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w/e 22 January 2010

ACRE News

‘Parish Partnerships’ training for RCC Staff and Partner Organisations
ACRE is pleased to announce a second wave of the new ‘Developing Parish Partnerships’ training course, developed under the umbrella of the national Collaboration Benefits programme.

The two-day course is aimed at community workers, rural practitioners, Local Authority staff and all those involved in developing collaborative partnerships within communities. It will be held over two days in February and March 2010, repeated at five different locations around the country.

Each course will be led by one of the ACRE-appointed Programme Associates (each an experienced trainer/development worker from one of the network of Rural Community Councils). The sessions will allow delegates to build on their existing community development skills as well as understanding and developing solutions to some of the barriers preventing successful parish partnerships.

The courses are offered FREE OF CHARGE, but places must be pre-booked.

For full details of the training, please click here

A copy of the booking form, can be found here

For more information on the national Collaboration Benefits programme, please visit the programme pages on the ACRE website

News

Economic Wellbeing Guidance published
The Commission for Rural Communities has just issued two publications which look at how local authorities can promote the economic wellbeing of their residents. The first document Economic well-being – guidance for local authorities provides guidance to local authorities interested in promoting economic well-being. It explains the relevance of economic well-being and the responsibilities of local authorities, making links to their statutory roles.

The other publication titled Understanding Economic Wellbeing has been published to promote understanding and commitment to economic well-being in rural England. It explains their understanding of economic well-being and its relevance to communities, public policy makers and service delivery organisations. It identifies some critical success factors for those interested in promoting or participating in economic well-being projects and lists 13 good practice case studies. Two of the featured projects are delivered by RCAN members, Oxfordshire Village Shops Development Worker Scheme, run by Oxfordshire RCC and Shropshire Wheels to Work which has been delivered by Shropshire RCC

Government launch new ‘one-stop shop’ website
This week (21st January) saw the launch of a new one-stop shop website to provide the public with a source of government data.

The site contains more than 2,500 sets of data on topics such as crime, education and health. The data can also be used to create applications, and already has a number available, including the ‘School Finder’ to help parents locate their nearest schools.

Follow the link to view the government data website

MP’s discuss ‘vital’ rural services
A discussion between MP’s took place this week focusing on the main challenges in delivering rural services and the risks of rural exclusion.

Other areas looked at during the discussions included the slow speeds of broadband in rural areas, journey times and transport services for people living in rural areas and the higher cost of delivering services to rural areas.

A full news story can be read at the RSN online website

Commission for Rural Communities highlights future public sectors funding cuts
The Commission for Rural Communities has just published a discussion paper which looks at the future of public sector spending.  They state that the current economic downturn is likely to lead to a series of tax increases and spending cuts after the forthcoming general election. The paper makes a number of suggestions about how future services could be delivered so that rural communities are not unfairly penalised in any future public spending cuts. The full discussion paper can be viewed here

Rural Councils must assess housing need
The National Housing Foundation Save our Village campaign has had success in its battle to ensure that local authorities regularly assess rural housing need. Authorities will now need to carry out this assessment from April 2010.

New Strategic Housing Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) inspection guidelines, published by the Audit Commission, state that for councils to be judged as ‘performing adequately’ after 12th April they will need to show that ‘in rural areas, a rolling parish survey is in place to identify emerging housing needs’.

More information about the new housing KLOE guidelines is available at the Audit Commission website  

Church land to be used for rural housing?
Research from the National Housing Foundation (NHF) has suggested that up to 10,000 affordable rural homes could be built if the Church of England were to look at selling or leasing land for development.

Research by the NHF shows that if each of the 9,600 rural Anglican churches sold or leased land, or church buildings, a tenth of the 100,000 affordable rural homes the nation desperately needs could be delivered.

To view the article, follow the link to the NHF website

Publications

Commission for Rural Communities releases report on the effects of the recession on rural communities and economies
The CRC have this week, issued a report to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the impact of the recession on rural economies and communities. The report covers up to the end of 2009 and is an in depth assessment of the impact that the current financial climate has had on rural businesses.

Click on the following link to view the full report

Commissioning and the Community Sector – A new Kindle report
Kindle, the community sector partnership for children and young people, has published Commissioning and the Community Sector, an introductory guide for groups involved in the commissioning process. ACRE was involved in the development of the report from the outset. The report has been written for community sector organisations to help them better understand how local authority commissioners are working to improve outcomes for children, young people and families and how they can make themselves “commissioning ready”.

The document and a range of supporting resources are available to download from the Commissioning Support Programme website.

New position paper from the Community Development Foundation
The Community Development Foundation has just published a new position paper, titled Help From Within which explores the issues around community self help. The paper identifies the key questions facing communities in the current political and economic climate and explores the way that communities can often take localised actions to help themselves.

Rural communities have had a long tradition of community self help supported by members of the Rural Community Action Network; for examples of how this has worked in practice see the ACRE community led planning website. There are also practical examples of how rural communities have been supported to develop solutions to the issues they face in the ACRE Policy Position Papers on the ACRE Website  

New Ladder4learning volunteering briefing sheet
Ladder4learning provides a regional workforce development resource for the Community and Voluntary sectors and social enterprises across the South West of England and parts of the South East.  A briefing sheet has been produced, giving people information and advice on volunteering and the benefits it can bring. Click here to view the volunteering briefing sheet

Events

Energy and the Environment 2010, 30th March Business Design Centre, London
Do you need practical solutions to reducing your carbon? Are you tasked with changing the behaviour of a community? This conference and exhibition aims to cut through the policy and provide public sector workers practical and deliverable solutions for the future.  For more information or to book your place at the event, please look at Energy and Environment 2010 website

The Future of policing – trust, accountability and cost, 18th March 2010, London
The event organised by Westminster Forum will examine the next steps for neighbourhood policing - including Community Contracts which will set out what residents can expect from the police and local authorities regarding crime and anti-social behaviour. More details here 

Poverty and Homeless Action Week – 30th January 2010 – 7th February 2010
Poverty & Homelessness Action Week is an annual opportunity for churches of all denominations to demonstrate solidarity with people who live in poverty or experience homelessness and other forms of social exclusion.  Poverty & Homelessness Action Week runs from 30th January to 7th February.  During the week, many local activities will take place across the UK, including church services, awareness-raising events and activities in schools. 

Resources for the week are available from the Action Week website

Vacancies

Carers Team Manager, Shrewsbury, 37 hours a week, £26,784 - £28,353
Shropshire RCC is looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and dynamic manager, to help develop and improve services for family carers. The candidate will manage two small teams of staff who carry out assessments, reviews and provide a range of support to family carers across Shropshire, as well as organising events for carers, liaising with and offering training to other agencies to promote awareness of carers needs and issues. To be effective the successful applicant will need;

1. strong management skills
2. good, confident communication skills
3. a motivated and innovative approach, and the ability to identify opportunities
4. drive and enthusiasm to see ideas become reality
5. a good working knowledge of adult social care and related services and the issues faced by carers

For an informal chat about the post contact Celia MacIntyre on 01743 342170

Closing date: Monday 8th February

You can download a copy of the application for from the Shropshire RCC website.

Finance Officer, Shrewsbury, 18.5 hours a week, £18,270 - £19,427 (pro rata)
The ideal candidate will hold a recognised accountancy qualification (AAT intermediate or equivalent) plus a minimum of 2 years experience in providing financial support. The candidate should be able to demonstrate a high degree of personal initiative and responsibility, be able to work independently and have excellent organisational, IT and interpersonal skills. 

The candidate should be able to work in a small friendly flexible team, supporting the Head of Finance and Administration in the provision of management and financial information for the charity. Previous experience in administering grants and Gift Aid claims is preferred. Also required are good IT and communication skills. 

Closing date: Thursday 4th February, Interview date: Friday 12th February

For an informal chat about the post contact Jayne on 01743 360641

You can download a copy of the application for from the Shropshire RCC website.

Women’s Business Development Officer, Exeter, 16 Hours a week £24,646 - £25,472 (pro rata)
A unique opportunity to support women’s entrepreneurship in Devon. Working with rural community organisations to develop business support programmes for local women.

The post would suit an experienced and dynamic facilitator with an understanding of the needs of rural women entrepreneurs. Successful candidates will need experience of working within a community setting.
Closing date: Friday 5th February

For more information log on to the Community Council for Devon website.