With the general electionnow only months awayour attention is turningto issues that mattermost to voluntary andcommunity organisationsand the communitieswe support.

We know many people arefinding life difficult in the currenteconomic climate and some ofthe most vulnerable have been hithard by the policies designed totackle recession and the deficit.

Around the country manyvoluntary and communityorganisations are struggling too.

We face an increasinglychallenging funding environmentcoupled with an increasingdemand for our services fromservice users, funders andpartners. Commissioning which isslowly replacing grants has beendifficult for some and we arebeing called upon more andmore to help shape new servicesand ways of working.

The Social Council willcontinue to support organisationsfacing difficulties whilst workingto ensure policy makers areaware of the pressures we face.

AUTUMN 2014

ELECTION YEARwhat matters to us

The UK goes to the polls on 7 May 2015. We want to know what issues matter to you

We will be launching acampaign through which wehope to reinforce the value ofthe sector and there will beplenty of opportunities for youto join in. We will be running aseries of engagement activities,both online and face to faceand with your input we aim todevelop a manifesto for thelocal voluntary and communitysector. We want to ensure thatsafeguarding the sector and thevaluable work we do is an issue

In the run up to the election in May we need to know whatissues matter most to you

which is addressed by localcandidates and features as akey theme in local debates.

As in the run up to the lastgeneral election in 2010, wewill invite local candidates toa special voluntary sectorhustings where we can judgewho will best represent ourinterests.

We hope you will work withus to ensure our voice is heard.This campaign will need yoursupport to make it a success.

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Welcome to the latest edition of LINKIt has been a very busy summer for the SocialCouncil and now that autumn has arrived wecan begin to think about and plan for 2015.

We can almost certainly assume that the first half of the year will be dominatedby the General Election. This is why we are now in the first stages of developing ourvoluntary sector manifesto. Our new Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer AminaKhatun draws our attention to this on the front page. There will be lots to discusswith the sector in developing the Manifesto and I hope you will work with us in thecoming months.

The Social Council has for many years supported local organisations deliveringservices funded by public health and in more recent times we have builtrelationships with the West London Clinical Commissioning Group for whom weare administering a grants programme this year.

The voluntary and community sector has played an important role in deliveringpreventative health services. Now, there is growing recognition amongst our colleagues in statutory healththat the sector can contribute to a more holistic approach centred on the individual. An approach thatfocuses on keeping people well and active and feeling good about themselves.

This development is explored in greater detail on pages 6-7 by Barbara Shelton who will sadly beleaving the Social Council at the end of November. I wish her all the success as she returns to Brazil.

There is lots more to read in Link including an interview with Angela McConville the CEO of WestwayTrust and a roundup of our work and highlights from the sector.

I hope you enjoy this edition and as always, please give us feedback so that we can continue todeliver a quality newsletter.

E D I T O R I A L

KENSINGTON & CHELSEASOCIAL COUNCIL

London Lighthouse,111-117 Lancaster Rd, London W11 1QT

020 7243 9800info@kcsc.org.uk www.kcsc.org.ukCharity no 1087457 Limited company no. 4146375

Kensington & Chelsea Social Council (KCSC)works to support locally focused voluntary andcommunity organisations serving local residents.

The views expressed in Link are not necessarily those of KCSC.

C O N TA C T U S Business&Community TogetherThe Kensington & Chelsea Foundation and VolunteerCentre Kensington & Chelsea launched Business &Community Together (BCT), a programme offeringbusinesses a range of employee volunteering opportunitiesand flexible, tailored corporate responsibility services thatbenefit businesses, local charities and community groups.

Businesses like the idea of focusing locally but don’tknow where to start.

BCT makes connections and nurtures relationshipsmaking it easier for businesses, whilst creating sustainablerelationships that address local issues.

Recently 20Wowcheremployeestransformed thegarden atmental healthcharity SMARTand WholeFoods raisedfunds to buildan EdibleTeachingGarden,Holland Park.

More info: Jaq Cameron – Corporate Engagement 07415 546146jcameron@thekandcfoundation.com and 020 7229 5499

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Angela Spence 020 7243 9803Chief Executive Officer angela@kcsc.org.uk

Amina Khatun 020 7243 9809Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer amina@kcsc.org.uk.

Barbara Shelton 020 7243 9809Wellbeing Development Officer barbara@kcsc.org.uk

Brenda Nambooze 020 7243 9807Development Officer brenda@kcsc.org.uk

Kuldip Bajwa 020 7243 9805Information & Communications Officer kuldip@kcsc.org.uk

Mohammed Miah Development Officer – 020 7243 9808Partnership and Forums mohammed@kcsc.org.uk

Siobhan Sollis 020 7243 9802Head of Organisational Development siobhan@kcsc.org.uk

Sylvia Nissim 020 7243 9800Office and Events Administrator sylvia@kcsc.org.uk

Attendees at the BCT launch in October 2014

Angela Spence

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Money Advice Fair

SE C T O R N EW S

The ClementJames Centrenamed Charity of the Year

The ClementJames Centre were recognised for being ‘work-focused,innovative and highly impactful’

The Big Energy Saving Week stall was one of many offering free advice to helppeople make more of their money

The ClementJames Centre based in NorthKensington has been named Charity Times Charityof the Year with an income of less than £1million.

The Charity Times Awards are a prestigiousannual honour which recognised ClementJamesfor being “work-focused, innovative and highlyimpactful”. ClementJames deliver a roundedprogramme of education, employment and pastoralsupport that provides opportunities to enable over1,800 local people each year to achieve theirpotential.

In another Award success IntoUniversity washighly commended in the category for Charity of theYear: with an income of £1 million – £5 million.

IntoUniversity began as a pilot programme by theClementJames Centre but is now established as aseparate charity. It provides local learning centres,including one in North Kensington, where it supportsyoung people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

More info: www.clementjames.org www.intouniversirty.org

More info: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/kensingtoncab

The Citizens AdviceBureau (CAB) teams fromKensington and Chelsea,Westminster andHammersmith andFulham teamed up todeliver a free MoneyAdvice Fair for localresidents on 22 October.

They were joined by 16other agencies to provideafternoon of financialadvice and expertise tolocal residents.

The Fair was foranyone who hadparticular concerns overaspects of their financesor those who just wantedto make more of theirmoney.

The CAB celebrates75 years of supportingcommunities this year.Tri-borough CAB teamsexpressed their thanks toRBKC for financiallysupporting the fair.

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Right to request flexible workingextended to all employeesSince 30 June 2014 all employees, with 26 weekscontinuous service, had a statutory right to requestchanges to their working pattern of days or hours tosuit their needs (known as “requesting flexibleworking”).

Previously, this right only applied to employeeswith certain family responsibilities. Employer must dealwith any requests, which need to be made in writing,in a reasonable manner and give them seriousconsideration.

If a request is rejected for a justifiable businessreason the employee has the right to appeal. Thewhole decision making process must not take morethan 3 months and changes can be temporary orsubject to a trial period.

ACAS has produced a Statutory Code of Practicewhich employers must follow and additional Guidanceto help with tricky issues such as receivingsimultaneous requests.

More info: bit.ly/1rxlAGk

New family friendly paternal leavearrangementsA big shake-up in entitlements to leave and pay inconnection with maternity and adoption is planned forbabies due, or a child adopted, on or after 5th April2015 when Shared Parental Leave and Pay (SPLP) isintroduced as another option for parents.

If a mother or main adopter decides to end theirstatutory Maternity/Adoption Leave and Pay early, thenthe changes will allow parents far more flexibility in howthey share the remaining leave and pay available.Although a mother must take a minimum of two weeksMaternity Leave and Pay after the birth, this newlegislation would allow the sharing of the remaining 50weeks of statutory leave and 37 weeks of statutory pay.

Parents could take leave at the same time, in turns,or take the leave in up to three blocks, returning towork in between.

In most part only eight weeks notice is requiredand the notice/declaration requirements arecomplicated. Good planning and communicationbetween employer and employee will be needed.

Also, from April 2015, the right to unpaid parentalleave of up to 18 weeks, will be extended from parentsof children under five to those with children under 18.

More info: bit.ly/1zerbKE

Pension auto-enrolmentOver the next few years all employers, no matter howsmall, will have to provide a suitable workplace pensionand automatically place qualifying employees into thescheme (known as “auto-enrolment”).

When your organisation must start doing this (knownas a “staging date”) depends on how many people youhave on the payroll. Staging dates for employers withless than 50 employees start between August 2015 andApril 2017.

Employers must enroll any employee aged between22 and the State pension age, who is earning more than£10,000 per annum (2014/15 figure), unless theemployees chooses to opt out.

If the employee doesn’t opt out, both the employerand employee will make contributions into the pensionscheme. The employer’s contribution can rise to 3% ofthe employee’s earnings.

E M P LO Y M E N T

There have been a number of recent changes regarding employee’ swill affect organisations that have paid workers. Here HR expert Coverv iew of some of the new legislation that employers will need to

Getting up to speedwi

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Organisations are advised to start budgeting andplanning for the change at least 12 months in advanceof their staging date.

The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) hasbeen set up by the Government as an option for employerswho don’t have an existing qualifying pension scheme.

More info: www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employerswww.nestpensions.org.uk

ACAS Early Conciliation ServiceSince July 2013, the number of claims made toEmployment Tribunals (ET) has reduced dramaticallyby 80%. This is mainly due to the introduction of fees,which employees have to pay before lodging a claim.

The new ACAS Early Conciliation service, is alsohelping to resolve workplace disputes without theneed for an ET claim.

Since May 2014, an employee must contact theACAS Early Conciliation Service before an ET claimcan be submitted. An ACAS officer will ask theemployee first if they want ACAS’s help to try to settletheir dispute and if so, ACAS will contact the employer.

Early figures show that more than 90% ofemployees and employers accept ACAS’s offer ofhelp. If either party does not want to settle or asettlement cannot be reached within 4-6 weeks thenthe employee can continue to lodge an ET claim.

More info: bit.ly/1zerbKE

An end to exclusive zero hourscontracts plannedResearch has shown that three times as many peopleare working now on “zero hour” contracts than in 2010and many small voluntary organisations employworkers they would describe in this way.

In fact, the term doesn’t have any legal meaningbut is generally used to describe an arrangementwhere a worker has no contractually guaranteedhours. Status can be unclear, and depending on thefacts of the situation, some workers may have rightsas employees.

These arrangements can provide flexibility to boththe employer and the worker but there is concern thatmany workers aren’t clear about their employment

N T S U P P O R T

e’ s rights or HR procedures thatt Caroline Jepson provides and to take on board.

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with employment law

FURTHER SUPPORT

ACAS (Advisory Conciliation and ArbitrationService) send out regular legal news and alerts.Sign up at https://obs.acas.org.uk/subscription

If you need information or advice about aparticular HR matter, telephone the free ACAS

helpline, 0300 123 1100 or visit

www.acas.org.uk

rights and are sometimes prevented from working forother organisations.

The Government will be making legal changes tostop “exclusivity clauses” which prevent zero hourworkers from taking on work with other employers.

If your organisation has zero hour workers, checkthat you are clear about their status, legal rights anddocumentation.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment has published “Zero-hours contracts:understanding the Law” which can be downloadedfrom their website.

More info: www.cipd.co.uk

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The aim of Integrated Care is to co-ordinate care moreeffectively around the needs of patients by bringingtogether health and social care services. The principlebehind this ‘person-centred’ approach is that it shouldbe able to meet the care needs of our populationthrough better coordination of services, whilstreducing the costs associated with a fragmentedhealthcare system.

Integrated care is also intended to tackleinequalities in health and this means that the NHS has

to work closely with government departments andother local partners.

As we know only too well, health inequalities are notgenerated exclusively by differences in income but arealso influenced by other factors such as housing,education and geography – the ‘wider socialdeterminants of health’.

In fact, it is estimated that only 15-20% ofinequalities in mortality rates can be directly influencedby health interventions that prevent or reduce risk.

THE CHANGING LANmaking integrate

I N F L U E N C I N G

Delivering integrated care is currently the number one healthpolicy priority. On these pages we explain what is meant byintegrated care, the reason it features so highly on the healthpolicy agenda and what it means for the voluntary andcommunity sector.

What is behind the drive to integrate care?The push to develop new, more efficient waysof working is partly motivated by a need tomake efficiency savings at a time ofunprecedented financial pressure on thepublic sector.

London council’s face an Adult SocialCare funding gap of £907 million by 2018 andnationally the shortfall is expected to reach£4.7 billion by the end of the decadeaccording to projections from the LocalGovernment Association.

Despite assurance that the NHS budgetwould be protected and its services remainfree at the point of use, funding from the NHSis being used to cover the gap in social carefunding.

For example, from 2015-16 localauthorities and clinical commissioning groupswill decide together how to spend the £3.8billion Better Care Fund on health and socialcare. However, funds are expected to be

transferred from the wider NHS budget.Another reason for the move towards

integrated care is the added pressure on thesystem caused by changing demographics.

Despite an increasing birth rate over thelast decade, overall our population is ageing,both in terms of the average age and in termsof the number of older people. For the firsttime in history we have more pensioners thanunder 16s.

We are also seeing a significant increasein the number of people living with long termconditions. An estimated 15 million inEngland are living with conditions such asheart disease, diabetes and hypertensionwith a greater prevalence amongst olderpeople and within deprived groups.According to the Department of Health, ratesamongst poorer people are 60% higher andseverity rates are 30% higher than in thoseconsidered rich.

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NDSCAPE OF CAREted care a reality

N G C H A N G E

How will integratedcare being implemented?It is worth remembering that integrationof health and social care is not an entirelynew initiative. It has been on the agendaof successive governments for a longtime and it means different things todifferent people.

Within this complex scenario,implementation of a ‘whole systems’approach can take a variety of forms.While the overall aim of integration is toimprove user experience, it can befocused in different ways depending onlocal circumstances, for example, onwhole communities or populations,on specific age groups or targetingpeople with specific conditions.

In North West London integrated care has developedinto Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC) through apartnership that covers 8 boroughs and 2 millionpeople. It builds on existing work developed from beingone of fourteen national Whole Systems Pioneers.

The programme aims to improve the quality andexperience of care for patients and service users, savemoney across the local health and social care system,and enhance professional experience by helping peoplein health and social care work more effectively together.

The partnership involves all Clinical CommissioningGroups (CCGs) and local authorities, health serviceproviders, the voluntary and community sector, andpatient and user-led organisations.

Currently the programme is implementing ‘EarlyAdopter’ projects to model integrated care. The WestLondon CCG is focusing on two population groups:people aged over 75 and people with mentalhealth needs.

What does this mean for thevoluntary and community sector?The voluntary and community sector has a long historyof running preventative services. In other words, ourorganisations provide a wide range of activities that aimto keep people active and well, and crucially,empowering them to take control of their health andwellbeing and helping them make informed choices.

For example, if an organisation runs an older

people’s befriending scheme it can directly addressissues of social isolation but it can also result in fewervisits to the GP as a result of improved wellbeing.

Or if black and minority ethnic (BME) organisationsprovide sessions to their communities on how tomanage diabetes, the likelihood is that they will makefewer visits to accident and emergency departments asa result of being better informed and feeling moreconfident.

These are only two of many examples of theadded value that the voluntary and community sectorcan bring.

For the system to work effectively a number of thingsmust happen. We need to implement ways to measurethe social impact of our services and this ‘social impact’must be translated into costs. This will allow us todemonstrate the savings our work can contribute to thehealthcare system.

In addition, although many voluntary and communityorganisations deliver their own services, we can achievea greater impact by influencing public sectorprofessionals to do things differently.

We need to influence commissioners in thehealthcare system to incorporate preventative servicesas part of their prescribing mechanisms, as is the casewith clinical services and medicines.

A truly collaborative approach is the only way tomake the whole-systems processes and structures workin these challenging times.

More info: http://integration.healthiernorthwestlondon.nhs.uk

The St Charles Centre for Health and Wellbeing in North Kensington is already usingvoluntary sector service providers to help deliver integrated care

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What motivated Westway todevelop a new strategy?The Westway Trust trustees felt arenewed optimism with a new teamin place and on a wider level, risingconfidence across London fordevelopment. There was a sensethat the Trusthad beenbusydeliveringservices andsupportinglots ofworthwhileprojects, but that it hadn’t trulyevaluated the impact it wasmaking, or got a strong enoughsense of what it’s long term goalswere. We wanted to set out ouraspirations for the impact the Trustcould make on the lives ofindividuals and families inKensington & Chelsea over thenext 15 years.

There was also frustration if I’mhonest that the pace ofdevelopment across our estatewasn’t what they wanted. Thetrustees were eager to develop aplan that took a long-term view andsought to create real value for thecommunity and the Trust into thefuture.

So what is the new vision?The new vision sees the Trustfocusing its impact in two keyareas of need – poor health andeconomic disadvantage. Webelieve the best way we can dothis is to create a series of fantasticdestinations across our estate thatpromote health, fitness, culture,employment and enterprise. The 23acres of land we hold in the Trustfor the community is our biggestopportunity. We want to be afabulous place-maker and a greatestate manager, so that we can

create safe, green, vibrant andwelcoming places where localpeople, artists, businesses andcommunity groups can thrive.

How can you ensure yourplans meet the needs oflocal communities?We spent a long time researchingthe needs of the local community –using research data, consulting withour partners and drawing on ourown work with community groupsand local people. We took theapproach that by trulyunderstanding local needs wewould create a strategy that bestserved the community and enableus to make the greatest impact.

We are establishing a SocialImpact Partnership Board to ensurethat our work is communicated toand shaped by local people andexperts in the sphere of socialimpact.

How will the Trust ensure it’sroots in the social activismof the 70s is not forgotten?My team and I are acutely aware ofthe Trust’s powerful history and thereason why it came into existence.It inspires and motivates us. Wewant to continue to celebrate thediversity and vibrancy of this veryspecial community and to ensurethat our future plans are informedby the rich cultural heritage that wehave. As an example, through ourWestway Presents... programmewe are currently co-sponsoring anexhibition called ‘Orphans’ that ison display at Acklam Village. Theexhibition hauntingly spotlights theindividuals who were present in theold archival photographsdocumenting the building of theWestway. When the exhibitionopened we hosted an event, which

brought together local historians,activists and artists with the widercommunity to celebrate andremember the founding spirit of theWestway Trust.

How can the local voluntarysector help you realiseyour vision?We cannot realise our vision for athriving, safe, happy, healthycommunity without the partnershipof the local VCS. We believe thatpartnerships with enterprisinginnovative communityorganisations will be key to how weoperate as we seek to deliver onour commitment to helping peoplein the future. We expect to buildmore partnerships over the nextfive years. We do however need tooperate differently to how we mighthave done previously. There will bea greater emphasis on impactthrough our partnerships and inleverage. We want to move awayfrom more traditional models ofgrant making to greatercooperation, co-funding and co-designing of solutions that work forour community.

What about the provision ofvoluntary sector space?The Trust is committed to theprovision of new spaces andfacilities for the third sector. Wemade this commitment in ourestate master plan a number ofyears ago. The ‘Maxilla’ zone isdesignated for community use inplanning terms and it is there thatwe envisage the greatestopportunity for us to realise world-class facilities for the community.

We are currently in discussionswith the Royal Borough, to see howwe might best cooperate in thedevelopment of new community

Angela McConville joined the Westway Trust last yeaChief Executive. Since then she has busy leading on tof a new strategy to guide the work of the Trust overShe kindly agreed to speak to us about Westway’s pla

S P O T L I G H T

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space. We are hoping to kick-startthis work by commissioning astudy, in cooperation with theSocial Council and RBKC thatunderstands the space needs ofthe third sector in the Boroughtoday and into the future.

What about Westway’s owncharitable activities?Being an asset holding charity isa huge privilege and we neverlose sight of our charitablepurpose; in fact it informs everydecision we make – be theytrading or programming decisions.We are currently in the processof updating our governingconstitution so that we can makeeven more explicit our charitableobjects and that which westand for.

We are hugely committed toeducation, to providing facilitiesthat promote and enable sport andrecreation, to maintaining andimproving public amenity and tothe advancement of health.

We are adding additionalobjects that will allow us toundertake work in areas such asthe advancement of the arts,culture and heritage as well asenvironmental protection and thepromotion of urban regeneration.

Any final thoughts orcomments?I would like to thank the greatmany people who have made mefeel very welcome and part of thecommunity so quickly in my firstyear with the Westway Trust, inparticular the many fantasticvoluntary and communityorganisations who have workedsuccessfully with the Trust in thepast and who I’m excited to workwith into the future.

Promoting healthylifestyles in GolborneTri-borough Public Healthwill be launching a pilotproject in Golborne, NorthKensington to promotehealthy lifestyles amongstchildren and families.

Golborne is one of themost deprived wards in thewhole of London. Children and families living in deprived areas canstruggle to eat well, keep active and maintain a healthy weight.

The project aims to help make healthy choices easier for childrenand families in all settings in which they live, learn and play. This willinclude a range of activities across the community to encouragehealthy eating, being active and promoting consistent messagesabout healthy lifestyles.

There is strong evidence to suggest that community basedinterventions can be effective in promoting healthy lifestyles and ifsuccessful the project may be rolled out to other boroughs.

The project will work closely with local stakeholders and gatherthe views of local children and parents to develop an action plan.

More info: Ellie Lewis, Tri-borough Public Health elewis@westminster.gov.uk

Shisha awareness workshops for young peopleCtrl-Z, the youth side of Kick-It Stop Smoking Service iscurrently visiting youth provision in the tri-borough area torun workshops on the harmful health effects of Shisha.

The workshops use innovative engagement resourcesincluding a replica shisha model and animation. They lookat common misconceptions young people have aboutshisha, often thinking it’s better than smoking cigaretteswhen in reality it’s just as bad or in some cases worse.

Ctrl-Z also provide information about the harmful effects of smoking.They have a range of resources including an exciting interactive gamecalled ‘Operation Smoke Storm’ which uses video clips and quizzes tocommunicate the message to young people.

If your organisation is interested in either of the above please getin touch directly with Ctrl-Z.

More info: Jenavi Omoma jenavi.omoma@kick-it.org.uk www.ctrl-z.org.uk

WLCCG Patient and Public Engagement GrantsIn September theSocial Councilwas re-commissionedby West LondonClinicalCommissioningGroup to runa second yearof the patient

and public engagement grants programme for the voluntary andcommunity sector in 2014 -15.

The successful applicants were:Kensington & Chelsea Forum for Older Residents, Midaye SomaliDevelopment, The Passage, Venture Community Association and HearWomen (pictured).

B U Z Z W O R D S

ear as its newn the developmenter the next 15 years.plans.

H E A LT H

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We had a busy summer here at the Social CouS O C I A L C O U N C I

Voluntary Organisations Forumround-upThe Voluntary Organisations Forums (VOF) have beenbringing together voluntary and community organisationsin the Royal Borough to share information and discussthe key issues facing the local sector and community.Here is a snapshot of the main themes covered over thelast quarter.

The Children, Young People and Families VOFhad a focus on Youth and Play Services Commissioning.Challenging questions were posed to Commissioners,and discussions ensued around the impact on childrenand families of term time and holiday play services beingoutsourced to schools..

Public health has been a hot topic at the Health andWellbeing VOF. The last meeting discussed a newproject to tackle childhood obesity in Golborne, the set-up of a panel to support people at risk of hoarding, anda whole systems approach to providing care for olderpeople.

The Main VOF provided an opportunity formembers to learn about Westway Trust’s strategic planfor the next 15 years and how it will affect localresidents and VCOs.

More info: www.kcsc.org.uk/networks-forums

Safer Neighbourhoods BoardThe newly established Safer Neighbourhoods Board hasbeen meeting quarterly since April to update andengage with the public on local policing and safetyissues. The Board has 25 members representingdifferent areas and interest groups, and includes thePolice Borough Commander, Chief Community SafetyOfficer and cabinet member for Community Safety.

The meetings are open to the public and usuallyconsist of presentations, reports and feedback fromagencies involved in policing, crime and communitysafety, followed by questions, comments and discussionwith the public.

As well as discussions around policing andcommunity safety, there have also been presentations onpolicing and community safety priorities in Kensington &Chelsea for 2015 and a recent peer review on endingyouth and gang violence.

The Board has also engaged the public in the run upto and following the 2014 Notting Hill Carnival. A pre andpost Carnival meeting gave local residents andstakeholders the opportunity to forward questions,comments and concerns regarding Carnival to a panelrepresenting the council, police and carnival organisers.

More info: www.kcsc.org.uk/network-forum/snb

Get on Boarddraws toa closeThe Get on Boardtrustee and governancesupport project iscoming to an end. It wasa project delivered with support from Volunteer CentreKensington and Chelsea and was funded by CityBridge Trust for three years.

The project has worked with 455 prospectivetrustees of which it has placed nearly 100 with localorganisations. It has run a number of recruitmentevents, training and conferences for new trustees andsenior workers.

Most recently, the Get on Board Trustee and SeniorWorkers Conference held in September attracted 48attendees who discussed topics including takinghealthy risks, employment law and building moreeffective and engaged boards.

The project will soon be publishing the results of itsevaluation and the Social Council are planning thefuture provision of governance support.

If you would like to share your views on the projectplease get in touch.

More info: siobhan@kcsc.org.uk www.kcsc.org.uk/get-on-board

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Earl’s Court and Chelsea ForumThe Earl’s Court and Chelsea Forum met for the firsttime in nearly a year in October 2014.

The Forum is intended to bring together voluntaryand community organisations in the south of theborough, providing a space for them to network anddiscuss issues that are relevant to them.

The October meeting at Chelsea Theatre featured apresentation on NHS plans for Whole SystemsIntegrated Care for the over 75s and discussed plans toopen an older peoples health centre hub in the South ofthe borough in the near future.

All attendees agreed that the Forum could play animportant role in bringing together groups in the southof the borough and committed to holding quarterlymeetings.

The next Earl’s Court and Chelsea Forumwill be held in Earl’s Court on

Thursday 29 January.

More info: mohammed@kcsc.org.uk www.kcsc.org.uk/ecc-forum

Poverty Watch becomes theKensington and Chelsea Povertyand Inequality NetworkIn late October the Poverty Watch group wasrelaunched and given a new name to more accuratelyreflect the work it will be doing.

The project has received two years funding fromTrust for London which means the Social Councilhas been able to appoint a new Senior Policy andCampaigns Officer, Amina Khatun, to overseethe work.

One of the first tasks of the new Poverty andInequality Network will be to decide on a relevantsubject area on which it will conduct in depthresearch study.

Key decisions on the research themes took placeat the October meeting.

The research is intended to provide policyrecommendations, as well as evidence for possiblefuture campaigning activity.

If you would like to find out more about the workof the K&C Poverty and Inequality Network pleaseget in touch.

More info: Amina Khatun amina@kcsc.org.uk 020 7243 9809www.kcsc.org.uk/kc-pin

ouncil, here is a round-up of some of our workC I L R O U N D - U P

Compact Implementation Groupworks to define Social ValueThe Social Council is part of the borough’s CompactImplementation Group (CIG) which is working to clarifywhat ‘Social Value’ means in Kensington and Chelsea.

Broadly the term defines the added benefit that iscreated beyond the benefit of merely procured orcommissioned services themselves. In 2013 the SocialValue Act asked that public authorities like the counciland health authorities consider social value whenawarding public service contracts.

The CIG which brings together the voluntary sectorand statutory officers from the council and healthservices addressed the issue at a special breakfastbriefing in July 2014.

The meeting accepted that the meaning of socialvalue is likely to be contested but acknowledged it wasimportant to capture the social value the sector alreadycreates. Attendees also argued that applying the socialvalue measure should be considered for allprocurement activities, not just those above EUthresholds.

The CIG is currently considering how to take thework on Social Value forward. This might includecreating a framework for defining social value,developing a social value toolkit for commissionersor identifying the support required by third sectororganisations in engaging with the procurementprocess.

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Safer Neighbourhoods Board9 February 2015, 6.30pm – 8.30pm venue tbcThe primary borough-level mechanism for localengagement on policing and community safety.Board meetings are open to the public.

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR CLOSING TIMESThe Social Council offices will be closed over the festive period. Our lastday in the office before the break will be Wednesday 24 December,we will reopen on Monday 5 January.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

DAT E S F O R YOUR D I A RY

The Voluntary Organisations Forums (VOF) bring together voluntary andcommunity organisations to learn, discuss, debate, share knowledge and network.The Children, Young People and Families VOF and the Health & Wellbeing VOF aresub forums of the Main VOF which feeds into key borough strategic partnerships.

Children, Young People & Families VOF Tuesday 25 November, 2014 10am - 12:30pm

Main VOF Tuesday 9 December, 2014 10am - 12noon

Health & Wellbeing VOF Wednesday 21 January, 2015 10am - 12:30pm

Children, Young People & Families VOF Tuesday 17 February, 2015 10am - 12:30pm

Main VOF Wednesday 11 March, 2015 10am - 12noon

All meetings take place at Kensington Town Hall.

VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS FORUMS

More info: www.kcsc.org.uk/networks-forums

Before attending events please always confirm details and book in advance on the KCSC website.www.kcsc.org.uk/events

Earl’s Court andChelsea Forum29 January 2015,3.30pm – 5pm venue tbcA forum for voluntary andcommunity organisationsthat are based in orproviding services in Earl'sCourt or Chelsea. A chanceto network, discuss issues affecting the area anddevelop closer working relationships.

Hammersmith and Fulham, West and Central London Clinical Commissioning Groups are asking people with long termconditions like diabetes, dementia, chronic heart disease (CHD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to helpdesign a better way to help them manage their self-care.

The voluntary sector, carers, health and social care professionals, are also invited to give their views at one of the followingworkshops:19 November 9.30am - 1pm St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith Register: 020 7952 1230 shad.haibatan@sobus.org.uk16 December 10am - 1pm 10 -11 Carlton House Terrace Register: 020 7604 8902 j.webster@onewestminster.org.uk22 January 10am - 1pm The Tabernacle, Notting Hill Register: 020 7243 9802 siobhan@kcsc.org.uk

BETTER WAYS TO MANAGE SELF-CARE

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