The Minister believes that new senior officers with fresh skills, experiences and new perspectives will be vital in creating a successful future for these flagship councils. To ensure that there is a rigorous search for talent for the top post the chief executive must be recruited by open competition by April 2010. It is also expected that the majority of top posts will also to be subject to open competition over a period.

Arrangements are being made to ensure that employees will be protected under TUPE, and all employees of councils which will cease to exist on 1 April 2009 who are in post immediately prior to that date will become employees of the new unitary councils. Those employees will transfer to the new councils onterms and conditions no less favourable than those that applied under their previous employer.

The new unitary councils will be forged out of 35 existing councils and this will provide opportunities for stronger local strategic leadership,innovative arrangements for empowering communities, and an overhaul of local services. Councils expect that annual savings of over 100m pounds will be available to improve front line services or to keep down council tax bills.

The framework agreements will allow GPs, nurses, and health managers to share with their peers the latest developments in their fields and to buy web services and consultancy on how they can improve the way they can communicate better with the public.

Eduserv is a professional organisation with a charitable mission. It develops web services for a range of government organisations and public sector bodies, using its capabilities to realise the benefits of IT for learning and research. The group has a long history of working with the NHS. Around 275,000 NHS professionals use the organisation’s access and identity management service, Athens, to access a series of online information resources of the National Library for Health.

Eduserv is a not-for-profit, professional IT services group with the mission to realise the benefits of IT for learners, researchers and the institutions that serve them. It achieves its charitable mission through the provision of sustainable services and funding research and development.

Establishedi n 2003, the Eduserv Foundation undertakes activities that support the effective application of information and communication technology in education. A number of programmes have been launched since then including: Eduserv Research Grants; Assistive Technology Licences; Tutor Guides for Vocational Education; and Information Literacy initiatives. It has also funded more than six hundred university and college site licences for assistive technology software.

Increasing participation at community level improves local service delivery, raises local accountability and develops cohesive communities. But there is a mismatch between ambitions for governance and the reality of governance for black and minority ethnic women. There are many and varied motivations which lead them to contribute to community life, but frustration and dissatisfaction with the operation of local governance structures is a common reality. There are poor communication channels, hierarchical structures and conflicts of interests between community needs and personal and organisational agendas. The way forward lies in better governance leadership, building inclusive governance, strengthening engagement structures and harnessing motivations.

Government policies for neighbourhood and civil renewal, community cohesion and devolution emphasise participative governance. Local government and other public bodies are increasingly required to develop local partnerships and other structures that enable communities to participate in and influence local decision-making.

Increasing participation at community level improves local service delivery, raises local accountability, empowers communities and develops cohesive communities. It is also vital for reconnecting citizens with the process of government and improving satisfaction with electoral democracy.

This study examined the realities of citizen governance from the perspective of participants living and working within six Birmingham wards, and 50 women from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. BME women refers to Asian women from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds and black women, including black Caribbean and black African.

Motivations and governance

“I realised that I as an individual could represent the less fortunate but also just be a mouthpiece … I think that’s where it all started.” (Councillor)

Although civic involvement had its challenges nearly all participants felt that contributing to civic life was important and envisaged a future within community governance. Participants identified several factors that led to their involvement in governance. Personal aspirations often led to engagement in formal and informal governance structures, including wanting to ‘make a difference’, ‘giving back’ to the community, concern about a specific issue and political ambitions.

Upbringing, cultural background and life experiences often shaped participants’ views of community engagement. A survivor of domestic violence, for example, pursued governance because she believed something positive could come out of her experience. Childhood participation in clubs influenced civic involvement in adulthood. Some participants believed that growing up with a strong sense of community contributed to their later engagement. Participation frequently started through volunteering in the community. As social capital was built, this often led to opportunities to engage in other capacities.

As numerous jobs require engagement with communities this inevitably created opportunities for ongoing involvement within formal and informal governance structures. Working in areas such as social work, health care, youth work, community development, housing and education often led to a desire and opportunity to engage further within community structures.

For a third of participants, their faith was a highly motivating factor that underpinned governance participation. In other cases, participants’ involvement began with a personal invitation from active family members, friends, colleagues or acquaintances.

Barriers to governance

The study found that the culture of citizen participation was often ill aligned with public bodies’ ambitions for local governance. Although participants were committed to involvement, they often expressed frustration and dissatisfaction with the operation of local governance structures. Some preferred informal structures, which were perceived to be more grounded in the community, less bureaucratic and more accessible. Those choosing to participate through formal structures were sometimes viewed as having joined ‘the establishment’ and abandoning their community roots.

Participants highlighted poor communication channels, hierarchical structures and conflicts of interests between community needs and personal and organisational agendas. Some pointed to lack of community confidence in the process of engagement, which was considered to be largely futile.

“There is a process locally that people can engage in, but they feel very cynically that people don’t listen.” (Primary Care Trust member)

General barriers included lack of time, lack of awareness, and practicalities such as the timing of meetings and inadequate childcare facilities. Some participants from faith backgrounds highlighted ideological differences, which limited the scope for faith groups to play a more active role.

BME women’s experience of governance

Nearly all the BME women interviewed displayed a positive attitude towards engagement in governance. A majority believed that they made a difference and aspired to broaden their participation and sphere of influence. Qualities required were felt to be self-confidence, a good education, a strong personality, determination and assertiveness. Almost all the women believed, however, that targeted support was necessary to increase engagement by other women from their communities.
Over three-quarters of the women had experienced prejudice, discriminatory practices and race, gender and faith barriers. The negative attitudes and behaviour of some people leading and participating within governance structures made it harder for the women to fulfil their governance roles, and limited their access to and progression within all types of structures.

“Yes, there is racism! I may wear a headscarf, people think I’m thick or incompetent, or oppressed, or all of these things. It’s people’s stereotypes … you have to work hard to break these down.” (Primary Care Trust member)

Women from both Asian and black backgrounds felt that they suffered from negative stereotyping. Muslim women highlighted negative connotations associated with wearing a headscarf and general anti-Islamic prejudice due to perceived links to terrorism. Even highly educated, experienced participants felt underlying pressure to justify their involvement within governance structures. They felt frustrated at constantly having to try much harder to be heard than their white and male counterparts. Some believed that there was antipathy to confident, outspoken BME women accessing positions of influence and power, and felt that the ‘glass ceiling’ was firmly in place.

Cultural factors impacted on the ability of some Asian women to participate within civic life. More than half felt that engagement in community structures or having political views was at odds with cultural norms, leading to indifference, suspicion and some outright hostility from their communities.

Role of place

Across all wards the correlation between civic engagement and sense of commitment to the area where participants were involved was strong. As participation broadened and deepened, so did the connection to an area.

Similar views were expressed by participants from disadvantaged and affluent wards. Communities were generally perceived to be apathetic towards governance. Residents from affluent wards were more likely to perceive dealing with community issues as being the state’s responsibility, not that of the local community. Governance participation was also seen to be easier for individuals from middle class and certain socio-economic backgrounds and dominated by professionals, elected officials and well-educated people.

While community cohesion and equality were perceived as important, inclusive governance was not considered a reality in many areas. Challenges highlighted included parochialism, neighbourhood polarisation, disproportionate power and influence, and language and communication issues.

“One of the hardest things for people to do is to build relationships between the cultures.” (District Strategic Partnership member)

Leadership challenge

“… there is something about having people who live by a moral code, who work for the good of the community and who can bring about that cohesion.” (Voluntary and community organisation member)

Participants viewed the role of frontline leadership, such as councillors, chairs, appointed officials and community-based leaders, as vital for their communities’ well-being, engaging citizens in local governance and developing effective partnership structures.

The defining components of strong, effective leadership were seen as character, connectedness and competence. Leaders were expected to be of ‘good’ character with high standards of personal conduct, particularly trustworthiness, integrity and honesty. Conduct most likely to cause concern was the appearance of questionable ethics, hidden personal agendas and duplicity.

Being connected to the communities they served was also considered an important aspect of community leadership, whether through residency in the area or having an emotional or spiritual association. Leadership perceived to be driven by officialdom and bureaucrats through impersonal institutional structures inspired less confidence than that by known individuals such as councillors and community leaders.

In addition to technical competences, softer ‘people and communication skills’, particularly the art of listening, were considered most important. These skills were needed to motivate others, resolve conflict and bring together disparate groups.

Conclusion

The study found a mismatch between ambitions for governance and the reality of governance. To address this imbalance the following areas are highlighted.

Governance leadership – strong frontline leadership is vital for increasing trust and widening local governance’s reach and impact. This requires leaders such as councillors, chairs and appointed officials who are empowered and equipped for the task and fully committed to working in partnership with communities. Building confidence also depends on leaders displaying exemplary character and behaviour, maintaining the highest ethical standards and development of strong public accountability structures.

Building inclusive governance – skilled leadership is integral for achieving co-operation by communities and increased representation by all ethnic groups. Priorities include counteracting discrimination, promoting equality and ensuring that the values and principles of inclusive governance are reflected within local structures. Other measures needed are:
* open, honest dialogue to increase understanding of the specific challenges faced by faith groups;
* mentoring programmes and positive role models to support engagement by BME women; and
* appropriate capacity building and training support.

Strengthening engagement structures – a more positive environment with a ‘listening, can-do’ culture is needed to increase community confidence, underpinned by an effective communication strategy. This includes highlighting success stories, providing opportunities to learn about the aims and processes of local governance, timely feedback on consultations, a more focused agenda for meetings, and ensuring that communities’ needs and concerns are taken into account in the planning stages.

Harnessing motivations – people with aspirations and potential to engage in governance exist in all ethnic communities and all types of neighbourhoods. However, different communities face different obstacles, and structures that might be appropriate in one neighbourhood might not be appropriate in another. To ensure that everyone has the equal opportunity to participate, local government and partners need to more clearly identify and challenge the specific barriers existing within their localities and communities.

Governance definition – greater clarity is needed about what encompasses local governance.

About the project

The study explored the reasons for civic engagement, routes taken and the personal challenges faced by participants. It also examined views on governance leadership and barriers preventing wider involvement. The sample included 50 women of black and Asian backgrounds from Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Nearly all were active within formal and/or informal governance structures in the education, regeneration and health sectors. In addition, 60 individuals from three disadvantaged and three affluent Birmingham wards participated, nearly all of whom were active within local structures. Their ethnic backgrounds represented the wards’ demographics.

The consultation programme involved interviews with councillors, council officers holding governance positions, Primary Care Trust members, representatives from Local Strategic Partnerships and other local partnerships, members of neighbourhood forums, and representatives from the voluntary, community and faith sectors.

For further information

The full report, Routes and barriers to citizen governance by Santosh Rai, is published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The Commission called for legislation on equalities targets in race, gender and disability equalities schemes, because only 4.1 per cent of local representatives come from ethnic minority backgrounds . It also proposed that the Equality and Human Rights Commission should work with the bottom 10 per cent of authorities who least reflect their communities supporting initiatives to improve diversity. The LGA has argued that councillor equality targets are the responsibility of political parties and a situation where councils are assessed against targets over which they have no role in controlling or delivering should be avoided.

The Commision also found that younger councillors are becoming a rarity with just 3.5 per cent under 30 and fewer than one in three are women. It called for legislation to limit councillors to serving five consecutive terms and to limit leaders to three consecutive terms. The LGA believes that such a proposal could limit the choice of voters unnecessarily.

The LGA, IDeA and the Leadership Centre for Local Government are committed to working closely with other organisations and the sector as a whole to support other recommendations and to promote good practice and see where suggestions from the Commission can be put in place.

Nine councils will be identified to pilot a number of the Commission’s recommendations. Work will also be carried out to clarify the role and expectations of councillors, to identify and promote how councils can become more relevant to young people and to explore the creation of an independent body to make recommendations on allowances.

The voice risk analysis technology spots changes in a caller’s voice enabling trained operators to decide whether a call is high or low risk and what further action to take. Initial results from the pilots have shown that the risk-ratings made using VRA have been successful. Of the cases rated as high risk, an estimated thirty per cent identified a change that would not otherwise have been recognized.

At the beginning of each call, the characteristics of a customer’s voice frequency are sampled in order to establish a benchmark, taking into account any pre-existing emotions. The benchmark is used during a conversation as a guide for analysing changes in frequency caused by changes in emotions.

Calls are handled by operators trained in questioning techniques and various forms of behavioural analysis which allows them to assess the level of risk in the conversation. In addition, VRA technology is used to support the operator’s analysis. The technology analyses changes in voice frequency and performs thousands of mathematical calculations, resulting in the identification of different categories of emotional content. The patterns associated with these categories allow the technology to identify genuine callers.

The intention behind the technology is to improve customer service by lessening the intrusion and cost of the review process, which currently is postal and visit driven. Claimants assessed as low risk are asked to forward verification of any changes, but they are not subject to any more intense review processes. This approach will allow for those identified as high risk to be subject to further action, such as a home visit or fraud investigation.

Funding has been provided for a further 15 local authority pilot projects to develop the technology.

The research examined the wider impact of interventions on crimes involving violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage. Just 2 per cent of surrounding areas experienced displacement of crime, but 23 per cent benefitted from the interventions. Within these areas the level of displaced crime was 5 per cent, with diffused benefit ranging from 21 to 25 per cent.

The report is available from DCLG. http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/737988.pdf

The ‘Innovation for life Challenge Fund’ will be available to support local councils to develop social enterprise solutions to health and well-being issues and to provide cross-sector solutions to local problems. This might include, for example, the health and housing sectors working together. The aim of the Fund is to find solutions through social enterprises to longstanding problems that have the potential to lead to real social change and improvement in health and well being.

Local partners, under the stewardship of the Health Authorities, will be expected to provide further funding equivalent to 25 per cent of their bid to the Innovation for Life Challenge Fund.

The newly opened round two of the Social Enterprise Investment Fund is now available to support the development of social enterprises in health and social care such as women’s refuges, migraine clinics and exercise programmes for the elderly, which take account of the needs of a wide range of patients and services users, particularly the most vulnerable and excluded.

The Fund is intended to stimulate and encourage the development of a vibrant social enterprise sector in the delivery of health and social care services. It aims to provide start-up funding and longer-term investment to emerging and existing social enterprises in the health and social care sector to promote sustainability. The Fund offers loans, grants and equity investments.

The Office of the Third Sector has appointed Involve, GuideStar and Headshift to form a consortium to carry out research looking at effective and innovative consultation with the third sector. The appointment flows from the 2007 Third Sector Review which highlighted that listening and responding to the views of citizens and communities is a vital part of the policy making process and a thriving democracy.

The research will be England-wide and will cover the whole of the third sector, including voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, co-operatives and mutuals.

Children from the most vulnerable families are five times more likely to struggle with reading and writing, eight times more likely to be suspended, and ten times more likely to get into trouble with the law.

The Programme will involve 15 local areas where disadvantaged families will be offered intensive help and support designed to develop understanding of how best integrated service provision can meet the families need. Each of the areas has successfully bid to lead the way in testing and developing a ground-breaking ‘think family’ approach to help their most vulnerable families.

The ‘Think Family’ approach has been developed by the Cabinet Office’s Social Exclusion Task Force. It aims to ensure that adult and children’s services join up to respond to the needs of whole families. The approach builds on the learning from effective whole family support packages such as Family Intervention Projects. Around 140,000 families in Britain experience 5 or more multiple and complex problems such as worklessness, poor mental health or substance misuse.

Six of the Family Pathfinders will also receive additional funding to deliver services for families with young carers. The aim is to help ensure that children in these families do not have to take on inappropriate caring roles.The 2001 Census indicated there were some 150,000 young carers across England and Wales. Most are aged between 12 and 14 and provide between 1 and 19 hours of care per week but a significant minority, some 16 per cent, were caring for between 20 and 50 hours or more per week.

He highlights the Carbon Reduction Commitment as a legislative component that will mandate councils to manage carbon allowances and make operational adjustments. He also articulates the need to transition away from fossil fuel dependence. And while he welcomes the growing interest in microgeneration technologies, he maintains that the emphasis should primarily focus on improving energy efficiency throughout government, business and among individual citizens.

GovTV is a dedicated web-cast television channel for governors of public bodies, council members and senior executives across all public sector organisations and is available free to an unlimited audience at anytime, at any location via the internet.

The programme can be viewed at GovTV. : http://www.localgov.tv/cgi-bin/details.pl?action=pre&id=394

The principles are designed to move the focus of care on to the user and to challenge current culture and practices. They include ensuring individuals are able to make informed choices to manage their self care needs, communicating effectively so that individuals are able to assess their needs, enabling individuals to access appropriate information to manage their selfcare and supporting them to develop skills in self care. There is also guidance on enabling individuals to use technology to support self care and on accessing support networks and getting involved in developing and evaluating services.

Ann Keen, Minister for Health Services, said: “The vision is of people who use services, empowered with advice, support and information, having choice about the services they want, being able to take more responsibility for their health and their lives and a more active role in managing their own care if this is what they want. The Common Core Principles to Support Self Care provide a vital building block in realising the vision.”