LAA, LINk and KIN

What is good about the area you live in? … and what is not so good?

What can we do about it?

We often hear about life being a ‘post code lottery’.  But what if we can influence the services we receive and the priorities of the decision makers? What if services delivered in our ‘post code’ were the most appropriate for the people who live nearby?

Increasingly opportunities are being developed for people, either as individuals or representing local organisations like churches, to shape the services we receive and to contribute to improving them. 

There are three such opportunities here;

.• LAAs are the Local Area Agreements: these are agreements between central and local government about the priorities improving local services.  The Voice bulletin keeps us up to date with what is happening - see below to access the latest edition

• LINks are the Local Involvement Networks: set up by the health authorities to gather residents’ views

• KINs are Key Individual Networks: similar to LINks but set up by the police

 

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Local Area Agreements (LAA)

Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are a set of up to 35 priorities for improvement chosen out of a set of 198 given by the government.  Local Government and the other agencies that form the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) have been assessed on these targets. The Coallition Government is letting the LAA run its course for the time being but it is likely to be replaced.  It does however still represent the priorities of the a wide range of partners in both Derby and Derbyshire and so it remains a document of interest, at least for the time being.

The Voice Bulletin aims to bring you all the latest and most relevant news coming out of the Derbyshire Partnership Forum (the Derbyshire LSP). In the current issue Claire Thornber writes ...

Voice for the VCS tries to keep voluntary and community groups and organisations up to date with what’s happening that might affect you, whether that’s at county level or across the whole UK. This issue looks at both. But Voice is not just here to give you information, Voice wants to here what you have to say about it. Voice is your way of communicating how things affect you, your group or your ‘service users’. If you have a comment about The Big Society or the public spending cuts Voice would like to hear it. That way, we can ensure the right people hear it.
Voice also publishes a round up of cuts and opportunities heading your way, if you would like it to be emailed to you, please contact me.

Download the latest Voice Bulletin in pdf format.

Earlier editions of the Voice Bulletin and other information about Claire's valuable work can be found on the Voice website.

Churches Together in Derbyshire has two representatives on the Derbyshire Partnership Forum (the LSP responsible for the Derbyshire LAA), Bishop Humphrey Southern (Bishop of Repton) and the Church and Society Officer (post currently vacant and under review).  They have identified five particular targets that churches in Derbyshire could contribute to …

• Percentage of people who believe people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local areas
• Environment for a thriving third sector
• Understanding of local concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime by the local council and police
• Number of vulnerable people who are supported to maintain independent living
• Per capita CO2 emissions in Local Authority area

Representation on the Derby City Partnership is through the Derby Forum of Faiths.

To see more detail about the LAAs they can be downloaded from ...

For the Derbyshire LAA go to the Derbyshire County Council website; the actual Derbyshire LAA targets for 2008-11 can be downloaded here.

For Derby go to the Derby City Council website or download here

 

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Local Involvement Networks (LINk)

Do you know someone who has suffered because they did not get appropriate health care? Can you see ways in which the provision of health care could be improved? Do you think that it is important to help to improve local provision?  Becoming part of your local LINk could give you the chance to be a part of making things better.

What will a LINk do?

• Give everyone the chance to say what they think about their local health and social care services – what is working well and what is not so good.

• Give people the chance to check how those services are planned and run.

• Provide feedback on what people have said about services, so that things can change for the better.

LINks will have a range of powers.  They will be able to:

• Make reports and recommendations and get a reply within a set period of time.

• Ask for information and get a reply within a set period of time.

• Go into some types of health and social care premises to see what they do.

• Refer issues to the local Overview and Scrutiny Committee and get a response.

To find out more about the Derbyshire LINk (not including Derby) contact

Go to the Derbyshire County Council LINk web page to find out more about the Derbyshire LINk

or go to the Derby LINk's own web page. 

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Key Individual Networks (KIN)

KINs provide members of the public and representatives of community organisations (like churches) to influence policing policy so that their area can become safer.

Benefits of the KIN

• Improves the quality of life for you and your neighbourhood.

• Provides a way of resolving issues that arise within your neighbourhood.

• Provides an opportunity for the community to influence how their area is policed. 

Main roles of the KIN

• Widen the consultation between the police and the local community.

• Give prompt information about significant changes in local tension and provide information of local issues.

• Enable community members to influence local policing and for the police to get increase information about issues affecting our neighbourhoods.

To get in touch with you local Key Individual Network go to the Derbyshire Police website and enter your post code (near the bottom of the page).

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