Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture.

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture introduced the draft Position Statement and the draft Communities Delivery plan 2023 which contained proposals for the long-term development of the Communities Strategy for Staffordshire.  The Committee was asked for comments on the documents prior to consideration by Cabinet in February 2023.

It was explained that the ‘empowering our communities’ was one of the four ‘how we work’ statements in the Strategic Plan and as such has to be at the heart of everything the Council does.  It was stated that the past 18 months had seen a vast amount of work with partners and residents, but continued work with communities was vital to help with post pandemic and cost of living issues.

During the debate the following points were raised:

• Coordination of activities between District; Borough; Parish; Town; and County had improved but more still needed to be done to join up effort.  Engagement was taking place on each of the programmes in the delivery plan.  The Leaders Board was also establishing a District; Borough and County council officers working group to look at cost of living initiatives.
• Work was ongoing with the Staffordshire Parish Councils Association to bring people together, but it was noted that each area had different needs and desires to work with partners.
• The results of pilot schemes, such as Biddulph Town Council, would be shared and would hopefully encourage more participation.
• The County Councils role in helping to signpost and advise communities was acknowledged.
• Capacity in the Community/voluntary sector was stretched and it was felt that it would be unrealistic to expect some groups to take on more work.
• The continuation of the Members fund was welcomed as this was seen as a way of helping community groups get projects off the ground.
• Support Staffordshire and Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services (SCVYS) had informed the Council that the cost of living crisis and rising energy costs hadn’t yet started to impact on communities in the numbers expected, but they had seen an increase in demand for their services.  There may be some flexibility to change contracts if necessary.

The following comments were made by the Committee on the draft Position Statement and the draft Communities Delivery plan 2023:

1. The Plan and the work of the partners and voluntary sector was welcomed.
2. It was felt there were a number of strands of activity and a number of partners all with their own requirements and objectives (e.g. Health, District Council, County Council etc) but only one community.  More emphasis should be placed on consulting together, to establish one aim and focus to enable a positive step change.
3. It was felt that the way that outcomes were measured and the results from the activities listed in the plan were not always clear and would benefit from more detail for example the inclusion of costs and SMART measurements and timelines.

Resolved: 

a)   That the draft Position Statement including the draft Communities Delivery Plan 2023 be noted.

b)  That the comments made by the Committee, listed above, be reported to the Cabinet in February 2023.