REPORT OF THE HEAD OF REGENERATION
TO COMMUNITY PLAN CABINET WORKING GROUP
May 16th 2005
COMMUNITY PLAN PROGRESS UPDATE
Recommendations
1. The Cabinet Working Group endorses the draft vision
2. The Cabinet Working Group endorses the next steps in relation to the LSP identifying
lead officers responsible for each of the actions identified.
1.
Introduction
1.1
The third and final workshop was held on the 21st March 2005 at the Digital World Centre.
The aim of this workshop was to agree a vision statement for Salford and to identify the
key actions which need to be delivered in the short, medium and long term in order to
achieve the vision.
1.2
The following report is a summary of the final report which the Henley Centre have
submitted in draft format prior to it being agreed on behalf of Salford LSP. The report
outlines the draft vision, key actions to be undertaken in the short term and a set of
actions related to the strategic imperatives. These were developed by the LSP at the
workshop.
2.
The Vision
2.1
The vision which emerged from the scenario exercise was as follows:
2.2
“In 2015, Salford will be a beautiful and welcoming city, driven by energetic and
engaged communities, of highly skilled, healthy and motivated citizens, who have built
a diverse and prosperous culture and economy which encourages and recognises the
contribution of everyone, for everyone.”
2.3
There was a general consensus that the preferred vision for Salford involved a relatively
rapid rate of change in the city’s knowledge and skills mix, along with a continuation in
the shift towards a service delivery model which views the citizen / community as a
partner to the Council.
3.
Key Actions
3.1
Participants at the workshop were asked to consider the actions which needed to be
addressed straight away in order to create immediate momentum towards the desired
vision for Salford. These so called ‘strategic preferences’ are (largely) distinct from the
imperatives as they are the actions which are required to seize opportunities and
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manage the inherent risks in moving to the realistic and preferred future. Tables 1 & 2
provide a summary of these key actions.
Key actions required over the next 12 months to create momentum towards the preferred Vision
for Salford: to improve knowledge and skills
1. Make the most of economies of scale where possible. E.g. Where we know which training
initiatives have been successful, we should expand them to take advantage of economies of
scale in their provision
2. A 6th fold increase in education and skills is required. One way this can be achieved is by
viewing knowledge in a broad sense i.e. improved housing and health can create the conditions
for better skills and knowledge
3. Promote a campus concept when we make the case for new schools in Salford. A ‘campus’
which consisted of primary school, secondary school and further education buildings on the
same site would help to promote the benefits of further education amongst school children,
whilst also helping to raise aspirations
Table 1
Key actions required over the next 12 months to create momentum towards the preferred Vision
for Salford: to promote the move towards greater partnership in service delivery
1. Promote a greater belief that change can be made amongst all levels of Salford’s
communities. The role that each community can play needs to be made clear, with consistent
investment so that all communities can play their part; this will help to gain commitment at all
levels. The question, “who is best placed to deliver?” needs to be asked each time actions are
required
2. It’s critical that Salford’s citizens ‘own the vision’ with a shared understanding of what it means
for the city going forward
3. Greater devolvement of budgets to individual communities is required (although there are
some risks in doing this)
4. Create a consortium approach to engagement and consultation
Table 2
4.
Strategic Imperatives
4.1
In addition to the short term actions identified above, a set of ‘imperatives’ were also
developed; these are issues which Salford should address regardless of the scenario
develops. These were as follows:

Improving secondary school educational attainment

Reskilling the adult population

Reducing polarisation and inequalities

Raising aspirations / motivations

Increasing community engagement

Attracting newcomers

Improving environmental sustainability
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4.2
These imperatives do not replace the 7 themes in the existing Community Plan, which
remain intact, but are priority areas and issues for action that are crucial to driving
forward progress within the 7 themes. The final imperative – improving environmental
sustainability – was not explored in great depth as there was general agreement that it
was a cross cutting issue which needed to be reflected across the other actions, rather
1. Secondary school educational attainment
Situation now – In terms of this issue,
Underachievement at secondary level and lack of aspiration and anti-
where are we now?
intellectualism
Poor perceptions of Salford secondary schools by the community
2005-2008 – To reach the success
Raising the quality of leadership; management and governance of the city’s
outcome,
secondary schools with a culture of high expectation
what
are the 3-5 most
important things we need to do in the
next 3 years?
Promote the value of education in the community at large – a role for the
broader voluntary/ community/ statutory/ business sectors (not just education)
Resource audit for development of shared facilities across sectors and
institutions
Partnership with university – get students into schools and mentoring
programmes
2009-2015 – What are the 2-3 things
Adopt a campus approach where we build new primary, secondary and
we’d need to do in the medium term to
tertiary education on the same site, in order to promote staying on in
achieve the success outcome?
education and to raise aspirations
Use these campuses to provide a broader hub for the communities of Salford –
i.e. provide services such as health, welfare and jobs advice
Success outcome – In terms of this
Raise the positive profile of secondary schools across Salford by utilising the
issue, what would success be like?
LSP’s marketing and involving the local press
Raise educational attainment in Salford – ensure that Secondary schools
perform above the national average
than considered in its own right.
2. Re-skilling the adult population
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Situation now – In terms of this
issue, where are we now?
Below average skill employment
Low economic activity rates
Low levels of basic skills
2005-2008 – To reach the
Appoint a skills supremo i.e. an individual who can raise the profile of skills across the city
success outcome, what are
and demonstrate the importance of skills in terms of improving individual aspirations
the 3-5 most important things
we need to do in the next 3
years?
Adopt a partnership approach to finding the funding to support raising basic skills
Build effective skills strategies with individual employers
Ensure people are aware of changing skill requirements in the wider economy
Sell the skills case to Salford’s population (i.e. tell them their life will be better)
2009-2015 – What are the 2-3
things we’d need to do in the
medium term to achieve the
Provide flexible help for individuals i.e. should not be too prescriptive
Improve our facilities to ensure we can provide better skills training
success outcome?
Success outcome – In terms
of this issue, what would
success be like?
Greater proportion of the adult population with improved basic skills
Greater proportion of the city’s population economically active
Make Salford feel like a ‘learning city’ that seeks to improve its skills
3.
Reducing polarisation and inequalities
Situation now – In terms of this
Considerable inequalities remain in four key areas - Health education, wealth, income
issue, where are we now?
and crime and need to be tackled
Social cohesion remains a low profile issues but needs to be addressed
2005-2008 – To reach the
Need to have a clearer understand of the current situation and what can effect it. i.e.
success outcome, what are
improve the evidence base.
the 3-5 most important things
we need to do in the next 3
years?
Make services responsive to cultural traditions (e.g. school timetable, school year
adapted to religious festivals) as well as allowing public sector employees to celebrate
different religious festivals
Banning smoking in public places
2009-2015 – What are the 2-3
things we’d need to do in the
medium term to achieve the
Scale up the programmes which are successful e.g. training and skills programmes
Continue economic growth
success outcome?
Success outcome – In terms
of this issue, what would
success be like?
‘Shifting the curve’ so that fewer people face inequalities
Increased average household income in Salford
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4.
Raising aspirations/ motivations
Situation now – In terms of this
issue, where are we now?
Poor staying on rates and drop out at 16/17, low numbers going into Higher Education
Poor self-image and relatively low community engagement – except in some areas
2005-2008 – To reach the
Take advantage of changes to curriculum that will take place 14-19: building schools for
success outcome, what are
the future, strengthen links with industry
the 3-5 most important things
we need to do in the next 3
years?
Promote concrete examples of how things have changed – regular reminders of the
positives; don’t focus on the negatives
Encourage links between people – less silo working – honesty with people about how
things will change.
Local government to engage with community residents – how do the residents want it to
work?
2009-2015 – What are the 2-3
things we’d need to do in the
medium term to achieve the
success outcome?
Improvement in rates – set targets and monitor the output
Report/ measure on how major strategies have impacted
There should be a significant number of people ‘active/ involved’ in their local
community
Success outcome – In terms
of this issue, what would
success be like?
5.
All young people to aspire to stay in education and training to at least the age of 18
Change the view that “nothing will ever change in Salford”
Increasing community engagement
Situation now – In terms of this
Patchwork quilt of community committees; communities of interest
issue, where are we now?
2005-2008 – To reach the
success outcome, what are
the 3-5 most important things
we need to do in the next 3
years?
Develop skills and knowledge to allow engagement
Promote the existing opportunities amongst the community and raise awareness of the
benefits which engagement can lead to
Make being involved easier by reducing the amount of jargon used by those already
involved
Measure the targets in community action plan
Audit of current mechanisms of community engagement and identify the critical gaps
Ensure sustainable resources are available for groups to access e.g. meeting venues
etc.
2009-2015 – What are the 2-3
Conduct regular surveys or audits of community groups to identify gaps/ trends/ issues
things we’d need to do in the
which need addressing
medium term to achieve the
success outcome?
Develop community owned facilities which all groups could utilise
Success outcome – In terms
Increase in level of community engagement – % of people who feel they can influence
of this issue, what would
decision making in local area
success be like?
Increase in the level/ size of devolved benefits to local communities
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6.
Attracting newcomers
Situation now – In terms of this
issue, where are we now?
Attracting visitors but losing families
Significant variation in terms of different parts of Salford – some are attracting
newcomers, whilst others are losing residents rapidly.
Currently little choice in terms of housing
Perceptions that crime is high; CCTV potentially has a role to play
Economy currently strong in terms of creating jobs locally
2005-2008 – To reach the
success outcome, what are
the 3-5 most important things
Make the case for building new schools in Salford
Improve the health of Salford’s people
we need to do in the next 3
Improve the city’s libraries
years?
Work to attract high quality jobs to the area
Reduce crime and fear of crime, year on year
Promote partnership approach to tackling crime; working alongside the police
Conduct market research to gain a better understanding of why people – particularly
families – leave the area
Ensure that engagement with new comers is more effective and welcoming at the local
level
2009-2015 – What are the 2-3
Ensure that there is a range of affordable housing alternatives for those wishing to move
things we’d need to do in the
to the area
medium term to achieve the
success outcome?
Improve school attainment levels
Tackle perceptions of the city e.g. on crime via marketing campaign
Success outcome – In terms
Success would be a 5% increase in the city’s population (11,000) by 2015
of this issue, what would
success be like?
5.
Next Steps
5.1
Taken together, the vision, short term actions and critical issues identified by the scenario
planning exercise will be an important source as the Partnership develops the
Community Plan and other strategies over the coming months. If this momentum for
change is to be maintained, it is critical that the organisations or individuals responsible
fur further actions are identified, and that a clear action plan is formulated. This draft will
form the basis for further discussion as the Community Plan is developed.
5.2
The results of the scenario planning project will inform the development of the balanced
scorecard. The full scenario planning report will be circulated to the City Council
Directors team and the Cabinet prior to the balanced scorecard workshops taking
place end of May/early June.
5.3
The report will be circulated to the LSP board and the lead officers of the strategic
delivery partnerships. At the next meeting of the LSP (13th July 2005) lead officers will be
identified for each of the activities which have been identified in this report.
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