In the Calderdale Council section of the Who’s Who page, I’ve been trying to figure out what all the Council talk of partnerships means – particularly in terms of what environmental partnership means and how that bears on Calderdale’s Energy Future vision.
The Calderdale Council Partnerships Support Team has now kindly cleared up a lot of questions:
What are Calderdale Council partners?
Calderdale Council partners can refer to organisations and businesses where the Council has entered into a legal partnership with one or more bodies. There is a wider definition which describes partners as those organisations, bodies or agencies where they and the Council have jointly agreed to work towards common aims. Thus the wide definition would include all those local and regional organisations that the Council works with to deliver agreed objectives.
What is Calderdale Assembly?
To date the Assembly has met in response to the need to agree and develop the priorities for the Calderdale Wellbeing Strategy which is being developed by the Health and Wellbeing Board. Discussions need to take place with a wide range of interested parties to ensure that the Assembly has an agreed and clearly understood role and membership and a clear set of relationships with organisations and forums in Calderdale.
At present there is no agreed process in place for drafting and agreeing the Assembly’s terms of reference. The Health and Wellbeing Board is currently reviewing its own role and remit in preparation for it becoming statutory in 2013. The outcome of this review and subsequent discussions about structures and relationships should help resolve the questions around the Assembly’s future role and its relationship with key partnership forums such as the Health and Wellbeing Board.
How do organisations become members of Calderdale Assembly?
The Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) Board agreed the original format and outline membership of the Assembly. Senior councillors from the three main political parties on the Council were represented on the LSP Board and are represented on the Health and Wellbeing Board.
Apart from agreeing on Calderdale Health & Wellbeing Board’s Wellbeing Strategy, what’s the Calderdale Assembly for?
People who attended the first Assembly were asked for their views on their future role and these were published in the Conference Report. Further to this, views and comments on the Assembly’s future role are being sought by officers on behalf of the Assembly and the Health and Wellbeing Board in order to inform the discussions around the Assembly’s status, role, and membership, which may ultimately be set out in terms of reference.
At its first Conference in November 2011, Calderdale Assembly received a Calderdale Council document called Evidence of Need Resource. This outlines the main needs in Calderdale in terms of:
- economy
- health
- safer & stronger communities – ie crime, disorder & substance abuse issues
- environment (page 22)
- child poverty
- housing (includes affordable energy and fuel poverty issues)
To date the Assembly has met in response to the need to agree and develop the priorities for the Calderdale Wellbeing Strategy which is being developed by the Health and Wellbeing Board. Discussions need to take place with a wide range of interested parties to ensure that the Assembly has an agreed and clearly understood role and membership and a clear set of relationships with organisations and forums in Calderdale.
At present there is no agreed process in place for drafting and agreeing the Assembly’s terms of reference. The Health and Wellbeing Board is currently reviewing its own role and remit in preparation for it becoming statutory in 2013. The outcome of this review and subsequent discussions about structures and relationships should help resolve the questions around the Assembly’s future role and its relationship with key partnership forums such as the Health and Wellbeing Board.
What’s the relationship between Calderdale Council and Calderdale Assembly?
It is not possible to say what the Council’s relationship will be with the Assembly and therefore whether it would be necessary and/or appropriate for the Assembly’s terms of reference to be approved by the Council. Much will depend on the decisions of the Council around the future role of the Health and Wellbeing Board and its need for a forum with broad partner engagement.
What about the draft proposals for an Energy Partnership that are posted on Calder Forward’s website?
There is broad agreement that a new Energy Future Panel will replace the former Environment Partnership which has not met since September 2011. This will remain under review until the Panel is established and the discussions about structures and relationships have taken place following the review of the Health & Wellbeing Board referred to above.
A new Energy Future Panel – membership applications invited
The new Energy Future Panel is the same thing as the Cross Sector Working Group mentioned in Calderdale’s Energy Future strategy document, that full Council approved on 15th February 2012.
Last Friday (22nd June) a meeting was held with public, private and community sector representatives, to update on progress towards setting up the Energy Future Panel and to run through some of the administration. The Council’s Partnership Support Team and the Environmental Management Team called the meeting with support from Ian Gray (Director of Economy & Environment) and Councillor Collins (Cabinet Member – Economy and Environment). Calderdale Council is due to issue a press release later this week with further details about how to apply for membership of the Energy Future Panel.
If there are multiple applications from one sector, the applicant will be invited to an interview. There will be three people on the interview panel, two members of the interview panel will be independent and will not have a stake or role in the Energy Future Panel. In addition it is planned that one Councillor representative will sit on the interview panel.
Calderdale Council Cabinet has not been asked to approve the membership of the Panel. The Energy Future Panel is not a decision making body for the Council. If a decision is required by Cabinet to progress a project on behalf of the Council a recommendation will be made to Cabinet and a decision sought.