Contact: Frances Martin, Community Strategy Officer Ext: 5122

1. Summary

1.1 This report details a bid from the Hampshire Strategic Partnership of no more than £15,000 for the Hampshire Strategic Partnership to be used to consult on the draft Community Strategy for Hampshire.

2. Background

2.1 A budget for supporting projects derived from the County Council's statutory duty to prepare a community strategy has been set up and this includes a budget for pump priming the Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and to develop further community strategies.

2.2 Each of the 11 LSP's are encouraged to bid for money from this budget to support the development of their LSPs and for the pump priming of projects.

2.3 The budget is also available for the development and implementation of the Hampshire Strategic Partnership.

2.4 The Chief Executive can approve amounts of less than £2000. The Executive Member for Community Development and Regeneration can approve amounts between £2000 and £5000. Amounts exceeding £5000 must be approved by the Executive Member and referred, with a recommendation to the Leader for decision.

3. Current bids

3.1 The following bid is recommended by the Executive Member for Community Development and Regeneration to the Leader for approval:

3.1.2 The sum of no more than £15,000 for the Hampshire Strategic Partnership to be used to consult on the draft Community Strategy for Hampshire. This process will include:

· Consultation internally with the Corporate Community Strategy Group, all County Council departments and Members

· Consultation with HSP members and their organisations and networks

· Consultation with district LSPs

· Consultation with district councils

· Consultation with already established groups and partnerships- e.g. CVS Chief Officers Group, HIOWA, Community Safety Partnership etc

· Consultation with cabinet priority sub groups

· Consultation with representatives of the Hampshire Community

The £15,000 will be used in the main to consult with a representative sample of the Hampshire Community. It is proposed that to build on existing research, either a community workshop or focus groups would be the best method to engage the public in order to start to look at what solutions the HSP can do to address the concerns and priorities that the community and partners have identified. Corporate Communications have developed a consultation proposal, based on the following.

· A community workshop at a cost of between £12,000-£17.500 to include recruitment, venue hire, refreshments, research design, moderators for each group, transcribing, and reporting plus a presentation.

· Or 8 focus groups at £13,200 (£1,650 per group), to include recruitment, venue hire, refreshments, research design, moderator and reporting, including a presentation.

Further discussion with Corporate Communications to agree final approach will be held.

3.1.3 The unspent funds from 2002/03 (£119,252) has been agreed to be carried over to the budget for this financial year (2003/04). Added together this gives a total of £309,252. Following the above approved bids the total spend in relation to the budget is £191,658, leaving £117,594 (see attached appendix A).

3.1.4 It is therefore recommended that a sum of up to £15,000 be allocated within the budget to proceed with this activity.

Recommendation

The following decision is sought:

1. To approve the following allocation:-

The sum of no more than £15,000 for the Hampshire Strategic Partnership to be used to consult on the draft Community Strategy for Hampshire.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

File FM Exec Member Location: Community planning/committee

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