POLICY PROFILE

A Camden Black and Minority Ethnic Alliance, Policy Publication

Camden's Local Area Agreement 2006-09

Summary

This briefing paper summarises Camden's local area agreement (LAA) 2006-09 and sets out the implications, of this, for Camden's black and minority ethnic (BME) voluntary and community sector (VCS). CBMEA has previously published a detailed five part series of briefings on the LAA framework. As such, the fundamentals of LAA are not covered again here. The main messages, contained in this paper, are set out below.

 Camden's LAA was agreed on 1 April 2006 and focuses on four priority areas: children & young people, healthier communities & older people, economic development & enterprise and safer & stronger communities

 The agreement, which aims to tackle inequalities and promote social cohesion, focuses on generic outcomes - with some specific targets for BMEs

 The total LAA funding allocation for 2006-07 is £9m, a further £8.4m is available in 2007-08, whilst a two year 'Innovation Fund' worth £500,000 is also available

 The delivery of Camden's LAA will be through commissioned services (not grant bidding)

Background and Context

In June of 2005, following the first round launch, Government announced that LAAs would be rolled out to a further 66 areas. It was also announced that Camden was amongst the 66 areas invited to participate in the second phase. Following a period of consultation and negotiation, Camden's LAA became effective on 1 April 2006. The agreement is built upon the four national priority areas of children & young people, healthier communities & older people, safer & stronger communities and economic development & enterprise. Details of specific elements of the final agreement are set out under the sub headers below.

Priority outcomes

The two overarching strategic priorities, of Camden's agreement, are: tackling inequality & building social cohesion. Meanwhile, in each of the four priority blocks, there are number of subsidiary outcomes focusing on the specific impacts or improvements that are sought from the LAA. For example, children & young people focuses on: educational attainment (specific targets for Bangladeshi's & Caribbean pupils), school attendance, health improvement, community safety and support for lone parents. Meanwhile, safer communities focuses on: crime reductions, fear of crime, youth offending and anti-social behaviour. Of the other priority blocks, economic development & enterprise focuses on: employment for the most disadvantaged, basic skills & increasing entrepreneurial activity (specific target for BMEs), whilst healthier communities & older people focuses on: teenage conception, preventable illness, obesity and sexual health.

The 'stronger communities' sub strand

Given the community development role of VCOs, the sector has taken a very direct role in the development of the stronger communities sub strand. Outcomes covered in the stronger communities sub strand focus on: community empowerment, promoting & sustaining social cohesion (specific target for BMEs) , social inclusion (specific target for BMEs) and improving quality of life in the most deprived areas. A total of just over £1m has been set aside to deliver 'stronger' outcomes in 2006-07.

Funding

A total of just over £9m is being made available for the delivery of Camden's LAA in 2006-07, with a further £8.4m available for 2007-08. This funding covers four grant pots. Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Safer & Stronger Communities Fund, Choosing Health and Local Public Service Agreement pump priming grant (ring fenced for the children and young peoples block). Following the ending of Community Chest funding, Camden has also established an 'Innovation Fund', worth £500,000 over two years. As part of this VCOs can apply for grants (from £5,000) to deliver innovative local projects.

Commissioning arrangements

The decision has been taken to establish a commissioning process, which means that specific services will be contracted, from providers, in accordance with specific local needs. To facilitate the commissioning process, five panels have been set up to oversee the amount allocated to each priority block (two panels for safer & stronger communities). The VCS is represented on each of the five panels.

Freedoms and flexibilities

Freedoms and flexibilities are relaxations (or removals) of statutory controls or requirements. A number of generic freedoms and flexibilities have been requested, by Camden, to support the delivery of the LAA. No specific freedoms are being requested that directly relate to improved outcomes for the BME community or to facilitate engagement of the BME VCS.

Implications for CBMEA Members

The impact of LAA upon Camden's BME community cannot be underestimated. It seems clear that the LAA model will be the way forward in terms of how public funds are managed in a partnership context. As such and over time CBMEA members can expect to see additional funding pots subsumed into the LAA framework. In light of this the BME community need to ensure that LAA focuses appropriately (both in terms of resources and effort) on addressing key priorities for the BME community such as tackling inequalities, reducing social exclusion and promoting social cohesion. Set out below is a summary of relevant BME specific issues.

Compliance with statute

The development of Camden's LAA is subject to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Specifically, through the agreement, Camden must seek to promote racial equality. The commitment to promoting racial equality is both explicit and implicit in the agreement. Fundamentally however, BME organisations have a key role to play in ensuring that commitment is realised in practice, through the allocation of resources, commissioning of services and direction of effort.

Commissioning and funding arrangements

Arrangements for the commissioning of LAA interventions have already been set out in this briefing. As it stands it is not known whether an equality impact assessment has been undertaken to assess the impact of Camden's LAA commissioning principles on BME communities. This needs to be explored to ensure that the manner in which services are commissioned provide every opportunity for BME organisations to actively participate. CBMEA members should be aware that they are also able to apply to the LAA 'Innovation Fund' with project proposals.

Stronger partnership

Alongside its VCS colleagues, CBMEA is leading an effort to establish a 'stronger partnership.' Currently, the 'stronger communities' is distinct in that it is the only LAA block (or sub block) without a strategic partnership able to provide direction and to which their is accountability. The view of CBMEA is that the absence of such a partnership is detrimental to the delivery of 'stronger' outcomes and prevents the VCS from playing and active role in strategic oversight of the 'stronger communities' sub strand.

Wider impact on VCS funding

As it stands VCS grant aid remains a separate fund and is not part of the LAA. However, CBMEA members may need to consider that in future grant aid may be aligned to the LAA through the development of a common outcomes framework. Such an arrangement is different from pooling (subsuming) grant aid into the LAA pot. In the event it would be to the advantage of CBMEA members if they fully understood LAA priorities and how their activity contributes to their achievement.

Support for CBMEA Members

This briefing note emphasises the importance of local area agreement to both the BME community and BME VCS. As a member of Camden's LAA Steering Group, CBMEA will continue to provide the best possible advice and support to our members. In particular we will:

 Provide further updates and briefings, assess implications and offer advice to mitigate potentially negative impacts

 Establish whether an equality impact assessment of the commissioning principles for Camden's LAA has been undertaken (if so we will advise members of its findings - if not, we will ask that an urgent assessment is carried out)

 Determine the likely direction of the VCS grant aid review, as it relates to Camden's LAA, and disseminate findings to members

Contacts

This policy briefing was prepared by:
Monica Olusola, Director of Camden BME Alliance (CBMEA)

For further information about this briefing, in particular, or CBMEA in general, our details are as follows:

Address:
44 Hampstead Road
London NW1 2PY

Tel: 020 7388 6030
Fax: 020 7388 6040

Email: director@cbmea.org.uk
Website: www.camdenbmealliance.org.uk

Sources

The following source documentation was used in the preparation of this briefing

1. Local Area Agreement for the London Borough of Camden 2006-09 - London Borough of

Revised on 17 Apr 2007