Consultation on the draft Redbridge Compact and Codes of Good Practice 2007-2010

The Local Authority Voluntary Sector Partnership has commissioned a review of the first Redbridge Compact and Code of Good Practice 2003-06. The review, led by RCVS, started in July and is focused on how effective the Compact has been to date and how it can usefully be extended and improved to cover other public services. The new Compact will be a joint agreement between local voluntary sector organisations and the Council, Primary Care Trust (PCT) and potentially other public sector bodies. The main goal of the new Compact is to further build trust and improve working relationships to benefit all those involved.

The outcome of the initial review has been incorporated into the revised draft Compact and Codes of Good Practice 2007-2010 for consultation. You can download the drafts from the list of document on the left of this page.

Consultation started at the beginning of August and will be on-going till the end of October 2007. Please send any comments to nic@pluspeople.co.uk

Compact

Working it out together

The Compact is an agreement between the local authority and voluntary and community sector which sets out principles, commitments and good practice guidelines to promote a better way of working.  It recognises the important and evolving role of the voluntary and community sector in the life of a borough and offers a framework by which voluntary and community groups can be involved in policy development and service provision.

Since its launch, the Redbridge Compact has been endorsed by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) - as agents for the Home Office and locally by the Council's Cabinet Committee, Volutnary Sector Network and Redbridge Strategic Partnership.  The Partnership has also received interest from the Health sector to become partners to the Compact with the voluntary and community sector.  Both the Redbridge Primary Care Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Hospital Trust will be working with the Partnership towards the publication of a revised Compact to reflect this new arrangement.

How did this come about?

Redbridge Council launched the work of developing the Compact in January 2002 at a conference entitled "Working It Out Together". This led to a series of workshops, consultations, a follow-up conference in March 2003, the introduction of newsletters to keep participants informed on progress cumulating in the launch of the Redbridge Compact in October 2003 (document available below this page).  Work has since progressed around developing a supporting Code of Good Practice to translate the Compact into practice. Together, these documents will set corporate standards for how the Council and the voluntary and community sector relate to and work with each other.

What are the benefits? 

• Setting standards by which future joint work will be assessed
• Giving the voluntary and community groups a real voice in decision and policy making, and service delivery 
• Developing a consistent approach to the funding of voluntary and community groups, and assisting groups to acquire the knowledge, information and skills they need to be recognised by funding bodies 
• Simplifying Council processes and procedures, and promoting the use of plain english
• Gaining recognition of the contribution community, cultural and faith organisations make to the lives of our residents
• Strengthening voluntary activity throughout our Borough.

Translating the Compact into practice

Since the production of the Compact, work has been directed into producing a Code of Good Practice. The Code translate the Compact into ways of working, incorporating standards, checklists and monitoring arrangements.  It covers:

• Guidelines for Community Involvement (covering Consultation and Communication / Policy Development and Service Delivery)
• Guidelines for Reaching Out to the whole Community (covering Involving Black and Minority Ethnic Groups / Involving Faith Groups)
• Volunteering
• Guidelines for Funding
• Guidelines for Dispute Resolution

For further information on the Code of Good Practice, refer to the link on the right of this page. 

Key Successes

• Increasing sense of openness and closer working between the local authority and voluntary and community organisations
• The production of Compact Newsletters generated national recognition as a means of best practice and consequent adaptation by other authorities
• Information alerts initially collated for the Newsletter now part of a regular 'Redbridge E-circulation' briefing distributed to voluntary and community groups and Council Services
• The design of the 'Working It Out Together' logo adapted for use in other major borough-wide initiatives, including the work of the Redbridge Strategic Partnership. 
• Contributing to the development of other London Borough Compacts, including the Mayor's Compact for London
• Hosting an international visit from a team of Japanese academics, local government officers and journalists to learn about how we developed our Compact to assist in developing Japan's first compact agreement with their voluntary and community sector.