Committees for both Education and SocialServices. These bring together service providers and user groups to discusstopical services issues. These could be continued and developed further tocover other service areas if local people felt that worthwhile. They are

advisory in nature and are useful mechanisms for airing issues and puttingforward views to the Council.

Local Advisory Group

There will be a Local Advisory Group for each Local Cabinet area. They willensure that local views and opinions are clearly presented to LocalCouncillors before they take service decisions affecting their area.Membership will be determined locally not centrally, and includerepresentation from Parish and Town Councils, and the voluntary andbusiness sectors, Tenants and Residents Associations, Community Groups,Local Action Groups etc. The Group will sit with the Local Cabinet at all itsmeetings and express views directly to Local Councillors on all matters ontheir agenda and participate fully in debate. Because they are 'un-elected',they will not, in law, be able to vote. But they will be 'representative' of manyaspects of local society. The Group will be perfectly placed to draw up andpresent shades of local opinions and views to Local Councillors.



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Officer Structure

To implement Local Cabinet decisions and provide advice, an extensiveOfficer support infrastructure will be in place in each Local Cabinet area,

headed up by a Local Director. He/she will be responsible for ensuring theco-ordination and integration of all local government services in the area andensuring that their impact delivers the New Council's strategic objectives andlocal priorities as determined by the Local Cabinet. The Local Director will besupported by Local Service Heads and the full range of professional staff andspecialists to deliver services.

Empowering Communities - 'Liveability'

Devolution and localism under a New Council for Lancashire will expand theopportunities for individuals and communities to take a more active part inlocal democracy and the decision-making process. Local Cabinets andCommunity Forums can provide the vehicle for effective communityengagement. Structures are the beginning not the end of communityengagement. Innovative and imaginative ways will be needed to encourageparticipation especially by the 'hard to reach' groups.

Most people, in fact, do not find 'sitting on committees' a meaningful form of engagement for them.



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Local Cabinets will be required to engage fully with local partners andcommunities, recognising the host of different communities of both place andinterest within their areas. Different areas face different problems and havedifferent opportunities. There will be parallel communities of background,interest of concern, for example, elderly people, young people, people with

disabilities, local business people, all belong to many such communities.

Local Cabinets will recognise this, and develop ways of engaging with thesevarious groups and find ways to enable them to have an effective voice.People will need clear and consistent messages about what the New Councilmeans by engagement and the expected outcomes.

To ensure this is done effectively each Local Cabinet will be required toconsult upon and publish a Community Engagement Plan. This Plan willshow how the Local Cabinet and local communities will engage with eachother and with local partners to develop and sustain best practice in

community engagement and reflect the priorities for community cohesion.

More local people than do now would like to have a say in how to improvetheir local neighbourhoods and communities. The 'trick' is to test andexperiment with many different ways of engaging with people. Local Cabinetswould seek to engage local people either individually or through communitygroups/forums in the following ways:

§ Asking them to identify local needs and priorities§ Seeking their ideas and solutions to tackle local problems§ Providing feedback on action taken§ Enabling them to implement specific actions or services

The techniques used should reflect the variable circumstances concernedsuch as the target audience, the issues involved, and the capacity of thoseinvolved.

In some areas the local infrastructure required to support communityengagement may be less developed than in others and will take time to build.As communities become more confident they may well press to extend thelevels and types of engagement. Local Cabinets will be able to respond to this

locally.

Local Cabinets will engage with both communities of place (village, suburb,neighbourhood) and interest (younger people, older people etc). Withincommunities of place there are often minority communities of interest. Tocapture the diversity of views that exist within the communities of Lancashire,it will be essential to identify the groups that are not being engaged. Tofacilitate this, Local Cabinets will undertake an Equality Impact Assessment aspart of the development of their Community Engagement Plans.

Each Local Cabinet will have dedicated officer and other support

mechanisms to help develop, co-ordinate and sustain local engagement.



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Through Community Forums based on smaller localities people will be able toinfluence decision making at a very local level, enhancing local democracyand community identity.

Community Forums could be consulted by, and feed issues up to the Local

Cabinet.

Community Forums could:-

· Respond to local cabinet consultation on local schemes

· Have the powers to influence local grant allocation

· Have the potential for some delegation subject to meeting quality criteria

· Have the powers to influence local cabinet decisions on schemes affectingtheir area

· Be able to raise items for discussion at the local cabinet

·

Receive support for information, training and specialised communityprojects

Each Community Forum could have organisational representation on their LSP Board and direct representation on the LSP task groups.

Local Role of Councillors

The role of Councillors is key to community engagement. They know andunderstand the dynamics of their area - its problems as well as its potential.Their active participation not only through the formal machinery but also

through informal contacts with local people is critical.

County Councillors already engage actively with their local communities inmany ways - formally on local groups and through action flowing from their local representative role.

For example, County Councillors serve on:

· School Governing Bodies

· Environmental Forums

· Environmental Local Liaison Committees

· Environmental Countryside Bodies· Colleges

· Education District Liaison Committees

· Social Services District Liaison Committees

· 27 Councillors also serve on District Councils

· Theatre Bodies and Organisations

· Sure Start Bodies

· District Youth and Community Service & Connexions Advisory Committees

· Youth and Community Centres

· Patient & Public Involvement Forums (formerly Community Health

Councils)· District Carers' Forums

· Controlled and Assisted Community Homes Day Centre Forums



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· Councils for Voluntary Services

· District Integrated Commissioning Boards

· Primary Care Trusts

· Local Strategic Partnerships

· District Highways Maintenance Partnerships

· Social Inclusion Partnerships· Crime and Disorder Reduction (Community Safety) Partnerships

· Coastal Zone Planning Bodies

· Community Legal Service Partnerships

· Religious Bodies

· Trusts

· Housing Associations

· Community Forums and Associations

· Credit Unions

· Charities

· Arts Groups· Pensioners’ Associations

· CABs

· Trades Councils

· Samaritans

· Ethnic Groups

· Road Safety Committees/Action Groups

The case studies below illustrates the sort of actions County Councillors takeas part of their local representational role.



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Case Studies – Local Roles of County Councillors (Continued)

Whinney Hill landfill siteTwo County Councillors established a joint county/district working group to

look at ways of resolving longstanding and complex problems in respect of the Whinney Hill landfill site. These include waste management, planning,traffic and environmental issues. The group has now developed a number of options for consultation and has opened channels of communication with localresidents via the Area Council and via a local pressure group. Theestablishment of the group headed off growing tension between residents,Hyndburn Council and the County Council.

Supporting a Credit UnionA West Lancashire county councillor was asked by the local Credit Union for help in obtaining funding and premises. He worked with Lancashire County

Developments Limited (the County Council’s economic developmentcompany) to arrange funding for a support worker, and with the DPO toidentify a central location for the Credit Union to locate a cash desk.

Developing Community Resource Centres in redundant school buildingsA County Councillor has been instrumental in helping two local communitygroups in the Springhill Ward, Hyndburn, to take over soon to be redundantschool buildings to use as community resource centres. She liaised withappropriate Cabinet colleagues and used the District Partnership Officer as“project manager” to pull the initiative together. Springhill has suffered from alack of community buildings for many years and this initiative will not onlyprovide meeting/event facilities but also a base for local services such asyouth development, adult education and community wardens.

Finding a site for a sports clubThe Hussainia Cricket Club in Burnley wants to compete in the local cricketleague but cannot do so without a cricket pitch they can use regularly. ABurnley county councillor is working with the group to identify a suitable site.

Supporting Parish Councils’ Action PlansCounty councillors are actively supporting Parish and Town Councils in

producing local action plans and in identifying how the County Council canplay its part in delivering those plans.

Supporting local residentsA Wyre county councillor was approached by residents concerned that their efforts to have the alleyways behind their properties gated to prevent antisocial behaviour were not being progressed. The Councillor has liaised withthe County and the District Council to ensure that a proper procedure isfollowed to progress alleygating in the District.



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Case Studies – local roles of county councillors

Street lightingA South Ribble County Councillor was approached by residents regarding the

lack of working street lighting on a new housing estate in Leyland and whythey were not properly installed. The County Councillor liaised with the DistrictPartnership Officer to establish what the status of the highway was (it was notadopted). It was established that the developer was in breach of theagreement to adopt the highway (Section 38 agreement) and appropriateaction was undertaken to resolve the situation.

Traffic calmingA South Ribble County Councillor has worked with concerned local residentsto ensure that a traffic calming study was undertaken to establish the mostappropriate method of reducing traffic speeds on the lane in question. A traffic

calming scheme has now been designed and is currently the subject of acommunity consultation exercise.

Road ImprovementsA Lytham county councillor has become involved on behalf of local residentson road improvements throughout Fylde these have included; the state of some of the roads in Lytham; access to Lytham Hall Gardens and toBlackpool Road. Further involvement has related to resurfacing work onBallam Road.

School Travel PlanA local primary school in a rural area is situated on a road with no footpath, nodesignated crossing area, and no public transport system to serve the school.As a successful primary school with a good reputation serving a widecatchment area 50% of pupils are obliged to travel by car. A local CountyCouncillor was able to resolve the problems by establishing a school travelplan which went on to win the Best Primary School Initiative at the NationalSustrans Travel Awards.

Community InvolvementCounty Councillors are involved in their communities in a variety of ways

including voluntary work. Examples include roles such as WRVS organiser,Chair of Citizens Advice Bureaux and delivery of meals on wheels.

Making things happen

Community leadership must involve more than just having a sense of directionand effective partnership working – it needs to make things happen. Itinvolves strategic intervention. The new Council will be uniquely placed toinitiate intervention, with its strong strategic capacity and responsibility for all

local government services in the whole area. This does not mean that it wouldact alone, but it does mean that it would have first responsibility to step in andensure the right thing happens.



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The geographic size of the proposed new Council for Lancashire means that itwould encompass a wide variety of communities, from the urban to the highlyrural, with very different needs. The County Council tackles that diversity nowand is able to respond quickly and positively to the needs of differentcommunities.

Two good examples of how the County Council is able to provide animmediate response and then develop long term strategic solutions, are:

- The foot and mouth outbreak in Lancashire and the longer term ruralregeneration strategy. The County Council played a pivotal role intackling the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Lancashire.Particularly in issuing animal movement licenses, and the heavyconcentration of our staff 'on the ground' ensured the proper applicationof Defra guidelines. Our local knowledge and flexibility was a criticalfactor in addressing the issues that arose.

- The serious disturbances in Burnley, and the Council's bid for major restructuring of schools in Burnley and Pendle - details of the bid aregiven below and are just one component of our response in addressingBurnley's difficulties. We are working with the DfES to progress our bid.



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BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE – EDUCATION INBURNLEY AND NELSON

Lancashire County Council and the Salford RC Diocese have submitted a bid for inclusion in the first wave of investment under the Building Schools for the Future

initiative.

The bid covers the replacement of eight secondary schools in Burnley and threesecondary schools in the Brierfield and Nelson areas of Pendle. The proposalprovides for replacement secondary school provision by construction of seven new11-16 (mixed) secondary schools (five in Burnley and two in Pendle) and a new 16-19 centre in Burnley.

In addition the County Council wishes to provide for the integration of children withspecial educational needs into mainstream schools and the establishment of genericlearning difficulties provision co-located with two of the proposed secondary schools.Separate Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD) provision will also bedeveloped.

On one of the new sites the County Council wishes to establish a 0-16 campus thatwould include a Children’s Centre and primary and secondary school provision.Social services and healthcare services would be located on the campus.

The facilities of all the new schools would be available for wider community use,including adult learning networks. On two of the sites public library facilities would bedeveloped to replace existing provision.

The overall objectives of the bid represent a clear and positive response to the 2001

disturbances in Burnley through raising pupil attainment, enhancing learningopportunities and promoting and supporting community cohesion.

The proposals have been developed following extensive consultations involving thewhole school community in the area, the Salford RC Diocese and other faith groups,Burnley and Nelson and Colne Colleges of Further Education, Burnley and PendleDistrict Councils, Local Strategic Partnerships and the Lancashire Learning andSkills Council. As a result of this consultation, all the existing school and DistrictCouncil Stakeholders support the bid.

The bid is a significant initiative, addressing local needs across two District areas,and Lancashire, as a strategic and well resourced LEA, has the flexibility to deliver

quality outcomes for children and the local communities.



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RURAL REGENERATION

The County Council has been awarded Beacon Status for ‘Supporting the RuralEconomy’ in recognition of its long and consistent tradition of establishing, leading

and evolving policy and action partnerships to formulate and implement ruralregeneration strategies and action programmes.

These strategies have evolved in nature from an emphasis on countrysidemanagement through to the development of an integrated rural regenerationstrategy, which encompasses all aspects of the Council’s service delivery.

In 1999, the County Council commissioned a research study into the local ruraleconomy. This study provided a comprehensive analysis of Lancashire’s ruraleconomy.

The main issues identified were:

· That the rural population was not well equipped to respond to changing labour markets.

· That some marginalised rural groups were becoming socially and economicallyisolated.

· The key importance of access to employment and services, the provision of efficient transport solutions and delivering cost effective support services suchas training and education.

· That rural tourism was a largely underdeveloped resource.

This study informed the development of the Council’s vision for its rural areas. Itincluded a recognition that addressing these issues holistically would require acoordinated, intra-departmental and multi-agency approach

Collectively the knowledge of the connections between the issues facing ruralLancashire, together with the experience of local integrated strategy developmentand project delivery, has given impetus to the County Councils work in bringingtogether a partnership of organisations from across rural Lancashire to work together to generate holistic and sustainable solutions to rural problems.

The County Council began a programme of consultation with rural deliveryorganisations in early 2001, in advance of the FMD outbreak. Partners recognisedthe need and value of joint working and began the development of the Lancashire

Rural Partnership.

The Lancashire Rural Partnership is a concerted attempt to bring a much greater level of coherence and co-ordination to the ways in which support for communitiesand business in rural areas across Lancashire is planned, managed and delivered.

In its capacity as lead partner of the Lancashire Rural Partnership the County Councilhas been a key player in developing the Lancashire Rural Recovery Action Plan(LRRAP) which identifies a series of Strategic Objectives which collectively willpromote rural regeneration in Lancashire. Priority projects were identified by a seriesof consultation sessions held with partners from within rural Lancashire. These wereorganised by the Council on behalf of the Partnership and took place in

November 2001. They included representatives from the agricultural sector,business sector and the tourism sector. Other sessions took place bringing together organisations from the environmental and community sectors.



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RURAL REGENERATION (Continued)

The Action Plan seeks to address the long term structural issues faced by ruralLancashire. The Action Plan reflects many issues identified by the Lancashire FMDTaskforce.

The Action Plan was launched at the Lancashire Rural Partnership’s Conference inMarch 2002 and sets out a clear framework for a programme of activity worth over £67M to be delivered over the next 5 years aimed at regenerating rural Lancashire.Through further consultation, the plan was refined by the Partnership and in August2002 was formally submitted and has now been approved by the NWDA. The ActionPlan identifies in excess of £16m of NWDA funding for Lancashire and provides acomprehensive and inclusive vehicle for the delivery of a shared vision for theprosperity of Lancashire’s rural areas. It will ensure that the work of all agencies inthe County is co-ordinated and directed to the achievement of agreed and identifiedcommon goals and targets.

The County Council is the Accountable Body for the Action Plan.

The New Council for Lancashire would:

· improve responsiveness further. Within the policy, strategic andfinancial frameworks set by the new Council, Local Cabinets will havedecision-making powers and budgets for aspects of the most significantrange of devolved functions listed in our Stage 1 submission.

· be best placed to promote the characteristics of cohesive communitieswhere people feel empowered, have high levels of self esteem andwhere strong and positive relationships exist between people inneighbourhoods, in schools, in the workplace and in wider dispersedcommunities including rural areas. A strategic yet community focussedauthority can apply its strong service and resource capacity toparticular areas where much still needs to be done to achieve higher levels of community cohesion.

As the provider of all services across the County, it would be in a

position to co-ordinate and lead in this key area of policy and serviceprovision, working in partnership with all public, private and voluntary,community and faith sector organisations. This approach is in keepingwith the recommended approach to community cohesion as outlined ingovernment guidance. Through economies of scale, and capacity anew Council for Lancashire would be able to respond to this agendaefficiently and effectively.

· tackle problems at different layers i.e. working with communities of interest and of place, and with different community and service

footprints if that is necessary to deliver effective and robust solutions.A current example is the Elevate initiative in East Lancashire, a major initiative bringing all services to bear on improving the quality of life inthe sub-region.



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This Chapter highlights the strong community leadership, which the CountyCouncil brings to bear to meet Lancashire's strategic and local needs. Thisevidences the capacity of a New Council for Lancashire to effectively

represent all Lancashire's communities and ensure everyone has a voice.



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Chapter 4

Connecting with local people

In response to concerns about the potential remoteness of a New Council for Lancashire we have examined the research we commissioned from Mori atthe end of 2003. In particular we have explored how the views of Lancashireresidents about the County Council compare to the national climate of publicopinion towards local government.

Nationally, Mori’s omnibus data demonstrate that public satisfaction with localcouncils has deteriorated significantly in the last seven years with a markedlysteeper decline since 2000. In contrast, satisfaction with Lancashire CountyCouncil flies in the face of this national trend. In this climate of worsening

public opinion we are extremely pleased to note that satisfaction withLancashire County Council has remained steady.

We also looked at the kind of council that Lancashire residents say they want.In 2000 we discovered that Lancashire residents wanted to be kept moreinformed about what we are doing and they wanted us to be less remote andimpersonal as an organisation. These were recognised as crucial corporategoals and led to the strengthening of both our communications activities andour local engagement.

In 2003 we have been pleased to discover that our significant efforts to

connect with local people in their daily lives are producing the type of organisation residents say they want.

· We have successfully increased the proportion of people who feelwell informed about what we do. This proportion has grown by over one third between 2000 and 2003.

· We have also reduced by one quarter the proportion of people whoperceive the County Council as remote and impersonal. Now fewer than one in eight people strongly agree with this view.

Making the connection

These achievements have been delivered through an integrated array of innovative communications and engagement activities all designed to open upthe council and make us accessible through a range of channels. Newtechnology has been harnessed as part of this process and this has enabledus to deliver at the forefront of the Government’s modernisation agenda.

Fundamental to our success here in Lancashire has been our success atmaking communications and engagement relevant to the lives of local people,which relies on skilled and professional production and effective branding toensure visibility.



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Our multi-channel approach to communicating and engaging with localpeople means that different people can find the level of engagement andthe type of channel which is best suited to their daily lives. In this waywe have been able to reach out to the widest range of people in the mostrelevant ways.

A number of innovative and high profile initiatives have been introduced since2000. Each was specifically designed to provide opportunities for communicating with and listening to local people. Each was designed to suitthe needs and lives of different people.

Cabinet in the CommunityThese evening events are similar to BBC 'Question Time' and are held incommunities right across the county around 15 times each year. Members of the public are able to ask questions and put their views to a panel of cabinetmembers in a format that is familiar to them. To enhance the process we use

the skills of a local television news presenter as the host. There are nopapers, no agenda and no presentations but there is full professional staging,lighting and sound. The public dictates the flow of the evening.

The events are promoted locally using direct mail, newspapers, posters inlocal shops and radio advertising where appropriate. We make a point of notifying the local Youth Council and local youth groups to encourage youngpeople to attend.

These events are very well attended by people of all ages, they are livelydebates and audience reactions are extremely positive. People find themboth entertaining and enjoyable and they continue to be held right across thecounty providing a direct interface between the Cabinet of Lancashire CountyCouncil and local residents.

Mobile UnitFrom our countywide research, we know that more than anything else, localpeople want County Councillors to listen to them and deal with their problemsand queries. We needed to find a way of bringing the County Council in theshape of local councillors, right into the places where local people spend time.We realised this would mean having the facilities to hand for councillors to

address problems and queries as well as providing information.

The mobile unit is staffed on every visit by officers from CorporateCommunications who support the County Councillors. Our solution was toacquire a mobile unit, which could be taken to town centres, and shoppingcentres around the county. The unit is equipped with state of the art mobileinternet access so that even in the most rural parts of the county councillorscan access the information the public is seeking and can email officers or other organisations on behalf of the public. The unit stocks a wide range of Lancashire County Council publications and has a DVD which shows videosof services. The presence of the unit is publicised in the local media.

Evidence of our success in making the County Council both local and relevantis that we are currently handling in the region of 5000 specific enquiries eachyear through the mobile unit.



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We plan to continue to schedule key venues for county councillor visits March2004 onward including events like festivals and agricultural shows and we areimproving publications available for younger children.

Member Training and Development

Lancashire County Council’s clear commitment to modernising its politicalprocesses and structures is also evident through its recognised Member Development Strategy. This offers all County Councillors access to an annualprogramme of training and development activities informed by Councillor consultation and individual Councillor development plans. For Cabinetmembers this includes the IDeA's Leadership Academy and the ‘Back to theFloor’ initiative (Members shadowing the work of Officers). Backbenchcouncillors have observed House of Commons Select Committees andcompleted IDeA training on Chairing skills, Health Equalities and

understanding local government finance programmes.

Webcasting of Council MeetingsOur internet site receives over 40,000 visitors each month and we have beenscreening our Monthly Cabinet meetings on the internet for over 12 months.Audiences have increased three fold since we began this initiative andfollowing this success we now screen Development Control and RegulatoryControl Committee meetings and will continue to extend this facilitythroughout the democratic process. We believe this use of the internet helpsincrease transparency, accessibility and brings the democratic process closer to the people of Lancashire.

Technology to enhance the constituency roleLancashire is a large and diverse county. We understood early in the drive toe-government that technology provided the means to support our CountyCouncillors in their local constituency role. All County Councillors areprovided with laptops and ISDN lines which, together with our other onlineinitiatives, means they have faster and more efficient means to accessinformation and services as well as faster means of communicating withofficers, other councillors and their support staff. Together this initiative ismaking real improvements to the ability of County Councillors to deliver their constituency role.

County Councillor websitesWe are participating in the "Councillor.info” initiative which is organised by theLGA. Each County Councillor will have a website that contains genericinformation managed by the Council but which also enables the Councillor toadd their own material which can then be viewed by local residents.

County Councillors portalAn internal tool, this pulls together relevant information from various websitesinto one area under a variety of headings and topic structures. County

Councillors can then access the site which contains secure areas for use bypolitical groups as well as a more general discussion forum area. EachDistrict Partnership Officer also produces a monthly electronic newsletter for Councillors in each District which sets key local issues in policy contexts.



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Together, the improved organisation and provision of information willcontribute to enhancing the constituency role which is crucial to a more openand accessible organisation.

Democratic Information System

Lancashire residents are able to find out about council decision making andfuture plans through our comprehensive online information system. Thisprovides access to the Forward Plan and the key reports and decisions of Cabinet, Cabinet Members, Chief Officers, Full Council and Committees. It isdesigned to be highly accessible and is available publicly via the internet, or via the intranet within the organisation. The system has been identified as anexample of national best practice and is currently being enhanced to allow thepublic to track the progress of individual decisions and to identify issues byelectoral division.

Connecting young people and democracy

As a major part of the Council’s contribution to Local Democracy Week 2003,the Council screened live over the internet a debate between the Leaders of its three political groups and three Members of the Lancashire YouthParliament. The topic for the debate was the Government’s consultation onthe lowering of the voting age and age of candidacy. An audience of 60students and teachers was present with an online audience of over 3000 inLancashire schools. At the end of the process a referendum was held onreducing the voting age to 16.

The success of this event means that over the next 12 months the Council willhost a series of debates on topics of interest to young people.

SMS ConsultationWe have had success in encouraging responses to specific topics throughincluding text message consultation alongside other techniques for consultinglocal people. We have found this offers yet another channel through which toengage with local people, one which proves particularly attractive to younger residents.

Citizenship CD-RomIn conjunction with Lancaster University we are developing a CD-Rom to

stimulate interest in local democracy and political processes amongststudents at Key Stages 3 and 4.

The CD-ROM uses cartoon characters to guide viewers through varioussections. Topics covered include how councillors are elected and theimportance of voting; what services are provided; the budget process; virtualtours of committee rooms/county hall; interviews with leading councillors onhow and why they came into politics and interactive games.



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Chapter 5

Local Service Access

The previous Chapters demonstrated that the County Council can effectivelyrepresent communities at the most local level and that we are connecting withlocal people. This Chapter describes how the County Council deliversservices into the heart of communities and how a New Council for Lancashirewould seize opportunities to be even more innovative in the way local peopleaccess services.

In the Autumn of 2003 we commissioned Mori to conduct representativeresearch with 2500 residents across Lancashire. This enabled us to comparecurrent views of the County Council and its services with a similar exerciseconducted in the Autumn of 2000.

In the original research we were pleased to discover that many of our servicesreceived satisfaction ratings from service users that were in the top third of those collected by Mori from councils across the country. At the time, Moricommented that our services were receiving some of the highest ratings ever recorded. Our current evidence demonstrates that we have surpassed our previous performance. For example, 94% of users are satisfied with our library services that are locally delivered across the county.

The extensive range and widespread coverage of existing County and District

Council service access points, even without anything further actions wouldprovide an effective infrastructure for service delivery and public access.Importantly this widespread coverage is also in place in rural communities asshown in the example of Ribble Valley below.

Whilst these existing service access points (schools, libraries, informationcentres, registrars offices, etc) provide a comprehensive geographicalcoverage of Lancashire they also provide the basic infrastructure to developan innovative and local approach to the interaction between community andthe authority.

MAPS

Map 1

See Attached Colour Map at end of document

[Map of Lancashire showing all County Council public access points]



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Map 2

See Attached Colour Map at end of document

[Map of Ribble Valley showing District and County public access pointsincluding mobile services]

ANY street, anywhere:

The accompanying figures are all for Lancaster.

1,032 older people helped to live at home ; We marry XXX couples each year;324km of road salted in winter ; 15,473 streetlights ; 1.76M annual miles onsubsidised buses; 85,768 tonnes of waste disposed of or recycled; 19,970pupils educated by 1,087 teachers; 3,162 pupils receiving extra support ;1.177M items loaned from libraries; 393 people attending day care sessions;

682,529 children eat school lunch each day; 42 ‘lollipop patrols’ helping on theroads; 440 people receive ‘meals on wheels’, £2.67M gained with welfareadvice



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The County Council is also in the vanguard of innovative developments tomake service outlets truly local community facilities.

Community Use of Service Outlets

Extended Schools

Lancashire has a long tradition of encouraging and supporting its schools tobecome community or extended schools. Such schools work in partnershipswith a range of agencies providing services beyond the ‘normal’ school day tohelp meet the needs of pupils, their families and the wider community. ManyLancashire schools are already providing extended services, including pre-school groups, before and after school groups, holiday programmes, parentand family learning programmes, study support, information and computer technology (ICT) facilities and community arts and sports programmes.Partnerships with various organisations, including health, the police, adult andyouth and community service providers, the Early Years and ChildcarePartnership, District Councils and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs), haveenabled community use of school premises for leisure/sports, ICT, study,adult/lifelong learning, childcare, youth clubs and on site health care andadvice services.

There are clear benefits of schools offering extended activities and services.For pupils and schools there are wider opportunities for learning and specialistsupport which in turn increase pupil motivation and self-esteem, improve their behaviour and social skills and lead to higher levels of achievement. Families

have better opportunities for involvement in their children’s education and toparticipate in adult education and family learning. They also benefit frombetter supervision of their children outside school hours and specialist supportservices on the school premises. The wider community can access essentialservices and facilities locally and have opportunities for learning anddevelopment.

In recognition of the successful work already undertaken in this field, theDepartment for Education and Skills (DfES) selected Lancashire as one of 25Pathfinder LEAs in 2002 to develop extended schools with a particular focuson areas in receipt of neighbourhood renewal funding – Preston, Hyndburn,

Burnley, Pendle and Lancaster/Morecambe. Over £200,000 has beeninvested in supporting the further development of extended schools in theseareas, following a service mapping exercise, and the production of guidelinesand good practice case studies for schools, governors and communitypartners. Lancashire will receive further significant investment in 2004/5 of some £2 million to develop four full-service schools providing a range of coreservices, including childcare, health and social care, lifelong learning, familylearning, parenting support, study support, sports, arts and ICT access, and toundertake local and strategic co-ordination and support of full-service andextended schools.



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Lancashire is well placed to respond to the Government’s agenda set out in‘Every Child Matters’ to develop integrated children and family services, andto play a leading role in local regeneration in areas of neighbourhood renewal.The aim is for every school to become an extended school acting as a hub for all year round services to children, their families and the wider community.

Services will go well beyond core educational functions and will includechildcare, adult and family learning, health, social care, advice and communityfacilities. This vision will provide opportunities for the full range of councilservices to be accessed and delivered through extended and full-serviceschools, with IT links to the contact centre for the County.



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Rishton Norden High School

According to Ofsted Rishton Norden High School has good links with the localcommunity, industry, and with other schools and colleges. The Primetime

Community Association and the Hyndburn Leisure Trust on behalf of theBorough Council provide leisure activities to enhance the opportunitiesavailable for out-of-school activities and support for pupils.’

The school provide a range of activities which include: counselling andmentoring sessions, drop in centre for health and sexual issues, summer schools and out of school learning support. Primetime also offer a range of activities which include: photography clubs, information technology andchildcare facilities.

A community beat manager has been based at the school since September

2002 for the Rishton area.

One of the schools focus areas is teenage pregnancy issues and one of Primetimes focus areas is disadvantaged groups within the community.

The school currently has a community use arrangement with charitable statusbetween themselves and the LEA’s Youth and Community Service for community use. The school also has a dual use arrangement with the LEAand Hyndburn Borough Council where school premises are used jointly. Theschool use the ‘shared’ facilities during term time in the day time andHyndburn Leisure Trust provides a community programme at evenings,weekends and during school holidays.

Deepdale Junior School

The school is located in the Deepdale area in the centre of Preston and ranks299 in the DETR deprivation indices. The local community has a highpercentage of residents from the minority ethnic community, primarily Indian

and Pakistani which is reflected in the makeup of the school.

The school provides a programme of sports, leisure, health and educationalopportunities.

The lack of opportunity locally to access sporting activities by the target groupprompted the school and a local football team to come together to addressthis issue.



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Deepdale Junior School (Continued)

The scheme delivers a wide range of activities such as football, cricket,

baseball, cycling, improvised games and after school clubs. It providesrelevant educational and training programmes to enhance communitycapacity building. Local parents and volunteers are recruited and providedwith relevant training opportunities for them to become community sportsleaders, resulting in the improvement of the social and mental well being of young people.

There has been a regular mothers and daughters activities group set up at theschool that meets once a week (including during the summer holidays) to takepart in a variety of activities. Many of the ladies are from the minority ethniccommunity and for most of them it is the first time that they have had the

opportunity to take part in such activities. It is very well attended and is run inpartnership with the Primary Care Trust's Parenting Project.

Libraries as a community resource:

Libraries are at the heart of every community with 85% library buildings acrossthe county meaning that 94% of the population of Lancashire live within twomiles of a library building.

For those people who do not live within easy reach of a library building, thereis a fleet of eleven mobile libraries which visit rural and outlying areas of thecounty.

Libraries deliver services to all parts of the community, ranging from theBookstart project for babies to the individual service to people who arehousebound and the Library Link service to elderly people who live in carehomes and sheltered accommodation. In between we offer services tonurseries, schools, childminders, people with special needs, and people from

minority ethnic communities, to name but a few.

Recent developments have seen over 950 computers installed across all 85%public library buildings in the county as part of the People’s Network whichoffers free internet access to all members of the community. People use it for a wide range of purposes. A recent survey revealed that 48% of use hasbeen in connection with seeking employment and study. Contacting relativesabroad is another popular activity. The People’s Network has also enabledlibraries to offer a wide range of learning opportunities to the people of Lancashire – over 3000 learning opportunities have been offered across fiftylibraries in the last year to date.



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Library buildings are being increasingly used by different organisations todeliver their services and information to local communities – welfare rights,education information, tourist information, inland revenue, councillorssurgeries – amongst others. In addition they are host to a wide range of cultural events, from music recitals to multicultural activities some, but not all,

organised by local staff in the local library for the local community.



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Information Technology

1. To improve Service Delivery

The County Council has grasped the opportunities afforded by ICT for

improving the quality, range and accessibility of local services. Communitiesand client groups as diverse as those across Lancashire demand a localfocus, with services tailored to local circumstances, and this is reflected in our e-government strategy. The County Council endorses the statement in TheNational E-government Strategy, published in 2002, that e-government is “not just local e-government – but good local government.”

Our vision for modernising services is based on the following principles:

· Public access to a wider range of information and services, at times and inlocations convenient for the public, including 24 hours a day;

· The ability to access services in a seamless way, irrespective of thedifferent service providers involved;

· A better informed public, with communities and citizens empowered to takeadvantage of enhanced democratic processes;

· Greater public confidence in data security and confidentiality;

· Raised awareness of the opportunities afforded by these technologies;· The development of new skills across the workforce as students have

greater access to ICT, and it is used more extensively in the workplace.

To achieve this vision, we are concentrating on:

· Providing a choice of access channels for contact based upon peoplespreferences and demand offering electronic channels as they becomestable and widely accepted;

· Creating and shaping demand for self and assisted service, by making itgenuinely easy and convenient;

· Enabling multi-agency channels, working jointly with other serviceproviders

We have come a long way since 2001/2, when we established our corporateintranet and computerised Geographic Information System, and equipped all

our Councillors with PCs and email addresses.

Following the roll-out of the People’s Network across Lancashire, around 94%of citizens are within two miles of a free, public internet access point, and thisis consistent with recent national figures that 47% of citizens are online. Over half of our services are now delivered electronically. We have implemented asingle telephone number for the County Council, through which we arestarting to direct more services and the Highways Partnership is alreadydemonstrating the effectiveness of this approach.

The cornerstone of our e-government strategy is the development of a

network of one-stop shops and a contact centre, which in some areas is inpartnership with District Councils. The network, based on a sharedinfrastructure, will mean that seamless service delivery across these Councils



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can become a reality. The network will support electronic service delivery,consistent standards of service delivery regardless of access channel,significant improvements in the provision of information to staff and to thepublic, and the implementation of a Customer Relationship Managementsystem that will transform the Councils’ relationships with customers and

citizens. This will be extended across all Lancashire under a New Council for Lancashire.

Set out below are several examples that show how the County Council isusing new technology to deliver a range of improved and accessible localservices.

Improving Service Delivery using ICT

· Schools have fast and secure access to the internet, through the CLEO

broadband network, and an extensive range of educational material is availablethrough the National and the Lancashire Grid for Learning.

· The county's 650 schools are now linked electronically to "The Schools Portal"system, which enables them to keep in contact with the Local EducationAuthority instead of having to rely on information sent by post.

· The implementation of IT training centres, such as D@tabase in Clitheroe, whichprovide facilities and training for young people;

· The provision of information targeted at and marketed for young people, throughthe What Now? telephone and email advice line;

· Cyberskills centres in PDSI Older People’s Resource Centres are alreadymaking significant contributions towards helping older people and physicallydisabled develop skills to become more independent and integrate better andwith more confidence, through the use of technology;

· Our SMILE centres in our libraries are going from strength to strength. Theseoffer opportunities for young people with learning difficulties through multi-mediaequipment, and are now being extended to socially excluded adults.

· Continued work with the NHS, to develop a single assessment process for older

people, an electronic Care Programme Approach system for adults with mentalhealth needs. We are also developing an electronic social care record capable of being shared with health partners;

· Developing a pilot for the Integrated Children’s System. This will be acomputerised client information system, based on the principles of multi-agencyaccess and single data entry that will enable us to deliver on the proposalsemerging from “Every Child Matters”, and at the same time strengthening linkswith other agencies;

· ICT facilities are now provided to looked-after children, and we are developingonline services with children and carers

mailto:D@tabase

mailto:D@tabase

mailto:D@tabase



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· We are using telemetry to support more independent living for older andvulnerable people, in partnership with Pendle Borough Council Housing, throughthe use of smart assistive technologies in conjunction with Pendle’s alarmconsole in warden controlled units. We have already received positive feedbackfrom clients and carers for this service.

· 15 ICT Learning Centres for rural areas are being developed, in a multi-agencypartnership project. They will use the Cumbria and Lancashire Education On-line (CLEO) network infrastructure, developed in partnership with CumbriaCounty Council and Lancaster University.

· Websites, e.g. www.SaferLancashire.com, are used to raise local awareness of community safety partnerships, and to support the partnerships in their work.The network of kiosks, LINKS, also provides information on these issues, andrecently ran a domestic safety campaign in conjunction with the Police and theNHS.

· We have opened a dedicated telephone hotline for residents across the countyto report highways faults. The Highways Partnership covers District Councils aswell as the County services, and we have already received feedback fromcustomers welcoming the more accessible, and more responsive service nowbeing provided.

· The ‘Total Transport Network’ project co-ordinates all aspects of transportthrough the provision of real-time information, and faster and easier access topublic transport information, either through our dedicated contact centre, or through the use of SMS text messaging;

· The Lancashireatwork.com website provides information and marketing supportto over 7000 local businesses, and on the role of Lancashire County EnterprisesLimited (LCEL), the county council’s wholly owned economic developmentcompany, in providing support services to local businesses, which relies heavilyon the use of ICT.

· Lancashire's national award MARIO GIS system provides a single public-facing internet-based mapping system into which many services havebeen integrated. It can be used to:

- find an address or a road within the county;- display Public Rights of Way and other countryside information, and

find out where schools and libraries are located, along with the locationof safety cameras/accidents;

- Historic Ordnance Survey maps for most the urban areas, andaerial photographs available for the whole of Lancashire;

- it also shows who the County Councillor is at any given location in theCounty.

It has received many favourable comments from residents in the Countyand won the award "For demonstrating excellence in the effective use of information management for the delivery of public services".

http://www.saferlancashire.com/






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Case Study

LINKS – Bringing Vital Information to Communities

The Links project was set up in 1999 to redress the fact that a large number of

people do not have sufficient access to electronic information, either becausethey did not have computers at home, or did not have the confidence to usecomputers. Now LINKS provides the public with free, easy-to-use, touchscreen information kiosks.

As a partnership project, it gave local communities a true sense of ownershipby involving them in planning the project.

Since its pioneering beginnings, the project has grown to include more urbanareas and in doing so is reaching a much wider range of needs.

The kiosks continue to be widely used by the public and in 2003, the networkof 40 kiosks received over 130,000 users. This is a remarkable achievement,as nearly half of the 24-7 kiosks are located in rural areas. Kiosk locationsare not restricted to council buildings as many are sited in community facilitiesthat will attract the most usage. Current locations include supermarkets,health centres, bus stations, village halls, and County Information Centres.

There are plans to expand the number of kiosks in 2004 through partnershipworking with various organisations.

The first 24-7 kiosk to be installed was in Caton in 1999 following a publicmeeting to gain people’s views.

Local residents have actually been involved in much of the decision makingon the future of their project and feedback has been very positive.

Members from the local community and businesses have also taken theopportunity to receive IT training to enable them to produce their own contentfor the kiosk transforming it into a credible and useful community tool.

Multi-Agency Data Exchange

The County Council has a led a strategic initiative with community safetypartner agencies to develop the Lancashire Multi-Agency Data Exchangefacility (MADE). This is an example of how the County Council works at astrategic level with partner organisations (including neighbouring unitarycouncil areas) to deliver a cost effective and efficient means of collating anddisseminating data for the purposes of providing analytical services to assist14 crime and disorder reduction partnerships in their statutory auditing andmonitoring processes.



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Multi-Agency Data Exchange (Continued)

The project collates, cleanses and processes data from a wide variety of sources such as police, probation, youth offending teams, ambulance service,Drug Action Teams, local authorities, The Fire and Rescue Service as well as

census and neighbourhood statistics. Mapping the data enables area profilesand tables to be generated. It also enables monthly performance informationfrom the police to be mapped to wards. The services are web based using apassword protected area and integrated with the corporate GIS (Mapzone) onthe Intranet, to which other partners are developing access. The project hasgained regional and national recognition.



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Chapter 6

Managing the Business

Council Size/How it will work

It is proposed that the New Council for Lancashire would have 84 ElectoralDivisions (which is the draft recommendation in the Lancashire PeriodicElectoral Review) with two Councillors representing each.

There are currently 583 District Councillors and 78 County Councillors inLancashire and under any multiple unitary structure for the County the number of Elected Members would be reduced broadly to the same extent.

Under our model, all Councillors will serve on Local Cabinets. There will be

particular demands on key local service portfolio holders. As well as their local roles Councillors will need to fulfil the organisational needs of the centrei.e. 10 Members to form the Council's Executive, and service CouncilCommittees such as Licensing, Development Control, Regulatory etc. as wellas Overview and Scrutiny.

Therefore, there will be some Members whose primary focus inevitably will beon local decision-making, especially those with key service local portfolios.There will be others whose primary focus will be at the 'centre' servicing thecorporate Cabinet and leading roles/chairing Council Committees/Overviewand Scrutiny. In between those 'extremes', with a total of 168 Members, there

is capacity to ensure that the organisation's demands on Members can bemet. Also with support mechanisms some of which are identified below,Councillors will have the capacity to fulfil a strong role representing their localcommunities:

- locally based dedicated officer support to help Councillors tackle their representational/constituency functions.

- local secretarial support to Local Councillors especially LocalPortfolio Holders.

-locally based professional service staff and Community Engagement staff led by an Area Director and local service heads.

- extensive use of developments in 21st Century information technology tomake communication between Councillor and citizen and Councillor andCouncil Directorates much more streamlined thereby increasing capacityof Councillors to work 'smart'.

- Member training and development.

A particular attraction is the 2 Member electoral divisions that would mean atleast one Councillor is able to represent that division whether at LocalCabinet, Community Forums etc if the other is unable to because of other Council business.



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Overview and Scrutiny

The County Council currently has four Overview and Scrutiny Committees,

operating largely through a network of Task Groups. They are supported by adedicated team of policy and administrative officers. Our Health Overviewand Scrutiny Committee includes a co-opted Councillor from each of the 12District Councils, in recognition that health provision and issues around healthinequalities have a strategic and local impact.

Service review programmes on the Committees include not only strategicCounty-wide matters but also more local sub-county service issues, for example road safety in particular problem areas.

In Lancashire, Councillors have been given considerable training and

development to support them philosophically and practically to fulfil their newroles effectively. Good progress has been made and our Overview andScrutiny Committees now make a strong contribution to reviewing serviceprovision.

To co-ordinate review programmes, we have an Overview and ScrutinyManagement Panel, and this has proved very effective in bringing greater clarity and structure to ensure reviews progress expeditiously and lead to anoutcome.

The new executive/scrutiny form of governance introduced by the Local

Government Act 2000, has engendered much greater cross-party working inLancashire. Opposition leaders have a right to participate fully in debate inCabinet before decisions are taken, although they may not vote. All positionsof responsibility are allocated on a cross party proportional basis.

Under a new Council for Lancashire, we believe the Overview and Scrutinyfunction can be even more effective. First, a key component in the role of Local Cabinets will be to monitor the impact of all services in their areas.Service data including performance indicators etc. will be disaggregated toprovide good management information to enable local councillors to exercisethat role. Monitoring in this sense is not a passive exercise; local councillorswill also initiate local reviews of particular services or cross-cutting themeswith a view to raising service standards.

That local monitoring role means that most service review activity will takeplace locally through Local Cabinets. That will enrich substantially dataavailable to central Overview and Scrutiny Committees about the impact of allservices. As all Councillors will serve on Local Cabinets, their hands-onexperience of local services and their enhanced representational role will addvalue and bring greater clarity and focus to central overview and scrutinyactivity.

In terms of structure, there will clearly need to be an “area” dimension tooverview and scrutiny to act as a check that Local Cabinets are delivering onLancashire-wide policy frameworks and strategies and are working effectively



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in the interests of local communities. That could be through either a singleCommittee charged with overseeing devolved activity or it could be part of each O&S Committee's activity within their particular thematic remits. Or itcould be a combination of both.

Either way, we believe the overview and scrutiny function overall will bestrengthened through the experience of all Councillors' local service andmonitoring roles.



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Chapter 7

Service Delivery and Integration

As a very different authority in terms of size and the diversity of itscommunities, the New Council for Lancashire would bring, through its capacityand economies of scale, innovation to service delivery to match people’sgrowing expectations for ease of access to the services they need at timesand locations which suit them.

Our Stage 1 submission went into some detail on the opportunities our modelpresented for greater integration of services to local people, including housingand social care, planning, development control, trading standards,environmental health and the county laboratory, waste management, leisureand cultural services, public protection etc.

It is not intended to repeat that in this response. Rather, this Chapter takesthe opportunity to show how a New Council for Lancashire would:

- integrate local housing and neighbourhood services to improvepeople’s quality of life at the most local level.

- meet the substantial challenges of integrating children’s services.

- offer the only real prospect of delivering for all Lancashire'scommunities the North West Economic Strategy bringing much neededinvestment to the whole of the County.

- outlines how the District’s new licensing responsibilities would bedelivered.

Housing and Neighbourhood Services

The Stage 1 submission outlined the benefits of a New Council for Lancashireto address the increasingly strategic nature of a Housing Authority's role. This

time we address the opportunities afforded by a New Council for Lancashireto comprehensively and efficiently integrate housing and neighbourhoodservices to improve the quality of life of local residents.

The County Council does not wish to be too prescriptive at this stage, asmuch work will need to be done to develop the process and build a successfulhousing strategy.

However, it is possible to demonstrate how a Lancashire Strategic HousingAuthority could successfully combine its key services to improve the quality of life for its residents at a neighbourhood and village level.



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A New Council for Lancashire would have at its heart a commitment tocommunity consultation and involvement in decisions about the future of homes and quality of neighbourhoods.

Local Housing and Neighbourhood Teams:

Our new local Housing and Neighbourhood Service would be structured tomeet the needs of our local communities in the round. A strong strategicfocus would be developed at the centre of our organisation, which willempower an effective local response to the diversity of housing and streetscene needs of each of our communities -villages and neighbourhoods.

What matters to people is the reality of their daily life: the fabric of their neighbourhood or village; the maintenance and cleanliness of their area, their streets and open spaces; the maintenance of the pavements, footpaths androads; and street lighting – amongst other things. This is the stuff of life for

communities across the breadth of Lancashire. It is the liveability agenda.

A new Council for Lancashire would seek to have local housing andneighbourhood teams within each local cabinet area capable of managingthese types of issues, and allocating work required to appropriate staff or contractors. The number of teams and their location within each cabinet areawould be influenced by local needs, priorities and circumstances.

The teams would have clear and consistent service aims, standards andpriorities. The teams would respond to reports of failing street lights,inadequate pavements, fly-tipping and fly-posting, the clearance of brokenglass or barbed wire dangling by the side of the playground, graffiti removal,and problems of vandalism.

Housing and neighbourhood services could be accessed through a range of service access points located within neighbourhoods and communities,including the local Contact Centre, Information Centres and One-Stop shops.These access points would include local housing surgeries held withinneighbourhoods and villages, visiting mobile service facilities providingwelfare benefit and housing benefit advice and access to services via ITfacilities located in community buildings and centres.

The new council for Lancashire would look to develop a ‘super caretakers’scheme for each local cabinet area. We would learn from the best practiceidentified in similar housing and neighbourhood service schemes across thecountry. The ‘super caretakers’ would link to the housing and neighbourhoodteams located within each local cabinet area and could help to provide animmediate response to tackle problems within priority areas. The priorityareas within each cabinet area would be identified by local cabinets inconsultation with the community.

Our experience in developing the Parish Lengthsman Scheme demonstrates

our commitment and success in developing this type of initiative capable of responding to local need.



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The lengthsmans scheme is, in essence, the re-incarnation of an old concept;a locally employed person, maintaining roadside verges and drainage, publicopen space and pathways. The role also involves tackling small-scaleenvironmental projects directly or jointly with the local community andpartners.

There are now 10 Parish Lengthsman Schemes operating in 29 parishesthroughout the County. The scheme is a joint venture funded by the Parishesinvolved, Lancashire County Council, District Councils and the North WestDevelopment Agency.

We will be motivated and driven by local customer needs. We will developmeaningful local performance indicators. We will compare our performancelocally, nationally and regionally, building on good practice to ensure we meetthe needs of our diverse communities.

Tenant Participation and Involvement:

A New Council for Lancashire would seek to work with local authority tenantsand leaseholders to develop a Lancashire Wide Compact. This is anagreement on how they will be involved in the management of their homesand neighbourhoods, and an agreement on standards of service.

A Lancashire Compact would ensure consistent high standards of involvement irrespective of where a person lives in Lancashire. It would setout our commitment for involvement and the way in which we would resource,empower and support tenants and leaseholders at each local level. The keyto successful compacts is to ensure that they are a two way communicationprocess.

We would involve tenants and leaseholders in the development of thecompact and would build on good practice across Lancashire.

The Lancashire Compact would be reinforced by local tenant and leaseholder compacts. These would be tailored towards the diverse needs of our communities of interest in Lancashire, i.e. rural communities, particular geographical communities of interest, young people, supported tenants and

residents in extra care housing. Local compacts and themed compacts wouldbe influenced by, and inform the Lancashire wide compact.

Capacity Building:

This is an important aspect of enabling tenants to become involved in localdecision-making. The New Council for Lancashire would have the economiesof scale to deliver comprehensive ongoing capacity building throughcommunity development workers – part of the neighbourhood service team. AResource Centre could also be developed which could provide up to dateinformation for tenants across Lancashire on a wide range of ongoing issues.

This could include a website dedicated to tenants. The work alreadyunderway to develop a Community Portal for Lancashire demonstrates theauthority’s commitment to the use of technology to support stronger communities.



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Landlord Forum:

We would ensure Landlord Forums are in place to promote good practiceacross Lancashire in relation to the letting of property. This would form part of

our neighbourhood renewal strategy to improve the condition of private sector stock within localities.

Other Housing Related Issues

Supporting People:

The Supporting People programme offers vulnerable people the opportunity toimprove their quality of life by enabling them to live more independent lives inthe community. It introduces a new system of planning, monitoring andfunding for housing related support services.

We have set up a commissioning partnership of the current 12 housingauthorities, 8 PCTs, the Probation Service and Social Service Directorate. Inour first year of operating the Supporting People programme, we havemanaged a budget of £30.6m and funded over 150 service providers to meetidentified local need.

We have identified areas of local need using population profile, deprivationindicators and local intelligence. This has enabled resources to be targeted atlocalities where need is high.

Extra Care Supported Housing:

During the past two years, discussions have taken place with partner agencies in ten of the district council areas of Lancashire, to commission anddevelop extra care supported housing for older people. The result has seenan increase of 91 units across the County in two years (from 16 in 2000/01 to107). By the end of 2003/04 the projected figure will be in the region of 150.We have commissioned 50,000 hours of care support a year across thecounty to facilitate these arrangements and respond to local needs.

This directly supports the Government’s national priority to promoteindependence for older people, and reduce the number of admissions toresidential care. It demonstrates our ability to act strategically to meethousing related support needs of older people in local communities.

Elevate:

East Lancashire is part of a national pathfinder initiative to tackle problems of abandoned and run down housing. This initiative is rooted in tacklingregeneration in the round, with housing as a key driver. The approach is partof the Sustainable Communities Plan (ODPM 2003) that outlined a new

approach to addressing the problems of housing demand.



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Our approach has seen us focusing on a range of local factors that contributeto the quality of life in these deprived areas, in order to improve housingdemand. This again demonstrates our commitment and capacity to respondto local needs.

A unitary Lancashire council would play a pivotal part in shaping anddelivering this initiative to address local issues pertinent to East Lancashire. Anew council for Lancashire could also maximise opportunities to passportinnovation and good practice around the County and effectively use thelobbying potential created at a regional, national and international level.

A ‘New Council for Lancashire’ will seek to develop a comprehensive‘community empowerment’ approach to neighbourhood management.

This approach will help to ensure we are able to respond to the different

needs of each local neighbourhood area and village, and improve the qualityof life for that area – identifying the local solution through consultation,engagement and participation, and delivering it through a locally based multi-disciplinary neighbourhood service team.



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Integrated Children's Service

Following the publication of the Green Paper “Every Child Matters” (ECM) inSeptember 2003, the County Council has put in place initial measures toensure an effective and coherent response to future legislation anticipated in

summer 2004. This includes:

· Creation of a Children's Modernisation Board, made up of the two CabinetMembers for Children and Families and Education along with the Chief Executive and chief officers of all directorates. The Board will in duecourse receive proposals for the implementation of Every Child Matters.

· Establishment of an ECM Project Team, with a core and extendedmembership involving managers of mainly targeted children's servicesfrom Education, Social Services and the Youth Offending Team. TheProject Team is working up proposals for how current services can bedeveloped and reconfigured to provide an integrated response to theneeds of children and their families in Lancashire.

The Government has set out in ECM five outcomes which matter most for children and young people, which are:

· Being healthy

· Staying safe

· Enjoying and achieving

· Making a positive contribution

· Economic well-being

These are entirely consistent with the County Council’s corporate objectives.

The County Council is a major commissioner and provider of services for children and families. The County Council's vision is that these servicesshould be both excellent and innovative and should be delivered inpartnership with others.

The lessons learned from Lord Laming’s report into the death of VictoriaClimbie indicate that avoiding fragmentation of services is one of the

underpinning features of a system which safeguards children’s welfare, andresults in better co-ordination, improved information sharing and clearer linesof accountability.

The implementation of the Green Paper proposals, and the development of more integrated services, represents a challenging, high profile task. TheCounty Council believes it has the necessary capacity, skills, and expertise tobe able take forward this agenda over the next months on a scale that wouldnot be possible in smaller authorities. The County Children’s ServicesPlanning Group has a proven track record of multi-agency planning, andengagement of key stakeholders from the voluntary and statutory sectors.

By the time a single Council for Lancashire is implemented, it would then be avery good time to look at how the relevant incoming services could also beintegrated to add further benefit – housing, sports and leisure services and



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community services. This would be a radically new way of ensuring the sort of effective collaborative partnership working that is expected, particularly in anarena of such potential high risk. With the benefit of experience the next fewyears will offer, the new Council would then be in an excellent position todevelop a service structure that could become a model of best practice.



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Economic Development

There is a strong imperative for a countywide integrated economicdevelopment function if Lancashire is to compete in a global market for tradeand investment. It is only through an integrated approach to social,

environmental and market needs that a truly balanced approach betweenlocal and global economies is achieved. This can only be achieved under aNew Council for Lancashire.

The North West Regional Development Agency believe that the NWEconomic Strategy – tackling Business Development, Regeneration, Skillsand Employment, Infrastructure and Image – is best delivered by sub-regionalpartnerships, of which Lancashire is one. The NWDA has moved from itsprevious policy of recognising and supporting the two sub-regionalpartnerships in Lancashire (East and West), to one of seeking a unified pan-Lancashire approach, with a single economic strategy and a clear andconsistent voice for Lancashire within the North West.

The County Council recognises that traditional approaches to economicdevelopment do not deliver the overall quality environment in which peopleand places flourish. Rather, the function of economic development is to buildintegrated sustainable micro and macro economies. This necessitates aholistic approach that incorporates within the aims and objectives of all localgovernment services an economic development element. It is essential thatstrategic priorities are set that will better inform innovative approaches to

economic development which will not be possible in a structure of multiplelocal authorities in Lancashire.

The organisation and management of economic development will require astrategic network approach to service delivery; building flexible teams of multi-disciplinary expertise able to respond to local needs, national, regional &global challenges. This is exemplified in the creation of the model developedby the County Council - Lancashire County Developments Ltd – a tradingcompany that incorporates within an innovative framework tourism,regeneration, property development and community economic action.

Our aim is to create an economic environment within Lancashire where:

· Infrastructure supports the development of the large and diverse economyconsisting of a strong mix of over 35,000 registered companiesrepresenting all sectors of the UK economy;

· Planning is flexible and responsive to local needs;

· Business has the tools and operating environment to trade effectively;

· Entrepreneurs can flourish;

· Local people have an individual sense of well-being and self-worth;

· Inequality is reduced; and

·

Communities are empowered through effective mechanisms of localparticipation.



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To achieve this we have expanded the operation of Lancashire CountyDevelopments Ltd, the County Council’s wholly owned not-for-profit economicdevelopment company, which, in conjunction with County CouncilDirectorates, delivers an integrated package of products and services topeople who live and work in Lancashire. These include:

· Integrated area based regeneration:

Through working across the diversity of Lancashire, the County Councilhas built up expertise in creative regeneration solutions. These includephysical regeneration of land and buildings both directly and through arange of joint venture or special purpose vehicles. These activities arecomplimented by a network of partners to ensure that area basedregeneration meets local, regional and national strategic objectives. Thisrole is therefore a special one, utilising the cross cutting theme of economic development to bring the comprehensive range of County

Council services to bear on local area based regeneration and integratingthem with all the local and regional partners.

· Land Development and Business /Technology ParksLancashire Business Park, Leyland:

Set in the heart of Lancashire with easy access to the motorway network,the Lancashire Business Park at Leyland offers both existing office andindustrial premises and development land ready for new builds.

With office accommodation available up to 2,550m², and industrial unitsfrom 500m² to 42,000m² accommodation on this site is highly sought after.

Over the last few years occupancy has risen steadily and currently some60 businesses have made it their home.

· White Cross, Lancaster:

White Cross, lies at the heart of Lancaster City Centre and boasts over 400,000ft² of high quality accommodation.

Currently home to 125 companies ranging from publishers to plasterers,this successful site is close to the motorway network and the West CoastMain Line. In the shadow of the Lancaster Canal and Williamson Park,this stunning complex was created by Lancashire County DevelopmentsLtd from a former mill complex and has been transformed into an areawith a character quite its own.

A comprehensive £ 0.25 million refurbishment of the officeaccommodation is nearing completion, offering tenants an even better environment for 2004.



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· Joint Venture/Partnership arrangements:

Lancashire County Developments is currently working with a range of regional and local partners to develop a Technology Centre at the former Michelin Site in Burnley.

The Technology Centre will provide high quality managed workspacetargeted at new and growing small and medium sized enterprises. Theaim is the creation of long lasting jobs, wealth and prestige for the subregion and the region by attracting inward investment in and around theCentre.

· Environment:

Renewable Energy Cluster Development - the County Council is a keypartner in the Lancashire Community Renewable Partnership along

with the University of Lancaster and Powergen. This Partnership isworking to promote the development of micro-scale, community basedrenewable energy initiatives on a Countywide basis. The Partnership isinvolved in the design, testing of equipment and processes involvinglocal on-shore wind, biomass and hydro power applications. Projectsare designed to promote maximum engagement with local communitiesand SMEs. In the case of the latter, ‘green loans’ are available througha modified Rosebud scheme by Lancashire County Developments (see'Finance' below) to encourage maximum engagement of businessesable to exploit opportunities in this emerging sector.

· Integrated waste management initiative:

Lancashire County Developments is working with the County Councilpartnership in the development and implementation of strategies for municipal waste management. The delivery of Lancashire's WasteStrategy is based on a number of strategic sites collectively fulfilling awaste concentration and processing function across Lancashire. Themost advanced of these plans is the development of a 'WasteTechnology Park' situated Lancashire Business Park in Leyland.

To maximise the wider economic potential of this investment it isproposed to create a Lancashire Waste Innovation Infrastructure (LWII)which will support entrepreneurship, innovation, business growth andeconomic development in the waste technologies market by;

· Creating commercial advantage for users and developers of waste technology based products and services;

· Supporting an industry led Waste Innovation Centreoperating in partnership with the Universities and the privatesector to deliver relevant knowledge-based resources and

programmes to help create competitive advantage for Lancashire businesses;



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over £4 million in Lancashire businesses helping to create thousands of local jobs.

Venture Capital and Community Finance Initiatives – entailing theprovision of investment in start-up and expanding small and medium

sized enterprises county-wide, both rural and urban. Lancashire CountyDevelopments Limited in partnership with Business Link hasestablished a single gateway for accessing all forms of SMEdevelopment funding, consisting of a cocktail of structured fundingincorporating loans, equity and a range of other financial instruments.

· Social Enterprise:

The facilitation and support of effective locally based communityservices is an important part of the inclusion agenda. The CountyCouncil directly creates and improves community service networks,

including credit unions and community enterprises. This is achievedthrough the provision of a range of County wide products that includemicro-credits, workspace and incubation provision, training and projectmanagement. Working with the Business Links, Faith Groups and localcommunities’ new ideas are piloted and local ownership encouraged. Arange of community assets may then be delivered, including communitycentres, social enterprise incubators, training facilities and evencommunity gardens and allotments.

· Community Development:

The development of community networks to support social enterprisealso includes direct support for minority groups such as the ethnicminority women’s network and disabled people. Working through theLocal Strategic Partnerships (LSP’s) and their partners including SureStart, the County Council ensures an inclusive approach is taken inservice provision and in the creation of jobs and improved prosperity.This includes skills development, business finance and workspacebuilding.

· Promoting and supporting the Lancashire tourism industry:

Tourism contributes 7% to the economy of the Lancashire sub-regionand in recognition of this the County Council places considerableemphasis on supporting this key sector. The County Council is afounder member of the Lancashire Tourism Partnership formed in 1996and has worked since then with over 40 partners to bolster the tourismproduct across areas such as workforce skills, business performance,quality of accommodation, marketing and environment.

Along with Blackpool Borough Council and Blackburn with DarwenBorough Council, the County Council has formed a new company, the

Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board Limited. This new organisationwill fully engage with the private sector to drive forward tourismdevelopment for the foreseeable future. The County Council expectsto take a full and direct role through activity covering co-ordinated



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marketing and image building campaigns, promotion of qualityassurance schemes, financial and general business support and thepursuit of external funding.

The move to a single Lancashire Economic Development function within a

unitary authority is mirrored by the creation of a Lancashire StrategicPartnership; one Lancashire Business Link and one Destination ManagementOrganisation for Tourism. Thus one authority is clearly the most effectivevehicle for negotiation purposes with major funders and developers. Creatingone unitary authority in effect creates a ‘one-stop’ shop easily accessible to allour partners.

Economic development is a cross cutting issue for the New Council for Lancashire. Our holistic approach means that the council works as a ‘whole’and not in isolation of the other functions. The benefits of a single economicdevelopment unit include:

· The ability at a sub regional level to more effectively address thestrategic objectives of the Regional Economic Strategy:

o Business Developmento Regenerationo Skills and Employmento Infrastructureo Image

· Better/ improved communication pathways and analysis through theuse of the County Council's corporate communications unit and e-

government site.· A genuine strategic Lancashire overview enhanced by the County

Council's economic intelligence unit.

· The ability to link with partners, particularly universities to developinnovation and cluster industries.

· Decentralisation of power and decision-making to Local StrategicPartnerships, supported by LCDL Regeneration Officers and 12 LocalDistrict Partnership Officers.

· Corporate branding of Lancashire as a quality place to live, work andstudy, a place that produces quality goods and services and as a placeworthy of investment both from the private and state sectors.

· A co-ordinated support service to Lancashire’s 35,000 RegisteredCompanies.

· Lancashire’s heritage/ history better supported and sustained.

· Greater ability to support and attract inward investment into the area.

Delivery

It is evident that one unitary economic development function will provideimproved economies of scale. One unitary service provides bigger ‘deliveryengines’ able to tackle the ED agenda ‘head-on’ through an integratedpackage of services. These include:

· Cash and leverage (matched funding)

· Project management



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· Property development and management

· Advice and support

· Training

· Overall planning/ strategy

· Speed of response

· Enhanced community cohesion through a greater understanding of ‘diversity’ across Lancashire

· Staff – both quality and retention of

· Broad range of economic development activity i.e. tourism,regeneration, community business and social enterprise

· Lancashire assets better managed and utilised

· Ability to provide and manage innovative funding streams e.g. RosebudFund scheme

· Coherent community engagement through our district role in LocalStrategic Partnerships

· Better positioned to respond to and develop supply chain demands/issues/ expansion of industry.

Quality Assurance

The proposed unitary authority will ensure a cohesive approach to customer service, ensuring quality standards are met either through direct provision of economic development services or through the co-ordination of countywidecontracts and tenders. Training and development of cross county staff through development of Best Practice, education and dissemination of knowledge will ensure quality delivery. Economies of scale in the technology

of knowledge diffusion, through sub regional, regional and trans-Europeanagents will ensure that the county’s residents and businesses trading andintending to trade in Lancashire will have access to the most up to the minutedata, advice and support.



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Licensing Act 2003

The Government have introduced through the Licensing Act 2003 newarrangements for a more integrated and unified system of licensing the saleand supply of alcohol, public entertainment, theatres, cinemas, night cafes

and late night refreshment.

The fundamental purpose is to promote crime and disorder reduction, publicsafety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children fromharm.

The Act provides for this licensing function to be transferred to District andunitary Councils. This is a major new role for local government. As theMinister, Tessa Jowell, said in the foreword to the statutory guidance to localauthorities "……..the legislation is fundamentally based on local decision-making informed by local knowledge and local people".

To provide a policy context for these new responsibilities the local authoritymust publish a policy framework every three years following consultation withlicence holders, local residents, the business community, and the police andfire authorities. The policy framework will be an integral component of theauthority's overall policy objectives in areas such as crime and disorder reduction, alcohol misuse and the encouragement of tourism and self-sufficient rural communities.

The statutory requirement to prepare a licensing policy framework came intoforce in December 2003. The powers to determine specific licensingapplications have yet to come into force.

The 2003 Act requires the Licensing Authority to establish a LicensingCommittee of between 10 and 15 Councillors. The policy framework will bedetermined by the Full Council following the consultations referred to above,including Local Cabinets to reflect the diversity of service needs in differentparts of the County. The Licensing Committee would determine specificLicence applications (and may discharge other existing licensing functions)and may establish Sub-Committees to manage the workload.

Whilst Local Cabinets would contribute fully in formulating the county-widepolicy framework, they could not in law exercise these new licensingfunctions. But a locally based Licensing Sub-Committee could formally beestablished to determine licensing applications in the area of each LocalCabinet supported by locally based professional officers.



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Chapter 8

Conclusion

Size is not an obstacle to successful community engagement. It is a matter of culture and organisation.

A New Council for Lancashire is not a trade off between strong strategiccapacity and effective local community representation and accountability. Our model delivers both. Indeed, it already does so for 85% of local governmentservices in Lancashire.

Building on our current 'locality focus agenda' and best practices in communityengagement by district councils, a New Council for Lancashire will giveLancashire people in their many and varied communities a voice to make a

difference to their future wellbeing and first class access to services befittingthe 21st century.

Extensive devolution of budgets and services to locally elected councillors willbring decision-making closer to people, whilst at the same time benefittingfrom the strategic capacity, economies of scale and resource base of a largeauthority.

Our model represents an exciting opportunity to build a local governmentstructure which benefits all parts of Lancashire, and to ensure Lancashire'svoice is clearly heard in the North West, Whitehall, Brussels and beyond.



Lancashire County Council ServicePoints - Ribble Valley

Appendix

Alston Lane Catholic PrimaryBarrow Primary SchoolBolton-by-Bowland CEBowland High SchoolBrennand's Endowed PrimaryBrookside Primary SchoolCastleford Home for ElderlyChatburn Branch LibraryChatburn CE Primary SchoolChipping Brabins EndowedClitheroe Branch Library

Clitheroe Castle MuseumClitheroe Registration OfficeClitheroe Ribblesdale CountyCroasdale Drive ResidentialEdisford Primary SchoolFell View Home for ElderlyGisburn Primary SchoolGrindleton CE Voluntary AidedHillside SchoolHothersall Lodge Field StudiesLongridge Branch LibraryLongridge CE Primary SchoolLongridge High SchoolLongridge Primary SchoolLongridge Youth and CommunityMellor Branch LibraryPendle Primary SchoolRibble Valley Resource CentreRibblesdale High SchoolRibblesdale Nursery SchoolRoman Bath House Museum

Sabden Primary SchoolSalesbury CE Primary School

Social Services OfficesSt Augustine's RC High SchoolSt Cecilia's RC High SchoolSt James' CE Primary SchoolSt John's CE VoluntarySt Joseph's RC Primary SchoolSt Leonard's CE VoluntarySt Mary's CE Primary SchoolSt Mary's RC Primary SchoolSt Mary's RC Primary SchoolSt Mary's RC Primary School

St Mary's RC Primary SchoolSt Michael & St John's RCSt Peter's CE Primary SchoolSt Wilfred's CE VoluntarySt Wilfred's RC Primary SchoolTrinity Youth & CommunityWaddington & West Bradford CE

Whalley Branch LibraryWhalley CE Primary SchoolWhat Now? Service

060. local government review in lancashire

Documents