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Carlisle: Signing up to a local Compact

carlisle

Carlisle City Council wanted to sign up to the County-wide Cumbria Compact, to strengthen the good relationship they already had with the voluntary and community sector. Before they did so, the Council considered their compliance with the commitments outlined in the Cumbria Compact and identified areas for improvement by undertaking a self-assessment exercise.

Is this the end of stories about the end of the Compact?

Probably not.

Another week, another policy change in government and so this must mean the end of the Compact, right?


      
Putting Partnerships in Perspective

  

	
2012’s Compact Week is drawing to a close, and I think we can all confidently say it’s been a success.


	The team has been involved with addressing council members in Merton, promoting the Compact to new audiences in Stockton, speaking at an awards ceremony in Gloucestershire (brilliantly called the Gloscars) and contributing to activities in a number of different government departments, including the Department for Transport, Ministry of Justice, and Home Office.


These are just some of the activities we’ve been involved with, and there have been lots of others taking place across England. To say that we’ve been busy is somewhat of an understatement, and there is a sense of contented fatigue in the team as we all reflect on a job well done.



  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
Redbridge: Making the spirit of the Compact leap from the pages

  

    

    

            

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The Redbridge Compact 2011-2014 does far more than list shared principles.


	It sells the Compact based on what it can do for partners and describes what good Compact working looks like in a way that makes sense in the real world.

  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
Compact work and compliance – can one person really positively influence Compact compliance?

  

	
In our work, we all like to think that we have a positive impact, but in some jobs it is harder to measure than others. This is the third in a series of blogs exploring interesting trends to emerge from our 2012 annual survey of local Compacts. In this blog, we delve deep into the data in an attempt to assess the impact of local Compact work.



  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
The reverse localism of local Compacts

  

	
Why are we seeing an increase in support for top-tier Compacts but decreasing numbers of district/borough level Compacts?

	

	This is one of the questions that cropped up when analysing the results of the 2012 Compact Voice Annual Survey. This blog (the second in a series of blogs exploring interesting trends from the survey results) will take a closer look at this question and put forward some possible answers.



  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
Cumbria: Using the Compact when negotiating contracts

  

    

    

            

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AWAZ Cumbria is a support organisation for people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities. AWAZ aims to empower the voice of BME people and communities through influencing strategy, policy and service delivery.

	

	They recently used Compact principles to successfully negotiate the renewal of their Cumbria Equality Consortium Agreement following the loss of some of its funding.

  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
Is your own engagement meaningful enough?

  

	
Government recently issued a statement around the process for consulting. This statement has made a compromise between a move away from the default of consulting over 12 weeks (balanced by greater emphasis on meaningful engagement) and a reiteration of its support for Compact principles more widely. Compact Voice is of course looking closely at the potential implications of this move. 



  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
Statement from Compact Voice about changes to Cabinet Office guidance on consultation

  

    

    

            

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In July 2012, Oliver Letwin, Minister for Policy in the Cabinet Office, issued a written statement introducing new guidance about how government will undertake consultations.



This statement reiterates our position on these changes, outlines implications for local Compact groups and lists next steps.  

  
      

	  	  	

          


 


      
In Defence of the North East

  

	
Our recent 2012 survey results highlighted a significant regional difference in both the level of implementation and the perceived effectiveness of the Compact. The North East was one of two regions to have the most negative indicators – according to the figures, respondents felt that both the voluntary and public sectors weren’t engaged with their local Compact.