:: Calderdale Forward - The Local Strategic Partnership ::

Comments are being invited on this strategy which is being refreshed by the Leeds City Region Employment and Skills Board. If you wish to respond please send your comments to Sue Cooke (sue.cooke@leeds.gov.uk) by 20^th August.

The Lorna Young Foundation is looking for a PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR who can replicate the successful West Yorkshire-based pilot 'Young Ethical Entrepreneurs' Group across the whole Yorkshire region.

Calderdale's LAA2, refreshed for 2010 is available here. The refreshed LAA was approved by Calderdale Council in March and will be signed off by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by the end of March.

Totally Locally Calderdale Campaign: As you will be aware the Totally Locally Calderdale campaign was launched in October last year and aims to encourage everyone to spend at least Ł5 per week in their local shops. If every adult in Calderdale did that it would amount to an extra Ł40million per year going into our local economy.

10:10 is a national initiative which aims to cut the UK’s carbon emissions by 10% during 2010. The initiative encourages everyone - individuals, businesses, community groups and organisations - to sign up and participate in the scheme.

Joining the 10:10 initiative means a commitment to aim for a 10% reduction in CO₂ emissions. The Environmental Management Team, on behalf of the Environment Delivery Partnership, recommends all partners consider signing up

Calderdale Council has received national recognition for reducing its carbon footprint. The Council has achieved the national Carbon Trust Standard certificate after assessors identified a number of key projects which show how Calderdale Council is reducing its CO2 emissions year on year.

The Calderdale Bike Rider magazine is for commuters, family cyclists and serious mountain bikers. This issue looks at winter equipment, safety, local

Cycle to explore the countryside, to get to work, school or college, to get fit and to reduce your CO₂ emissions. Click here for the online CBR magazine

A WomenCentre project that works with vulnerable women who have offended or may be at risk of offending has featured in a national newspaper and is recognised as being an excellent example. The Evolve project works in collaboration with other services to provide holistic, wraparound support that enables women to make positive changes and turn their lives around.

support with probation and community services, housing and debt advice, domestic violence support, counselling and advice on job-seeking. Justice minister Maria Eagle says it is, "an excellent example" and she wants more such alternatives for women who are not serious offenders. The Ministry of Justice is committed to reduce the number of female prison places and to

divert resources from custody to multi-agency approaches. Keeping women out of custody also has significant financial cost-savings for society.

An Oxfam study looks at how local authorities can increase the representation and participation of women in LSPs and how needs differ by gender. The study looked at taking women’s particular needs into consideration for services such as transport, unemployment, and housing – in order to improve their economic and social well-being and tackle the poverty and social exclusion they face. To view the report and examples of good practice click here

Green Doctor home energy health checks are available for people living in Calderdale who receive benefits or are on a low income. Priority will be given to the over 60s and young families with children under 16 years old. The Green Doctor service is provided by the charity Groundwork in partnership with Calderdale Council, NHS Calderdale and Pennine Housing 2000. Click here for the flyer or contact 01422 341619 or greendoctorcalderdale@groundwork.org.uk

Calderdale Council and NHS Calderdale are working in partnership to provide services to help members of staff, as well as members of the public, to improve their health and manage their weight. The Healthy Weight Management project

aims to provide support for people to lose 5% of their body weight by the end of March and to maintain the loss until the end of June.

Information about helping to improve health, fitness and lifestyles, is available

A partnership which worked together to improve seatbelt wearing and reduce the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on Calderdale roads has won a prestigious NHS award. The Calderdale Safer Roads Group Seatbelt on? campaign was entered into the NHS Leadership Awards and was among only

The hospital Trust’s chairman Sukhdev Sharma said: “It was a very proud moment to gain national recognition against such stiff competition. The

campaign is an excellent example of people working in partnership. I would like to congratulate all the partners involved.”

The Calderdale “Seatbelt On?” campaign was developed in response to worrying figures about the low use of seatbelts in the area – particularly among the local British Asian community.

for Transport, has significantly reduced serious injury and deaths on the roads of Calderdale. Three years into the project seatbelt rates are now over 90%, with a a 30% reduction in the number of people seriously injured and killed in

Calderdale. The dramatic results have encouraged other areas of the country to roll-out the campaign.

Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) looks at how well Calderdale council and its partners are delivering public sector services to and for local people. The results of the 2009 CAA are now available on the new interactive Audit Commission website Oneplace

The Halifax Town Centre Masterplan options consultation is happening over the next few weeks. The plans can be viewed at Halifax Central Library 10th-15th then 18th-19th December. They will also be exhibited outside M&S in the Woolshops Shopping Centre on Thursday 17th December, 12.00pm - 8.00pm. The plans can also be viewed via Calderdale Engage or on the Halifax Courier website. See the Halifax Town Centre Flyer for more details

Visit the Totally Locally website to find out how local people can help to support local businesses by shopping, eating and visiting in Calderdale. The website

also provides information about ‘hidden gems’, parking and how to win Ł100 to spend in any Calderdale shop, café or restaurant.

Calderdale based mediation service, CALM, is looking to recruit new volunteers to act as mediators. Volunteers receive full accredited training and are part of a team which mediate predominantly in neighbour disputes. Please click on the link to go to the advert for volunteers if you would like to get involved or here to find out more about this opportunity.

Calderdale’s Safer and Stronger Communities Executive have carried out their annual Strategic Assessment. Click here for more information, including which issues have been identified as priorities for the next 12 months.

a Compact Excellence Award. Soo was presented with the award for making a huge difference to the impact of the Compact on local people and organisations.

This document further updates the provisional National Indicator results released earlier in 2009, and putting the Calderdale results in a national context.

The survey, which was conducted by post, obtained responses from over 2,300 residents on their perceptions of their local area, as well as their views on, and satisfaction with, local public services. To view the document click here

To view key statistics about employment and unemployment, earnings and benefits, qualifications and occupations; or to see how male and female wages compare; click here for the October statistics

This information about Calderdale is supplied by NOMIS, a service provided by the Office for National Statistics, giving free access to detailed, up-to-date local and national labour market statistics from official sources.

Safer and Stronger Directorate, for information about data, guidance and the services they provide: click on researchandinfo-cx@calderdale.gov.uk

Calderdale Community Forum has co-ordinated partnership working with NHS Calderdale and Calderdale Council, to provide weight loss and exercise classes

health improvement provision, including examples of local engagement and activities, please contact Laura Able at Calderdale Community Forum.

The Back to Work Initiative is a partnership LAA project, with Calderdale Council, Jobcentre Plus and the NHS working together to support Incapacity Benefit/ Employment Support Allowance customers back into work.

If you know of any Calderdale residents with health issues who are seeking work or having problems remaining in the work place please signpost them to:

This new website has been launched to provide guidance on how services can work together to support socially excluded groups into suitable accommodation, employment, training or education. The groups include adults in contact with secondary mental health services, offenders under probation supervision, care leavers and adults with learning disabilities.

In Calderdale, adults with learning disabilities in employment and adults in contact with secondary mental health services are included in the LAA, supporting the priority of increasing employment for disadvantaged groups and workless people. Offenders in settled accommodation and in employment is a key feature of the Integrated Offender Management scheme.

Calderdale Council and partners have been successful in an application to the government's Future Jobs Fund - to create 162 jobs in the district for young unemployed people with local social enterprises, charities, community groups and public bodies.

The programme has been designed to help young people whose opportunities have been damaged by the recession, and will help them develop necessary confidence, skills and experience. All the jobs in Calderdale will be within the following occupational areas: Green Jobs; Care and Childcare; Youth Work; Housing Insulation; Customer Service; and Administration.

The project has sixteen employers and will be led by Calderdale Council with two lead partners: Halifax Opportunities Trust and the Acorn Centre in Todmorden. 18-24 year olds who have been out of work for between 6 and 12 months will be eligible for the scheme, as will unemployed over 25 year olds from areas of high unemployment. The first jobs are scheduled to start in November.

The new Acting Chair of Calderdale Community Forum is Dr Soo Nevison. Soo has been the Chief Officer of Voluntary Action Calderdale for 3 years, and has

20 years of experience in the Voluntary and Community Sector in both unpaid and paid roles. The Community Forum provides a representative voice for Third Sector organisations throughout Calderdale. For more information about Calderdale Community Forum and the work that it does, visit their website: www.calderdalenetwork.org.uk

The latest version of the Calderdale Compact Toolkit is now available. The updated version includes an introduction; “What is the Compact” and an increased membership list at the back. The Compact aims to increase understanding and effective partnership working between public, private and third sector organisations, to achieve more for people in Calderdale. For contact details and more information about the latest version of the Compact Toolkit

Calderdale Forward welcomes new Board member Sukhdev Sharma, who replaces Lesley Hill as the representative for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. We would like to thank Lesley for her contributions to the Calderdale Forward Board.

Calderdale Council's Research and Consultation Team has produced an introductory guide to the demographic data that is available about Calderdale, including population, employment and deprivation. The guide provides

descriptions of the different geographical areas for which data is available, maps, useful websites and contact details. To view click here

Funding has been awarded through the Migration Impacts Fund, to an innovative partnership development that will support migrant and newly arrived children, young people and families. For more information the project click here

Calderdale's first Annual Scrutiny Report has been published. The report gives a summary of the highlights of the work of the scrutiny panels in 2008/09. To find out more about the role of scrutiny in Calderdale click here

Your views were requested on the proposed plans for the new Mixenden Centre. For more information contact Liz Broadley 01422 380827 or the Mixenden Initiative 01422 246177.

The refreshed three year Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) 2008 – 2011 has been produced by the Children’s Trust. The refresh takes the Children’s Trust one year on, with updated plans for 2009 – 2010 to further improve the lives of children and young people in Calderdale. Click here to view

Halifax is one of the nine projects across England to benefit from the Healthy Towns Initiative. The programme is working on inspiring and supporting local people to engage in the physical activity and healthy eating services, programmes, clubs, and opportunities available. A copy of the report including updates of the delivery projects is available here.

Councillor Roger Greenwood has stood down as the Town and Parish Council representative to the Calderdale Forward Board. We would like to thank

This role will now be undertaken by Councillor Scott Trickett (elected member on Hebden Royd Town Council) who has served as deputy representative for the

70 representatives from voluntary and community sector, Calderdale council and public sector organisations. Delegates exchanged experiences and ideas in a series of workshops throughout the afternoon.

Keynote speakers included David Gavagan, LSP Partnerships and Performance Manager from Blackburn with Darwen; Owen Williams, Chief Executive of Calderdale Council and Soo Nevison, Chief Officer, Voluntary Action Calderdale. The retiring chair of Calderdale Community Forum, Clare Jones, led the Community Forum AGM. She was thanked for her contribution and services to the Forum and for her work in representing the VCS at many strategic meetings.

A report produced as a result of the summit will contribute to the development of an innovative framework for partnership working between VCS and public sector organisations in Calderdale.

The South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust was recently authorised to become an NHS Foundation Trust. The new status means the organisation also has a new name, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

A Foundation Trust is a different kind of NHS organisation, which gives people who use services and those living in local communities more say in how the organisation is run. They can help to shape how services are developed and delivered. The Trust will now be accountable to the local community through its membership, and to Parliament, rather than to the Department of Health.

The final draft of the Sustainable Community Strategy has been distributed to Calderdale Forward partners, for it to go through their decision-making and governance processes. The final Sustainable Community Strategy is

will run from 2008 – 2011. It contains information about LAA aims, objectives, priorities and outcomes for each of the 6 themes: Economy and Enterprise, Environment, Safer and Stronger Communities, Healthier Communities, Older People and Children and Young People. The guide describes what would be different for the people of Calderdale if the outcomes are achieved.

Area Forums will be held across Calderdale during June, offering people another chance to have a say on local issues. Please click here for more information.

Compact Champions can improve the performance of Local Compacts and help achieve better outcomes for individuals and communities.

A series of six regional workshops are taking place in June and July to develop the role and impact of Compact Champions. Places are free of charge but must be pre-booked. For more information please contact Compact Champions

Provisional Place Survey results for Calderdale include18 National Indicators of people’s perceptions of Calderdale, the activities they take part in, and residents’ views on and satisfaction with public services. The full results, including a comparison of the performance between local authorities are due to be released in June. Four National Indicators are included in Calderdale’s Local Area Agreement (LAA2). These include:

· NI 01 The percentage of people who agree that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area

· NI 04 The percentage of people who agree that they can influence decisions affecting their local area

· NI 17 The percentage of people who think anti-social behaviour is a problem

· NI 138 The satisfaction of older people aged 65+ with both home and neighbourhood

The Yorkshire Forward Creating Better Futures Awards highlights successful partnerships between the private sector and voluntary, community and faith organisations. The awards aim to demonstrate the true partnership working between the sectors and encourage the sharing and development of skills, knowledge and ability within the community economic development agenda, whilst promoting best practice.

Award winners Calderdale Cares, the RSA Group, Pennine Housing 2000, Marshalls plc, the Halifax and Calderdale College built on the work of ‘Project Challenge’ to develop an employer-led programme of volunteering in the community. A Ł10,000 prize for investing in voluntary organisations

Jocelyn Hunter, Calderdale Cares Manager commented; "We are delighted to receive this award, it gives this unique partnership the recognition it deserves for

all its hard work. The whole group is committed to continue working with young people and give them chances and opportunities for work and we will be using

hope that this award inspires others to join us to help increase our impact even further!"

Terry Hodgkinson, Chair of Yorkshire Forward told those present: “The work you

business benefits of a good CSR policy shouldn’t be underplayed or considered selfish they should be championed…and loudly!”

As part of Calderdale’s Local Area Agreement, the LSP has made a commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions across Calderdale. The Environmental Management Team are asking all partners of the LSP to complete the attached questionnaire as fully as possible to establish what actions are being taken to reduce CO₂ emissions in Calderdale.

The information contained within the questionnaire will be confidential. The Environmental Management Team will analyse the results and may contact your organisation to help you reduce your carbon emissions.

Click here for the questionnaire: please note the deadline for return is Friday 5th June.

Beth Ward, Halifax Town Centre Manager, is spearheading a Calderdale wide “Shop Local campaign” on behalf of Halifax Town Centre Forum and Calderdale Council. She is looking for all Calderdale retail businesses to be part of the campaign.

There is NO cost to be included and businesses can be involved as much or as little as they want. The ultimate aim is to encourage Calderdale residents to shop locally and support local jobs. The campaign will also raise the awareness of what great shops we have in the area. For more information and to register your interest contact Beth Ward on 01422 360035 or via email at tcm@halifaxuk.co.uk.

David Wild has been re-appointed as Chair of the Clinical Executive for NHS Calderdale. David will continue to work closely with PCT colleagues and clinicians across the borough - including the Calderdale Commissioning Group, Local Medical and other representative Committees - to improve the health and improve the lives of all the people of Calderdale.

Calderdale Forward Task and Finish Group is helping to develop a whole Calderdale approach to working in local areas, and connecting with local communities. We very much hope to be able to encourage local community groups and activists, front line workers, and service managers to come to this half day workshop to "reality check" the thinking of the task and finish group to date. For more information on the forthcoming localities workshop click here.

Local Government Chronicle Awards 2009 Partnership for Older People Programme (POPPs): Highly Commended for Community Involvement

Helping older people in Calderdale to enjoy life to the full has brought national recognition for the POPPs partnership. Halifax Neighbourhood Scheme and the Todmorden based Oak Neighbourhood scheme have been Highly Commended in the Community Involvement Category of the 2009 Local Government Chronicle Awards. The awards show councils, local organisations and local people working together with imagination and enthusiasm to meet local needs.

The POPPs scheme was set up by Voluntary Action Calderdale in partnership with Calderdale Council and with funding through the Department of Health. Partners involved in the delivery of services to older people include: Age Concern Calderdale, Calderdale Carers Project, Calderdale Pensioners Association, Calderdale Primary Care Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust and Voluntary Action Calderdale.

The Neighbourhood Schemes aim to improve the health and wellbeing of people over 50 in their local areas by increasing people's involvement in the community with a range of activities, information and volunteering opportunities. In addition to the Neighbourhood Schemes other services have been offered, including: Health and wellbeing of carers, Home from Hospital Service, Handyperson services and Falls prevention services.

The Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) and the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) are currently running a Partnership Improvement Programme (PIP) for Calderdale.

PIP is designed to improve cross-sector partnership working between local authorities and local voluntary and community organisations (VCOs). The programme has been run in NE and NW England, London and will now focus upon Yorkshire. For more information, please click here.

Halifax is one of nine areas across England participating in the Government’s Healthy Towns Initiative, a key part of the national ‘Healthy Weight Healthy Lives’ strategy and Change4Life campaign. The aim is to get people moving more and eating well. To find out more information click here.

Every PCT in England has had its progress assessed and scored against ten key competencies and three strands of governance. Each competency receives a score between one and four and each governance element is scored red, amber or green. A score of two is the benchmark, three equates to as good as anything in the country and four is world class.

You will be pleased to learn that NHS Calderdale has achieved 9 scores of two and one score of three for its competencies and three greens for governance. This places NHS Calderdale above the line on every measure and is an excellent outcome. It is understood that these results could be among the best in the country.

Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) is a new approach that examines how effectively local public services are performing and improving the lives of the people they serve. Assessments will provide a snapshot of each area, and will act as a catalyst for improvement by identifying where more effort is needed or where exceptional improvement may help others learn. The CAA will come into effect from April 2009. Please click on the following link for further details of the CAA Framework and the CAA Framework Summary.

On the 5th March the International Development Committee will be travelling to Yorkshire to conduct two public meetings in order to gauge public opinion on International Aid.

The meetings are open to the public and there is no need to book. Please click here for further information.

The draft Sustainable Community Strategy sets out the long-term vision and key issues for improving the quality of life in Calderdale. Please read the draft and complete and return the questionnaire by 14th April 2009.

The first Area Forums of 2009 will be held across Calderdale this month, offering people another chance to have a say on local issues. For details click here.

We’re adding some new features to the Calderdale Forward website as part of a programme of making information about the LSP and LAA activities more accessible. We hope they will be useful to both new and existing visitors. Please let us know what you think, or if there are any suggestions you would like to make.

We want to provide a plain English guide to some of the terms used to describe the work of the Local Strategic Partnership. The definitions have been collected from a variety of government websites and the Plain English Campaign site. Go to the Glossary page by clicking here or on the link on the right of the page.

We are sometimes asked to look at strategic or relevant documents and provide a brief description of the main issues covered. We would like to share some of these. View the Briefing Papers by clicking here on on the link on the right of this age.

Calderdale Forward is a partnership made up of and owned by many organisations. We would like to offer links to partner websites. If you would like your site to be included, with a one line description of your organisation, please get in touch with Lynne Houlden. This new page is still under construction, so watch this space for further information.

For more information or if you would like to make a contribution to the Calderdale Forward website pages, please contact Lynne Houlden by e-mail at lynne.houlden@calderdale.gov.uk

The next North and East Halifax Area Forum meeting will take place in December. For details, please click here.

The next round of Area Forum neighbourhood meetings will take place during November, please click here for further information.

Further to the news article published here in October 2008 stating that Calderdale’s Healthy Ageing Partnership and the Summer University had successfully reached the finals for this year’s prestigious Making a Difference in Yorkshire and Humber Awards, the finals for the LGYH Making a Difference Awards Ceremony took place in Harrogate on 18 November 2008. The Calderdale Summer University was awarded 3rd place, but the POPPs entry did not finish in the top 3, although it must be noted that the category which both entries were shortlisted for, had the highest number of entries.

Additionally, the POPPs programme has been shortlisted for the forthcoming LGC awards, so watch this space for news on that!

Calderdale’s Sustainable Community Strategy – the Futures Plan - is being updated for publication next April. The draft Futures Plan 2009 will reflect the Local Area Agreement agreed with Government in June. The Story of Place which provides the framework for the Local Area Agreement and sets out ambitions and priorities for Calderdale is being embedded into the narrative of the new Futures Plan. Further information on how to contribute to the 2009 Futures Plan will be provided through these pages.

The aim of the Calderdale Compact is to improve the way that we work together as partners, by providing a framework for partnership working, and a consistent set of shared principles to help guide our strategic and operational working arrangements.

A Compact consultation is taking place over proposed changes in the funding code. Look out for emails and local meetings. Your contribution will be most appreciated.

Congratulations - Members of the Calderdale Compact Steering Group went to Downing Street to meet Kevin Brennan, Minister of the Third Sector on 5th November. Calderdale Compact was awarded a Compact Excellence Award in recognition for its work in partnership, with special reference to the support given to frontline groups

Back in September we released news of the Place Survey which is now being progressed as follows.

· By Monday 10th November, more than 1200 responses had been received to the postal survey. The aim is obtain more than 2000 in total, to give robust information at Area Forum level and enable analysis of how perceptions vary across different sections of the public

For more information on the Place Survey including details on survey method, timescales and Council contacts, click here.

Councils from across the Region discussed and shared their experiences of Local Area Agreements on 15 September at an event hosted by the Regional Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber, Rosie Winterton.

Writer, poet and broadcaster, Ian McMillan, the Bard of Barnsley, attended the event as the LAA poet in residence. He rounded up the day by reading an Ode to the LAA's, which he wrote during the event. To view this, please click here.

Calderdale’s Healthy Ageing Partnership and the Summer University have successfully reached the finals for this year’s prestigious Making a Difference in Yorkshire and Humber Awards. The projects have won two out of the five available places in the category “Working Together to Make a Difference: collaboration through partnership working”, which is open to 22 councils in the region. Other contenders in the Working Together to Make a Difference category are Hull, Kirklees Council and Rotherham Councils. The finals for the LGYH Making a Difference Awards Ceremony will take place in Harrogate on 18 November 2008. For more information on this, please click here.

Calderdale Community Forum (CCF) is a network of Third Sector groups and organisations within Calderdale. It provides a voice for the Third Sector, effectively articulating the views of the wider community in a climate of equal partnership with statutory and other partner agencies. It provides a medium for consultation between the Third Sector and statutory agencies and a platform for organisations from both sectors to identify, discuss and address issues of common concern.

CCF provides a means to enable the participation of Third Sector organisations in the planning and delivery of services, and it enables the sector to participate as a partner within Calderdale Forward.

The CCF’s Network project aims to increase knowledge, information-sharing, networking and representation to build the capacity of the voluntary/community sector in Calderdale. For more information please click here.

The first Calderdale Place Survey will begin at the end of September. The survey is a Government requirement, with a set of identical questions being administered across the country over the same time-period. For more information on the Place Survey including details on survey method, timescales and Council contacts, click here.

There will be an annual celebration event on Tuesday 4th at the Elsie Whiteley Centre. To book a place contact Rachel Jones, Community Partnerships, Northgate House, Halifax, HX1 1UN or email rachel.jones@calderdale.gov.uk Alternatively click here to complete the booking form

Compact seminars will be held at VAC on Wednesday 5th November. For more information and booking form contact Dr Soo Nevison, Voluntary Action Calderdale, Resource Centre, 8b Hall Street, Halifax, HX1 5AX or email soo.nevison@cvac.org.uk Alternatively click here to complete the booking form

Back in May, it was reported on this page, that the Community Cohesion Strategy was being reviewed and you were asked for your thoughts. A good number of responses were received and these views and suggestions are currently being analysed. These will be reflected in a draft of the strategy which will be considered by Calderdale Forward later this year.

Local Government Yorkshire and Humber (LGYH) are holding awards this Autumn and Calderdale have made 5 submissions to the "Working Together to Make a Difference" category within, "Working together to improve" which is an award for collaboration through partnership working.

The top 5 submissions for the Yorkshire and Humber region will be decided by Thursday 16th October, the winner and runners up will be announced at the Harrogate International Centre on Tuesday 18th November.

Please see the links below for more details on our individual submissions.

Over time, working in partnership with other local organisations both in the public and private sectors has become more and more key to improving the lives of people in Calderdale.

This has been acknowledged nationally with the introduction of the Comprehensive Area Agreement and the Place Survey. Calderdale Forward, as the Local Strategic Partnership recognised that it would be necessary in this new way of working, to have a way to communicate to the people of Calderdale how we are doing, what it means for them and that we have a positive attitude towards diversity.

As a result of this, the brand 'everyone different, everyone matters' has been developed for these communications. Click here to find out more about the brand and about how to get a copy of the guidelines and logos.

Last year Calderdale Forward put in place a new structure for the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) to ensure it had effective arrangements to develop and deliver Calderdale’s Local Area Agreement. A five-strong Support Team was established to help the LSP build new partnerships, deliver the LAA, share good practice and communicate effectively between different partnership groups.

Two opportunities have now arisen to join the Support Team. Both positions are only available as secondments from LSP partner organisations.

After submitting a new list of indicators and targets to the Regional Government Office earlier this year, the Local Area Agreement for 2008 - 2011 has now been agreed. To view it, click here.

Calderdale Forward is currently reviewing its Community Cohesion Strategy and is actively seeking opinions on a draft, which will help shape the future of Calderdale. A copy of the existing Community Cohesion Strategy Action Plan 2005-2008 can be viewed here. A copy of the consultation document can be downloaded using the link below.

April 2008
A consultation document about the new Community Cohesion strategy, called 'Everyone Different, Everyone Matters' has been published. A copy of the consultation document can be downloaded here. All responses should be sent to Andrew Pitts at Andrew.Pitts@calderdale.gov.uk by 16th June 2008.

17th March 2008
Calderdale Forward has beaten off tough competition from around the country to be named Local Strategic Partnership of the Year.

Representatives from Calderdale Forward picked up the accolade on the evening of 17th March at the Local Government Chronicle Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

The title was given over fellow finalists Gloucester City Council, Oldham Partnership, Ealing Council, Buckinghamshire County Council and London Borough of Croydon.

Local Strategic Partnerships are one of the main means by which local partners can come together and agree key priorities across a range of areas. Judges at the awards said the best were those that include a wide range of partners from the private, public, community and voluntary sectors and those which reflect the make-up of the communities which they represent.

High-level commitment, the involvement and energy of partners make Calderdale Forward distinct from other Local Strategic Partnerships. In addition real and meaningful engagement by partners in Calderdale Forward has brought about significant measurable change and improvements in the District.

March 2008
Calderdale Forward has submitted an updated list of indicators to be included in the new LAA to the Regional Government Office. The latest list of proposed indicators can be viewed here. An updated Story of Place has also been submitted to the Government Office, and can be viewed here.

The government has released the final definitions for 138 of the 198 indications in the National Indicator Set. These can be viewed here. The definitions for the remaining 60 indicators, including those forming part of The Assessments of Police and Community Safety (APACS) framework and Place Survey, have yet to be finalised and will be published at the end of March.

The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) has published a briefing note on National Indicator 7 ('An environment for a thriving third sector'), and a response to the Commission on the Future of Volunteering report, both of which can be downloaded form the OTS website.

January 2008
Calderdale Forward submitted its initial list of indicators to be included in the new LAA to the Regional Government Office in January. Negotiations between Calderdale Forward and the Government Office regarding the new LAA are ongoing. A complete list of the business cases for indicators to be included in Calderdale's new LAA can be viewed here. The latest list of proposed indicators for inclusion in the new LAA can be downloaded here.

November 2007
Entries for the National Awards for Local Government 2008 have been judged, and Calderdale has been short-listed for the Local Strategic Partnership Award. The LGC Award winners will be announced in March 2008. A copy of Calderdale's entry can be downloaded here.

Local Government Yorkshire and Humber (LGYH) are holding awards this Autumn and Calderdale have made 5 submissions to the "Working Together to Make a Difference" category within, "Working together to improve" which is an award for collaboration through partnership working.

The top 5 submissions for the Yorkshire and Humber region will be decided by Thursday 16th October, the winner and runners up will be announced at the Harrogate International Centre on Tuesday 18th November.

Please see the links below for more details on our individual submissions.

Calderdale Summer University - Free tasters for Young People

Seat Belt On - Road Safety Campaign

Healthy Aging Programme - Designed for Older People by Older People

Rapid Response - Emergency Care

Integrated Offender Management - Helping offenders turn their backs on crime

Over time, working in partnership with other local organisations both in the public and private sectors has become more and more key to improving the lives of people in Calderdale.

As a result of this, the brand 'everyone different, everyone matters' has been developed for these communications. Click here to find out more about the brand and about how to get a copy of the guidelines and logos.