Working Together REDCAR & CLEVELAND COMPACT
A Shared Commitment to Building a Better Borough:
A CCoommppaacctt way of working in Redcar & Cleveland
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REDCAR & CLEVELAND COMPACT CONTENTS PAGE
What is the Compact? 3
Who is our Compact for? 3
Why do we need a Compact? 3
Our Compact Values 3
Our Compact Principles 3
Our Compact Codes 4
What if things go wrong? 4
Who can tell me more about the Compact? 4
APPENDICES
Section One – Code of Practice on Volunteering 5
Section Two - Code of Practice on Community Groups & Neighbourhoods 6
Section Three –Code of Practice on Consultation & Engagement 8
Section Four – Code of Practice on Funding & Commissioning 10
Section Five – Compact Guidelines for Dispute Resolution Process 12 (Including Further Advice & Support)
Section Six – Redcar & Cleveland Compact Champions List 15
Section Seven – Compact Timeline 17
Section Eight – Contact Details, Further Advice, Support & Information 18
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What is the Compact?
What is the Compact?
An agreement between local public bodies and the Voluntary & Community Sector which sets out:
• Our shared values and principles • How we will work together for the benefit of local people
Who is our Compact for?
It is for all public sector bodies and all voluntary organisations and community groups working in Redcar and Cleveland.
Why do we need a Compact?
We need a Compact to help us: • Develop better working relationships, stronger engagement and improved understanding between public bodies and the third sector. • Make the most of the resources that are available to us all so that we can work together to make a real difference to the lives of local people.
Our Compact Shared Values
• Trust and confidence. • Mutual understanding and respect. • Openness, transparency and accountability. • Integrity.
Our Shared Principles
• There is added value in working in partnership towards common aims and objectives. • An independent and diverse voluntary and community sector is fundamental to the well-being of society. • Public partners, the voluntary and community sector (third sector), have distinct but complementary roles. • Meaningful consultation builds relationships, improves policy development and enhances the design and delivery of services and programmes. • Common to all partners is the need for integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. • Third sector organisations are entitled to campaign within the law in order to advance their aims. • Funding can be an important element of the relationship between public partners and the third sector. • All partners acknowledge the importance of promoting community cohesion and equality of opportunity for all.
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Our Compact Codes
Our four codes of practice are set out in the appendices and outline how we will work together in relation to:
• Volunteering. • Community Groups and Neighbourhoods. • Consultation and Engagement. • Funding and Commissioning.
What if things go wrong?
We have agreed a dispute resolution policy, which is set out in the appendices in section five.
Who can tell me more about the Compact?
There are a number of Compact Champions from across the Redcar & Cleveland Partnership. Their contact details are in the appendices in section six.
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APPENDICES
Section One
Compact Code of Practice on Volunteering
Introduction: The Redcar & Cleveland Compact is a set of principles within which the public, voluntary and community sectors agree to work to.
Key Principles: • Volunteering must be the result of a free choice by the volunteer. • Volunteering must be open to everyone and at no financial cost to the individual. • Volunteers must receive training, support and recognition for the contribution that they make. • The social and economic value that volunteering brings to our borough is recognised by everyone.
Public sector partners undertake to: • Ensure compliance is adhered to in relation to relevant legislation and regulations that may impact on volunteering. • Work towards eliminating all barriers to volunteering. • Increase awareness of the value of volunteering. • Promote and create opportunities for volunteering. • Encourage better practice in recruiting and managing volunteers. • Collect volunteering data to improve overall policy and practise.
The voluntary and community sector undertakes to: • Improve the management and recruitment of volunteers. • Promote the benefits of volunteering. • Ensure there are no barriers to volunteering for protected groups as outlined within the Equality Act 2010. • Improve training and support to volunteers. • Assist volunteers to find appropriate roles. • Give thanks and recognition to their volunteers.
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Section Two
Compact Code of Practice for Community Groups and Neighbourhoods
Introduction:
The Redcar & Cleveland Compact is a set of principles within which the public, voluntary and community sectors agree to work to.
This code of practice relates to Community and Neighbourhoods groups, including emerging, unconstituted, and locally based groups.
Key Principles:
• Community groups have a particular perspective that can be different and distinct from the wider voluntary sector. • Community Groups, through their work in supporting individuals and communities at neighbourhood level, help to build social capital, foster community cohesion and enhance local democracy. • Consultation with community groups will be more effective if more time is given for a response, information is easily accessible, and financial support is available to enable more people to participate.
Public sector partners undertake to:
• Give community groups better access to information. • Involve and take account of the sector’s needs in relation to policy development and service delivery. • Help community groups to access funds and encourage community ownership of assets. • Involve groups in building community sector infrastructure. • Encourage the involvement of community groups in developing plans and strategies that affect them. • Be aware of the impact of regulations on community groups and attempt to keep them proportionate. • Encourage greater use of community facilities by community groups.
The voluntary and community sector undertakes to:
• Monitor and evaluate its own resources. • Actively involve residents from diverse backgrounds and work towards removing barriers that may deter participation. • Encourage partnership working and involve the local community wherever possible. • Be open about the interests of the community they speak for (both communities of place and communities of interest). • Channel information to and from the community to improve communication and to build social capital. • To ensure inclusiveness, enable and support a diversity of community groups to be heard and supported.
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• Consult and engage with the community sector and try not to speak for it. • Break down the barriers to community sector involvement in planning and policy development. • Be open about the different interests within the wider sector and the potential for conflicts of interest. • Involve community groups in organisational management and planning. • Encourage community group members to take on leadership roles.
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Section Three
Code of Practice on Consultation and Engagement
Introduction:
The Redcar & Cleveland Compact is a set of principles within which the public, voluntary and community sectors agree to work to.
Key Principles:
• Planning and consultation should start early, right from the policy design stage and there should be clarity about what areas are open to change, and any potential impact on individuals and communities. • Information should reach those most affected, and we should all work in collaboration with each other to reach and engage with these communities. • Written materials should be clear, concise and written in plain English and be available through other formats if requested. • Maximum participation should be encouraged through accessible and varied consultation methods, and recognised by all partners as an ongoing process. • Consultations should be announced in advance to maximise opportunities for sufficient time for responses. • All feedback should be analysed and communicated to all involved and promoted widely.
Public sector partners undertake to:
• Talk with and involve the voluntary and community sector as soon as planning begins. • Produce clear and concise consultation documents. • Where it is appropriate and enables meaningful engagement, conduct 12-week formal written consultations. If shorter time-frames or a more informal approach is taken, ensure clear explanations and rationale are outlined. • Ensure the diverse needs and interests of all are taken into account. • Review all feedback and take the results into account in future planning. • Be open with communities about the findings and the reasons for decision. • Coordinate consultation activities to avoid duplication and consultation fatigue.
The voluntary and community sector undertakes to:
• Work together to ensure effective responses to consultation. • Consult and engage with their stakeholders directly. • Provide clear and objective information to partners. • Ensure the diverse views of all communities are reflected in responses. • Encourage their organisations and groups to provide their own responses. • Publicise the results of consultation as widely as possible.
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Section Four
Code of Practice on Funding and Commissioning
Introduction: The Redcar & Cleveland Compact is a set of principles within which the public, voluntary and community sectors agree to work.
Key Principles:
• Focus on outcomes – the achievement of outcomes should be used as a key indicator of the success of funding. • Simplicity and proportionality – processes are as simple as possible and in proportion to the amount of money involved. • The procedure should be as consistent & simple as possible, and partners should ensure the process is as accessible as possible to ensure delivery. • Timeliness – allowing time for planning, decision making and action so they have real effect. • Transparency and accountability to allow for awareness and informed decisions about commissioning, funding opportunities and spending priorities. • On going discussion and dialogue to overcome problems before they impact on the delivery of outcomes. • Empathy – understanding each other’s needs and requirements should help avoid problems and help achieve outcomes.
Public sector partners undertake to:
• Provide whenever possible an opportunity for the voluntary and community sector to contribute to commissioning priorities and service design. • Ask for information on application forms that is relevant to deciding who will receive funding or be awarded the contract. • Discuss risks up-front and place responsibility with the public sector body or voluntary and community organisation best able to manage them. • Respect the independence of the voluntary and community sector. • Recognise it is legitimate for voluntary and community organisations to include the relevant element of overhead costs in their estimates for providing a particular service. • Make payments in advance of expenditure to minimise risks and enhance sustainability. • Implement longer term funding arrangements when these represent good value for money in achieving outcomes. • Be proportionate in monitoring requirements, focus on outcomes. • Consider joining-up or standardising monitoring requirements; and be clear and give enough notice of the end of a grant or contract. • Include community benefits (social clause) in service specifications, tender processes, and funding evaluation criteria where these are relevant and will add value.
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The voluntary and community sector undertakes to:
• Respect confidentiality and to be clear about whom they represent, and where and when views are sought when consulting on service design. • Make sure that they are eligible when seeking resources. • Have clear lines of accountability in single organisation delivery and joint delivery initiatives. • Agree terms of delivery at the outset and be aware of the risks for which they are responsible. • Have good systems in place to manage finances and funded projects, and be open and transparent in all reporting requirements. • Plan ahead for varying situations, in order to reduce any potential negative impact on both beneficiaries and the organisation.
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Section Five
Working Together –Redcar & Cleveland Compact Guidelines for Dispute Resolution Process
The Compact provides a framework to support partnership working between organisations in the statutory sector and those in the voluntary and community sector. Its agreements are voluntarily entered into, in the knowledge that a fully co-operative style of working will achieve more for the people and communities of Redcar & Cleveland.
The scope and implications for the Compact are such that its agreements will be subject to differences in interpretation and expectation at various times. One of the principal benefits of the Compact is to enable differences to be aired in a mutually supportive framework.
Relationships are usually strengthened by an open and honest examination of practice, disputes can be costly in terms of money, time, effort and reputation and also damaging to good will.
It is important for the continued credibility of the Compact, that disputes have a satisfactory conclusion.
The aims of these guidelines are to:
• Support the early acknowledgement of (potential) disputes. • Facilitate their speedy fair resolution. • Encourage good practice and promote positive relationships within the spirit of the Compact.
These guidelines are concerned strictly with the process that has been gone through leading up to a particular decision or action. They do not cover the substance of the decision itself, and cannot over-ride a statutory requirement.
Principles of Redcar & Cleveland Compact Dispute resolution process:
• As far as possible, disagreements over the application of the framework should be resolved directly between the parties involved. • Strict confidentiality applies (within organisations) while the dispute process is underway. • Any agreement should include a statement covering the elements of the dispute that may be made public. • The parties remain in control of the process and any settlement agreed, and retain any rights to other forms of redress (e.g. via an organisation’s established complaints procedure; Ombudsman etc). • This process only applies to parties that are signatories to the Redcar & Cleveland Compact. In the case of partnerships where not all members are signatories to the Compact, it will be assumed for the purposes of resolving any dispute, that the partnership itself is a signatory and agrees to the principles of the Compact.
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Stage One
Discussions between key decision makers within the partnership organisations take place to explore and try to resolve the dispute informally.
The outcome of the discussion should be set out in writing (letter or e-mail) and agreed by both parties within 15 working days of the discussion taking place.
If the initiating organisation is content, the issue can be resolved at this point. If either or both parties are not satisfied after stage one, the dispute can be progressed to stage 2
If not
Stage Two
The named Compact contact at the ‘initiating’ organisation writes to the named Compact contact of the ‘disputed’ organisation explaining. The letter should clearly state: • which Compact Codes or Principles are in dispute; • why they are not satisfied with the response so far • How they expect the dispute to be resolved.
The named Compact contact of the ‘disputed’ organisation responds within 15 working days.
If the ‘initiating’ organisation does not feel the suggested resolution satisfactorily addresses the issue then the dispute can be progressed to stage 3.
If not
Stage Three
The Compact Chair representing the voluntary and community sector organisations and one of the Compact Champions from the statutory sector, not involved in the dispute, will meet to hear the dispute. Both parties will be invited to attend. The meeting will be chaired by an independent person agreed by both parties.
If either organisation still does not accept the recommendation the matter can be progressed to stage 4.
If not
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Stage Four
Both sides will agree to meet with an independent mediator who is agreeable by both parties.
Stage Five
If after speaking to an independent mediator an agreement has not been reached you can refer to the following services:-
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman: www.ombudsman.org.uk (free service) – Complaints helpline -0345 015 4033 Local Government Ombudsman: www.lgo.org.uk (free service) – Advise Team – 0300 0610614
Learning from Disputes
Disputes can provide the opportunity to identify wider and underlying issues. To ensure learning is shared when a dispute has occurred, a report outlining the issues and the outcome should be brought to the Compact Network group. The group will then work on resolving any wider and underlying issues identified.
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Section Six
Working Together –Redcar & Cleveland Compact Champion
Name Address / Contact Details Title Anne Greenley NHS Middlesbrough PCT Assistant Director of Riverside House Commissioning 18 High Force Road Riverside Park Middlesbrough TS2 1RH [email protected] Secretary xxxx Tel No: (01642) 745080 Tariq Ali Redcar and Cleveland Police Chief Inspector Headquarters Troisdorf Way Kirkleatham Business Park TS10 5AP Tariq. [email protected] Diary managed by [email protected] Tel No (01642) 302683 Anne Marie The Prince's Trust – Public Sector Wadsworth Ferry Road, Partnerships Manager Middlesbrough Representing TS2 1PL Voluntary Sector Anne-Marie.Wadsworth@princes- Forum trust.org.uk Tel No (01642) 201000 Ext 3576 Joanne Waldmeyer Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council RCBC Corporate Corporate Resources Resources - Policy Redcar & Cleveland House Specialist Kirkleatham Street Redcar TS10 1RT Joanne.waldmeyer@redcar- cleveland.gov.uk Tel No: (01642)444629 Lola Ibhadon Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council RCBC Regeneration - Regeneration Social Enterprise Redcar Station Business Centre Advisor Unit 37 Station Road Redcar TS10 1RD [email protected] Tel No: 01642 495746 Mobile: 07825 228021
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Mandy Walker Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council RCBC Area Area Management Management – Head Grangetown Neighbourhood Centre of Neighbourhoods Bolckow Road Grangetown TS6 7BS [email protected] Tel No: 07901330034 Diary managed by keely.stephenson@redcar- cleveland.gov.uk Tel No: (01642) 459035 Helen Armstrong Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council RCBC Adult & Adult & Children’s Services Children’s Services Seafield House Transformation Kirkleatham Street Manager Redcar TS10 1RT Helen.armstrong@redcar- cleveland.gov.uk Tel No: (01642) 771699 Steve Walton Cleveland Fire Brigade Cleveland Fire Brigade Endeavour House -Redcar & Cleveland Stockton Road District Manager Hartlepool TS25 5TB [email protected] Tel No: (01429) 874014 Emma Grimes Coast and Country Housing Community Manager 14 Ennis Square Dormanstown Redcar TS10 5JR [email protected] Tel No: (01642) 836046 Mobile: 07920 298322 Councillor Olwyn 72 Nightingale Road RCBC Elected Peters Eston Member Champion for TS6 9QA Worklessness [email protected] Tel No: (01642)291460 Councillor Peter 4 Goathland Grove RCBC Elected Member Spencer Guisborough Champion for Built TS14 8LH Environment [email protected] Tel No: 07811 424303 Councillor Wendy 20 Bulmer Court RCBC Elected Member Wall Normanby Champion for Equality TS6 ONJ [email protected] Tel No: (01642) 457254
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Councillor Doreen 17 Marton Grove RCBC Elected Member Rudland Brotton Champion for Climate TS12 2RF Doreen.rudland@redcar -cleveland.gov.uk Tel No:(01287) 677336 Councillor Norah 3 St Andrews Road RCBC Elected Member Cooney New Marske Champion for Young TS11 8AU People Noorah.cooney@redcar -cleveland.gov.uk Tel No: (01642) 486368
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Section Seven
Working Together –Redcar & Cleveland Compact Timeline
• Redcar & Cleveland’s first Compact was published in 2002 and was further reviewed in 2004 to include all stakeholders of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), before its launch in 2005. • In 2008 a new Compact Refresh Group was established to carry out a further review to ensure a new fit for purpose Compact was established. • In 2009 Redcar & Cleveland Compact was awarded a highly commended certificate through the National Commission for the Compact awards in the award category ‘Local Compact of the Year’. • At the LSP Board meeting in November 2010, the refreshed Compact and Codes of Practice was formally adopted into the Constitution of the LSP. • In 2012 fifteen ‘Champions’ were appointed from a range of public sector agencies, including elected members and the voluntary sector forum. • In March 2012 the Compact Implementation Group agreed to extend an invitation to Town & Parish Councils to adopt the principles within the Compact way of working into the work and services they provide. • In May 2012 the Compact Implementation Group agreed to disband the group and create one Compact Network group which will meet quarterly and include Compact Champions. • In October 2012 the refreshed Compact was circulated for a three month consultation period to the Redcar & Cleveland Partnership. • As part of Compact week 5 th – 9 th November 2012, awareness strap line included in network member’s email addresses.
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Section Eight
Working Together –Redcar & Cleveland Compact Contact Details, Further Advice, Support & Information
Contact Details: Compact Network Chair – Mal Fitzgerald -RCVDA (Redcar & Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency) Telephone (01642) 440571, E-mail [email protected] http://www.rcvda.org.uk/
Further Advice, Support & Information
• Compact Voice Governments Partner organisation - representing Civil Society Organisations on Compact matters) can offer practical help and guidance. Phone: 020 7520 2451 Email; [email protected] , Website: www.compactvoice.org.uk
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) Third sector organisations can contact the NCVO for advice and support. Free phone: 0800 2798798, Email: ncvo-vol.org, UK, Website: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk .
• Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council
http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
www.peoplesinfonet.org.uk
http://www.redcarclevelandcyptrust.org.uk/familiesguide
• Redcar & Cleveland Partnership http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/LSP
• Redcar & Cleveland Good Mind Guide http://www.goodmindguide.org/
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