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 Steering Group meets four times a year and progresses work set by the Board. 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.  

The Scottish Government has recently announced a refresh of the National Performance Framework.  The new set of outcomes and indicators are designed to reflect the move towards early intervention and prevention.  The updated National Performance Framework can be found in the section below.  For more information, visit http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms/NPFChanges (new window).

Life Stages

The Life Stages Outcome Planning Programme is a substantial, strategic programme of change led by West Lothian Council working across the Community Planning Partnership (CPP).  The overall aim of the programme is to enable the CPP to plan and deliver more effective interventions to tackle social inequalities and build successful communities across West Lothian using a Life Stage approach targeting deprived geographical areas.  The Programme recognises that those who are most at risk (and generate the greatest expense in terms of demands on services) often lead complex lives, and hence focuses on redesigning services around the needs of the target group using a parntership approach.

Life Stages is about being clear when people most need our support, why they most need our support, which people have the greatest need for our support, and what support they most need from us.

To access the Life Stages Support Guide, click here

To access the Life Stages Outcomes click here

A number of case studies are available. To view the case studys, please click 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, 900 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.

The main activity of the panel is the Quality of Life Survey.  The last one was carried out in 2010 - this was the fifth survey of its kind to be carried out in the last 11 years.  The results to the Quality of Life Survey can be found using the link below.

Quality of Life Results 2010

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.