Opportunities for empowerment and engagement

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Summary

As part of the current drive to shift power into the hands of communities and individual citizens, the Empowerment White Paper has created a new duty to promote democracy for local councils, and the existing ‘duty to involve’ local people in key decisions is to be extended to cover police authorities, and key arts, sports, cultural and environmental organisations.

In addition to the proposals put forward in the white paper, recent reviews in to the future of the Health Service and of Policing have also presented opportunities for involvement - although the plausibility of such measures should be considered on a case by case and service by service basis.

Impacts

  • Increase in use of Participatory Budgets: Community Safety Participatory Budgets are being piloted as part Policing Green Paper, and Personalised Health and Care budgets as the part of the reforms proposed in the Darzi Review.
  • Setting of local priorities for spending and other resources
  • Creating informed citizens through more regular frequent provision of information.
  • A new duty to respond to petitions for local councils: stated in the Empowerment White Paper.
  • Wider use of the neighbourhood management approach and introduction of more neighbourhood councils
  • Increase in the number of citizens and communities running or owning services, assets and social enterprises: the White paper states the formation of a new Asset Transfer Unit and Social Enterprise Unit.
  • Increase in those taking part in elections: local authorities are allowed to consider offering incentives to vote,

Relevance

  • All professional staff: as the New Economics foundation suggests – a change from ‘fixers’ that focus on problems to ‘catalysers’ who seek to encourage people’s abilities.
  • Service Users


Innovations

References


DCLG Communities in Control: real people, real power http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/communitiesincontrol  


Related Links

Cabinet Office Excellence and Fairness: achieving world class public services http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/work_areas/public_services.aspx


Louise Casey Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime Review
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/crime.aspx

Ipsos MORI Searching for the Impact of Empowerment http://www.ipsos-mori.com/content/home-features/searching-for-the-impact-of-empowerment.ashx  
 

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