BIG SOCIETY
What more we plan to do in Harlow
DEVELOPMENT OF CO-OPERATIVES, SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND THE
VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR
The public and voluntary sector will work
together to provide advice and support to new and
existing co-operatives, social enterprises and voluntary and
community organisations
Working with the voluntary sector and other public agencies, the
Council will hold a conference on commissioning entitled
‘How to do business with the Council’
Through the Voluntary Sector Forum we will provide information and
advice about The Big Society Bank and other Big
Society initiatives
The public and voluntary sectors will work together to arrange
an event to celebrate co-operatives and social enterprises as part
of Global Enterprise Week
The Council’s new Big Society Team
will work with Rainbow Services to expand the support
and training currently provided to residents’ associations to reach
a wider range of voluntary and community groups
The Harlow Compact Steering Group will work with
colleagues in other districts to roll out the Compact across
Essex
Rainbow Services will work with the Harlow Health
Centres Trust and community and voluntary sector groups to provide
a campus facility for relevant community and voluntary sector
groups within the new Leisurezone centre.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION
MAKING
- Harlow Council will work with the community to improve the
Service Improvement Teams that help to develop
policy and services in relation to housing, street-scene and the
environment. Although some very good work has been done,
currently most representatives on the Teams are tenants and there
is little representation from the wider community. The
Council will be linking into the Neighbourhood Forums to encourage
other people to become involved and to get wider
representation
- The Council is working with a range of voluntary and community
organisations that represent groups of people covered by equalities
legislation, for example disabled people and black and minority
ethnic groups. The Council has established an
Equalities Group which provides a forum for these
representatives to meet with Council officers and to influence the
development of policies, procedures and services, and to have a
role in monitoring and evaluating progress
- The 2020 Partnership, which is Harlow’s Local
Strategic Partnership, is currently refreshing its Vision and Key
Objectives. Consultation with local people will be a key part
of this refresh process, which will take place in conjunction with
consultation on the Local Development
Framework
WORK WITH
NEIGHBOURHOODS
Following the success of the pilot multi-agency
Neighbourhood Forums, these will be rolled out
across the whole of Harlow. Harlow Council’s new Big
Society Team will work with public sector agencies and
with voluntary and community sector organisations to set up Forums
in all neighbourhoods within the town.
The Council will continue to review its assets and, where
appropriate, will encourage the transfer of these to be run at the
neighbourhood level by social enterprises, co-operatives and
community and voluntary sector groups
WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
The Council will work with the Youth Council, the Friends of
Harlow’s Young People and other community and business
organisations to develop a business plan for Café
Youth to ensure its future sustainability
The Council will work with a range of public and community and
voluntary sector organisations to increase opportunities for
intergenerational work in the town, with the aim of creating
greater mutual respect between different age groups and fostering
community cohesion
INCREASE INVOLVEMENT IN VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY
ACTIVITY
The Council will provide increased support to the voluntary and
community sector through its new Big Society
Team. Working closely with Rainbow Services and the
Voluntary Sector Forum, the Team will enable access to a range of
guidance and training activities to both new and established
groups.
The mobile Young Bus will be used around the
town to promote the Big Society and to encourage community and
voluntary activity.
The Council will work with public, community and voluntary
sector organisations to host a Big Society Awards
ceremony to highlight and celebrate good examples of community
action.
Follow these links for more information
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