VOLUNTARY SECTOR JOINT LIAISON COMMITTEE

 

 

MINUTES of a meeting held on 7th February, 2007.

 

Present:  Councillor Miss. J. Cole (Chairman); Councillor Ms. L. Burnett (Vice-Chairman); Councillors G.A. Cox, Mrs. V.M. Hartrey, H.J.W. James, Mrs. M. Kelly Owen and M.R. Wilkinson.

 

Representatives of the Voluntary Sector:  Ms. A. Steere (Vale Volunteer Bureau), Ms. H. Powney (Vale of Glamorgan Victim Support), Mrs. G. Reed (Vale CAB), Mrs. R. Connor and M. Reed (Vale Centre for Voluntary Services), Mr. P. Clarke (MIND in Vale of Glamorgan) and Ms. T. Burris (Age Concern).

 

 

766            COUNCILLOR A.J. READMAN -

 

The Chairman made reference to Councillor John Readman, a long serving and valued Member of the Committee who had sadly died earlier in the week.  Members and officers stood in silence as a mark of respect.

 

 

767            APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -

 

These were received from Councillor A.C. Williams and Mrs. Y. Rogers (Barnados Cymru), Ms. L. Nelmes (Penarth Youth Project) and Mr. Bin Sufyan (Muslim Welfare Association).

 

 

768            MINUTES -

 

AGREED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 29th November, 2006 be accepted.

 

 

769            DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -

 

No declarations of interest were received.

 

 

770            VOLUNTARY SECTOR COMPACT (DFICTP) -

 

The terms of the Compact between the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Voluntary Sector provided that it would be fully reviewed and updated every four years, or sooner if there was an agreed need to do so.  It was also within the Compact that the Action Plan would be formally reviewed annually.  The current Compact as endorsed by the Committee and agreed by Cabinet in May 2004 was considered by the Committee with a view to its review in respect of the year 2007/08.  The Compact provided a framework for ongoing collaboration within the broader context of community planning.  It was an agreement built on the principles of integrity, trust and mutual respect.  The Compact focussed on the core principles which underpinned the relationship between the Council and the Voluntary Sector and aimed to strengthen the commitment to agreeing and reviewing targets principally through an annual Action Plan. 

 

AGREED - T H A T the Compact between the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Voluntary Sector be reviewed and a Working Party be convened for this purpose.

 

 

771            VOLUNTARY SECTOR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AND ACTION PLAN: ACTION PLAN PROGRESS REPORT (DFICTP) -

 

An Action Plan for 2006/08 was approved at the meeting of the Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee on 13th September, 2006.  The actions set out in the progress report were considered by the Committee and it was

 

AGREED - T H A T the content and progress of actions contained within the report be noted.

 

 

772            REPORT ON A COMPACT BETWEEN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN COUNCIL, THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN LOCAL HEALTH BOARD, CARDIFF AND VALE NHS TRUST AND THE VALE CENTRE FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICES -

 

Cabinet had considered the above report at its meeting on 5th July, 2006 and had referred it to the Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee and the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) for consultation.  Cabinet had been asked to give approval to the establishment of a Compact between the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services and

 

(a)       the Vale of Glamorgan Council

(b)       the Vale of Glamorgan Local Health Board

(c)        Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust.

 

This matter was considered by the Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee on 13th September, 2006 when it was agreed that James Crinion, Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Strategy Co-ordinator for the Council and Margaret McLaughlin, Voluntary Action Cardiff be requested to make a presentation to a future meeting of the Committee in order that Members could fully understand how this type of Compact might work. 

 

James Crinion indicated that the draft joint Compact between the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services and the Vale of Glamorgan Local Health Board, the Vale of Glamorgan Council and Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust had been based on the original Compact between the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services as this was thought to be good practice and a very efficient way of partnership working.  The aims of a tri-partite Compact were to foster

 

·        effective and transparent communication

·        good practice in participation, consultation and decision making

·        to encourage voluntary action and volunteering

·        to maximise the role of VCVS

·        to develop mechanisms for reviewing statutory and voluntary services.

 

The Compact focussed on

 

·        shared values

·        communication

·        giving attention to

-       communication

-       partnership

-       funding and resources

-       volunteering

·                                            partnership

·                                            funding and resources

·                                            volunteering.

 

The original Compact between the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services representing the Voluntary Sector in the Vale of Glamorgan was launched in July 2000 and revised in 2004.  In view of the success of this Compact it was used as the basis of a joint compact with health partners.  This joint Compact was intended to acknowledge the roles and responsibilities of each partner in contributing to improved community wellbeing.  A key objective of the Community Services Directorate was to promote joint working.  It was thought that the local agreement would make an important contribution to the achievement of the vision of the Community Strategy through the development of a structured relationship between the Vale of Glamorgan Council and health partner agencies.  It would be complimented by measurable Action Plans which related to resources, communication and consultation, policy development, evaluation and monitoring, the Wales Programme for Improvement, volunteering and partnership. 

 

Margaret McLaughlin of Cardiff Voluntary Action indicated that they had a tri-partite Compact which had existed in Cardiff for approximately one year.  Initially there had been a lot of scepticism and some issues were more pertinent to relationships between one or other of the partners than actions which involved all partners of the Compact equally but it had still improved communication overall.  Compact meetings were held four times a year with one annual meeting.  Each partner hosted one of the meetings and an officer’s support group had been formed from within the Voluntary Sector, Cardiff Council, local health representatives and communication between all the partners had been strengthened as a result of the Compact.  In addition, the first Task and Finish Group had been set up in connection with the tri-partite Compact. 

 

Achievements to date of the Cardiff Voluntary Sector Compact with Cardiff Council included

 

·        a move to three year funding arrangements

·        introduction of Grant Net

·        celebrations of volunteers and older people in Cardiff

·        enhanced understanding between the voluntary sector and Cardiff Council.

 

Strong foundations had now been developed and further improvements would be made with regard to joint planning and delivery of services which would in turn lead to stronger communities in Cardiff.  It was indicated that because the original Compact between the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services had worked so well this had been the rationale behind extending the Compact to include other statutory partners. 

 

Members were not sure whether the intention was to have one Compact embracing all partners or the existing Compact and an additional Compact with health partners.  It was unclear whether a new Committee would be needed and what the composition of this Committee would be.  Concern was expressed that if two Compacts existed review and monitoring arrangements of any Action Plans could become quite difficult to manage.  There was a possibility of duplication of effort.

 

The Committee had previously agreed to revise the original Compact for 2007/08 and it was thought that as part of this Review the local health authorities and health board could be consulted with a view to extending the existing Compact instead of developing an entirely new one. 

 

AGREED -

 

(1)       T H A T a single Compact between the Council and the Voluntary Sector be retained.

 

(2)       T H A T as part of the current review of the Compact between the Council and the voluntary sector, the local health authorities and health board be consulted in order to develop a tri-partite agreement based on the existing Compact, and that all areas of service provision contained in the existing Compact continue to be included in any future revised Compact.

 

(3)       T H A T the Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee could continue to be the lead body to oversee the Compact between the Vale of Glamorgan Council, the Voluntary Sector and statutory partners.