LESSONS FROM THE SOUTH EAST

PARTNERSHIP APPROACHES TO THE RECESSION

Issue 4 • May 2008

progress through partnership

JULY 2009

Improvement andE�ciency

South Eastwww.southeastiep.gov.ukprogress through partnershipptp

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A lot has been written since Summer 2008 about the impacts of the recession and how the public sector

should respond. Research, guidance and checklists have been published outlining the sorts of measures that

local authorities and other public agencies should be taking (page 15). However, there are few documents that

advise Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) on the ways in which they can support public agencies to work

collaboratively to respond to the recession. Drawing on case studies from LSPs across the South East, this

guide outlines some of the key ways in which a partnership approach can help local areas to build economic

resilience and speed economic recovery post-recession.

CONTENTSProactively measuring the changing local impacts of the recession ............................................................................4

Southampton Partnership – Evidence as a driver for action ........................................................................................6

Gathering intelligence on the impacts of the recession on local agencies ...................................................................8

Ensuring the appropriate mechanisms are in place for decision-making and delivery ................................................10

Reviewing longer-term strategies and plans ...........................................................................................................14

Summary of key publications .................................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION

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As the recession deepens it is becoming increasingly clear that local agencies need to work more smartly together to address new challenges and position themselves and the communities they serve for the post-recession world. There is a strong case for partnership working at the local level in order to develop comprehensive local plans that not only respond to the short-term impacts of the recession, but also plan for and shape the post-recession world.

Firstly, in the short term the recession is increasing demands on government funds whilst also driving down government revenue, creating a ‘pincer movement’ on government as a whole. Demand will increase for some public service providers, whilst some frontline services will face tightening budgets and requests to make efficiency savings. The third sector – which plays an increasingly important role in delivering public services – is also seeing demand increase at the same time as charitable giving declines. These factors mean that there is an even greater need for smarter and more efficient use of public funds; in many cases partnership working can help stretch limited resources.

Secondly, taking a longer term view, in many areas the recession is a truly strategic, cross-cutting challenge. If the public sector is to intervene to change the course of the recession and prepare localities for the post-recession world, the full weight of the public sector will need to be put behind a programme of action. In the immediate term, packages of support will be required for key issues like large-scale redundancies. In the longer term, the LSP may want to use the recession as an opportunity to encourage future growth sectors in the economy and reduce dependence on some traditional industries. To do so, an integrated and

coordinated effort is required from across the public sector to put the infrastructure, skills and knowledge in place.

Thirdly, evidence suggests that local action will influence success of the post recession economy. Most analyses of the recession emphasise the international and national dimension of the recession. However, few areas conform to national averages, and in most the recession has a very local dimension. As the IDeA points out, research from past recessions concludes that local action is a determining factor in the resulting success of post recession economies and the speed at which they emerge from the downturn1. LSPs are well-placed to understand and respond to the particular impacts of the recession on their area in a way that best meets the individual needs of the local population.

Drawing on lessons from across the South East, this guide identifies some of the key ways in which LSPs can support a partnership response to the recession. These are grouped into four key roles:

• Proactively measuring the changing local impacts of the recession

• Gathering intelligence on the impacts of the recession on local agencies in order to identify those in need of support or resources;

• Ensuring the appropriate mechanisms are in place for decision-making and delivery; and

• Reviewing longer-term plans to reflect the way in which the recession is affecting or even reshaping their local economy, housing market and local communities.

1No Council of Despair, IDeA, December 2008

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Have you identified indicators that could help you better understand and monitor the impact the recession is having on your residents, businesses and local housing market?

There are a number of official or commercial data sets that can help LSPs get to grips with the measurable impact of the recession on the local economy, community and housing market. Indicators can then be reported on a regular basis to the LSP Board, to theme groups and to the wider partners. To avoid reporting on a large, generic list of indicators, many LSPs have hand-picked specific lists of indicators appropriate to their needs. For example, Southampton Partnership chose 18 indicators that it could monitor on an ongoing basis (see case study below). An indicative list of data that can be monitored regularly is provided on page 5.

Are you collecting qualitative intelligence that deepens your understanding of the impact of the recession locally and how best to respond?

If LSPs are to maintain a clear understanding of the local impacts of the recession, quantitative data may need to be complemented by qualitative intelligence. In a constantly evolving economic context public partners can be frustrated by the time lag between actual change and official data sets. Through regular dialogue and consultation both with staff, partners, stakeholders and residents, information can be gathered on the types of impacts the recession is having locally. This dialogue is useful for finding out about specific topics, such as the types of people being made unemployed. It can also bring to the LSP’s attention some unanticipated impacts of the recession.

PROACTIvELY MEASURING THE CHANGING LOCAL IMPACTS OF THE RECESSION

LSPs that proactively measure the changing local impacts of the recession are better placed to develop effective, targeted responses which meet the specific needs of local communities.

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Indicative list of data to monitor:

• Labour Market: Employment rate and unemployment rate; inactivity rate; benefit claimant rates; working age claimant group; occupational structure; and employment by industry.

• Enterprise: vAT registrations and de-registrations; BETA Model data; proportion of knowledge intensive businesses (available annually); number of planning applications and development enquiries; and commercial data on property markets.

• Housing: House Prices; affordability; repossessions; house enquiries / sales; new mortgages approved; levels of renting and rents; and demand for social housing.

• Crime: Number of incidents of acquisitive crime; incidents of arson / criminal damage and related fraudulent insurance claims; hate crime; arrests for domestic violence amongst others; and numbers of people who feel safe in their area (day and night).

• BME Communities & Social Cohesion: Worklessness amongst Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities; reported hate crimes; reported incidents of racial harassment; flows of economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers; numbers of people reporting that they get on with their neighbours; and number of people who feel that anti-social behaviour is big problem in their neighbourhood.

• Wellbeing: Increases in numbers of people affected by poor mental health / depression; number of reported incidents of domestic violence; and number of people accessing advice agencies.

• Young people: The number of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET); number of young people in care; number of children at risk or on the child protection register; number of young people staying on in full-time education.

• Older People: Increases in Income Support claims from older people; and numbers of older people affected by fuel poverty / affordable warmth;

For full details of how these can be measured see No Council of Despair (IDeA, December 2008) at www.idea.gov.uk/recession

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PROACTIvELY MEASURING THE CHANGING LOCAL IMPACTS OF THE RECESSION

Methods that can be used for dialogue and consultation include:

• Business consultation: this might include establishing a panel of businesses or conducting widespread online surveys via the databases of Business Link or the Chamber of Commerce. Business representatives on the LSP could both provide intelligence and advise on how to develop appropriate mechanisms for business engagement.

• Community consultation: Citizen’s Panels, residents’ fora and police and health consultative groups provide sources of information on how the recession is impacting upon individuals and communities. vCS groups can also act as a useful “voice for the community”.

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In autumn 2008, the Delivery Board (DB) decided it wanted to receive regular updates on the impact of the economic downturn locally to help them decide what areas required intervention.

Officers from the City Council now present a monthly monitoring report on the economic downturn. The DB selected 18 indicators that can be meaningfully tracked on an ongoing basis and base-lined these back to start of recession in October 2007.

The monitoring report is published on the website every month, and is usually picked up by the local media. Though the impacts of the recession have been very serious in Southampton – including a wave of 500 redundancies in the local Ford plant – publishing the monthly statistics demonstrates the Southampton Partnership’s transparency about how the city is faring in the recession.

These monitoring reports have been crucial not only in helping the DB understand the severity of the downturn in Southampton, but also in helping it see the critical areas requiring a public

sector response. Henry Pavey, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Southampton City Council, agreed that this information has been ‘a real driver for initiatives and actions’. The DB has played several roles in recession-related initiatives – from driving prioritisation of existing initiatives and reviewing existing strategies through to initiating new projects.

The DB has initiated new work around five key areas:

1. Marine Sector: A Marine Sub-Group was proposed through the DB as a multi-agency group to address future skills requirements of the marine sector and try to support local residents to access jobs in the sector. This is being developed by the Learning & Skills Council. One area being considered is whether those made redundant by Ford could retrain to work in the marine sector.

2. Vacant Premises: An initial piece of scoping work has been undertaken for the DB into how best to mitigate the

SOUTHAMPTON PARTNERSHIP – EvIDENCE AS A DRIvER FOR ACTION

The Southampton Partnership Delivery Board (DB) has played a key role in initiating projects, accelerating progress and reviewing strategies and plans to respond to the local impacts of the recession. The Board has initiated a variety of workstreams and has helped join up working across agencies.

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impact of the recession on the city centre by filling vacant retail premises. A discussion has led the LSP to explore how a vacant retail unit could be potentially transformed into a shared space for the agencies involved in managing the impacts of the night time economy, including the police, emergency services and street pastors.

3. Local SMEs: Discussions in the DB has also led to a new strand of work into how to support local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that has been led by Business Link. Scoping work has been undertaken by Business Link on developing an SME Task Force in order to better identify and respond to issues facing SMEs locally. Business Link is also driving a piece of work trying to gain agreement between local public sector partners on how to support local SMEs to bid for and win public sector contracts. This has proved to be rather challenging given the diversity of public sector procurement practices and needs, but all public partners are engaging with the process, and progress is being made.

4. Redundancy Support: The DB was behind work to develop a support package for 500 redundancies made by Ford in Southampton. The LSC, the Council, Job Centre Plus and the CvS provided open days for these employees presenting them with advice and guidance on employment, money management, and accessing services.

5. Skills: The DB has also refocused and accelerated progress on the ‘Skills Development Zone’. Initially this project was largely focused on thinking through how local colleges and

universities could better link into and meet the employment and skills needs of the health and social care sector. Since the economic downturn, the DB has seen the potential value of the zone and has been driving progress to move the zone from concepts to action. It has also broadened its focus to cover a wider range of local public sector agencies and the Chief Executives of key local public agencies have signed Employment and Skills Pledges. In addition, 50 apprenticeship places have been created divided equally between the PCT, the NHS Trust and the Council, and the DB has been instrumental in securing a dedicated project manager for the scheme.

Finally, the DB has reviewed six existing strategies and plans between late 2008 and early 2009, and they have all been refreshed to reflect the impacts of the recession. In the case of the Economic Development Action Plan, the downturn was actually a key driver behind the decision to develop a ‘partnership owned’ plan by the Economy & Enterprise Board. Tackling inactivity rates and ‘growing’ the city employment and skills base of the city are now both key priorities. The remaining strategies reflect the anticipated changes in need locally, including increasing pressures on key services such as social care. An overall high-level editorial board has provided overview for all six strategies to ensure consistency of data across the piece.

For further details see: Surviving the Squeeze: www.southampton.gov.uk/people/lifeevents/squeeze/default.asp#1

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GATHERING INTELLIGENCE ON THE IMPACTS OF THE RECESSION ON LOCAL AGENCIES

Has the LSP considered how the recession is likely to affect members of the LSP and key partner agencies?

LSPs should think about how they measure the impact of the recession on service deliverers as organisations. LSPs can use this information to ensure that LSP partners and other local stakeholders are supported as best as possible, and that there are no significant gaps in service provision.

The recession is simultaneously driving up demand for certain services and funds (such as benefits and tax credits), whilst also leading to a sharp decline in local revenue and a tighter settlement from central government in the last budget. This is starting to effect local government budgets across the board.

The Audit Commission’s national survey of Council Finance Officers indicates that the demand for benefits, supported and affordable housing, care services and school places are all likely to increase.2 Recent figures confirm increases in demands in key areas. The numbers of people claiming out-of-work benefits reached 1.5 million up 57,100 on the previous month and 710,700 on a year earlier.3 The number of people on housing waiting lists rose by 200,000 households between April 2007 and April 2008; bringing the total to 1.77 million households, which is 4.5 million people, or one in twelve English citizens.4 Advice services have also faced increasing demand - a recent CAB report found that in the 3 months to December 2008, there was a 5 per cent increase in demand compared with the previous year. Issues relating to redundancy and Job Seekers Allowance increased most dramatically.5 Recent SEEDA figures also reveal a dramatic increase in demand for business advice and guidance in the South East over the last year.6

A more recent LGA/IDeA survey of Council Leaders not only provides evidence of increasing demand for services in local areas across the country, but also that many councils are already having to respond, and almost 4 in 5 councils have had to revise their overall budget position since their start of year planning.

Understanding how local agencies are affected by the recession is crucial to identifying those in need of support or resources

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GATHERING INTELLIGENCE ON THE IMPACTS OF THE RECESSION ON LOCAL AGENCIES

COUNCIL LEADER SURvEY ON THE IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN ON LOCAL AUTHORITIES

The survey of the impact of the economic downturn on local authorities was conducted by the Local Government Association Analysis and Research team and was sent to all Leaders of local authorities in England in January 2009. 136 responses were received, a response rate of 35%. Key findings include:

• 80% of respondents noted that their authorities have experienced an increase in demand for debt and welfare advice services, whilst 57% have experienced an increase in demand for social housing.

• 85% of respondents reported an increase in the number of empty properties in their town centres.

• 81% of respondents stated that they and fellow councillors have asked for new initiatives or campaigns to help ameliorate the impact of the downturn on their community.

• 78% of respondents stated that their local authority has had to revise its overall budget position since their start of year planning as a result of the economic downturn.

For the full survey please see the LGA website: www.lga.gov.uk

Is the LSP collecting and monitoring information about the local impact of the recession on key local agencies?

To gain a picture of how local services are affected by the recession, the LSP can combine national data with local intelligence on demands on services from across the public and third sector. A number of different approaches have been taken to gathering this information, from surveys to stakeholder engagement events.

West Berkshire Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Commission sent local organisations a questionnaire asking them to outline the actual and likely impact of the recession on them. The questionnaire also asked about what work was currently being undertaken to mitigate the effect of the recession, and what activity would likely be required in future to mitigate its effect.

The Milton Keynes Partnership’s Economic Summit was a stakeholder engagement event that was highly effective in gathering intelligence about current economic challenges for the local business and third sectors. They used the summit to gather views on where increases in demands were creating ‘pinch points’ in service provision including a need to: support CAB to respond to the increase in demand for their services; provide tailored advice

for those recently made redundant; and reduce financial pressure on businesses through rate relief. They were able to develop a multi-agency programme of action that was targeted precisely on those areas requiring additional support or investment.

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2 Crunch time? The impact of the economic downturn on local government finances, December 2008, The Audit Commission www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/Pages/crunchtime.aspx

3 Labour market statistics, May 2009, Office for National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0509.pdf

4 Local Authority Housing Statistics, England 2007/08, 22nd January 2009, Communities and Local Government

5 Local Authorities and the Recession: Solutions from the Citizens Advice service, January 2009, Citizens Advice Bureau.

6 www.seeda.co.uk/news_&_events/press_releases/2009/20090513b.asp

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ENSURING THE APPROPRIATE MECHANISMS ARE IN PLACE FOR DECISION-MAKING AND DELIvERY

Once the LSP has assembled the evidence base for the impacts of the recession on the local area and local agencies, it can then look at how to use this information to take decisions about how best to respond. In some instances, there may be a need for fundamental changes in LSP priorities for the area, for instance the need to rebuild the economy to position the area for a post-recession world (see next section). However, some immediate action will almost certainly be required to relieve pressure on the local community, and local agencies in the shorter term.

Have you agreed an appropriate approach to taking decisions that allows your partnership to respond rapidly to the new needs and pressures created by the recession?

The LSP Board or Executive will play an important role in driving a focus on the recession at a strategic level. Members of the Board themselves may drive this focus, but this can be facilitated by placing a standing item on the recession on LSP Board agendas. There are a number of approaches to supporting effective evidence-based decision-making by the LSP board.

Firstly, by providing regular reports to the LSP Board on both the impact of the recession locally; this has the benefit of allowing the board to actively monitor changes in the situation and respond in an informed way (see Kent and Southampton case studies).

Secondly, by extensive stakeholder consultation, which in many areas has taken the form of a large ‘recession summit’. Well-designed discussion at a summit can identify key challenges and priority actions, which the LSP can then draw on in developing its response. For example, the outcome paper from Milton Keynes’ Economic Summit set the ‘agenda’ for further work by the LSP on the recession. In this way, clear links have been drawn between stakeholder concerns and the LSP response, which has helped ensure the process is as transparent as possible.

Have you agreed appropriate mechanisms for developing proposals, identifying funding and delivering projects in response to the recession?

If LSP partners are to work together in responding to the recession, proposals for actions and project plans will have to be developed at a more operational level. LSP thematic partnerships could provide an appropriate forum for working up plans. In many areas, the significant challenges created by the recession could provide a driver for thematic partnerships, by giving them a tangible focus and helping to shift their role towards agreeing coordinated action or even joint delivery. For instance, in Milton Keynes a focus on the challenges arising from the recession helped the Economy & Learning Partnership (MKELP) Board to develop from a body focusing largely on strategic issues to one that is much more focused on operational ones.

Thematic partnerships may require more officer support and input in order to work up ideas into concrete proposals to be signed off by the LSP Board. The LSP support team will have a role to play in this; however, if significant progress is to be made, a multi-agency task and finish group may also prove useful. This has a number of benefits. Firstly, it spreads the cost of developing proposals between LSP members. Secondly, it ensures that actions developed are coordinated at the operational level, preventing overlap and duplication. Thirdly, it means that each partner organisation can contribute specialist knowledge and experience to the development of proposals.

Given the right mix of input at different levels, the LSP can provide both a strategic lead on the recession and also develop practical actions in the immediate term. The Milton Keynes case study (below) shows that it is the way in which the different activities and decisions of the LSP are joined up that is crucial. In Milton Keynes, the strength of the approach lay mainly in the close, transparent links through the whole process - from the priorities identified at the Summit through the establishment of the Economic Task Group, and ultimately to the investment decisions made by the LSP Executive.

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ENSURING THE APPROPRIATE MECHANISMS ARE IN PLACE FOR DECISION-MAKING AND DELIvERY

No Council of Despair; IDeA (2009)www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/9560735

After The Apocalypse: Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis; Demos (2008) www.demos.co.uk/publications/aftertheapocalypse

From the Ashes of the Crash: 20 first steps from new economics to rebuild a better economy; New Economics Foundation (2008)www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_PublicationDetail.aspx?pid=268

Fixing the Future; Young Foundation (2009) www.youngfoundation.org/fixing-future

Subprime Solution: How Today’s Global Financial Crisis Happened and What to Do about it; Schiller, Robert (2009)press.princeton.edu/titles/8714.html

Attacking the Recession Discussion Paper; NESTA (2008)www.nesta.org.uk/attacking-the-recession-paper

Crunch time? The Impact of the Economic Downturn on Local Government Finances; Audit Commission (2008)www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/Pages/crunchtime.aspx

Economic Slowdown, a survey of impact on Local Authorities; IDeA/LGA 2008www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=1396273

IDeA recession web page www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=9487751

From Recession to Recovery: The Local Dimension; LGA (2008) www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=1212613

Recession and Credit Crunch in England’s rural economies; Commission for Rural Communities www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/projects/creditcrunch/overview

UK Special Reports (esp.Which parts of Great Britain are vulnerable to the credit crunch?); Oxford Economics (2008)www.oef.com/OE_FA_Display_Frm.asp?Pg=UKSpec&Txt=UK%20Economy

Recession-proof your Website; IDeA (2009)www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=9487771#contents-3

Stand Up to the Downturn: SOLACE Members’ Panel guide supporting local communities through the downturn; SOLACEwww.solace.org.uk/news_downloads.htm

Global Slowdown: local solutions; LGA (2008)www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=1191945

Back to Business: Local Solutions; British Chamber of Commerce/LGA (2009) www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=1485295

Local Authorities and the Recession; Citizens Advice Service (2009) www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/publications/recession_la_cab.htm

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Useful Links

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At their October 2008 meeting the Milton Keynes LSP Executive (LSPE) decided more action needed to be taken by the Partnership to respond to the recession. Following on from the meeting, an Economic Summit for Milton Keynes was proposed. This had two purposes: to share knowledge about current economic challenges; and to explore actions that local, sub regional and regional organisations could take to alleviate the challenging economic conditions. The event itself was held in December and 250 people attended from local businesses, local agencies and the vCS. The day was divided into two sessions: the morning focused on business issues and the afternoon on challenges faced by local agencies and the vCS. Roundtable discussions were asked to cover not only the challenges facing local businesses, residents and the vCS, but what sort of support would make a significant difference and what the gaps in provision were.

The Summit was a powerful stimulus for action. The participants’ suggestions provided a set of key issues and some suggested actions to take in response to the recession. The LSPE decided that a multi-agency ‘task and finish group’ should be formed develop and oversee the implementation of these suggestions. The Economic Task Group has since been meeting every two

weeks to look into four main issues reflecting the feedback from the Summit:

• Supporting businesses • Developing skills and employment opportunities • Supporting individuals and communities • Developing the Milton Keynes ‘offer’

The group agreed that four officers from different agencies would lead up on each of these four issues. An action plan was developed by each of these officers and each reports to the Milton Keynes Economy & Learning Partnership (MKELP) Board, one of the LSP’s thematic partnerships. The Council also created a new post – Economic Development Manager – whose role it is to project manage work around the recession, including overseeing the work of the Task Group, developing proposals and providing feedback to LSPE and MKELP Board. This Manager has been crucial in driving forward the work stream as a whole.

Since the Summit, a number of initiatives agreed through the LSP have been delivered by Milton Keynes Council and LSP partners – both individually and in partnership:

MILTON KEYNES LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP – FROM ECONOMIC SUMMIT TO ACTION

The recession has driven a renewed interest in partnership working in Milton Keynes and partners have been able to respond rapidly over the last six months to local needs through their collective efforts, whcih began with a multi-agency Economic Summit.

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• Recession Buster Website: A ‘one stop shop’ website providing advice and information on support available from those suffering from the impact of the recession. This was funded through the Credit Crunch Programme, and was led by the Council’s communication department; but LSP partners contributed content and links.

• New Opportunities Event: Aimed at those seeking work or in fear of being made redundant. It was led by Business Link, though different LSP partners attended and put up stands at the event. The overall design of the event was steered by the Task Group.

• Small Businesses rate relief: A rate relief scheme has provided a total of £110,000 relief to 132 local businesses. This was led by the Council.

• Human Resource Management & Training Event: Intended to raise awareness of what is available to support companies on learning and skills. This event was organised by MKELP, SEEDA and the Milton Keynes Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. SEEDA funded it through its Investment Development Manager (IDM) budget; the IDM is co-located in the same office as MK Council’s ED Manager.

• Funding for CAB: Through the credit crunch programme, the LSPE and MKELP have agreed an additional facility of £170,000 to Citizens Advice Bureau to establish capacity to act as the first point of contact.

In addition, the task group has now identified and secured £2 million of funding from local sources (including existing LAGBI and Council monies) to support communities and businesses through the recession. The group coordinates bids for these funds and the LSP Executive and MKELP review and comment upon proposals.

The bids are judged against whether there is a clearly identified need, and whether they fill a gap in current provision; but they are also linked back to the original objectives set during the Economic Summit.

The strength of the overall approach is that there are clear links between the challenges identified and actions proposed in the original Summit and the actions taken and projects funded by the LSP. The approach has also facilitated a rapid response that combines the resources and strategic overview of the LSPE with the expertise of the partners on the task group. The pace of work may well also have been facilitated by a shift in the role of MKELP. Pam Gosal, the Economic Development Manager and lead for the recession work, commented that with the MKELP has shifted from a mainly strategic role to a more delivery focused one.

Work around the recession has injected fresh momentum in partnership working in Milton Keynes, running from the strategic down to the operational level. The opportunity of a crisis is being used to set in place a more focused use of combined resources to strategic future challenges. The LSP has demonstrated that with the right combination of strategic commitment and operational collaboration can – when required – produce a speedy partnership-led response to crucial challenges facing the area.

Notes:

Economic Task Group comprises representatives from: Milton Keynes Council; Milton Keynes Economy & Learning Partnership; Milton Keynes Community Local Infrastructure Partnership; Business Link and Invest Milton Keynes.

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REvIEWING LONGER-TERM STRATEGIES AND PLANS

The LSP may want to review longer-term strategies and plans, such as the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS), to reflect the way in which the recession is affecting or reshaping their local economy, housing market and local communities.

The recession is a strategic, cross-cutting challenge that will impact on all sectors of the economy, government and charities, as well as impinging on the daily lives of millions of people. This fundamental change of economic context calls into question a number of assumptions about the future growth of the economy and key sectors of growth. This will have to be reflected in strategies and forward planning of the public sector.

This could provide an opportunity to produce a refreshed vision for the economic, social and environmental future of the area. LSPs should consider whether the Local Area Agreement (LAA), SCS and other partnership strategies need to be revised to shape the post-recession world.

Is the LSP using the review process to refresh LAA targets for indicators affected by the recession?

Local Area Agreements have an annual review process that provides an opportunity to identify and address any issues around delivery and to help assess and benchmark progress. As set out in the LAA Operational Guidance, the review is also an opportunity to revise, by exception, particular targets to reflect changes in local circumstances or national priorities.7 The recession is changing local economies and places across the country and their economic, housing and employment growth projections. This means that in future LSPs may well need to use the review process to refresh targets for indicators that are affected by the altered context.

As the context changes, it will almost certainly be necessary to review action plans and strategies created to ensure the delivery of the LAA reflects the new context. This could apply to many strategies, but it is particularly worth considering whether to review action plans for priority areas, for instance those relating to the economy, employment and housing. In Kent, LSP theme group action plans and the individual delivery plans developed for each of the indicators relating to the economy have been refreshed.

Has the LSP considered reviewing the Sustainable Community Strategy to ensure it reflects the altered context or to develop a refreshed vision for the future of the area?

The Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS), unlike the LAA, does not have an annual review process and the timeframes for reviewing it are determined locally. In some areas, changes or additions to the SCS are made during the LAA refresh process. A more in-depth review might be deemed necessary in some instances where the local context has changed dramatically.

In these instances, the recession can be seen as an opportunity to look again at the LSP’s vision for the future of the area. This process can be used to ensure that the evidence on which the SCS is built accurately reflects revised projections for future growth in key sectors, e.g. housing delivery and employment growth. Essentially, this is about ‘recession-proofing’ the SCS to ensure that the assumptions it is based on are still accurate, and that priorities reflect current circumstances. The LSP can ask questions such as: ‘Are growth projections still accurate?’ ‘What

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SUMMARY OF SOME KEY PUBLICATIONS This document should be read in conjunction with a range of other guides, checklists or pieces of research; these are summarised below. Hyperlinks to these documents are listed on page 11.

• The IDeA’s No Council of Despair outlines how councils should be leading a coordinated public sector response to the recession. It includes an extensive list of indicators that councils could use to monitor the impact of the recession, numerous cases studies of the ways in which councils have been responding and suggestions of how councils could begin to shape the post-recession world.

• The Audit Commission’s Crunch Time outlines the key economic challenges, the impact on local authority finances, and the longer term challenges created by the recession. They paint a clear picture of rising demand and falling revenue putting huge pressures on local authorities.

• In From the Ashes of the Crash, the New Economics Foundation proposes that the ‘crisis in the global system’ be seized upon as an opportunity to build ‘a new economic order’. A key theme for their 20 proposals is thinking through how to ‘rebuild a financial infrastructure which does the job’, which is – for them – supporting the productive, and sustainable local economies.

• The Young Foundation’s Fixing the Future argues that up until now government responses to the recession have largely bolstered failed institutions and declining sectors, and that they should be ‘investing in the future’ – for instance focusing on future growth sectors such as health, social care, and environmental technologies rather than manufacturing.

• NESTA’s Attacking the Recession makes the case for reforming and managing global networks rather than retreating from them as many have proposed.

• Robert Shiller’s Sub-Prime Solutions asserts the need for measures to minimise the consequences of financial bubbles and collapses. His propositions include various new information infrastructures and ‘democratising’ access to the financial system through subsidised financial advice for lover income individuals.

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REvIEWING LONGER-TERM STRATEGIES AND PLANS

types of people are being made redundant and how can we help them back into work?’

Secondly, LSPs can use this new evidence base as the starting point for a longer process of developing a new vision for the area. For example, Kent is currently beginning the process of exploring future scenarios for the Kent economy and how this should influence current LSP priorities and investments (see case study).

There a number of ways in which the new economic context may alter LSP priorities, for example:

• where a local car manufacturer has made large redundancies, this may lead the LSP to identify new priority sectors that look set to grow in the future;

• where unemployment is rising dramatically, the LSP may explore new routes to employment such as self-employment;

• where access to credit is a major issue, an LSP may decide to invest in credit unions or even to develop new models of financial services, as in the case of the famous proposal for an ‘Essex Bank’; or

• where financial exclusion remains a key issue, LSPs may want to explore how it can ‘democratise’ access to financial advice as proposed by Robert Shiller in Subprime Solutions.

7 Development of the new LAA framework: Operational Guidance 2007, Communities & Local Government, September 2008

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KENT PARTNERSHIP – BACKING KENT

The Kent Partnership structure has provided forums for both partners and stakeholders to initiate and develop responses to the recession across Kent. The Partnership also used the LAA refresh process effectively to develop action plans that reflect the challenging economic climate.

Issue 4 • May 2008

progress through partnership

Kent has not suffered from the sorts of high profile business pull-outs and the large numbers of redundancies seen in many areas. This is due to a combination of factors, including the type of sectors that are present and the lack of reliance on a single sector. There have been clear impacts locally, but the Partnership as a whole has opted to primarily focus on using its existing partnership forums and support staff to develop responses to the recession. Whilst the Partnership has developed a response to the recession, it has retained a focus on preparing Kent for the upturn.

As the recession has begun to bite, the Kent Partnership has facilitated the development of a key local initiative to increase public sector apprenticeships. The recruitment of apprentices by public sector organisations in Kent and their supply chains is now a high priority for the Kent Partnership, which sees it as an opportunity to provide routes into employment for school and college leavers. The Chairman of the Kent Partnership is seeking

commitment to the apprenticeship schemes from the CEOs of all the organisations sitting on the LSP’s Public Service Board, including the District Councils. Kent County Council is leading the way and has committed to recruiting 300 apprentices by 2010. So far six other public sector partners have also committed to creating 321 apprenticeships in the same timescale. Human Resource Directors from across the public sector are being brought together to share good practice around this issue.

The Kent Partnership has also begun monitoring the economic situation in the County. From early 2009, the Kent Partnership Public Service Board has been receiving quarterly economic reports from partner SEEDA showing the impact of the recession on Kent. This has helped partners to understand the local impacts of the recession, and has demonstrated that Kent’s economy has not been as badly affected as first predicted and that business optimism is now the highest in the region.

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Information gathering has also been undertaken through a variety of other channels, including via high profile stakeholder conferences. The first event was the Kent Partnership’s 2008 Annual Conference. The LSP made recession its core theme, and designed it to help the Partnership collect up-to-date intelligence on the economy and involve stakeholders in analysing the impact of the global economic downturn on the work of partners. Though many of the discussions focused on challenges and new pressures, they also explored opportunities such as the potential to increase self-employment and social enterprise. The annual conference demonstrated the risks that the recession creates for the third sector. As a result a second event – the Kent voluntary Community Sector Conference - was held jointly by the Kent Partnership and Kent CAN (a vCS umbrella body). The event was attended by over 150 delegates from the vCS and 75 representatives of the Public Sector. Participants expressed concern about real cuts in funding from both government and the public, but the conference also revealed opportunities for the Public Sector and vCS to work in partnership. The event was used to survey vCS organisations about the impacts of the recession, for instance on the demand for their services and income.

As national and local impacts of the recession became clear in late 2008, the Partnership decided these needed to be reflected in the Local Area Agreement (LAA). Kent Agreement 2, as the LAA is called, is made up of 35 targets, each with its own delivery plan. After an assessment of the impact of the recession on each target, it was agreed in conjunction with central government that

four of the targets would not be finalised in Spring 2009 as had been planned. Instead these targets – which relate to numbers of benefit claimants, new businesses, and additional homes – are to be agreed at the end of 2009, following an evidence-based analysis of the full impact of the recession.

Other key partnership plans have also been altered to reflect the impacts of the recession. The Kent Economic Board’s 2009/10 Business Plan includes ‘identifying the sectors that will emerge strongly from this recession and their skill requirements’ as one of its seven challenges. This is reflected in activities undertaken by the Skills for the Economy Task Group, which sits under the Economic Board, and now has increasing take-up of apprenticeships in both the public and private sector as one of its strands of activities.

Finally, the recession has driven the need to better understand future scenarios for the economy up the agenda of the Kent Partnership. Work is now going into reviewing the future priorities for Kent to ensure that they reflect the likely shape of the economy and future growth sectors for Kent.

In summary, the Kent Partnership has played a crucial role in engaging and consulting with key stakeholders and developing cross sector initiatives to respond to the recession. By monitoring the impact of the recession locally and engaging regularly with businesses, they have also put themselves in a strong position to respond if Kent were to suffer large-scale job losses in the future.

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Published by Shared Intelligence for Progress Through Partnership www.sharedintelligence.net | solutions@sharedintelligence.net

www.progressthroughpartnership.org.uk | ptp@seemp.co.uk