Paper C

The Local Government Act 2000 requires all local authorities to oversee the development of a Community Strategy for their area. At the end of April, the Executive approved a draft for public consultation that is now underway. This report describes how the current draft was produced and confirms the arrangements for ensuring that Select Committees have a full input.

Work began on the community strategy under the Island Futures title early in 2001 with a series of themed meetings. Last March a daylong conference in Cowes confirmed a number of key issues. Working groups were established to explore these further. Each group had a 'champion', some from within the Council and some from other sectors of the Island community. The working groups completed their task in the late summer.

The document before the Committee today was only written after extensive public consultation including 10 road-shows in towns across the Island before Christmas and a more recent arts showcase in Medina High school when young people presented their views about the island's future in a variety of ways. The seven themes reflect the priorities from the formative consultation that were crime and disorder, housing, transport, health and environmental issues.

It is important to remember that the strategy is not another council document. The community strategy sets out the vision or sense of direction for the Island as a whole for the next decade and the council is just one contributor. Other bodies including the economic partnership, the primary care trust, the tourism partnership, housing associations and quality transport partnership have also contributed to the current draft. It is for the council's other plans to detail how it will respond to the community strategy alongside all its other actions and statutory duties.

Other bodies have major roles in achieving the vision for the future and these should be contained in their own separate plans. The government guidance make this partnership approach clear by emphasising that community strategies must be developed through a local strategic partnership (LSP) and with full consultation with the public and other interested bodies. The Council has overseen the creation of the Island Futures partnership to fulfill this role.

The document before the Committee is still very much a draft reflecting the open nature of the consultation process. The public consultation period is now underway concluding on 21 June. We will be seeking formal adoption by the LSP, Council and other partners in July. It is clearly important that the Council's Select Committees have the opportunity to consider the plan in detail before this and comment accordingly. The issue has been included on the agenda's for the forthcoming Awaydays as follows:

Fire and Public Safety	am. 28 May - Ryde Fire Station
Environment and Transport	am. 31 May - Northwood House
Social Services, Housing and Benefits	pm. 6 June - Northwood House
Education, Community Development and Life Long Learning	am 10 June - Ventnor Botanical Gardens
Resources	am. 11 June - Northwood House
Economic Development, Planning Tourism and Leisure Services	am. 25 June - Northwood House

It is hoped that individuals from outside organisations who contributed to the strategy will also be able to attend the meetings

That Chairmen consider the most effective way for Select Committees to give initial consideration to the draft Community Strategy during their Awaydays and how the future monitoring of the Council's contributions towards the strategy's success should be carried out within the Select Committees future work plans.

Preparing Community Strategies - Government guidance to local authorities - December 2000