Cambridgeshire Local Council Conference

2019Friday 8 November 2019

#cambsparishes

Welcome and Overview of the day

Councillor Steve Criswell Chair of Local Council Strategic Partnership

Gillian Beasley Chief Executive for Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council

Think CommunitiesEvolving our relationship with communities

and each other

Simple Challenge Complex ChallengeComplicated Challenge

Baking a cake

Right “recipe” essential.Gives same results every time.

Raising a Child

No “right” recipes or protocols.Outside factors influence.

Experience helps, but doesn’t guarantee success.

Sending a Rocket to the Moon

“Formulas” needed.Experience built over time and can be repeated with success.

Why are we doing this?

• We need to do something fundamentally different

• Demand for public services is increasing at an alarming rate

• …whilst, generally, our budgets are reducing

• Forecasts show that this is not likely to change anytime soon!

• Some outcomes are also not improving fast enough

• And the system has become too complex

• Our communities want and need something different from the Public Sector

• We must take costs out of the system by reducing, preventing and delaying demand AND improving outcomes

•Think Communities is not a ‘programme’ or a ‘project’….

• It is a: Way of Thinking

Way of Doing

Way of Being

Way of Behaving

People, Places and System at the core of our ‘Think Communities’ approach:

● Resilient people – feeling safe, being healthy, being connected, and able to help

themselves and each other

● Communities – both new and established – with a sense of place and pride, that

are integrated, are economically strong, and where communities support the

resilience of the people that live there

● A system that enables partners to work together with each other and alongside

communities – by listening, engaging and aligning what they do with the

strengths and needs of each local community

Think Communities – the model

✓ Deep and broad knowledge about the place – who lives there, what does the data tell us, what assets exist, what services are delivered there

✓ Agreement on the priorities to focus on – what are the things we can, collectively, impact the most

✓ System-wide leadership via new ‘Place’ Delivery Boards

✓ Place-based co-ordination and leadership – bridging the gaps between the community, civil society sector, all tiers of local government, and the whole public sector

✓ Countywide strategies and policies, with delivery bent towards local need

✓ Opportunities for pooling resources and for community budgeting (“we have this much, how do you want to spend it”)

Place-Based, Person-Centred

• Having more say on decisions that impact their lives and where they live

• Understanding the community better by building clear area profiles to

understand the opportunities, risks and challenges

• Building stronger local connections and community networks

• Working in partnership with the public sector and other organisations to

focus on the issues most important in their area

• Focusing more on prevention than cure

What will this mean for citizens and communities?

● Letting go - people and communities do not always want and need services involved

● Recognising that local places have different strengths and challenges

● Accepting that communities usually know best!

● Working in a way that makes sense to communities, not offering one size fits all

approaches

● Building greater collaboration with partners and local people = better outcomes,

reduced costs

● Developing a connection to a ‘place’ and really understanding the key issues for that

area

● Training our workforce – so that they can work in new ways to support communities

What will this mean for the ‘system’?

…from some Think Communities partners

Jason AblewhitePolice and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Oliver MorleyHuntingdonshire District Council

OXMOOR

ESTATEA COMMUNITY

WILLING TO HELP

Cllr David Ambrose-SmithLittleport Parish Council

THINK COMMUNITIES

LITTLEPORT

AREAS OF FOCUS1. Getting more people physically active

2. Addressing Anti Social Behaviour, drugs, and mental health issues

3. Developing a multi-agency community plan

PROTOTYPE 1 - ASB, MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG WORK Working with East Cambs Community Safety Partnership (CSP) in the Commissioning of

a briefing paper

Carried out Environmental Audits in the area to highlight areas of concern

Work with all Partners to update the Littleport Prevention Plan

Set up a Hate Crime reporting centre so we now have two in East Cambs

To prioritise Littleport in East Cambs Task and Finish Groups Action Plan for 2019-2020

Continue to develop community engagement in Littleport and look to co-create solutions with the community through Parish Council and community meetings

Work with the CSP to engage with young people in Littleport to shape future activity relating to youth crime and ASB to address their concerns

By working directly with the community and developing shared goals

Aspiration to fill gaps in provision e.g. establishment of local referral pathways, local drug and mental health workers in location

PROTOTYPE 2 - LITTLEPORT ACTIVITY PARTNERSHIPS

Background

Known links between physical activity, health and social capital – BUT participation factors are complex, so support must reflect local context

Some community-based collaborations in train, but slightly piecemeal so far – more coherent approach needed

Priorities

Direct engagement with community groups to:

Build understanding of key local factors

Generate locally-informed solutions

Map & build on local trust networks

Consolidate and develop current partnerships

DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-AGENCY COMMUNITY PLAN

Community conversations to take place to identify what the community wants and values – consultation with the community, volunteer organisations, community groups and agencies. What is great about Littleport? What people would change and what they can do to do this.

Mapping of existing services and provisions in Littleport

Align existing services and provisions with issues and needs identified through consultation

Identify any gaps in current provision

Develop multi-agency solutions and join up various strands that contribute to meeting the needs of the community

Utilise Think Communities concept to add value to existing works and address any gaps

GENERAL CHALLENGES

Adaptive process - priorities and expectations may change over time

Multiple stakeholders - overlapping but distinct objectives and constraints

Management of expectations while supporting community aspirations

Balance of long-term aims with immediate opportunities and drivers

Julie FarrowSupport Cambridgeshire

I Love Wisbech

Context:

Born from a Prevention at Scale Initiative (January 2018).

With initial discussions between FDC and the LGA.

Looking at Sustainable Community Development.

The PAS Structure enabled a one team approach.

Contributions from a varied mix of organisations.

The 5 Stages:

Trying to map existing assets.

Having a conversation with the community.

Working with residents on key themes.

An independent community vehicle for Wisbech.

Evaluation.

Success:

Largest community conversation in Wisbech.

967 community responses.

311 names collected who wish to participate.

6 broad themes identified.

Priority team leaders working with people across those themes.

What’s next:

Evaluation of the work of those team leaders (January 2020).

Consultation from key stakeholders about an ICV (December 2019).

Continuing the work of the partners who have come together.

Continually working with the residents on those broad themes.

The Search for Funding to implement and assist the ICV (February 2020).

Mustafa MalikNorth Provider Alliance

Marianne MonieSouth Provider Alliance

Cambridgeshire & PeterboroughProvider Alliances and Integrated Neighbourhoods

Mustafa Malik - North Alliance

Marianne Monie – South Alliance

Cambridgeshire Local Council Conference

8 November 2019

Our Integrated Neighbourhood model

GP

Practice

Nurses

Patient

s

Community

Nurses

Social

Services

Therapies

Mental

Health

teams

Pharmacy

Co-

ordinator

Integrated Neighbourhoods provide proactive and integrated care to communities

of 30,000-50,000. They aim to keep local people well and out of hospital.

Paramedics

& ACPs

Voluntary

sector

People

Public

health

Find out more in our Integrated Neighbourhoods framework

Integrated

Neighbourhoods

bring all parts of

the workforce

together and put

the people at the

centre of the care

they receive, in

keeping with the

Think

Communities

model.

The cornerstone

of each

Integrated

Neighbourhood

is a Primary

Care Network.

Case study: Wisbech Integrated Neighbourhood

Priority projects underway

July: Wisbech Integrated Neighbourhood Event 60 participants attended representing all partners from the local system including voluntary sector,

community services, primary care and citizens. The session included a change for the group to;

• Understand the vision for the Integrated Neighbourhood

• Meet one another and learn more about local services

• Review the needs of their local population

• Identify local priorities

September: Wisbech Integrated Neighbourhood Workshop The workshop was set up to gain a better understanding of the local projects and decide how to

take these forwards. Over 50 participants attended, all of whom have direct connection with one of

the projects.

December: Establish Wisbech BoardA Wisbech Board will be established to bring all partners together to deliver the priority projects

and improve the health and wellbeing for the residents of Wisbech. This will include pulling

together the variety of programmes of work in Wisbech e.g. Wisbech 2020 and I love Wisbech

MENTAL HEALTH DIRECTORY OF SERVICES

COMMUNITYLED ACTION

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

STOPPING

SMOKING

Case study: Ely South

One of two PCNs in Ely, working closely together.

Ely South PCN

Staploe Medical Centre (Soham), Burwell Surgery, Haddenham Surgery

Work underway to develop and implement models

Building on the learning from the Council’s

‘Neighbourhood Cares’ pilot in Soham,

integrating health with social and voluntary

sector services and focusing on ‘what matters’

to patients.

Princess of Wales

Hospital

Focus on the development of the

Princess of Wales Hospital site into a

primary-care-led urgent care centre.

How can we work together to collectively lead and deliver positive and lasting change for our communities and citizens?

● Lead the way together

● Ensure we are all immersed in the Think Communities spirit and approach

● Actively share data and intelligence

● Look for, and take, opportunities for sharing effort and outcomes

● Demonstrate an open, flexible and creative leadership approach to tackle

our most entrenched challenges

…and finally…

Question & Answer Session

An opportunity to ask questions of the Think Communities partners

Coffee Break

Think Communities

Changing where we work, and how we work,

with communities

What do you think?

Place-based working

Changing the conversation

The Role of Assets in Think Communities

Assets as a key anchor to a place, enabling and encouraging collaborative working, helping to create and promote a sense of place

Our Ambition:

• We maximise the use of public buildings for shared delivery, and as the focal point for our places

• Our communities actively use and benefit from publicly owned buildings

• We work in the spaces that make most sense to our communities

Civic Hub

Providing a space for the democratic process and some back-office functions

Community Hubs

◦ Public sector staff based within a community hub that best meet the needs of the locality within which they are based

◦ Staff drawn from across the public sector to create multi-skilled locality teams able to meet the needs of our communities

◦ Closer working relationships between staff, communities and partners within a locality, leading to more effective and timely problem-solving

◦ At least one main community hub building in each of the five district council areas

◦ A network of other satellite community hub buildings – libraries, parish and village halls, GP surgeries…

◦ Fit for purpose buildings, representative of a modern, dynamic council, and accessible for staff, partners and residents

Community hubs

How would you define your community:

◦ Your street?

◦ Your Parish?

◦ A group of parishes?

◦ A more naturally defined community?

◦ Something else?

Based on what you have heard, what defines ‘community’ for Think

Communities to be deliverable?

Exercise 1

What could your local community focus their effort on?

Everyone wants to be happy, healthy, safe and successful. We all make

decisions about our lives and take actions towards achieving these things

The community we live in plays a big part in this too. As do local services, such

as your council, police, Fire and NHS.

But all our efforts - time and money - will only go so far

We would like you to share your views on what your community could do?

Why? This will help public services change in the future – so that we can do things differently and

make better use of all our collective efforts. Together we can achieve more.

Changing the conversation

What are our communities telling us?

Please take part in the:

“Think Communities Conversation”

Before the end of Conference

Exercise 2

The View from Local Councils

Henry Clark, Chair of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils

Communities

• Parish and town councils are ideally placed to represent and support their communities

• Unlike Westminster and principal authorities, councillors live in or very close to their parishes

• We have local knowledge and are in touch with our residents

• We have influence over what happens in our communities that other bodies don’t

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Factors Affecting Health Outcomes

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Serving our Communities

• Sevenoaks Town Council took over the public toilets from the District. They reduced the annual maintenance cost to £10,000 a year. This was half what the district was paying – and used the same contractor

• We can provide services at lower cost than higher authorities• We understand what is needed and have a better idea of what it should cost

• We are keen to provide more services – but• We don’t always have the skills and competence

• We don’t always have the capacity

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Building Competence and Capacity

• Training• We can upskill ourselves by undertaking training – councillors and clerks

• Outsourcing• We can subcontract to other parishes or businesses that have the required

resources

• E.g. construction, grounds maintenance and tree work

• We can share people and equipment with neighbours• We have to overcome the mistrust of those ruffians in the adjacent parish

• We have to make sure that there is insurance and a means of dealing with loss and damage

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We Need to Set a Good Example

• We must get better at engaging with residents• Understand their needs and wants• Communicate our ideas• Gain support for our projects

• Climate Emergency• I think it’s real• We need to act now, before it’s too late• What can we do?• https://takeclimateaction.uk/climate-action/get-your-council-adopt-climate-action-

plan?_ga=2.6714224.375001804.1572716439-524973972.1572716439• https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/reports/20-actions-parish-and-town-councils-

can-take-climate-and-nature-emergency• Buckden climate event on 11 January 2020

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What do We Want from PrincipalAuthorities?• Communication

• We want to know what they are doing

• We want them to know what we are doing

• Leadership• Help us move together in the same direction

• Collaboration• Together we can deliver better and more efficiently

• Health & Wellbeing brings together us, Public Health, NHS, GPs, schools and other interested parties

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What is CAPALC Doing?

• Working with other county associations and NALC

• Producing templates and policies that our members can use

• We’ll try and provide guidance on what things parishes can do to tackle climate change, e.g.

• Mitigation

• Resilience

• Talk to principal authorities on your behalf

• NALC will talk with central government

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In Conclusion

• There are enormous opportunities for community councils

• CAPALC can help

• Together we can be stronger and more effective

• I’m at the CAPALC stall in the marketplace if you’d like to talk to me

• Or email me at cllr.h.clark@eclipso.eu

• Thank you

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