e-Bulletin, December 2006
| Welcome.... |
Contents
- Salford Strategic Partnership business
- The Salford Agreement
- News from our thematic partnerships
- Safer, Stronger Communities Fund making a difference
- Residents' survey headline findings from NDC
Salford Strategic Partnership (SSP) business
As you may be aware, we are busy implementing the outcomes of the review of our partnership, and are getting used to the new partnership roles and structure. We welcomed a number of new partners to our SSP meeting in November, and the new executive met in October.
In full, SSP partners are (organisations on the executive are marked in red, plus one representative of the voluntary & community sector, who is to be confirmed):
| Salford City CouncilSalford Primary Care TrustGreater Manchester Chamber of CommerceGreater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester Learning & Skills PartnershipJobcentre PlusGovernment Office North West |
Download a short information sheet detailing the components of the new partnership
Future meeting dates of the Strategic Partnership and the Executive have now been added to the dates for your diary page of this website
The SSP met for the first time last week at the university of Salford. The first part of the meeting was given over to welcoming new partners and re-affirming the vision of the partnership, and the importance of working together. Several partners gave examples of the impact of working together from their own work.
The second part of the meeting focused on the Salford Agreement. Kevin Brady, Salford City Council's Assistant Chief Executive, got the ball rolling with an overview of the Agreement and the outcomes that we hope to achieve through it. Then partners took part in two workshops looking at opportunities and risks and how we can use the Agreement to make improvements in the city's most deprived neighbourhoods. There was consensus that the proposed Salford Agreement outcomes complemented partners' own objectives, and partners would therefore be able to offer active support.
Meeting papers can be downloaded here and a report of the meeting will be available soon.
The Executive also met for the first time in October. (It had been meeting in shadow form as the steering group for the Salford Agreement, our local area agreement prior to this). The Executive aims to accelerate the pace with which we make improvements in the city, and to encourage a closer relationship between the strategic partnership and its thematic partnerships.
At its meeting, the Executive discussed the Salford Agreement in depth and were joined for this discussion by Chris Marsh, from Knowsley Borough Council (Knowsley was a pilot area for local area agreements). Discussion then moved on to the annual performance review of the partnership and the need to improve our performance in improving health and reducing worklessness. Finally, the Executive looked at the proposed agenda for the 23 November SSP meeting.
Meeting papers can be downloaded here
In October the Government published its white paper about the future of local government., Strong and prosperous communities. The white paper promotes community and neighbourhood engagement, develops the role of scrutiny, provides new requirements on service providers to engage with local area agreements, and announces changes to performance management. It also sets out an important role for Local Strategic Partnerships. (LSPs)
Download the Local Government Information Unit's overview of the white paper
Download the Local Government Information Unit's summary of implications for LSPs
Download the full white paper from the Department for Communities and Local Government's website
A draft Community Engagement Strategy has been developed over a number of months under the direction of a cross-sector steering group. Consultation is now underway with the community, councillors and officers so that as wide a collection of people from within Salford can have an input on the strategy.
The draft strategy will provide a framework for the partnership's approach to community engagement across the city and identifies the four key areas of activity by which people can influence decision making. These are defined as Information Giving, Community Consultation, Community Involvement, and Devolved Responsibility.
An implementation plan will be developed early in 2007 which will detail how the strategy will be actioned. Comments on the draft need to be received by 23rd January 2007.
For further information, please contact Jon Stephenson/Sarah Hausaman-Roberts at Partners IN Salford on 0161 603 6806/9
Download the draft community engagement strategy
Download the community engagement strategy response questionnaire
The Strategic Partnership is now working with a Neighbourhood Renewal Adviser (NRA), Cliodhna Mulhern. Cliodhna is examining the proposals for improving our performance around worklessness and health that we submitted to Government Office North West and will facilitate two learning workshops in January to examine the plans in the context of the Salford Agreement, to identify any gaps and to explore solutions to any problems.
Claire Wollington is leaving the SSP management and administration team to work for a housing association in her home town of Grimsby, so there is a vacancy within the team for a Training and Resources officer. The application deadline is 11th December. For further information, please contact Jon Stephenson/Sarah Hausaman-Roberts on 603 6806/9
Download the person specification
Download the job description
An EMF project officer is currently being recruited to work within the SSP management and administration team. Their role will be to embed the ethnicity monitoring framework across partner organisations, and the project officer should be in post in the new year
We will be inviting partners and officers to attend a day's training in partnership working in either January and February. The training is delivered by David Williams, whose model for effective partnership working is used by many organisations throughout the UK.
For more information, contact Carmen Martinez
Read the minutes from the latest meeting of the SSP's city-wide marketing group, which aims to promote collaborative working between marketing and communications professionals in the city.
The Salford Agreement
The Salford Agreement has really taken shape over the last few months, and we will submit the completed Agreement to Government Office on 20th December.
The Agreement is laid out under five overarching objectives for the city that are specific to Salford:
| Improving health outcomes Improving community safety Improving community engagement Improving environmental sustainability and quality |
Awareness raising and consulting with citizens and the voluntary and community sector is currently being undertaken, including dissemination of an information pamphlet and questionnaire. This includes presentations at most community committee meetings and a city-wide event for the voluntary and community sector and communities of identity at Buile Hill Hall on 11 December.
A major ambition of the Agreement is to close the gap between the most deprived localities and the rest of the city. The Agreement will allow partners to work differently at a local level and ensure we improve the lives of those in greatest need. Staff from a range of public and voluntary sector organisations got together in November to take part in a workshop to examine how they could work more effectively together at a local level.
The Salford Agreement management team are now exploring delivery models and are starting to bring people together to produce a delivery plan for the Agreement.
For more information about the Salford Agreement, download the latest version or contact Roz Catlow or Alan Tomlinson on 0161 793 3173/2560
News from our thematic partnerships
Seven Community Food Workers are being appointed to help residents who would like to eat more healthily, for general health and also to manage weight. They are expected to come into post in the new year, and will focus on working with families of pre-school children. The project is funded by Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) until the end of March 2008 and aims to help reduce obesity in Salford.
For more information contact Liz Harris
Salford's Jobshop Advice Network and Salford Construction Partnership (both of which are wholly funded by NRF) were selected as one of only four study visits for delegates attending the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) Local Works! convention in November. This annual convention is among the most prestigious in the regeneration calendar.
As part of the study visits, delegates visited Salford Construction Partnership (SCP) employers EJ Kane Ltd, and met representatives from Cruden Property Services, Tarmac Ltd and Birse Civils Ltd and talked to successful completers of the SCP "Introduction to Construction Skills" course delivered by Salford College. Delegates talked to Salford residents Alfie Shandley and Peter Zimmerman, who, before undertaking the course were long term unemployed. Peter said "I liked the course and learned a lot. At the end of the course I gained employment with Tarmac, which is the first job I have had for two years. I found the SCP very helpful and supportive."
For more information please contact Matthew Ainsworth or Emma Nolan at Salford City Council on 0161 793 2546/3086 or Clive Taylor at Salford Construction Partnership on 0161 603 6827.
| Delegates meet Tarmac Construction trainees |
A partnership-wide road safety strategy for the city was launched last month, at an event at the university attended by many partners. Our road safety strategy is only the second in the North West to take a partnership approach to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads. The launch, introduced and chaired by Cllr Derek Antrobus and closed by our chair Cllr John Merry, included a hard-hitting presentation from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and performances from pupils of Harrop Fold and Albion high schools, both of which have experienced the death of a pupil in a road accident.
A great deal of innovative work has been done in the city to reduce the number of casualties on our roads through Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative (NRSI) funding, which comes to an end in March. Our strategy will ensure that road safety remains a key priority across the partnership. Read the Salford Road Safety Strategy here
David Walmsley, witness outreach officer with Salford's Community Safety Unit was one of three finalists in the individual contribution to caring for witnesses category of the 2006 Justice Awards. Dave is a member of a team which provides support to anyone in the city affected by crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour. His dedication in a rape case this year helped to secure guilty pleas: the victim had fled, and it was Dave who found her when the police couldn't. Dave is very involved in community groups and issues in Salford and provides the team's link with Salford's black and minority ethnic network and the local Jewish community.
Salford's Community Safety Unit is working with Salford Being Heard, a self advocacy organisation run by and for adults with learning difficulties. In consultation with the group members, the community safety team have organised community safety days for people with learning difficulties on the subjects of personal and home safety, protective behaviours and bullying. The days aimed to raise awareness and confidence and inform people about the support that is available to them.
For more information, please contact Susan Puffett on 0161 793 3589
Salford 's partner organisations got tough on dangerous bonfires this 5th November, with special operations to remove them. City council refuse collectors, with back up from Greater Manchester Police and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were hard at work removing huge amounts of rubbish, including sofas, bin bags, wood and mattresses from fly tipping hotspots.
| Before the clean up... | ...and afterwards |
A number of Sure Start Children's Centres have opened around the city, and more will open in January 2007. The centres bring together a wide range of services for children between 0 and 5 and their families under one roof. These centres, which offer integrated childcare and education, social welfare services, healthcare services and Jobcentre Plus as well as daycare services, are at the heart of the Government's strategy to deliver better outcomes for children and families. Every community should have a Sure Start Children's Centre by 2010. Details of the Children's Centres can be found at www.salford.gov.uk/learning/preschool/childcare/eyc.htm
In October 2004, Greater Manchester Police approached Salford City Council with concerns that McDonalds premises in the city seemed to have been especially targeted by criminals. Some intensive work was done with four McDonalds restaurants to reduce the chance of further incidents, and this work was then rolled out to other commercial premises that had been robbed. All premises that had been victims of robbery are sent a copy of an advice pack and offered a free visit by environmental health officers and crime reduction advisers, and all premises that are involved in robberies where physical violence occurs are visited with no exceptions.
Advice packs have also been offered to businesses that are most at risk of robbery. Many of the premises assisted have reported no further commercial robberies.
For more information, contact Helen Meadows
Safer, stronger communities fund making a difference
SSCF money is starting to make a real impact in the communities of Winton and Little Hulton.
SSCF aims to tackle crime, anti-social behaviour and drugs, empower communities, and improve the condition of streets and public spaces; in particular for disadvantaged neighbourhoods where these issues often require more attention. Here are two projects that are making progress.
A full time rugby league development officer, Sebastian Rowe has been employed by Salford City Reds to work with young people from Winton. Over 350 primary and 80 high school pupils have so far been introduced to the game of rugby league and have been made aware of the social and health benefits of taking part in sport. The youngsters have benefited from taking more exercise and developing their skills whilst taking part in fun school activities.
Over 40 children take part in out-of-school activities within the local community every week and links with Eccles Rugby Club and Salford Juniors ARLFC have been made, in the hope that both of these clubs will benefit from an increased number of young players and a stronger role within the community. In future, Sebastian will be looking to create more after-school clubs, and will be trying to get more young people involved in sport outside of school hours. He is also planning a rugby league festival for local primary school children in the spring term.
For more information, please contact Sebastian Rowe on 0161 211 0212
Free Relate counselling is being offered to residents of Little Hulton who have been affected by domestic abuse. The new service takes place at the One Stop Shop at Harrop Fold School and is offered to anyone who is currently in a relationship where they are experiencing domestic violence or abuse, anyone who is living with the impact of domestic violence from a past relationship, or anyone who has experienced domestic violence or abuse in their families whether as a child or an adult.
Through the new service, individuals, couples are families receive a first assessment session and up to five further counselling sessions for free. The project began in October and several referrals have already been made.
For more information, please contact Irene Ward
| Residents' survey findings from NDC A recent MORI poll in the Charlestown and Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities area shows that residents firmly believe that things are looking up! A snapshot of the headline findings for 2006 shows that: For more information please contact Helen Robertshaw |
Thanks for reading! If you have any news for future editions, please contact us on 0161 603 6804.
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0161-603 6800 
