Background

The Mid Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership (MSLSP) Executive group developed an action plan for the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) for 2007 to 2008. This was adopted by the LSP Board and used help commission activity to delivery this action plan during the year. The action plan prioritised which aspects of the Community Strategy the MSLSP will focus on for the year April 2008 to March 2009. To ensure that priorities are in line with local needs the LSP Executive considered recent consultation activities carried out by Mid Suffolk District Council. This included:

• Suffolk Speaks Questionnaires;
• Mid Suffolk Messenger Questionnaires.

In addition, MSDC commissioned Suffolk ACRE to analyse parish plans published over the last three years and to map the themes within them against the LAA Target Areas.

Action Plan

The Executive group recommended that that the action plan be based on the Local Area Agreement (LAA) themes within LAA One. The three LAA themes with the majority of support within the Parish Plan analysis were and the general consultation feedback were:

• Stronger Communities;
• Sustainable Communities;
• Safer Communities;

The MSLSP Executive therefore recommends that the MSLSP Board adopt these LAA target areas for the years 2008/09. It is also recommended that these priorities be reviewed after 12 months. The MSLSP Executive also recommend that these priorities are used in the assessment of project submissions made to the LSP or in the commissioning work by the MSLSP during the year. During the course of 2008/09 a variety of projects have been commissioned to support these objectives.

Support of Local Area Agreement 2 priorities

In December 2008, it was agreed that Mid Suffolk LSP could lead on the following targets:

• NI 110: Young people’s participation in positive activities
• NI 2: Percentage of people who feel that they belong to their neighbourhoods
• NI 4: % of people who feel they can influence decisions in their locality
• LT 1: Increase numbers of people volunteering in: Black and minority ethnic communities; Supported volunteering; Young people; Older age groups; Culture and Sport (Measure formal and informal volunteering)

In addition the MSLSP will support delivery of the the following targets in the Mid Suffolk area:

• NI 186: Per Capita CO2 reduction in the local authority area (possibly support)
• NI 188: Planning to adapt to climate change (possibly support)
• LT 2: Access: C) Access to health screening for vulnerable groups (possibly target areas where there is a health inequality)
• NI 8: Adult participation in sport and active recreation (aid promotion of activities)
• NI 112: Under 18 conception rates (bringing pressure to bear on the PCT re reorganisation of sexual health in Mid Suffolk)
• LT 10: Increase cultural participation in Suffolk (mean average as defined in NI 9, 10, 11 for libraries, the arts and museums)
• NI 30: Re-offending rate of prolific and other priority offenders (support to projects)
• NI 32: Repeat incidents of domestic violence (support to projects)
• NI 111: First time entrants to the Youth Justice System aged 10 – 17 (support to projects)
• NI 19: Rate of proven re-offending by young offenders (support to projects)
• LT 7: Number of serious violent crimes committed in a public place where alcohol and substance misuse was a contributory factor (support to projects)
• NI 125: Achieving independence for older people through rehabilitation/intermediate care (support to projects)
• LT 6: Progressively increase the number of older people reporting that they feel their home is a safe environment (support to projects).

The combination of the revised action plan and the above LAA2 targets will be used by the MSLSP to commission or support local activity with any further PSA reward grant or through any future pooling of core funds by LSP Member organisations.