Fit for 2024 Staff FAQs

Community Empowerment, how far will this go in terms of responsibilities and decision making?

Community planning

• area partnerships deliver the priorities identified in action plans
• the new (April 2019) Community Fund has seen a change from decisions on grant awards being made by Councillors to decisions being made by consensus at area partnership meetings with all attending having a voice
• we have two Locality Development Co-ordinators in post that support communities to become involved in the decision making process and to plan projects in their local areas
• a review of the area partnerships is currently underway with respondents asked their views on both the partnerships themselves and the community fund (including what they think future governance structures should include)

Participation requests

• community groups have the right to request to become involved in a process that contributes to specified outcomes within their community
• we have received seven participation requests, four of which have been agreed, and processes put in place which involve the groups to achieve their desired outcomes

Asset transfer

• communities can now request to take on the lease or ownership of assets owned by us
• we have actively worked with communities for many years to able them to do this but the Act has helped to encourage more groups to actively pursue this
• the capacity of our communities varies hugely. We provide staff resources to support groups wherever possible
• we are committed to involving communities and individuals at all levels of the decision making process although we do need to be more visible in the ways in which we encourage this involvement

Why do we use outside contractors?

• it is usually much more cost effective to use contractors for a limited period rather than engage additional permanent resource
• we occasionally use contractors when we don’t have the necessary skills to complete a specific piece of work in-house or where we are unable to recruit enough skilled individuals to provide a service
• this enables us to meet our statutory obligations, for example as a Category 1 responder

What is happening with SB Cares?

• it has been agreed to bring SB Cares back under the direct control of the Council
• all SB Cares staff have received a communication advising them of this
• clients’ care will not change, and staff will not be affected
• it is purely an administrative process

What is the Council doing about climate change both in terms of national requirements and locally?

• delivering local home energy efficiency programmes supporting home insulation and production of an Affordable warmth and Energy Efficiency Strategy
• installation of electric vehicle charge points and development of our EV fleet
• energy efficiency programme across our estate
• resource efficiency support for businesses
• delivery of sustainable procurement actions
• local habitat enhancement projects