Gloucestershire Local Area Agreement 2008-2011 Final Draft (29 May 2008) Contents Page 1. Introduction 3 2. Gloucestershire Today: The Gloucestershire Story 4 3. Our Place: Our Future 6 4. Bridging the blocks: How we are dealing with cross- 7 cutting issues, including Equalities Statement Sustainability Statement 5. Children & Young People Theme 13 6. Economic Development & Enterprise Theme 29 7. Healthier Communities & Older People Theme 37 8. Natural & Built Environment Theme 48 9. Safer & Stronger Communities Theme 58 10. Governance 77 11. Delivery Principles 79 12. Performance Management 81 13. Partners 83 Appx 1 Statement of Third Sector Involvement 84 Appx 2 Reward Element Stretched Targets 87 2 1. Introduction Gloucestershire’s Local Area Agreement is now in its second year. This refreshed LAA builds on the strong foundations provided by our recently-agreed Sustainable Community Strategy, and on the priorities we set out in our first Local Area Agreement. This last year has seen partners focussing their efforts on the outcomes agreed at the beginning of April 2007. Partners have worked together to target issues ranging from reducing anti-social behaviour to promoting renewable energy installations and increasing the number of adults gaining NVQ2-level qualifications. In some areas partners have achieved national acclaim – Gloucestershire’s Warm and Well scheme has been held up as a national exemplar by DeFRA – and in all areas we have worked to join up our efforts to tackle what is important to local people. Over the coming three years partners will work to improve outcomes for children, support people back into work, improve skills for all age groups, reduce smoking, support carers, help older people to live more independent lives, tackle fuel poverty, address the causes and consequences of climate change, tackle crime and the fear of crime, and continue to make Gloucestershire a place where people want to live, work and visit. This document is only the beginning – it represents the first three years of the 10-year vision set out in the Gloucestershire’s Sustainable Community Strategy. The challenge now is to deliver those aims, remain focussed and continue to work together to improve the quality of life in Gloucestershire. We are grateful to all those partners who have used their knowledge and expertise to help to shape this agreement, have led and contributed to the development of priority outcomes and targets and have committed resources and effort to making real improvements for local people. 3 2. Gloucestershire Today: the Gloucestershire Story Gloucestershire is a great place to live and work – a place to be proud of. We have a healthy, thriving and balanced economy; there are high levels of social well-being with most people enjoying a good quality of life; and a natural and built environment which can offers idyllic countryside settings in close proximity to urban centres and villages rich in history and culture. Gloucestershire is essentially a large rural shire county with the two urban centres of Gloucester and Cheltenham lying at its heart. The county is home to several areas of outstanding natural beauty, including one of the largest in the country. However, we know that we face a number of challenges that we will have to tackle in order to maintain this high quality of life for future generations. Gloucestershire is a popular destination for affluent in-migrants looking to retire and have an improved quality of life. As a result the County has an increasingly ‘ageing population’ – a trend which is set to continue over the next 25 years and therefore creating an added pressure for public services. Growth will need to be managed in a sustainable way, particularly in relation to the County’s infrastructure. Policy decisions need to consider how best to sustain this idyllic rural setting while addressing the needs of the local population. Remote parts of the County see a high and increasing dependency on the use of car both to travel to work and for leisure. With a surplus of employment in the County’s urban core there is considerable movement between districts. While the County as a whole is relatively affluent with low unemployment, above average educational attainment and relatively good health, we know that the same is not true for everyone, or indeed every part of Gloucestershire. There are areas with high levels of deprivation, mainly in the urban centres of Gloucester and Cheltenham, but also in smaller and more dispersed pockets in rural areas. One of our challenges is to improve outcomes in these areas whilst maintaining already high performance as a whole. In the summer of 2007 Gloucestershire experienced a flooding emergency that provided a stark reminder of the impact of Climate Change and the need to have strong strategies in place to build resilience through mitigation and adaptation. We also know that we will need to tackle these issues within an increasingly challenging context in terms of resources. This will mean we will need to work even harder with partners to identify ways of providing services more efficiently and in a more joined-up way. This will demand creativity, determination and a strong commitment to working together. For this reason, we see the LAA as 4 an important vehicle for change. As a result, the theme of preserving a high quality of life while tackling those issues that could threaten our future has strongly influenced the development of this LAA and our choice of priorities and targets. The full version of the Gloucestershire Story is available online at http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/adobe_acrobat/i/5/County%20Story.pdf 5 3. Our Place: Our Future Gloucestershire has recently agreed a new Sustainable Community Strategy that sets the ten-year vision and overall direction for this LAA. The strategy has a strong focus on sustainable development. Its vision is for Gloucestershire to be a place where: the actions we all take today mean that Gloucestershire remains a great place to live and work, and we do not compromise the quality of life for future generations The five aims of the strategy are for Gloucestershire to be: A place where the future matters A place where communities matter A place where everyone matters A place where people want to live A place that thrives Each of these aims is supported by specific targets within the Local Area Agreement, making sure that our medium term plans support our long-term vision. However, we also recognise the need to set specific long term goals to make sure that we are on track to achieve the aims of the strategy. Since its inception, the Gloucestershire Strategic Partnership has used a broad set of Quality of Life indicators to provide a means of monitoring the overall performance and direction of travel of Gloucestershire as a whole. The GSP is now in the process of agreeing a new set of 10-year targets, building on Quality of Life indicators and the new National Indicator Set. Wherever possible, LAA targets will act as medium term milestones against these long-term trajectories. 6 4. Bridging the themes: How we are dealing with cross-cutting issues From the very earliest stages of developing this Local Area Agreement, partners have been keen to avoid dealing with each of the themes in isolation. Whilst we have retained a governance structure that reflects the 5 themes, we want to use the themes to drive improvements for local people, without being restricted by them. As a result of this early deliberation, two cross-cutting themes were identified which will underpin all outcomes of the local area agreement. These are: Equalities Sustainability. The Equalities Statement and Sustainability Statement below set out how we see these key underpinning principles being integrated into the LAA. 7 Equalities Statement Principles and Commitment The underlying vision of the Local Area Agreement ‘narrowing the gap’ implicitly demands that its planning and delivery engages with and addresses the needs of Gloucestershire’s most disadvantaged and excluded communities. The county of Gloucestershire and the communities within it have differing backgrounds and needs, and as partners we support and celebrate this diversity. Each of the geographic areas is unique with its own individual culture and heritage. This diversity within our communities adds to the richness of the county and is a source of great potential that can benefit the whole of Gloucestershire. It is our duty to promote equality of opportunity. As partners we must understand the differing needs of our various communities and ensure that the people of Gloucestershire have equal access to the services we seek to provide. In support of this aim, we will promote the use of Equality Impact Assessments. This will inform decision-makers of the likely impact that their policies and procedures may have on the various communities. The process will identify whether any group or individual will be disadvantaged by reason of 6 main equalities strands: age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. It will provide a focus for consultation and reassessment of the proposed actions. In achieving this objective, we are mindful of legislative and best practice initiatives, but seek to encourage achievement beyond the required standards. In particular, we will embrace the duties under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005. We are committed to eliminating racial discrimination, promoting Equal Opportunities and promoting good relations between different racial groups. We will also promote equal opportunities for disabled people, eliminate unlawful discrimination and/or harassment of disabled people, promote positive attitudes towards disabled people, encourage the participation of disabled people in public life and take steps to take account of a person’s disability.