Thecommunityplan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EAST AYRSHIRE the community plan planning together working together achieving together Contents Introduction 3 Our Vision 3 Our Guiding Principles 4 The Challenges 8 Our Main Themes 13 Promoting Community Learning 14 Improving Opportunities 16 Improving Community Safety 18 Improving Health 20 Eliminating Poverty 22 Improving the Environment 24 Making the Vision a Reality 26 Our Plans for the next 12 years 28 Our Aspirations 28 2 Introduction Community planning is about a range of partners in the public and voluntary sectors working together to better plan, resource and deliver quality services that meet the needs of people who live and work in East Ayrshire. Community planning puts local people at the heart of delivering services. It is not just about creating a plan or a vision but about jointly tackling major issues such as health, transport, employment, housing, education and community safety. These issues need a shared response from, and the full involvement of, not only public sector agencies but also local businesses, voluntary organisations and especially local people. The community planning partners in East Ayrshire are committed to working together to make a real difference to the lives of all people in the area. We have already achieved a lot through joint working, but we still need to do a lot more to make sure that everybody has a good quality of life. Together, those who deliver services and those who live in our communities will build on our early success and on existing partnerships and strategies to create a shared understanding of the future for East Ayrshire. The community plan is a blueprint for how we want to improve the lives of people living within East Ayrshire between 2003 and 2015. The associated action plans will build on the main strengths of the area, its people and the partners to tackle the problems that communities are facing. Community planning offers everyone a unique opportunity to build on the local assets and tackle the challenges facing East Ayrshire. At the time of production our Community Planning Partners are: the Community, East Ayrshire Council, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, Strathclyde Fire Brigade, Strathclyde Police and Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority. Discussions are also ongoing with Communities Scotland regarding their involvement in the process. Our Vision “East Ayrshire will be a place with strong, vibrant communities where everyone has a good quality of life and access to opportunities, choices and high quality services which are sustainable, accessible and meet people’s needs.” EAST AYRSHIRE 3 the community plan Our Guiding Principles Community planning brings together agencies, organisations and communities to identify and prioritise what needs to be done, and to plan, co-ordinate and deliver action to meet these identified priorities. Our guiding principles, shown below, will direct how we do this and make sure that the community planning process is consistent. This is only the beginning. By planning together, working together and achieving together, we will: • promote social justice and social inclusion; • build sustainability; • succeed in joint working and involving people; • ensure quality and accessibility; and • deliver continuous improvement and best value. Social Justice and Social Inclusion We are committed to a future where everyone matters. The Social Justice principles of equality and social inclusion are about making sure that everyone, including people with a disability or from a minority ethnic group, no matter what their life circumstances, has opportunities and choices. To promote social justice and inclusion, our solutions must be comprehensive and co-ordinated so we can tackle the full range of problems and issues that individuals, families and communities face. Sustainability Sustainability is at the heart of this plan. We are committed to making sure that the outcomes of social, economic and environmental improvements are sustainable and will stand the test of time. A sustainable community is one which makes sure that today’s decisions do not have a negative effect on the future and where actions will have a long-lasting effect. Sustainability is an important part of community life, from health, housing, education, transport and economic development to conservation and waste management. We will make sure that the decisions we make meet the needs of today and protect the environment for the future. EAST AYRSHIRE 4 the community plan By planning together, working together and achieving together, we will: • promote social justice and social inclusion; • build sustainability; • succeed in joint working and involving people; • ensure quality and accessibility; and • deliver continuous improvement and best value. 5 Joint Working and Involving People Partnership, based on mutual trust and equality, is the key to community planning. The major problems facing the area cannot be dealt with by public agencies working in isolation within their own limited budgets. We need to work together and involve communities, voluntary organisations and the private sector more effectively to get the best value from the public money that is invested in the area and to deliver real and lasting change. The most important partnership is the one between the partners and the people living in our communities. This plan will only succeed if we encourage and assist the community to get involved in every stage of the process. Quality and Accessibility Modernising how we deliver our services means changing our way of working to make sure that we can meet the needs of the people of East Ayrshire. Many of the people who use public services need to access more than one agency at a given time. Making sure our services are high quality, efficient and effective involves joining up our services to meet all of the needs a person might have rather than sending people from one agency to another which is how services have traditionally been offered. By planning and working together, we will cut down the paperwork and unnecessary official procedures. By listening to people receiving services and using what they tell us to influence how we develop services, we will make their needs the focus of policy making. Wherever possible, services should be delivered at a place and time that meet the needs of the user, not the provider. Continuous Improvement and Best Value It is essential that we learn from our experiences of joint working and build on our successes. We must be able to show that the initiatives that we have carried out have contributed to a better quality of life for everyone living and working in East Ayrshire. By developing a set of standards against which we can measure our performance, the people of East Ayrshire will be able to see how we are achieving the targets set out in the action plans which go with the community plan. We will track our progress by monitoring a range of economic and social measures, for example, the average earnings and levels of unemployment, the levels of reported crime or the incidence of teenage pregnancy. By comparing these with our starting position, we will know whether we are making a real difference. We will report regularly to the people of East Ayrshire on how well we are doing and the progress we are making towards meeting our targets. The public agencies in East Ayrshire spend millions of pounds each year on services that have a tremendous effect on the well-being and quality of life of residents. By working together and combining our resources, we can make sure that our communities benefit even more and that we achieve best value for money. EAST AYRSHIRE 6 the community plan The most important partnership is the one between the partners and the people living in our communities. It is essential that we learn from our experiences of joint working and build on our successes. 7 The Challenges East Ayrshire covers an area of 490 square miles from Lugton in the north to Loch Doon in the south. It has a population of approximately 120,000 in a mixture of urban, rural and isolated communities. Kilmarnock is the major urban area with a population around 44,000. The rest of the population live in smaller communities ranging from a few hundred people to around 9,000 people in Cumnock. East Ayrshire has a high quality environment with good quality services, including health, education, social and leisure services and a strong community spirit. These are valuable assets that we can build on, but we are facing a number of specific challenges. A lot of work is already ongoing through our various plans and strategies to tackle these problems within our community. The new challenge for us as partners is to make sure, through joint working, that we maximise existing activity, resources and skills. This plan, together with the associated action plans, provides a comprehensive framework for planning and delivering services across East Ayrshire. Education and Learning Many service providers give education and learning in East Ayrshire a high priority, and the record of achievement is impressive. However, we recognise that to compete in today’s employment market and to take full advantage of the opportunities that information and communication technology gives us, people need new skills. We need to encourage people of all ages to learn and to update their skills throughout their lives. There is a lot of potential in our communities, and we are keen to develop the skills and talents of individuals for personal, community and economic benefit. However, learning is not only about developing employment related skills. It is also about meeting the needs of individual people and making sure that everybody has a good quality of life. This means that opportunities must be available to allow everyone to take part in leisure and cultural activities and to get access to the range of new and exciting learning opportunities that are available, for example, through libraries and learning centres.