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

Davy Jones Consultancy 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 Reaching a defining moment

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

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 Political consensus ? Davy Jones Consultancy

Better services Better outcomes Strengthens democracy Strengthens social capital Strengthens community cohesion Benefits of involvement

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

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

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

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

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

Davy Jones Consultancy Trust in Bankers?

Davy Jones Consultancy Increasing satisfaction with area as a place to live 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 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 More likely to feel can influence local decisions MORI Strengthening social capital

Davy Jones Consultancy 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 5Strengthening community cohesion

Davy Jones Consultancy 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 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)

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 Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act Davy Jones Consultancy

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 Comprehensive Area Assessment The three CAA questions: 1How well do local priorities express bcommunity needs & aspirations? 2How well are the outcomes and bimprovements needed being delivered? 3What 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 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

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

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