Community Cohesion and Inclusion Terms of Reference

Purpose

To ensure that people from different backgrounds get on well together in Suffolk.

The Community Cohesion and Inclusion Delivery Partnership is the strategic partnership responsible for working together to deliver the inclusion and cohesion outcomes within Transforming Suffolk and the relevant Local Area Agreement Targets and national indicators.

This partnership will work together to build understanding of the issues that impact on inclusion and community cohesion in Suffolk. Partners will work in collaboration to address the issues highlighted, with a view to providing fair and equitable services to individuals and communities across the county.

Equality and diversity

The Community Cohesion and Inclusion Delivery Partnership and any group established under its auspices will strive to deliver all of its strategic aims and objectives with equality and without discrimination, recognising the diversity of the county and within national legislation. This will include following the legal duties as set out in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Equality Act 2006, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and any other relevant emerging legislation.

We value all of the different people within Suffolk and we are committed to tackling inequality and exclusion. We recognise that some people can be disadvantaged and discriminated against and we will promote action to eliminate inequalities. The partnership will promote fair and equitable services and opportunities for the people of Suffolk irrespective of their age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or disability.
The Partnership supports the following definition from the national Equalities Review in 2007: “An equal society protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to live in the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish. An equal society recognises people’s different needs, situations and goals, and removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be”.

Community Cohesion principles

The Partnership recognises that the principles set out in the Commission on Integration and Cohesion “Our Shared Future” report from June 2007 provides useful background reference information. While the guidance and new definition of community cohesion set out in the Department for Communities and Local Government “Cohesion Delivery Framework” from July 2008 related to Public Service Agreement 21: Build more cohesive, empowered and active communities, will be used to guide the strategic direction of the Partnership.

Aims

Provide leadership and strategic direction in response to issues affecting individuals and communities across Suffolk relating to community cohesion, inclusion and active citizenship.
Provide leadership and strategic direction to aid the prevention of violent extremism and hate crime. This will include co-ordinating activities to address these issues.
To develop an action plan for the delivery of community strategy outcomes and LAA2 targets where actions must be SMART and reflect the needs of different localities. During the planning phase of these activities equality and diversity as well as rurality factors should be considered.
Manage and co-ordinate resources to support meeting the outcomes and targets of the Partnership as set out in the action plan, taking account of managing associated risks. Including taking an overview of current spend against outcomes and targets and identifying where this could be spent more effectively or where additional resources are needed to achieve the outcomes. Also identifying the possibility of aligning/pooling resources.
Supporting and challenging activity leads and lead organisations on the performance and delivery of their activities.
Directly commission work to deliver the Delivery Partnership outcomes and targets, including LAA2.
Develop links with each of the other delivery partnerships in order to work in collaboration to achieve shared objectives. Board members and activity leads to identify appropriate contacts in the other Delivery Partnerships with whom to build relationships and to work on mutually beneficial activities that meet outcomes across different delivery partnerships.
To ensure that the work of the Delivery Partnership informs and is informed by the work of other relevant partnerships, including in particular Local Strategic Partnerships.
To ensure that people are involved in the design, development and review of services that affect them.
Undertake work on behalf of the SSP as required.

Membership and chair

Members of the Delivery Partnership should be either elected members or statutory or voluntary sector equivalents as appropriate, who can act to make relevant decisions on behalf of their organisation, partnership or interest group where appropriate or to be able to refer these decisions to their respective management structures to ensure prompt decisions can be made. It is acknowledged that on some occasions members may have to refer a decision back to their organisation before a final commitment can be made.

Individuals should be nominated to the Delivery Partnership by the organisations list in the table mentioned below. The Chair of the Delivery Partnership will be formally agreed by the standing Delivery Partnership members, and be responsible for making all approaches for membership nominations.

If a Delivery Partnership member cannot attend then they must nominate a sufficiently senior person to take their place.

An individual may stand down from the Delivery Partnership at any time but their respective organisation must nominate a replacement.

If a Board member fails, without good reason, to attend three consecutive meetings then the Chair may ask the relevant organisation to nominate a replacement member.

The Chair and Vice Chair are nominated and elected by the Delivery Partnership members.

The chair should be chair for a period of three years.

Governance arrangements

The Delivery Partnership will be quorate when 50% of the membership is in attendance. Decisions of the Delivery Partnership when quorate will be binding, should decisions be made when the Delivery Partnership is not quorate then the decisions will be agreed in principle only.

The chair reserves the right to call exceptional meetings should the circumstances arise.

The Chair shall be responsible for the operation of the meetings and in conducting any voting. Decisions will generally be taken on the basis of consensus and agreement, however failing that a simple majority vote will be used should issues require it.

Each member has a vote on the Delivery Partnership; this vote should be made on behalf of the organisation or partnership that they are there to represent. (This could mean that members who are representing a partnership may vote differently to the organisation that they are employed by).

Members are there to represent their organisation or partnership, not to put forward personal views or opinions.

All members should have responsibility and authority to represent their organisation or partnership. Members are also responsible for feeding back information to the partnership or organisation they represent.

Minutes and papers from all Delivery Partnership meetings will be made available to the public. However in exceptional circumstances some elements of the papers may be withheld and would be decided by the Delivery Partnership members.

Organisation of meetings

The Delivery Partnership will meet four times per year.

There will be a forward work programme agreed by the Delivery Partnership. The agenda will be prepared by the Chair of the Delivery Partnership in conjunction with the Chair of the Executive Group.

Tabling of items will be limited and agreed by the Chair or Vice Chair in advance of the meeting.

Protocol for dispute resolution

To be developed across all Delivery Partnerships

Policy for dealing with complaints

To be developed across all Delivery Partnerships

Amendments to the Terms of Reference

These terms of reference may be amended by the members by consensus or by simple majority of the Delivery Partnership. These terms of reference will remain in effect until March 2011 when they will be replaced by new terms of reference to take into account any necessary changes.

Get in touch

Allison Coleman
01473 265160
allison.coleman@suffolk.gov.uk

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