Hampshire Police Authority

22 January, 2002

Local Strategic Partnerships

Report of the Clerk

Contact: Miss S. Jackson, Deputy Clerk. 01962 871595

1. Summary

1.1. This report describes the development of Local Strategic Partnerships in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and suggests a way forward for the Authority in engaging with these Groups.

2. Background

2.1. In March, 2001, the Government issued guidance on Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). A copy of the Guidance is available in the Members' Room.

2.2. LSPs are non-statutory, non-executive bodies that are intended to provide a vehicle for achieving joint working across local communities to deal with conflicts, social, economic and environmental issues. In order to achieve this, LSPs should bring together all stakeholders within the public sector locally, together with private business, community and voluntary sectors to work together for the benefit of the local area.

2.3. Although there is no statutory requirement for the establishment of an LSP, local authorities, under the Local Government Act 2000, are required to prepare local community strategies. A community strategy should aim to enhance the quality of life of local communities and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development through action to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area and its inhabitants. Community strategies are intended to provide a long-term vision for the local area and the outcomes to be achieved together with an action plan for achieving the objectives. In order to reflect the diverse needs and issues facing local communities, strategies must be prepared jointly with other organisations. The Government envisages that LSPs will have a clear role in preparing and implementing local community strategies.

2.4. The Government anticipates that LSPs will provide a means for rationalising a range of other partnerships, rather than creating an additional tier of bureaucracy. Presently, there is no intention that LSPs should subsume the work of local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs), Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) or Drug Action Teams (DATs), but it is intended that they should work closely with the new LSPs.

2.5. The Home Office is presently developing guidance on how the work of CDRPs, YOTs and DATs can work closely with each other, so as to maximise effectiveness, and how best they can work with LSPs, and any other relevant groups.

3. Police Authority Involvement in LSPs

3.1. In view of the Authority's strategic role, responsibility for determining local policing priorities, producing local policing plans and for community representation and consultation, there is clearly need for the Authority to participate in the work of the LSPs in the two Counties, at both County and, possibly, district level.

3.2. In Hampshire, as might be expected in such a diverse area, the pace varies from one district/unitary council to another with some already having produced their community strategies whilst others have not progressed far beyond the initial stages. However, a county-wide framework has been agreed and the County Council has now completed its programme of bilateral meetings with all 11 Districts which aims to ensure that agreement was reached on joint working arrangements, LSP structures, and the basic list of partners. The Deputy Clerk attended an officer level meeting of the Association of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Authorities in October in order to promote the interest of the Authority in participating in LSPs following a letter which was sent to the Chief Executives of all Local Authorities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in August.

3.3. Many of the Districts are now well into the next phase with some already having held their inaugural partnership meetings. It is suggested that as a matter of policy, the links into LSPs should be at a two counties and unitary level. This would then strategically complement existing representation on Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and the core group arrangements for consultation at a local level.

3.4. Hampshire County Council has welcomed Police Authority involvement on its emerging LSP and efforts to reach a similar agreement with the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton are ongoing.

3.5. Two of the 15 local authorities in the police authority area (Portsmouth and Southampton) are eligible to receive Neighbourhood Renewal Funding to tackle deprivation in the most deprived of their wards. To receive this funding, each authority must establish an LSP and have it accredited by their Regional Government Office by 28 February, 2002 and it is interesting to note that one of the suggested partners of an accredited LSP is the local Police Authority. These authorities must also prepare a Local Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy (LNRS) to guide the spending of the Fund. The LNRSs must be prepared by April, 2002.

3.6. A very important feature of Community Strategies and LNRSs is that both should be based on multi-agency working with a strong element of community engagement and support. Both types of strategy must address realistic community concerns and priorities by "joining-up" the services of partners on the LSP.

3.7. In view of the challenge of developing community strategies, the Government has not prescribed a timetable for the completion of community strategies, however, there are a number of factors which will affect local authorities in their work. Indeed, Best Value Performance Indicator No. 1 for local authorities asks if a timetable has been set for the production of a community strategy. The LSP must be involved in drawing up this timetable.

4. Local Public Service Agreements

4.1. Local Public Service Agreements (PSAs) will provide a vehicle for implementing the priorities in Community Strategies and LNRSs.

4.2. Local Public Service Agreements are contracts, negotiated between Central and Local Government whereby local authorities and Whitehall agree a raft of "stretched" Best Value and local targets, in exchange for a lighter touch in terms of Central Government regulation. Pump-priming funding is made available by the Government and delivery on stretched targets, at the end of the LPSA lifetime, will bring a substantial Performance Reward Grant.

4.3. Following a pilot exercise, Local Public Service Agreements are being rolled out across all top-level local authorities (County, Unitary, Metropolitan and London) in England. These agreements offer a means of building on the partnership working which local authorities are required to lead, with a duty to prepare community strategies.

4.4. Local PSAs are not yet being offered to police authorities, although the Government is encouraging a joined-up approach at local levels. Government guidance on PSAs states the greater value in improved outcomes is likely to take place when the local PSA is part of a community strategy, and that LSPs should increasingly facilitate their implementation.

4.5. The Association of Police Authorities will be undertaking work through its new Local Leadership and Community Engagement Policy Group, to help police authorities enhance their effectiveness is representing local communities and playing a leading role in local partnerships, including LSPs.

5. A Suggested Approach in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

5.1. The experience of the Authority in engaging with local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships is patchy. Likewise, it is expected that engagement at district level in local LSPs is likely to be similar. Hampshire County Council's willingness to embrace police authority representation on the County-wide LSP should be welcomed. This is particularly so as the County-wide partnership has links into all of the local LSPs in Hampshire through member representation. Therefore, should a local LSP require the input of a Police Authority on a specific aspect of its work, this could be fed back to the county-wide body through the local member link to the police authority representative. This would allow police authority members to be co-opted onto local LSPs as necessary. This has the benefit of targeting police authority representation as needed at a local level and avoids members being involved with groups where their input is limited. It is hoped that similar approaches can be agreed with the Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth and Southampton. In Hampshire, it is expected that the first meeting of the County level partnership will be held on 12 March, 2002.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

(a) That the report be noted.

(b) That the approach as set out in paragraphs 3.3 and 5.1 be adopted.

(c) That the Authority appoints a representative to the Hampshire county-wide LSP.

Background Papers

Local Strategic Partnerships Government Guidance: March, 2001.

Home Office letter regarding Local Public Service Agreements: 9 August, 2001

APA Circular 48/2001 - Police Authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships.

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