Community Planning

mother and two children  

West Lothian Community Planning Partnership was established in 1999 and now consists of seventeen partner organisations: West Lothian Council, NHS Lothian, Lothian and Borders Police, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue, Voluntary Action West Lothian, West Lothian College, Oatridge College, Scottish Enterprise, West Lothian Chamber of Commerce, Scottish Water, Association of Community Councils, JobCentreplus, West Lothian Leisure, West Lothian Youth Congress, Skills Development Scotland, SESTRANs and the Pension Service.  

The Partnership produced a Community Plan 'Shaping our Future' in 2000 which set out the strategic direction for West Lothian over the next ten years and detailed the key targets and priorities for the Partnerships work. The new Community Plan "Towards 2020" was published in December 2009. You can find it on the link below:

Community Plan "Towards 2020"

Community Planning Induction Packs explain in detail how Community Planning works in West Lothian. For a copy of the Induction Pack, please contact the Community Planning team on 01506 281086

The Community Planning Partnership Board consists of senior representatives of all partner agencies.  it meets four times a year, is chaired by the Leader of the Council and provides the strategic leadership for the Partnership.  The Community Planning Working Group meets every six weeks and progresses work set by the Board.  Further information on how the partnership works can be found in the Partnership Agreement in the downloadable documents section below. Minutes of the Board meetings can be found via the links below. If you would like any further details about the content of the minute, please contact the Community Planning Team on 01506 281086.

 

 Single Outcome Agreement

The Concordat between the Scottish Government and Local Authorities sets out a new relationship between national and local government based on mutual respect  and partnership.  The development of Single Outcome Agreements (SOA's) signals a change in the culture of governance, giving local authorities greater flexibility and freedom in the ways in which they meet local needs and priorities.

West Lothians SOA has been developed by the Community Planning Partnership - recognising the key role other organisations will play through working in partnership to deliver local outcomes.  Copies of the full version of the SOA and summary can be found in the section below.  

 Consultation and Engagement

 Involving local people in decisions that affect their lives is a key responsibility of the Community Planning Partnership.  There are various ways in which local people in West Lothian can get involved.

West Lothian Citizens' Panel

The West Lothian Citizens' Panel was established in 1999 and is jointly funded by the Community Planning Partnership.  The panel was set up to help identify local peoples views on a whole range of issues relating to life in West Lothian.  The panel currently has approximately 2, 700 members from across West Lothian. Membership is voluntary and panel members have the opportunity to participate in surveys and focus groups.  A copy of the last Citizens' Panel Newsletter can be found below. If you would like more information on the panel, please contact Susan Gordon, Community Planning Development Officer on 01506 281086 or email susan.gordon@westlothian.gov.uk.

In 2010 the Citizens Panel will be refreshed. Once the panel has been refreshed, members will be asked to participate in the "Quality of Life Survey" which provides invaluable information to all partners about how we can continue to improve our services.

If you would like to become a member of West Lothian Citizens Panel, please click on the link below and complete the form.

http://www.researchresource.co.uk/wlcpanel/p312.htm (new window)

 

 West Lothian Community Race Forum

West Lothian Community Race Forum has recently been established to provide a forum for discussion and action relating to race issues.  The forum seeks to raise awareness of race issues, promote cultural integration and celebrate cultural diversity in West Lothian. They can be contacted on:

communityraceforum@hotmail.co.uk

 

West Lothian Disability Equality Fo rum

West Lothian Disability Equality Forum provides and opportunity for disabled individuals to work in partnership with Community Planning partners to develop actions to identify and eradicate disability discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.  The forum is supported by the charity Disability West Lothian.  If you would like more information on the forum, please contact Andrew Baird at Disability West Lothian on 01506 774043 or email andrew.baird@westlothian.gov.uk

'Towards 2020' Engagement

 West Lothian Community Planning Partnership recently undertook a significant community engagement exercise to find out what peoples hopes were for the year 2020.  The findings from this exercise will inform the development of the new Community Plan.  You can find out more about this below.