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The ‘Big Society’What Does It Mean For Us

Steven Pleasant

Chief Executive Tameside MBC

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36% - an attempt to create an idealised version of society that

is realistic in some communities but unrealistic in others

25% - an achievable attempt to create a society where people come together to improve life for their communities

25% - part of an ideological drive to shrink the state

9% - a way of justifying public spending cuts

2% - an idea that is not achievable

What is your attitude to the Big Society concept?

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The Message From David Cameron

• Create a Big Society which offers “the potential to completely recast the relationship between people and the State; citizens empowered; individual opportunity extended; communities coming together to make lives better”.

• “The time has come for us to think of the voluntary sector as the first sector …..No matter how difficult the problems facing our society, there is none so difficult that someone, somewhere, isn’t already solving it through voluntary action. The  question is not whether the sector can do it, but what government can do to help them do  more of it.” – David Cameron

• “A simplistic retrenchment of the state which assumes that better alternatives to state action will just spring to life unbidden is wrong…. But I see a powerful role for government in helping engineer that shift (from state action to social action)”.

David Cameron, November 2009.

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Coalition Policies

Freedom, Fairness, Responsibility

Communities and Local Government (Chapter 4)• …We will promote decentralisation and democratic engagement, and we will end the era

of top-down government by giving new powers to local councils, communities, neighbourhoods and individuals.

Social Action (Chapter 27)• …innovation and enthusiasm of civil society is essential in tackling the social, economic

and political challenges that the UK faces today. We will take action to support and encourage social responsibility, volunteering and philanthropy, and make it easier for people to come together to improve their communities and help one another.

But• The deficit reduction programme takes precedence over any of the other measures

in this agreement, and the speed of implementation of any measures that have a cost to the public finances will depend on decisions to be made in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

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Government Progress

• Draft Big Society Programme (18th May)• Cabinet Office Structural Reform Plan (June 2010)• PSAs gone – Big Society becomes the cross-

departmental policy agenda• Spending Review 2010: every departmental plan

should focus on ways of supporting Big Society and mutualism

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Encourage people to take an active role in their communities

• Encourage volunteering• National ‘Big Society Day’• Encourage charitable giving• National citizens service (for 16 year olds)• Community running of local services and facilities

• Community Right to Buy• Community Right to Bid

• Big Society Bank• £470 million Capacity Fund

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Transfer power from central to local

• Greater financial autonomy for local authorities• General power of competence – acting in the best interests

of their communities• Abolish regional strategies, RDAs and Regional

Government Offices• Abolition of CAA and Audit Commission• Free schools/academies – new providers to enter the state

school system• Abolition of PCTs/health commissioning to be given to local

GPs• Promise of more support to co-ops, mutuals, charities and

social enterprises

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Why is a thriving voluntary and community sector important?

Generational Trends in Civic Engagement (Education Held Constant)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970

Year of Birth

Perc

enta

ge

Voted inPresedentialElection

Reads NewspaperDaily

"Most People CanBe Trusted"

Worked onCommunity Project

Member of Group

Interested inPolitics

Attends ChurchRegularly

Attends ClubRegularly

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The research tells us areas with a thriving voluntary and community sector tend to :

• Have better outcomes for children and young people

• Be safer and cleaner• Be more prosperous • Have better health

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Some facts about inequality

7.2 ratioThe number of times richer the richest 5th are than the present 5th

3rdThe place the UK occupies on the income inequality group league table

40% since 1974The percentage increase in inequality in this country

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Resilience?

“The ability of an area to withstand and respond to shocks in the external environment”

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Index of health and social problems

•Japan

•Sweden

Netherlands .

•Canada

•Spain

•Switzerland

Italy . •Australia

•New Zealand

Norway .

Finland . •Belgium

Denmark .Germany .

Austria . France .

•Ireland

•Greece

•UK

•Portugal

Low High

Worse

Better

•Japan

•USA

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1 Elmbridge 315 Walsall

2 St Albans 316 Hartlepool

3 Waverley 317 Ashfield

4 Richmond upon Thames 318 Barrow-in-Furness

5 Mole Valley 319 Redcar and Cleveland

6 Hart 320 City of Kingston upon Hull

7 Horsham 321 Sandwell

8 Surrey 322 Stoke-on-Trent

9 Chiltern 323 Mansfield

10 South Cambridgeshire 324 Middlesbrough

Local authority rankings (top and bottom ten)

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Resilience in the North West

Bottom ten LADs in region (national rankings shown)296 Wigan

298 Rochdale

299 St Helens

300 Oldham

301 Hyndburn

303 Blackpool

305 Pendle

307 Tameside

314 Burnley

318 Barrow-in Furness

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Tameside Works First Building Economic Resilience• Grant funding to develop employment sites• £200 million transport investment – “conurbation accelerators”• £14 million invested in supporting local businesses• 146 companies already helped, 661registered • 90% invoices for SME paid within 10 days

• Tameside Business Family• Tameside Business Summits• Buy with Confidence – nearly 180 businesses accredited• Meet the Buyer/Seller• New pooled apprentice scheme• £250 million school build programme

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Schools for the Future

• Partnership with housing provider, local colleges, University and local businesses

• 2010 - Record GCSE results and KS2 Results• All 19 secondary schools - £200m BSF build programme• On site with 10 schools

• Over £100m spent with local firms• Local apprenticeships• Homeless placements• Student engagement• FJF Placements

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Building Community Resilience

• £3 million investment in VCS last year• New Community Chest Fund - £250k• New volunteer strategy – supported by LSP• Future Jobs Fund – 700 new job opportunities• Working Neighbourhoods Fund – supporting 3000

people into work • Opening doors for older people supporting over 2,700

people• Welfare and debt advice - £5.7m p.a in additional benefit

take-up

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Building Environmental Resilience eg

• Over £10million in refitting homes and businesses• Heatseeker Programme• Britain in Bloom winners 2009– 5 years running• National In Bloom winners 2010 – 1st time

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Building Personal Resilience eg

• Adults Service Best Performing in the Country – 3 years running

• £250m programme to transform Hattersley – highest residents’ satisfaction of all Neighbourhood Management Pilots

• Award winning St Peter’s Partnerships• Pioneering credit unions, in place since 2004 with 2,500

members• Child Poverty Strategy – 15 new children’s centres and

early years (total place) pilot area• Routes to Work - Park Café and Caterham Car • Integrated offender management – 40% reduction in

offending

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Big Society

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