Active Partnering
A Toolkit
Active Partnering with Town and Parish Councils: The Basics
Introduction
Objectives
Levels of Active Partnering
Services and Functions with Potential for Active Partnering Proposals and Bids
Active Partnering Packages
Competency and Standards
Training and Support
Form of Agreement
Costs and Expenditure
Exclusions
Key Principles of Active Partnering
Detail of the Active Partnering Process
The Process
Before Applying - Initial Consideration and Discussion
Phase 2 - Meeting the Criteria
Phase 3 - Evidence of competency
Phase 4 - Training and capacity building
Phase 5 - Approval process
Phase 6 - Determine the most appropriate partnership arrangement
Phase 7 - Development of partnering agreement
Phase 8 - Active Partnering
Phase 9 - Monitoring and Review
Phase 10 - Evolving the Relationship
What Services are Suitable for Active Partnering?
Active Partnering Packages
Excluded Services
Resources
Refusals
Branding
Appendix 1. Parish Clustering
Appendix 2: Key Elements of Active Partnering SLAs
Appendix 3: Forms
Active Partnering with Town and Parish Councils: The Basics
Introduction
Active Partnering is a way for parish and town councils to work in partnership with Cornwall Council at a level that suits them, from straightforward service monitoring through to the taking-on and running of local services. A similar approach will be followed in the way in which services are devolved to voluntary and community groups.
Active Partnering is about the delivery of agreed outcomes, which can be simple (e.g. greater local influence for town and parish councils) or more advanced (e.g. delivering a particular service at an enhanced level).
Objectives
The new Active Partnering arrangements build on best practice from the arrangements between local councils and the former district and county councils.
The aims are to:
- Improve community access to and satisfaction with services
- Provide greater local influence over services
- Maintain and enhance standards
- Deliver enhanced services
- Contribute to the aims and objectives of Cornwall Council and local councils
- Enhance the role of local councils in their communities
- Increase the capability and confidence of parish and town councils to deliver services
- Provide opportunities for local employment
- Generate greater community pride in local areas
- Promote engagement of local communities in local government
- Improve the relationship between local councils and Cornwall Council
- Achieving ‘value for money’
- Implementing Parish and MCTi Plan proposals
The emphasis is on delivering a better service in terms of responsiveness and cost effectiveness, with clear lines of responsibility and accountability.
Active Partnering also promotes and supports sustainability.
Levels of Active Partnering
There are different levels of ability and ambition across local councils in Cornwall. Active Partnering can be varied to suit local circumstances and local councils’ preferences.
The framework within which Active Partnering works is set out below:
Option One: Operational Tasking- influencing local service delivery / Influence Partnership Delegation Devolution /
Formal Service Monitoring-monitoring process whereby local councils can scrutinise and feedback on local service delivery. / Cornwall Council retains full ownership and accountability for services. Local Councils have input to design and management of services.
Joint contract writing -formal process where local councils and Cornwall Council jointly negotiate terms of service contracts with contracted-out service providers.
Local service priority setting -Direct local council involvement in setting and reviewing a range of service priorities for the local area.
Option Two: Joint Delivery
- local services delivered in a partnership
Joint service funding- Local Council buys and directs extension of basic Cornwall Council services. / Cornwall Council retains ownership and accountability, but local councils ‘buy’ additional local services and have input to design and management.
Joint service delivery - Services delivered through a partnership between a local council and Cornwall Council, and possibly other partner organisations. / Cornwall Council retains accountability, but ownership and control of services is shared with Local Councils.
Option Three: Delegation of Delivery
- local services delivered directly by local councils
Standard service delivery– local councils effectively become local contractors at an agreed rate for an agreed frequency and standard. / Cornwall Council retains full accountability for services.
Augmented Service Delivery– local councils take on service delivery but with funding augmented locally to raise frequency and/or standard. / Accountability, ownership and control of services is shared with Local Councils.
Option Four: Delegation of Responsibility
- local services provided exclusively by local councils
Complete devolution– Service and any land, buildings or assets associated with it transfer to the local council (only possible with non-statutory services) / Accountability totally with local councils.
There are two ways of approaching Active Partnering. One is by local councils making proposals and bids to Cornwall Council. The other is by responding to ‘package’ proposals put forward by Cornwall Council for specific geographical or thematic areas.
Services and Functions with Potential for Active Partnering Proposals and Bids
The following services may be appropriate for Active Partnering proposals by town and parish councils:
- Street cleansing (including litter picking, sweeping and grafitti removal)
- Weed control
- Maintenance of village verges, ditches and signage
- Amenity area grass cutting
- Maintenance of street furniture
- Maintenance of street trees
- Play areas (including maintenance, safety and cleansing)
- Hedge trimming
- Parks and gardens
- Allotment management and provision
- Sports and recreation facilities
- Maintenance of public conveniences
- Cemetery and closed churchyard maintenance
- Street naming
- Highway Stewardship Scheme
- Co-operation on parking restrictions and enforcement
- Some aspects of event traffic management
- Some aspects of planning development control
- Local recycling
- Local beach cleaning
- Public service points (potential rural outreach support points)
- Rights of way and countryside
- Tourist information
- Property management
- Community emergency planning and responding
Local councils may choose both their level of involvement and the most appropriate services on the list for Active Partnering in their area.
Cornwall Council is an evolving and improving organisation. As a result not all these services can be immediately available for Active Partnering because they are provided by parts of the Council that are undergoing reorganisation. Release of services will be phased to reflect this. During 2010 for example, services related to the maintenance of highways and green spaces will not be considered for Active Partnering until the autumn.
Other services will be added to the list in future years and as contracts come up for renewal. However, some services, such as children’s education and social care, cannot be delegated because of their particular statutory nature.
In the case of smaller Parish Councils, there will be the opportunity for them ‘cluster’ together to engage in Active Partnering.
Local Councils are encouraged to be innovative in suggesting further opportunities.
Active Partnering Packages
Cornwall Council intends to package various schemes. The definition of these packages will be very dependant on local opportunities arising and organisational and policy changes within Cornwall Council. Approaches will be made to various local councils as the opportunity to develop such packages comes forward.
Place Packages – where a number of services are put together, such as street scene, management of buildings, public conveniences, open spaces, parking enforcement, dog fouling and litter etc, subject to one agreement with a local council;
Partnership Packages – where a local partnership is formed involving a local council and other bodies to tackle particular local issues – Newquay Safe is an example;
Cluster Packages – where smaller councils are grouped to provide the critical mass to take on a service effectively;
Themed Packages – where local councils join wider agreements, for example initiatives to maintain/improve the environment like Clean Cornwall and Cornwall in Bloom.
Local Councils may themselves be able to identify Active Partnering package opportunities within their areas or in local clusters. Proposals of this nature are encouraged, subject to there being a good business case.
Competency and Standards
When entering into contractual or partnership arrangements for service provision Cornwall Council is required to ensure that the contractor or partner is competent to deliver the service to a required and consistent standard.
It is therefore necessary for councils entering such arrangements to be able to demonstrate that they are competent. This can be achieved through the provision of evidence, appropriate to the service under consideration, of:
- past experience
- stages reached in accreditation schemes
- staff training/qualifications
- Relevant Parish and MCTi Plans, research or other community planning activity
- any other evidence of the council’s competency to take on local services
Training and Support
Bearing in mind the differing abilities and interests of town and parish councils, a programme is being set up in conjunction with the Cornwall Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks to provide councillors, clerks and employees with both general and service specific training and mentoring opportunities.
In cases where more complex technical and contractual matters may be involved, Cornwall Council will nominate a support officer to assist the local councils involved.
Form of Agreement
Agreements outlining the responsibilities and roles of Cornwall Council and the local council will vary according to the level of Active Partnering agreed. The simplest will be in the form of an exchange of letters. In other cases more detailed Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be drawn up following a standard model. In some cases a formal contract may be required, which will follow an appropriate legal form.
It is also important to recognise that many Active Partnering schemes will involve the statutory duties of the council, for example as highway authority. There will be a need for absolute clarity over any delegations in these areas, to ensure that standards are maintained and that any liabilities are properly understood and addressed.
Costs and Expenditure
Councils will be expected to cover their own set up costs (e.g. legal advice etc). Where a service is to be provided on behalf of Cornwall Council, funding for the service will be provided subject to negotiation. If a local council wishes to provide a service which is enhanced (i.e. above the Cornwall Council specification) then it must provide the funding for this element of the service.
Payments will normally be made in arrears, upon submission of an invoice addressed to the nominated service monitoring officer. The arrears period will normally be 30 days in line with the Councils usual policy. However other arrangements may be considered if there is a need to ensure that an Active Partnering agreement does not create cash-flow problems for local councils.
The invoice should be accompanied with a short Monitoring Form for the preceding quarter. (Format of the form will vary according to service involved and agreed at outset of the SLA).
Because of the need to manage uncertainty the funding arrangements for Active Partnering will be guaranteed for set periods within the lifetime of an agreement, subject to a mechanism to deal with cost fluctuations. If the agreement is for a period in excess of one year, increased payments based on forecast inflation in the relevant index may be agreed.
All Active Partnering arrangements will include exit strategies to take account of significant changes in circumstances.
Exclusions
Cornwall Council will always give due consideration to all reasonably argued Active Partnering proposals. However the Council at all times retains the right to refuse to enter into an Active Partnering agreement. Wherever this is the case, a statement giving the reasons why a partnership has been refused will be issued by the Council.
Where it is not appropriate or desirable to engage in Active Partnering delivery, Cornwall Council will use Community Networks to generate and assess local information from communities that will be used to enhance service delivery to better meet citizen needs.
Further details of the Active Partnering process are given in the appendix to this note. Please discuss your needs with your Community Network Manager.
Key Principles of Active Partnering
The following key principles apply:- Where a service is to be provided on behalf of Cornwall Council, funding will be provided subject to negotiation.
- If a local council wishes to provide a service which is enhanced (i.e. above the Cornwall Council specification) then it must provide funding for this element of the service.
- Local councils will not be required to raise their precept to enter into Active Partnering arrangements, although the may of course do so voluntarily.
- The focus will be on outcomes, not outputs.
- The bar will not be set so high for local councils as to be unreasonable.
- The decision whether or not to devolve additional services will be reviewed annually in service delivery plans.
- Funding arrangements for Active Partnering will be guaranteed for set periods within the lifetime of the agreement, subject to a mechanism to deal with cost fluctuations.
- All Active Partnering arrangements will include exit strategies to take account of significant changes in circumstances.
- Services will be undertaken at the most appropriate level. This will vary with the nature of the service and the capacity and capability of the service provider, which will be reflected in SLAs.
- Local flexibility in agreements will allow service deliverers to respond to local need.
- Service devolution will promote local ownership and accountability by local councils.
- As part of this accountability, if an Active Partnering arrangement is deemed to be failing in its outcomes, Cornwall Council will seek to recover the service funding from the local council.
- Active Partnering agreements must be very clear and ensure that any liabilities are properly understood and addressed through insurance or other arrangements.
Detail of the Active Partnering Process
The Process
The process for developing Active Partnering agreements is outlined below:
Before Applying - Initial Consideration and Discussion
Local councils considering Active Partnering should as a first step study this document and then take a view as to whether entering into an Active Partnering arrangement will help it deliver its vision and aspirations for the local area.
In doing this, local councils might find it helpful to discuss their ideas with the Cornwall Councillor(s) for their area, and then the local Community Network Manager. Some form of wider community consultation may also be worthwhile.
Discussion in the local community network could also be beneficial as it may allow a local council to pick up on good practice from other councils, or to consider ‘clustering’ arrangements.
A local council may also consider contacting the Cornwall Council service involved to obtain an outline of the likely delivery costs and any special requirements that may apply.
If a decision is made to begin the process of setting up an Active Partnering arrangement, the following phased approach may be helpful.
Phase 1 - Risk Assessment
Councils may wish to do a simple risk assessment to ensure that the implications of embarking on an Active Partnering scheme are fully understood. A risk assessment matrix or table is a simple way of examining a potential scheme in terms of its potential benefit and the likely risks or costs in implementing it. Some schemes may be very attractive in terms of the potential benefits that they offer but have serious implementation difficulties. Others may be low value in impact terms but be easy to implement. A risk assessment might be carried out at each stage of developing an Active Partnering scheme in order to take into account new information as it arises.
Advice on risk assessment can be obtained from a number of sources, including your local Community Network Manager.
Phase 2 -Meeting the Criteria
Local councils should work out how their proposals will meet the scheme criteria, which cover five broad areas set out in the following diagram.
In looking at these Cornwall Council will particularly focus on the following factors:
- That the proposed standards and method of delivery meet local needs.
- That the proposal demonstrates value for money and adds value by delivering the service locally.
- That the proposal is financially realistic.
- That the transfer would not disproportionately skew the balance of services across a Parish or community area.
- That the transfer will not adversely affect the overall service to the rest of the Cornwall Council’s area.
- That the service will remain at least cost neutral to Cornwall Council.
- That the transfer will not adversely affect an existing Cornwall Council service contract.
- That the Parish Council has (or plan to have) adequate staff capacity, knowledge and skills to manage the service.
- That the proposing council recognises and plans for the risks and liabilities it may be taking on for the service e.g. staff and insurance.
Cornwall Council provides a Proposal Form for local councils to complete. The Proposal Form concentrates on the outcomes that local councils’ involvement in Active Partnering could have for their community and it may help you to focus on the issues in deciding whether to proceed. Please note that financial details will be necessary for proposals involving delegation of services.
Phase 3 - Evidence of competency
Local councils will have to demonstrate that they are competent to follow the Active Partnering route they have chosen. Therefore they’ll be asked to provide a Competency Statement to support their Proposal Form. This should include evidence, appropriate to the service under consideration, of: