Information Bulletin www.worcesteralliance.org.uk April 2011 Welcome to your update on what’s happening with the Worcester Alliance – the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) for Worcester – and its member organisations. In this Issue 1. Dates for your diary 2. Single Sustainable Strategy Consultation 3. University of Worcester 4. Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust 5. Climate Change & Transition 6. Community Engagement Forum 7. Nexus Housing 8. Charity & Voluntary Sector 9. Warndon & Gorsehill 10. Worcestershire County Council 1. Dates for your diary Worcester Alliance Management Group meeting To date, none scheduled Worcester Alliance Forum meeting To date, none scheduled Warndon & Gorsehill Forum Thursday 16th June 2011 – venue TBC (Contact Francesca Davies – [email protected]) Community Engagement Forum Tuesday 14th June 2011, 6pm-8pm West Mercia Police HQ, Hindlip, WR3 8SP (Contact Deb Fletcher – [email protected]) Transition Worcester Core Group meeting Tuesday 10th May 2011 7.30pm-9.30pm The Guildhall, Worcester, WR1 2EY and Tuesday 14th June 2011 7.30pm-9.30pm The Guildhall, Worcester, WR1 2EY (Contact Ruth Johnson – [email protected] 1 2. Single Sustainable Community Strategy Consultation on the Single Sustainable Community Strategy for Worcestershire You may recall the document ‘Worcester Forward’ which to date has been our Sustainable Community Strategy for Worcester setting out our vision and priorities for the city. This will not be updated but instead, along with the other five district councils, we will have a chapter in the proposed County Single Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) which was approved last September by the Worcestershire Partnership. The purpose of the SCS is to set out the strategic vision for the future of Worcestershire and to focus on activity needed in the short term to improve the quality of life of people who live, visit or work in the County. Having a single SCS enables County and District Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP’s) to streamline their processes and articulate priorities in light of reduced resources. It also improves links between countywide theme groups and the delivery of priorities in districts, and helps establish a robust local vision to underpin future and flexible partnership delivery arrangements. Following agreement by the Worcestershire Partnership Board a 12-week consultation period on the three draft priorities that have been identified for Worcestershire will now follow. This consultation will run from Thursday 14th April to Thursday 7th July 2011. Alongside gathering priorities on a countywide level, District LSP’s have been identifying their own priorities on a local level. These are included for information and where identified comments are invited directly to their LSP Manager – please see attachments. It is proposed that for the future monitoring arrangements of the revised SCS there be a small number of high level outcome measures which will provide an overall assessment of the progress towards the vision and the three main priorities. In addition to these would be a larger number of proxy performance indicators which would be established to assess delivery against the targets within the three priorities related to local decision-making partners. Your contribution and comments on Worcestershire's draft priorities are welcome including some specific questions where your views would be particularly valuable. Your comments will be carefully considered and a note of what action has been taken will be published on our website at the end of the consultation period. Responses and any comments about this consultation should be returned by writing to the Worcestershire Partnership, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2PN or by email to [email protected] and should be received no later than 5pm on Thursday 7th July 2011. The consultation document will also be available on the Worcestershire Partnership website at: www.worcestershirepartnership.org.uk 2 A summary of responses to this consultation paper will be published on the Worcestershire Partnership website within three months of the closing date of this consultation. Unless you specifically state that your response, or any part of it, is confidential, we shall assume that you have no objection to it being made publicly available. For further information on this consultation document please contact Alan Smith [email protected] 01905 822836. 3. University of Worcester University’s Men’s Basketball Team Take Championship Title for Fifth Time The University of Worcester’s Men’s Basketball Team has been crowned British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) champions for the fifth time. The Team beat Durham 76-70 in the final of the annual contest to take the title. The championships were held in Sheffield at the weekend. Mick Donovan, Head of the University’s Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, said: “This is an incredible achievement. It is the fifth time in the last seven years that Worcester has now won the basketball championships, a clear demonstration of the talent and commitment of our young players.” The team were coached by Paul James, who is also head coach of England Men’s and BBL side, Worcester Wolves. Basketball plays a significant role in the University’s sport-related educational outreach work and has been an integral part of the University’s highly successful Learning Through Sport outreach programme for children. The University also runs the European MSc in Basketball Coaching in partnership with the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education and the Lithuanian Basketball Federation endorsed by FIBA Europe and significantly the University is due to host the World Ranked Lithuanian National Team in their preparations for the 2012 Olympics. Each year an estimated 100 students apply from around the world for basketball bursaries and scholarships at the University, of which only a handful are awarded. 3 4. Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust We can now advise of the appointment of four Trust Directors for the new Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust that has been created to manage community and mental health services in the county. Director of Finance – Robert Mackie is currently Acting Chief Executive of Walsall PCT Director of Quality (Executive Lead Nurse) – Sandra Brennan is currently the Director of Quality and Executive Lead Nurse for NHS Worcestershire Director of Service Delivery - Jan Ditheridge is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust Director of Strategy and Business Development – Simon Trickett is currently the Director of Communications and Corporate Development for NHS Worcestershire This follows the appointment of the Chief Executive Sarah Dugan, Chairman Chris Burdon and four non-executive directors: The appointment of the Director of Medical Development and Board Secretary will be made shortly. The non-executive directors began in their roles on 1st April 2011, before assuming their full non-executive responsibilities on the new Board when the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust is formally established on 1st July 2011. Martin Connor is a qualified accountant from Worcester. He is currently a non- executive director for the RAC Pension Scheme and Chair of their Audit and Governance Committee. He is also the Treasurer of DIAL, a Worcester-based disability charity that provides information and support for people with disabilities and their families. Mr Connor previously worked for the Department of Work and Pensions and spent 20 years working for the RAC in a variety of senior management roles. Jill Gramann who is from Kidderminster, is a Magistrate and currently the Chairman of the Kidderminster Bench. She ran her own marketing research company, focussing on customer satisfaction as well as the development of new products and services, for over 30 years. Mrs Gramann has recent experience of working with Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust as a member of review panels hearing appeals by patients on section under the Mental Health Act. She is a former Director and Trustee of disability charity SCOPE, and currently fulfils the same roles with the British Institute of Learning Disability. Peter Lachecki who lives near Upton-upon-Severn, has his own marketing and management consultancy and has held previous senior marketing and general management roles at Kraft Foods, both in the UK and Internationally. He is also a non-executive director for Gloucester Cathedral Enterprises and is a member of the governing body of King’s School in Gloucester. 4 Colin Phillips from Worcester is a qualified barrister and is currently a non- executive director of Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. He has recently been appointed to the Board of Trustees for Sight Concern in Worcestershire and has previous experience of working in the voluntary sector with roles as a Governor for two schools in Worcester and as a local Councillor. 5. Climate Change & Transition Contacts: Robert Wilkins [email protected] Ruth Johnson Sustainability Officer, Worcester City Council [email protected] www.transitionworcester.org.uk 01905 722 056 Food Group News and Plant Swap The food group are currently planning their next event – Plant Swap on 30th April 2011. Come and see us outside the Guildhall from 11am -3pm, we’ll have some interesting plants to swap (and some to give away for a donation!). Please contact Rod Howell to find out more on 01905 425596 Climate Week – Our Climate Challenge “Save the planet, save the pounds: Develop a green idea to save money or make money” Our hardy team of 6 embraced the Climate Challenge set by Climate Week and have come up with a fantastic proposal (see our website for more details!). As well as submitting an excellent proposal to the national judging panel, being part of the world’s biggest live environmental competition had been fun too. Comments 5 made by the team included ‘we’ll definitely do it again’, ‘we don’t mind if we win or not, it was a great thought process to go through’ and ‘it really was challenging!’ It seems as though the Climate Challenge has achieved a great deal.