Politics, Participation, Places & Partnerships

1. Politics, Participation, Places & Partnerships Davy Jones Kent County Council 29th April 2010 Davy Jones Consultancy

2. Reaching a defining moment • Sleepwalking to environmental catastrophe…… • UN: 200,000 people dying each year already • 85% see climate change as a “significant threat” • Economic crisis - consumerism threatens world • Massive demographic changes • Trust in traditional politics at rock-bottom • We need to be more “political” • We need more participation • This will happen around places • Public service partnerships need to organise it Davy Jones Consultancy Davy Jones Consultancy

3. Why citizen participation now ? • Most centralised system of running local services in West • Successive Governments responsible ! • But…it’s bureaucratic and expensive ! • Increasing evidence that involving citizens works • Increasing recognition of benefits • Rise of consumer choice & explosion of information through internet • Rise of social media / participation • Individual & collective voice & choice Davy Jones Consultancy

4. Political consensus ? • Localism, less inspection/PIs, Total Place & involving citizens - cross-party support • Broad consensus across main parties - all manifestoes – differences in scale/speed • “Big society demands mass engagement” (David Cameron) • Conservative councils now majority of councils using PB • Whatever Government emerges, these trends will not go away Davy Jones Consultancy

5. Benefits of involvement • Better services • Better outcomes • Strengthens democracy • Strengthens social capital • Strengthens community cohesion Davy Jones Consultancy

6. Do people want to be involved? MORI August 2009 Davy Jones Consultancy

7. Why don’t people get involved? Power Inquiry (2006): “citizens do not feel that the processes of formal democracy offer them enough influence over political decisions” “Citizens often believe that the official mind is already made up, or that it will not listen to the results of participation exercises”(Lowndes et al 2001) Audit Commission 2005 survey of ‘best practice’ authorities found that three-quarters failed to link the results of consultation with decision-making processes Davy Jones Consultancy

8. 1 Better services – in an economic crisis Empowerment is not a luxury – it can save money! • Involvement leads to better targeting of services • Co-ordinated engagement can save money Davy Jones Consultancy

9. 2 Better outcomes • Use of “local knowledge” to improve operational matters* • Correlation of satisfaction with local council and ability to influence local decisions • Behaviour change programmes • Correlation of happiness with ability to influence * Maguire & Truscott study of community involvement in LSPs, 2006 Davy Jones Consultancy

10. 3 Strengthening democracy Representative Democracy Participatory Democracy • Participatory democracy can boost representative democracy • Restore people’s faith in process in discredited politics Davy Jones Consultancy

11. Trust in Politicians MORI Poll –Do you generally trust these groups to tell the truth or not? Davy Jones Consultancy

12. Trust in Bankers? Davy Jones Consultancy

13. Strengthening social capital Increased feelings of community/neighbourliness; More likely to feel people in area friendly and neighbours look out for each other; Less likely to have problems with neighbours Increasing satisfaction with area as a place to live More likely to feel can influence local decisions Increased feelings of safety/security; Feel safer walking alone after dark; Less likely to think vandalism/graffiti, crowds/gangs, teenagers hanging around and being attacked/harassed a problem MORI 2009 Davy Jones Consultancy

14. 5 Strengthening community cohesion • Divisions within and between communities • Economic scarcity makes it worse • Transparency in decision-making • Blackburn with Darwen 2004 – pre-Total Place money tracker work re BNP Davy Jones Consultancy

15. Participation in Places • LSPs / LAAs / CAA / One Place / Total Place • LAAs: really local and agreed with citizens • CAA: self-assessment agreed with citizens • Total Place: citizens deciding how money spent • One Place: real one, but not enough for accountability ! • Staff: critical role in citizen involvement Davy Jones Consultancy

16. Key legislation & guidance • 2007 Local Government & Public Involvement in Health (LGPIH) Act • Sustainable Communities Act (2007) • Statutory guidance for LGPIH (2008) • Comprehensive Area Assessment (2009) • (Budget 2009) Operational Efficiency Programme – Total Place • Local Democracy, Economic Development & Construction Act – LDEDC (2009) Davy Jones Consultancy

17. Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act • Local Area Agreements across England upper tier from April 2008 (link to SCS and to parish plans) • New “duty to inform, consult & involve” • Duty to co-operate on LAA targets for local public sector partners • Changes to inspection regime – CPA to CAA • Councillor “call for action” & extended scrutiny role • Local Involvement Networks (LINks) in health and social care Davy Jones Consultancy

18. Section 138 – Duty to Involve • New duty to “inform, consult & involve” since April 2009 to “embed a culture of engagement & empowerment” • Best Value authorities – Council & fire/rescue • LDEDC extended it to Police & probation • Parallel duties in health S242 of NHS Act 2006 • Where BV authority considers it appropriate…, it must involve representatives of local persons or local persons in the exercise of their functions by… • Providing information on the exercise of the function • Consulting about the exercise of the function • Involve in another way about the function • “Appropriate”: guidance states “routine functions” & “significant one-off decisions” Davy Jones Consultancy

19. Comprehensive Area Assessment • The three CAA questions: • How well do local priorities express bcommunity needs & aspirations? • How well are the outcomes and bimprovements needed being delivered? • What are the prospects for future improvements? • CAA DOES NOT make separate judgement of the duty to involve • CAA DOES assess implementation of duty as key to assessing question 3 • Red/Green flags-engagement/cohesion Davy Jones Consultancy

20. Local Democracy, Economic Development & Construction Act • Extension of duty to involve (list of national, regional & local organisations, esp police, probation, YOTs) • Duty to respond to petitions (15 June) and setting up system of e-petitions (15 December) • Guidance now issued • Duty to promote democracy – • guidance delayed by election Local Democracy Economic Development & Construction Bill Davy Jones Consultancy

21. Duty to respond to petitions • Every council needs to draw up/adopt/publish/comply with a Petitions Scheme (& e-petitions scheme) • Council will need to: • Acknowledge and respond to petition • Designate them as requiring debate or holding an officer to account • Open to all who live, study & work in area • Petitions must relate to • a function of authority; or (upper tier only) “an improvement in the economic social or environmental well-being of the authority’s area to which any of its partner authorities could contribute” • Government has issued guidance & model scheme Davy Jones Consultancy

22. Contact Davy Jones 07932 616843 davy@davyjonesconsultancy.co.uk www.davyjonesconsultancy.co.uk Davy Jones Consultancy