FAO: Chief Constables, Chief Fire Officers, Council Leaders, Local Authority Chief Executives, Police and Fire Authority Conveners
APPENDIX 1
LOCAL SCRUTINY AND ENGAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION NETWORK
SUMMARYWho is this for? / Local authorities, police forces and fire and rescue services.
What is it about? / Police and Fire Reform. Establishing Pathfinders to implement new local scrutiny and engagement arrangements set out in the reform Bill being introduced to the Scottish Parliament in January 2012.
Why take part? / You will benefit from access to a learning network and evaluation support and will be supported through the transition phase.
When is it happening? / Partners can start when they are ready. The first wave of expressions of interest are sought by end January 2012 and we’d like some Pathfinders to be up and running by April 2012.
How do I get involved? / At this point just submit the form at Annex B to note your interest.
How do I find out more? / Contact Louise Unwin (Assistant Project Manager), Duncan Beamish (Project Manager) or Mark Patterson (Project Executive) using contact details on page 7.
What is the Local Scrutiny and Engagement Implementation Network?
The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill includes a framework for the delivery of local policing and fire and rescue services that will protect and improve local services and strengthen the connection between services and communities. This is based on three key elements:
· the designation of a Local Commander (police) and Local Senior Officer (fire and rescue) with significant delegated authority and devolved resources for each local authority area;
· the production of a Local Policing Plan and a Local Fire and Rescue Plan for each local authority area, prepared by the Local Commander and Local Senior Officer respectively, and agreed by the local authority (or authorities);
· the creation of a strong formal relationship between councils and the services, for example, through local committees or other arrangements deemed appropriate locally, through which many more elected members would play a direct and formal role in shaping local priorities and scrutinising performance.
When the Bill becomes an Act, all local authorities and the new services will need to ensure that they are in a position to put in place these new arrangements for local scrutiny and engagement from Day 1 of the new police and fire and rescue services.
The Local Scrutiny and Engagement Implementation Network provides an opportunity to plan, trial, evaluate, refine and share learning about the implementation of local arrangements before ‘going live’, which could be as early as April 2013. Our aim is to assist local authorities and the police and fire and rescue services to devise and implement local frameworks that are effective, efficient and responsive to local needs and to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. We will facilitate the Network, provide evaluation support and ensure partners are kept fully informed of any amendments to local arrangements as the Bill passes through the Scottish Parliament.
Who should join the Network?
We welcome all local authority, police and fire and rescue partners with a central role in delivering the new legislative requirements to play an active role in the Network. Other Community Planning and Community Safety Partners who will be working closely with the police and fire and rescue services may also wish to join the Network to keep abreast of developments and contribute to discussions about how the new local scrutiny and engagement arrangements should be implemented.
What will participants be expected to do?
We recognise that each local area will have their own local circumstances, pressures and current arrangements, and will be in different positions regarding their planning for the new arrangements. That is why we want to facilitate a Network that supports transition and implementation.
We envisage different levels of engagement in the Network, as follows:
Pathfinders – we are looking for a number of participants to form Pathfinder projects. Pathfinders will be invited to put in place new local scrutiny and engagement arrangements that include the three elements described above (local commander/senior officer, local plan, robust scrutiny and engagement arrangements), to participate in the evaluation of their approach, and to share their learning with others in the Network and beyond. Scottish Government and other strategic partners involved will facilitate events, provide advice on the legislative framework and on the benefits and outcomes sought, and provide evaluation support. We will not, however, prescribe a particular approach or set of processes; it is entirely up to participants to decide on the method that will best suit their local circumstances and improve local scrutiny and engagement. Partners that have already begun their own pilot exercises are invited to join as Pathfinders.
Networkers – we recognise that not all partners will wish to or be ready to begin trialling new arrangements in early 2012 but will want to learn from those that are already embarking on that journey. Equally, some partners will already have arrangements in place that are closely aligned to the new arrangements in the Bill and will have useful lessons to share. Both groups of partners are invited to join the Network so that they can be party to the learning and contribute to discussions. Networkers will be free to start the implementation process and become Pathfinders at any time during the project, when this suits local circumstances. Membership of the Network should mean participants are well placed to become Pathfinders.
How will Pathfinder arrangements relate to current Board/Authority arrangements and existing processes and partnership arrangements?
We recognise that current Boards/Authorities continue to have important legal responsibilities in relation to the scrutiny of local services. They also have a wealth of experience to bring to the table. Any new Pathfinder arrangements should complement existing arrangements and will not change current legal responsibilities. Nevertheless, we are keen for Pathfinders to work through the issues in as real a way as possible so that useful lessons are learnt. We would like Pathfinders to consider how their new arrangements dovetail with existing ones and consider how responsibilities will be transferred on Day 1.
In recognition of the fact that some local elected members may have more experience of participating in Boards than others, and the change in responsibilities that sit with the current Boards/Authorities as compared with the new arrangements, we will need to consider the training needs of members and how elected members and officers involved currently with Boards/Authorities can transfer their expertise.
What about wider work looking at Community Planning arrangements?
Audit Scotland is organising a series of pilots to explore the role of external scrutiny in promoting effective performance in CPPs. We are exploring how our own Pathfinder work can support and link into the Audit Scotland pilots and avoid any duplication of effort.
Won’t this just create extra work?
We want to avoid duplication of effort and adding significant new burdens to the ones local partners already face; we recognise that partners are already working hard to balance reform work with current business. Therefore, we would encourage Pathfinders to see how new arrangements can complement or integrate with existing processes. For example, in the absence of a national policing plan, we would encourage Pathfinders to use existing force, council and Community Planning Partnership priorities to formulate their local policing plans. There may also be the opportunity for Pathfinders to dovetail the development of new local plans with the process of refreshing Single Outcome Agreements.
What methodologies should Pathfinders use?
We know that many local areas have innovative approaches to community planning and community engagement and this is an opportunity to embed this good practice further. The new arrangements are also intended to help foster continued collaboration between wider community interests, including community safety and health and social care.
Existing approaches used by community planning partners will be relevant to the formulation of new local plans. For example, use of Strategic Assessment would be a way of ensuring that plans are evidence-based and outcomes-focused. You may find it helpful to consider the guidance which already exists as part of the Safer Communities Programme, including that on strategic assessment and community engagement:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/17141/practitioners/newcommsafetytools/Q/editmode/on/forceupdate/on.
The Pathfinders project will also help us to consider how we promote shared methodologies across the country, whilst allowing tailored local approaches. For example, there may be benefit in developing shared templates that are flexible enough to suit local circumstances but allow comparisons to be drawn and shared outcomes to be identified at local, regional and national levels.
Who can take part?
A Pathfinder project can be formed around any local authority area(s), covering either police or fire and rescue or both under joint arrangements. If a local authority (or authorities) is trialling arrangements with both police and fire and rescue services, these can be undertaken together or as two separate processes, depending on the local circumstances. As alluded to above, neighbouring local authority areas may also wish to group together to devise shared local plans as one Pathfinder project.
Because of the nature of the arrangements being implemented, it will be necessary to have the full engagement of the local authority (or authorities), the local service(s) and other relevant local partners, but proposals can be submitted by any of the core partners on behalf of the partnership.
How many Pathfinders are you looking for?
All local authorities and the services will need to implement the new arrangements when the legislation comes into force and we want to help facilitate a smooth transition. Therefore, we will not restrict the number of Pathfinders but look to tailor our Network facilitation and evaluation support to suit the number of participants that sign up. We will also look to retain sufficient flexibility to enable us to support new Pathfinders that come online during the course of the project.
What mix of Pathfinders are you looking for?
We hope to see a diverse mix of areas participating in the project to aid learning about how the new legislation can be implemented in a range of circumstances. Therefore, we would particularly welcome expressions of interest from Pathfinders which will help us ensure that as many as feasible of the following list of criteria are covered:
Category / CriteriaGeography / Rural, urban and island
Local Authorities / Single authority and multiple authorities working together
Services / Police/fire and rescue-specific arrangements and joint police and fire and rescue arrangements
Police/Fire and Rescue Authority / Unitary and Joint Board/Authority areas
What are the benefits of becoming a Pathfinder?
All areas will need to move to the new arrangements in due course, so early adopters will benefit from having time to plan and prepare for the changes needed for Day 1 of the new services. Being a Pathfinder will also allow for a degree of experimentation to find the right model without some of the risks that doing so during full implementation would bring. The Network offers the opportunity to tap into wider learning and benefit from the provision of professional evaluation. Participants will also be kept in the loop with regard to changes to the legislation as it passes through Parliament allowing them to adapt their arrangements as necessary.
What support will the Scottish Government provide? Who will oversee the project?
The Scottish Government will facilitate the Network in order to help to aid learning, spread knowledge, build confidence and encourage timely planning for the implementation of the new statutory requirements. We will not prescribe specific arrangements, but support partners to develop innovative solutions that fit their local circumstances and that are consistent with prospective legislative requirements.
The Scottish Government will provide evaluation support. We anticipate embedding ‘action research’ that is flexible and responsive so that findings can be relayed back to participants during the course of the project. We will also develop practice-focused national guidance that encompasses the learning and experiences of Pathfinder projects. Existing guidance under the Scottish Government’s Safer Communities Programme may be helpful in planning this work.
A Project Board will oversee the work of the Network and comprise members from the Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE, ACPOS, CFOAS, the Police Authorities’ Conveners Forum, the Scottish Fire Conveners’ Forum, and the Improvement Service.
When will the Pathfinder exercises start?
There is no official start date; we encourage Pathfinders to begin their implementation work as soon as they are ready to do so and will build the Network around them. We would, however, welcome expressions of interest from the first wave of prospective participants by 31 January 2012.
As the new services may go live as early as April 2013, it is important that planning for the new arrangements begins as soon as possible. Whilst recognising that local government elections will impact on Pathfinder activities, we are keen for a number of Pathfinders to be in a position to introduce a designated Local Commander or Local Senior Officer, a local policing/fire and rescue plan and processes for establishing a formal relationship between the local authority and local services by April 2012, or as early as possible in the new financial year. Although the local government elections may impact on participation and Pathfinder activities, we believe there is still a considerable amount of planning work that can be undertaken over the coming months.
We recognise that not all partners will be in a position to join the project in early 2012 so we are happy for participants to join when they are ready, throughout 2012.
Will there be funding available?
The Scottish Government will provide the resources to staff the project team and to cover the costs of facilitating the Network, providing evaluation support and producing any associated national guidance and tools to help support the transition process. The costs of the new local scrutiny and engagement arrangements themselves will fall to local partners and will depend on what approaches councils and the services choose to adopt.
The Bill sets out a high level framework for the delivery of local services, but affords a degree of flexibility regarding specific arrangements, so local partners will be free to design a system that suits their needs and their means and this may inform the sort of partnership arrangements that are decided upon. The Pathfinders exercise provides a good opportunity to monitor the cost implications and use this learning to help inform the arrangements adopted when the new services come into being.