Bristol Community Cohesion Strategy 2010-2013

7/28/2019 Bristol Community Cohesion Strategy 2010-2013

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Bristol is a great city and a place where I am proud to live and work. With its history as aninternational port, Bristol has for generations welcomed people from other cultures andcountries. There is a strong tradition of diverse communities working together.

It is fair to say however, that our changing population in recent years brings new challengesand demands on our public services. Therefore our community cohesion strategy will help usbuild on previous experience to develop a coordinated approach, which addresses thechallenges and creates common understanding between all our residents. We aim to have ourcity benefit from the diversity of communities without the dangers of separation.

Led by Bristol City Council and supporting our Bristol 20:20 plan for stronger and safer

communities, our strategy will focus on a number of emerging priorities identified throughrecent research and consultation with stakeholders from local communities, voluntary sectororganisations, statutory partners, schools and council officers. It will build on current goodpractice but more importantly compliment existing work and identify the gaps where servicescan be strengthened and improved.

It will identify the importance of improving attainment in our local schools, developing clearlines of communication around housing policy, addressing community tensions, helping new

communities feel welcomed, ensuring long-standing communities get a fair deal and enablingthe new Neighbourhood Partnership process to bring people from different backgroundstogether around local decision making.

It is clear that issues of community cohesion and integration will continue to shift and change.It will therefore be important to ensure that this strategy is a living document and subject toconstant review to meet the challenges ahead.

The future of our city will be shaped by all of us working together, with a collective vision andambition to make Bristol an even better place to live.

Clr. Barbara J ankeLeader of Bristol City Council

Foreword


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1. SECTION 1 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. SECTION 2 - STRATEGY15. SECTION 3 - ACTION PLAN


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This document sets out the City-wide Community Cohesion Strategy and Action Plan. Itincludes three sections.

Executive Summary City-Wide Community Cohesion Strategy Community Cohesion Action Plan.

Based on what we already know, what we have learned through consultation and detaileddiscussion, and the issues highlighted in recent local and national reports, we are now clearabout the priorities we need to address in Bristol for the next three years.

Promoting a shared vision for Br istol Making community cohesion our day to day business

Promoting democracy and citizenship through local involvement inneighbourhoods, communi ties and through the voluntary sector

Supporting our schools in meeting their responsibi lities for deliveringcommunity cohesion

Reducing tension, addressing grievances and making the city safer

Preventing the problems of tomorrow

The community cohesion action plan, developed by a wide range of stakeholders (set out inSection three), incorporates over twenty broad actions from across the service deliverysectors. These initial actions will be central to delivering the six priorities and will help toembed community cohesion into service areas and build on existing work with partners to

SECTION 1

BUILDING BRISTOL TOGETHERA City-wide Community Cohesion Strategy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


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This strategy has been developed after nine months of talking to people across the city.

The strategys aim is to improve the way we work and deliver services to reflect the needs ofour changing communities. To be successful it will need ownership throughout Bristol City

Council (BCC) and its partners and demonstrate clear links to over-arching strategies such asthe Bristol 20:20 plan for the city.

It will require both leadership and vision from senior council officers, elected members(Councillors) and key people from the statutory bodies, voluntary sector and localcommunities.

The strategic approach to community cohesion can only be successful through practicalsupport and joined up working across service delivery areas. It will need to focus on solvingpractical cohesion challenges as they arise and effectively managing and reducing futureproblems.

As new priorities and national policies emerge, the strategy will create an opportunity to take afresh look at the challenges of Bristols changing population and the every-day issues thataffect our communities. Moreover the Councils strong commitment to devolving services

down to local level, coupled with the governments emerging Big Society agenda, may providefurther opportunities to build cohesion through community activism and local participation.

Finally, future development will need to consider how the duty on schools to delivercommunity cohesion can be supported, as well meeting the demands of housing, health,community tension, separation within our communities and the realities of the economicrecession. New approaches are needed to meet the changing needs of all Bristolscommunities, whether they are new and emerging, settled and longstanding, or communities

of interest.

SECTION 2

BUILDING BRISTOL TOGETHER

CITY-WIDE COMMUNITY COHESION STRATEGY 2010/11


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The following community cohesion challenges provide us with a current context. Summarisedas follows:

Promoting a community cohesion vision of Bristol as an international community Managing population change and its impact on services like education and housing

Addressing all forms of hate crime and community tensions Building civic participation and engagement Tackling the potential for separation of our communities Understanding our many different communities and effectively pre-empting and

planning for better services to meet their needs Addressing the impact of recession on identified communities

WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE?

Outcomes

These are aligned to the vision for Bristol s 20:20 plan

Stronger, resilient and more cohesive communities across Bristol Safer communities for all residents of Bristol

Raising the aspiration and achievement of children and young people Reducing inequality narrowing the gap of disadvantage

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

Identifying priorities and setting a clear direction for delivery must be seen in the context offuture financial constraint across the Council and within partner agencies.

Embedding community cohesion across service delivery can be cost effective, particularly inearly intervention to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in local communities. We do nothave new resources to implement this strategy and will use existing responsibilities andpartnerships to implement the action plan. We will also build community cohesion targets intocommissioning and grant investment to meet our commitments.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY COHESION?

There is no single shared definition of community cohesion. The term community is alsoused in different ways. For this strategy community means both residents living alongsideeach other in the local neighbourhood and also those people who may come togetherbecause of discrimination or a shared experience, for example, the lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender (LGBT) and disabled communities. Although it is important to remember thatsuch communities do not simply fall into one category and can for example be part of a

WHY DO WE NEED THIS STRATEGY?


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For the purpose of this strategy it is also important to consider six elements of a communitycohesion process:

Interaction: between individual, communities and wider society to promote trustand common understanding

Active ci ti zenship: participation in civil society, in public institutions, the workplace and political life

Equality of access to the labour market, housing, education, healthcare andsocial welfare

A society at ease with i tself , with a real sense of security, welcome andbelonging

Respect for the rule of law and the liberal values that underpin societyThe possession of civil, political and social rights and responsibilities.

(Source: ICoCo website)

Bristol is diverse. The Somali and East European communities are establishingthemselves Weve got strong Afrikan Caribbean Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi and

A SUMMARY OF BRISTOLS CHANGING POPULATION

Communities are 'cohesive' when theyare resilient and educated about oneanother, enriched by each others

cultures. They can have some sharedvalues, but mainly are willing to liveside by side in peace. BristolResident Cohesion implies responsibilities

towards the well-being ofeveryone in the society, in terms

of the values that are passedfrom parents to children and fromteachers to pupils in terms of howto live with others. BristolResident


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Population Shifts

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimates that Bristols population grew from390,000 in 2001 to 433,100 in 2009. This rate of increase (11%) is two and a halftimes the percentage change experienced in Great Britain as a whole of 4.5%. TheONS estimates that Bristols population will have risen to 548,100 by 2026.

In Bristol between J anuary 2002 and April 2009, a total of 35,770 National Insurance(NI) numbers were issued to non-UK nationals. By far the largest proportion of these 22% - was issued to Polish nationals (8,020). India was the next with 2,410 (7%) andSomalia with 1,860 (5%). People registering for an NI number came from nearly 100different countries.

The increase in net migration since 2001 represents a key change in population trends

in Bristol with more people moving into Bristol than leaving. The large increase in thepopulation of Bristol between 2001 and 2009 can be mainly attributed to the significantincrease in net international migration, particularly in 2004/05 when the A8 Accessioncountries (new Economic Union (EU) members) joined the EU. The trend has howeverlessened since 2006/7 with fewer international migrants coming into Bristol and moreinternational migrants leaving Bristol.

In Our SchoolsAt school my daughter s best f riends are from the Polish, Afr ikan Caribbean,Pakistani and English communities, she doesnt think anything of it, theyre all

mates together I think the parents could learn a lot from the kids(Bristol Parent)

Schools are becoming increasingly diverse at a much faster rate than the population ofBristol. The 2010 Schools Census showed that 30% of pupils belong to an ethnic

background that is not White British - this compares with 17.5% of the population as awhole. The distribution of children by age points to a contributing rise in overallnumbers of non White British pupils: 42.7% of children in the citys Local Authoritymaintained nursery schools are from non- White British backgrounds.

Black Somali children are the largest non-White group with 2,237 pupils or 4.5% of thetotal population. This is a significant increase since the population counted by the 2001Census. White Eastern European children numbered 825 or 1.7%.

Somali is the most widely spoken first language, other than English, by children in theyears from nursery to Year 11 at 21.4% - with Punjabi, Polish and Urdu all around 6%.

Only 4.4% of teachers were from BME backgrounds in March 2008, up slightly from


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.

me

This map indicates the percentage of White British school pupils in Bristol by ward.

Population Distribution

BME communities are located primarily around the centre of the city. Three centralwards, Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill had BME populations of 25.6%, 24.9% and31.7% respectively. In contrast three wards in the south west of Bristol, Bishopsworth,Hartcliffe and Hengrove, all had White populations in excess of 90%.

Recent demographic evidence however, highlights a significant population shift, withBME communities settling in areas beyond the inner city, including Lockleaze, Windmill

Hill, St George, Frome Vale and Hillfields (Source: Bristols Population report 2009,Neighbourhood Partnership Profiles 2010)

Young Population

Since 2000, the number of births to Somalia-born mothers has increased. In 2008, outof a total off 6,318 live births in Bristol, 341 (5.4%) were to a Somlia-born mother. Theincrease in the number of births to Polish mothers is a relatively new phenomenon(since the expansion of the EU in 2004) and accounted for 166 births in Bristol in2008. The next highest numbers of births were to Pakistani-born mothers (134) andIndia-born mothers (99). All other births to mothers from other countries were lessthan 50 in 2008.

Population Census

M h k i b i d t k i B i t l t f th ti f th 2011


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The concept of community cohesion emerged in the UK in 2001 following the disturbances inBradford, Burnley and Oldham. The independent Community Cohesion Review Team, chairedby Ted Cantle, reported at the end of 2001, some six months after the riots. The 'CantleReport' as it became known, provided a national overview of the state of race and community

relations. Cantle drew attention to polarised and segregated communities in which people led'parallel lives' and made 67 recommendations. While still highlighting the need to tackleinequalities the recommendations were much more wide ranging and amounted to a newapproach to race and diversity.

National policy around community cohesion gained momentum. The Commission onIntegration and Cohesion recommended that more needed to be done to build shared values,mutual respect and civic responsibilities. The Governments response to this was the 'OurShared Future' report of J une 2007 which attempted to see the cohesion debate as part ofwider social changes includiing migration patterns and population dynamics.

Other developments included the 'duty to promote community cohesion' in schools. This wasintroduced at the end of 2007 and rolled out in 2008 with new guidance issued, the start of anew inspection regime, a new Community Cohesion and English for Speakers of OtherLanguages (ESOL) policy; and the new Local Area Agreement (LAA) framework for local

authorities and their partners (with nearly one hundred making cohesion their first priority).

New national challenges continue to emerge. With migration from an increasing number ofcountries and the rise ofsuper diversity within our communities, the old assumptions aboutintegration based upon several well defined ethnic minority communities may no longer hold.

The question has also been raised regarding segregation in education leading to widerpatterns of segregation in communities. Citizenship and social capital needs to focus oncreatinggreater levels of civic responsibility. The relationship between economic activity, therecession and community cohesion needs to be further explored, particularly the links with theprivate sector. The rise of religious extremism and organised racist activity, particularly indeprived areas needs to be further addressed. And the need for common language topromote social integration and participation in the labour market should be prioritised.(Source: ICo Co website).

In response to the 2003 summer disturbances in the Barton Hill area of Bristol a partnershipbetween Bristol City Council and Community-@-Heart (the New Deal for CommunitiesProgramme) emerged and was tasked with developing a Race Equality and CommunityCohesion Plan (RECCAP) to tackle neighbourhood tensions partly caused by the rapidpopulation change in the area In a period of two to three years the predominately white

WHAT HAS HAPPENED NATIONALLY IN COMMUNITY COHESION?

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN BRISTOL?


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HOW DOES THE CC STRATEGY FIT WITH OTHER KEY PLANS?

Local levelBris tol 20:20 Plan The Bristol Partnerships 20 20 plan sets out to tackle the major citywide challenges.

Activities include delivering neighbourhood governance and promoting communitycohesion.

BCC Corporate Plan The Corporate Plan 2008-11 recognises that the diversity of our people andcommunities is a strength but also highlights the challenges of cohesion andintegration. The plan commits to building cohesion within our communities andtackling inequality.

ICoCo Report on Schools This reports highlights pupil population change and community cohesion, with a focuson the policy implications for the education service in Bristol.

BCC BME Attainment Plan This plan sets out key actions to raise attainment and reduce inequalities ineducational achievement of Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) learners.

Bristol Children and YoungPeoples Plan

Identifies key areas for improvement raising standards in early years, attainmentlevels for under-achieving and vulnerable groups, minimising bullying, supportingsocial cohesion and improving the economic well-being of children and young people.

Safer Bristol Partnership Plan2009-12

Sets out its strategy for crime reduction and offending, and increasing communityconfidence. It has a key focus on addressing anti-social behaviour, criminal damageand hate crime.

Safer Bristol Hate Crime Strategy Through the Safer Bristol Partnership this strategy demonstrates its commitment totackling all forms of hate crime and building a safer and stronger city for all residents.

Bristol s Housing Strategy2010-2015

Sustainable and cohesive communities are a key outcome of the new housing strategywith a focus on dealing with problems before they reach a crisis and encouragingresident involvement.

Business TransformationProgramme

The Council is undergoing a transformational change programme. The CommunityCohesion strategy along with the Single Equality Scheme recognises this is anopportunity to promote equal opportunities, eliminate discrimination and improverelations between diverse communities.

BCC Single Equalities Scheme Brings together and updates current Race, Disability and Gender Equality schemes as

well as issues from faith/non faith communities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgenderand older and younger communities. It makes the link between the equalitieslegislative framework and wider community cohesion priorities.

Bristol Youth Links Strategy for integrated young peoples provision in Bristol - involving young people inthe development of services, safety of young people in schools and promoting apositive contribution of young people.

BCC Bristols Older PeoplesStrategy 2007-10

Sets out a developing vision of improving the quality of life and well being for peopleover the age of fifty in Bristol. It aligns with the CC strategy on a number of issuesincluding older peoples involvement in decision making, tackling age discrimination,

and encouraging cohesion across the generations.National LevelDuty on schools to delivercommunity cohesion

From 2008 schools have a duty to promote community cohesion, Ofsted currentlyinspects this. There is a focus on understanding school and local community issues,promotion of meaningful interaction between groups, sharing common values andimplementing community cohesion across the curriculum.

C i i I i d


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Based on what we already know, what we have learned through consultation and detaileddiscussion, and the issues highlighted in recent local and national reports, we are now clear

about the priorities we need to address in Bristol.We have identified six priorities.

Promoting a shared vision for Br istol

Making community cohesion our day to day business

Promoting democracy and citizenship through local involvement inneighbourhoods, communi ties and through the voluntary sector

Supporting our schools in meeting their responsibi lities for deliveringcommunity cohesion



HOW WILL WE DELIVER THE PRIORITIES?

Bristol City Council will act as the lead body and work closely with partners across the publicservices, the voluntary sector and local residents. The Bristol Partnership will support thiswork through its Thriving Neighbourhoods sub-board. There is an expectation that individualpartners will develop and amend their existing resources to deliver both their specific prioritiesand those shared across the partnership. From October 2010 a Task and Finish group hasinformed the development of an initial Community Cohesion Strategy Action Plan (Section3 of this document) based around its own set of identified actions and time lines. It will align

with the priorities, reflect the values set out in this strategy and identify who is responsible forensuring the actions are delivered. A Task Force group will be responsible for future deliveryof the strategy and action plan.

HOW DOES THE CC STRATEGY FIT WITH OTHER KEY PLANS?HOW DOES THE CC STRATEGY FIT WITH OTHER KEY PLANS?WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY COHESION PRIORITIES?


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There is no single measure of community cohesion. There are also challenges to identifyingindicators that adequately address the range and complexity of community cohesion issues.For this strategy a number of key indicators will be used to monitor and evaluate as broad arange of the work as possible. It will focus on both short term and longer-term impacts.

HOW DO WE KNOW ITS WORKING?

Bristo l Partnership Thriving Neighbourhoods Board

(sub-board of the Bristol Partnership)Will ensure full partner involvement in the delivery of the strategy and action plan.

Community Cohesion Task Force Groupsupported by Equalities and Community Cohesion Team

responsible for the delivery of the community cohesion action plan.

Delivery

Governance and Accountability

Bristo l City Council

Acts as the governing body.

Leader of the City CouncilThe political lead for the strategy.

Community Cohesion and Safety Scrutiny Commission.Will take reports on progress and comment on the development of

the strategy and action plan

Bristol City Council Communities and Neighbourhoods DivisionOversees the progress and impact of the strategy and action plan

Recent changes by the government have resulted in the scrapping of the Local Area


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Recent changes by the government have resulted in the scrapping of the Local AreaAgreement and the statutory measurement of the National Indicators. This means that someperformance data relevant to the measurement of community cohesion will no longer becollected. At present we will focus on the key annual Quality of Life Indicators and otherlocally produced indicators such as the Single Equalities Scheme, The Black & Minority Ethnic(BME) Action Plan and the Hate Crime Strategy. Levels of attainment in schools will continueto be reported and analysed through the Children and Young Peoples (CYPS) Researchteam

Examples of indicators are set out below:

Outcome 1. Stronger, resilient and more cohesive communit ies across Bristol

Respondents who feel that their local area is a place where people from differentbackgrounds can get on well together (Quality of Life Indicator, QOL)

Respondents who feel they belong to their neighbourhood (QOL) Respondents satisfied with their local neighbourhood (QOL)

Attendance at Neighbourhood Forum meetings (local Neighbourhood Partnership (NPindicator)

Respondents who feel they can influence decisions in the locality (QOL)

Respondents who agree they can influence decisions about the public services theyuse (QOL)

Respondents who agree that people treat each other with respect in theirneighbourhood (QOL)

Respondents who agree ethnic differences are respected in their neighbourhood(QOL)

Voting patterns for far-right parties in local election ward-by-ward analysis

Migrant English Language Skills (Single Equalities Scheme)

Respondents who say they are happy (QOL)

Outcome 2. Safer Communities for all residents of Br istol.

Respondents who feel locally that anti-social behavior is a problem (QOL)

Respondents who think the police and the council successfully respond to anti-socialbehavior (QOL)

Respondents who have been discriminated against or harassed because of their age,disability, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/race in the last twelve months (QOL)

Levels of hate crime per ward (Hate Crime Strategy HCS)

`Hot Spot information on community tension from the Tension Monitoring Group(TMG)

Respondents who feel safe when outside in their neighbourhood after dark (QOL)

Respondents who have been victims of crime in the last 12 months (QOL)


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Outcome 3. Reducing inequality (narrowing the gap of disadvantage)

To significantly increase the satisfaction of BME tenants and reduce the disparity withnon-BME tenants (Single Equalities Scheme) To reduce school exclusions for BME pupils (Single Equalities Scheme) To improve the councils relative position in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index

(Single Equalities Scheme) Respondents People with a limiting long-term illness, health problem or disability (QOL) Respondents satisfied with leisure facilities/services for older people over 65 years

(QOL) Respondents satisfied with leisure facilities/services for disabled people (QOL) Respondents satisfied with the cost and availability of housing (QOL) Respondents with easy access to local employment (QOL) Respondents satisfied with jobs in the neighbourhood (QOL) Numbers of people with no educational or technical qualifications (QOL) Overall unemployment rates

Outcome 4. Raising the aspiration and achievement of children and young people (BPChildren and Young Peoples Board)

Effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles

discrimination (BME Attainment Action Plan) Reduction in BME school exclusions (BME AAP) Increasing % of BME staff in school workforce (BME AAP) Reduction in the number of racist incidents in schools (BME AAP) Attainment of BME and non BME pupil groups in Key Stage(KS) 2 and KS4 (BME

AAP) Attainment of pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) (BME AAP)

Ofsted inspection judgement on quality of teaching, learning and curriculum (BMEAAP)

Ofsted inspection judgements on promotion of community cohesion (BME AAP) Reports on racist, homophobic and disabilist harassment in schools (CYPS report) Increasing the number of BME, disabled, and LGBT school governors (Governor

Team)


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As outlined we are not starting from scratch. There has been a range of high qualitycommunity cohesion activity in recent years from across all sectors. Some recent communitycohesion achievements include:

WHAT ARE WE DOING AT THE MOMENT?

BCC as Lead The development of web-based Somali and Polish Welcome resources to help new and

significant communities settle and integrate into the life of the city

Oldbury Court School bringing parents together from different backgrounds to help

build better cohesion within the school

The development of the Muslim Womens Network to bring more Muslim women into thecivic life of the city

Launch of the Neighbourhood Partnerships to devolve local decision making, andNeighbourhood Forums to strengthen local participation and build safer and morecohesive communities

Building the Bridge Schools Tour working at primary and secondary school level topromote dialogue and discussion about identity and community cohesion

Southmead Graffiti Project Muslim graffiti artist working with local young people todevelop a message of anti-racism using street art and discussion

Delivering the Schools Twinning Programme across Bristol Development of a Myth Busting Fact Sheet on housing allocation in Barton Hill Children & Young Peoples Services (CYPS) Signing up to Stonewall Education

Cham ions Pro ramme

Working in Partnership

Roma Gypsy Community Drop In, set up to support a new and vulnerable communitysettling in Bristol

The development of the Somali Forum set up to build better civic participation for Somalicommunity organisations

Working closely with Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Bristols Muslim communitiesto deliver the Building the Bridge Programme to address potential radicalisation

Gangs Research Project to define, identify and develop policy around young people andgangs in Bristol.

The Building the Bridge Exhibition and Booklet celebrating the lives of ordinary Muslims

in Bristol Building the Bridge - Police Community Engagement team working to bring local

mosques together and linking with the wider community Support and development of the Asylum Seeker and Refugee Welcome Centre

Voluntary Sector


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This action plan is based on six key priorities set out in the City Wide Community Cohesion strategy. The lead officer forthe Strategy is the Service Director, Neighbourhoods and Communities. Actions are comprehensive and cross cutting, with responsibility

for delivery sitting across departments and sectors. The initial task will be to embed a community cohesion approach into servicedelivery and identify actions that can make a difference in the first year of operation. Six Key Prior it ies

Promoting a shared vision for Br istol

Making community cohesion our day to day business

Promoting democracy and citizenship through local involvement in neighbourhoods, communit ies and through the voluntarysector

Supporting our schools in meeting their responsibilit ies for delivering communi ty cohesion



15.

SECTION 3

BUILDING BRISTOL TOGETHER

CITYWIDE COMMUNITY COHESION STRATEGYACTION PLAN


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KEY PRIORITY Actions Lead & Support Timescale Output OutcomePromoting a sharedvision for Bristol

Promote the community cohesion visionfor Bristol. Promote community cohesionsuccess stories

Communication andMarketing Team

March2011

Visionsuccessfullymarketed

Stronger local narrative anda shared vision for Bristol

Conduct a Mainstreaming Review ofcommunity cohesion work across BristolCity Council followed by partner agencies

Equalities andCommunity CohesionTeam

September2011

Mainstream reviewcompleted andcirculated

Up to date analysis of corecommunity cohesion workacross the city to help planbetter services and engagewider involvement,particularly private,educational and healthsectors

Building Cohesion intoour day to daybusiness

Develop and deliver a range of cultural

competence training across the City thatrecognises the Bristol vision and corecommunity cohesion values

Equalities andCommunity CohesionTeam with voluntarysector partners

September2011

Culturalcompetencetrainingprogrammedeveloped androlled out

Increased understanding ofcommunity cohesionapproaches. More effectiveintervention in servicedelivery

Embed cohesion element into EqualitiesImpact Assessments


March2011

UpdatedEqualities ImpactAssessmentcompleted

Effective measurement ofcommunity cohesionagainst specific servicedelivery areas

Improve Bristol City Council points andrelative position in the Stonewall (LGBOrganisation) Workplace Equality Index, acompetitive index of private and public sectoremployers, which includes feedback fromLGB staff on local performance


J anuary2011

Top 100 rankingand/or increase inpoints scored onprevious year

Improvement in equalitypractice. Embedding LGBequality in the workplace andin service delivery for LGBemployees and customers


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Develop stronger links with faith basedcommunity groups delivering communitycohesion/community work projects.Further focus and delivery to build

stronger links between Bristols faithcommunities and for faith groups tohighlight how their practice crossescultural boundaries

Multi Faith Forum/ InterFaith Group, Building theBridge Board

ongoing Arrange initialdiscussion with MultiFaith forum reps.Arrange further

meeting with J ewishand Muslimcommunities

Improvement and bettercoordination of communitybased service provision.Stronger links between council

and faith based organisations.Stronger relations betweenfaith communities. Awarenessand learning about the otherfaith

Promoting democracyand citizenship throughlocal involvement inneighbourhoods,

communit ies andthrough the voluntarysector

Develop and deliver actions to increasediversity of people in public life (forexample, school governors, councillors,and management committee members)from under represented communitiesacross the city

Equalities andCommunity CohesionTeam, GovernorDevelopment Service,BME GovernorsNetwork, DisabledGovernors Network,Legacy Commission

September2011 Programmesagreed and rolledout.

Increased numbers and qualityof under representedcommunities participating inpublic life (for example BME,LGBT and Disabled schoolgovernors)

Deliver ESOL, citizenship training and

supplementary school provision acrossthe city and increase the number ofmigrants who are accessing training,advice services, employment andvolunteering

Communities and Adult

Learning Team andvoluntary sectorcommissioned partners

December

2011

Commissioned

programmes rolledout and deliveredwithin MigrationImpact Funding.

Increased numbers of

migrants accessing servicesto meet demand.Improved integration andprospects in the jobs market


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Roll out and develop coordinated communityengagement activity across allNeighbourhood Partnerships andNeighbourhood Forums. Ensure a) equalities

representation and links with key forums andrepresentative groups b) involvement ofyounger and older people c) support tolongstanding communities

Neighbourhoods andCommunities, YouthParticipation Team,voluntary sector partners,

Equalities Forums

ongoing Engagement plansrolled out with clearprogramme ofcommunity

development andengagement.Development ofvirtual teams anetwork of officersacross council andpartners. Equalitiesreps elected

Increased numbers fromacross communitiesparticipating in NeighbourhoodForums and Partnerships

Improved local decision-making

Improved local service delivery

Stronger local communitygroups delivering services

Develop and deliver programme of artsheritage, and cultural activity across the cityto build links between different communities

Neighbourhood Artsteam, Bristols Museum,Galleries and Archives/Arts, festivals and Eventsvoluntary sector partners

ongoing Programme ofcohesion activityplanned and agreedand delivered,including somepartnership projects

Stronger links with diversecommunities. Building linksand breaking down barriersbetween people. Increasedcultural competence andpositive attitudes towardsdiversity.

Improved social networks

Development of project work and support tonew and vulnerable communities Somali,Polish, Roma, Refugee and Asylum seekers

Delivery of project work aimed atlongstanding established communities

Neighbourhoods andCommunities -Community DevelopmentTeam, Gypsy andTraveller team / City ofSanctuary/ voluntarysector partners

Ongoing

March 2011

Communitydevelopment andproject workprogramme agreedand rolled out

Programme fundedthrough ConnectingCommunities andEngagement fundingrolled out

Stronger communities able toaccess key support and localservices. New communitiesable to participate moreeffectively in day-to-day life ofthe city

Established communitiesworking to improve localservices


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Tackling the perception that theallocation/letting of Social Housing is unfair.programme of training and briefing for staffand the public

Develop clear local plans to address BMEpopulation shifts into new areas of Bristol.Identify support to new and existing tenants toadjust to change (for example BuddyingSchemes). Promote and market new areasin positive light

Strategic Housing Team,Housing Associationpartners

Ongoing

Sept 2011

Programme ofcommunication andlong term planningagreed and rolled

out

Clear plansdeveloped based onlocal circumstances.

Decrease in levels ofmisunderstanding aroundhousing allocation. Increase insupport to residents settling in

new build. Decrease intensions

Addressing potential problemsof separation in communities

Increase prosecution of non-compliant

landlords (Houses in Multiple Occupation -HMO) with a focus in student areas of the city

Strategic Housing Team ongoing Work programme

delivered.

Increased sign up into

compliant landlords scheme.Increase in prosecution re non-compliant landlords

Address identified localised communitytensions and ASB through the MyNeighbourhoods process and other multi-agency forums

Neighbourhoods andCommunities (AreaCoordinators) SaferBristol, ASBNeighbourhood DeliveryTeam Chairs, Avon and

Somerset Police andvoluntary sector partners

ongoing Local issuesidentified andsuccessfullyaddressed

Reduction in tension withinlocal communities

Reducing tension,addressing grievancesand creating a safer ci ty

Community cohesion to be taken into accountin planning decisions where relevant

Planning & SustainableDevelopment Team

ongoing Agreed thatcommunity cohesioncan be a relevantmaterial planningconsideration

Better understanding ofcommunity tension implicationsof planning decisions andidentification of measures toreduce it


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Strengthen localised tension reportingbetween Tension Monitoring Group andNeighbourhood Delivery Teams / AreaCoordinators

Deliver an effective case work service on allhate crime reporting

Target Anti-social behaviour (ASB) hot spotareas

Safer Bristol Team,Tension MonitoringGroup, StrategicPartnership Against Hate

Crime (SPAHC),specialist voluntary sectoragencies/ASB Team,Area Coordinators

March 2011 Hate crime reportssent to NDT Chairsand ACs. Feedbackfrom ACs to TMG

on current localtensions

Casework servicemeasured againstagreed outcomesthrough Hate Crimestrategy.

Continuation of keyASB actions in hotspot areas

Reductions in hate crime.More effective response tohate crime and ASB inNeighbourhood Partnership

and hot spot areas

Mainstream the learning from the Building theBridge Programme (Preventing ViolentExtremism) beyond March 2011

Prevent Building theBridge Board

December2011

Positiverelationships andgood practicesustained beyondcurrent fundedprogramme

Ensure legacy of successfulprojects beyond the fundedprogramme. Effectiveresponse to vulnerableindividuals and radicalisation

Working with national, regional, sub-regionaland local partners to address worklessness

Building Partnerships to address therecruitment needs of major private and publicsector or employers in the city

Skills and EmploymentTeam, Regeneration

ongoing J oint working withDepartment of Workand Pensions, J obCentre Plus, SkillsFunding Agency,West of EnglandPartnership and, atthe local level, theWays2Work network

Ensuring that localemploymentopportunities aremade available toand accessed bythose communitiesclosest to theworkplace.

Ensuring that the employmentand training needs ofdisadvantaged groups,communities and areas withinthe city are recognised andappropriate resourcesdeveloped to address specificneed

Public sector work force profilereflects the make up of thecommunity it serves


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Income maximisation for vulnerable anddisadvantaged communities

Welfare Rights andMoney Advice ServiceManager, fundedvoluntary sector partners

ongoing Ensuring vulnerableand disadvantagedcommunities claimwhat they are

entitled to

Narrowing the gap ofdisadvantage. Effectivelyaddressing poverty.

Develop a clear plan and protocols to addressany extremist activity across the city

Avon and SomersetPolice, Equalities &Community CohesionTeam , TensionMonitoring Group

March 2011 Plan developed andrisk assessed.Protocols agreed byBristol City council.

Reduction in risk of unrest andcommunity tension. ClearerBCC protocols to address farright activity around localelections

Development of the J oint Intelligence Group(J IG)to bring together expertise, evidence andhorizon scanning for community cohesion in

Bristol

Somali Community Calculator developed andresults rolled out

Consultation, Researchand Intelligence Team

March 2011 Invite communitycohesion officer onto the J IG.

Identify and sharecommunity cohesionintelligence withpartners

Somali CommunityCalculator adoptedas local estimate ofthe Somalipopulation in Bristol

Improved community cohesion

knowledge and analysis forfuture planning of services

More accurate estimate ofBristols Somali population tohelp plan services and meetthe needs of the community

Preventing the problemsof tomorrow

Support Office of National Statistics (ONS) toachieve full participation in the 2011 Censusto fully reflect the citys diversity

Consultation, Researchand Intelligence Team

Sept 2010 Accurate Censusstatistics andpopulation estimates

Increase in participation fromdiverse communities.

Sound evidence base for policyplanning, service delivery andresource allocation over thenext decade


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Documents

Bristol Community Cohesion Strategy 2010-2013