RESPONSE TO DRAFT POLICE & CRIME PLAN

Here's the text of the Council of Faiths response to the draft Five Year Plan proposed by the recently elected Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader.

As well as writing and submitting this response from our organisation, I've contributed to the writing of a collective response, to be submitted in association with our colleagues at Leicester LGBT Centre, Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living and The Race Equality Centre

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Response to Police and Crime Commissioner's draft Five Year

George M Ballentyne,

Equality & Diversity Officer,

Leicester Council of Faiths

Having searched the electronic version of the draft plan throughout, looking for relevant terms such as “faith”, “religion”, “place of worship”, “church”, “mosque”, “temple” etc., I was disappointed not to find any of them included.

I searched every conceivable variation on these terms and the only mention of any of them to be found was the use of the word “religious” twice, both times in connection to “racially and religiously motivated hate crime” (p.23). Even this slight mention gave cause for concern: under the new legislation embodied in the Equality Act 2010, race and religion are deemed distinct “Protected Characteristics”. Lumping the two of them together like this appeared a backward move, not in keeping with the change in legislation and public recognition.

So on even the most cursory reading, the draft plan makes no reference to any faith communities, or to any organisation representing anyone or anything to do with religion or belief. This is particularly disappointing for two reasons:

1. Firstly, absence of acknowledgment of the need to engage actively and positively with the city’s diverse faith communities – their places of worship and related community centres (numbering close to 300 and steadily increasing), the growing number of faith schools, the many festivals spread across the year.  Each of these communities, organisations and premises – as well as those responsible for the many public occasions – has worked hard over many years to establish, maintain and develop good relations with police at all levels. They each have particular sensitivities and vulnerabilities that need to be recognised and addressed, as well as distinctive strengths and contributions that should be acknowledged and accommodated. This is a certain kind of community policing that Leicester has become good at. Its omission from the draft plan could make it appear that all this hard work is not valued and may well go to waste under a new regime.
2. Secondly, absence of recognition that as well as giving so much to the celebrated diversity of the city, these communities, organisations, premises and events present potential flashpoints in terms of criminal behaviour and disruption of social order. Whether seen in the two recent visits by the English Defence League, in the on-going tension around ownership and use of Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in the armed attack on the Moghul Dharbar restaurant in East Park Road or around the much-publicised issues of sexual exploitation, there is a new hardening of attitudes, a testing of relationships, a willingness to point the finger – and to take unilateral action, in word and deed – against, among and between communities that is altering the environment of peaceful coexistence in the city.

Faith communities and organisations can be engaged in the plan not just on crime related to “religion or belief” (e.g. religiously aggravated or motivated hate crime), but in other ways too. Places of worship, community centres, infrastructure organisations related to one particular faith (e.g. British Hindu Voice, Christians Aware, Federation of Muslim Organisations, Leicestershire Sikh Alliance) or related to a variety of faiths (e.g. Leicester Council of Faiths), opinion formers, influential figures, spokespersons and activists play an important part in all aspects of relations between police and community – and none of that seems to be recognised or included in the plan. These functions work in both a softer context in everyday terms and in a “harder context (e.g. role played during visits by English Defence League. Faith-based organisations are also experience and interested in rehabilitation work and can contribute much to cutting down re-offending.

The draft plan gives no indication of who should speak for or about the faith communities and issues of policing and crime that affect them – and on which many of them can make positive contributions. If only Voluntary Action LeicesterShire is to represent  the voice and interests of these communities and organisations (as well as those of every other voice and interest in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector) then Leicester Council of Faiths – and the communities and organisation with whom we work – would consider that an inappropriate and ineffective way to engage. Several years ago, when the Leicester Strategic Partnership set up its system of Host Organisations to represent the many “communities of interest” in the city, Voluntary Action LeicesterShire sought to be an all-encompassing “mega” Host Organisation, bidding to cover all the Protected Characteristics of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. It was not considered fit to do so in the end and the Host Organisation were picked from among user-led organisations (ULOs) all of which were (and still are) working on the ground with the communities they would claim to represent. From the Council of Faiths’ point of view, VAL at that time had no specialist knowledge, experience or interest in the area of religion or belief and no personnel working with the faith communities. Nothing has transpired in the intervening period to make us believe that VAL has the capacity to undertake that role now. We can only speak for this matter as it relates to our specialist area of religion or belief – but we wish to make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that (I believe, in common with our colleagues in other ULOs in the city and county) we would not have confidence in VAL to perform this role in way outlined in the draft plan. We would urge direct engagement with ULOs, preferably in partnership alignment. 

In a new specification that runs initially to the end of 2014, Leicester City Council has commissioned the following activities from Leicester Council of Faiths:

• To promote trust, understanding and co-operation among faith communities and organisations in Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• To disseminate accurate information about the beliefs and practices of the diverse faith communities of Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• In pursuit of these activities, Leicester Council of Faiths is to deliver the following outcomes, all of which would be relevant and useful in the context of the Police and Crime Plan:

• Offer a collective voice for the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief are given appropriate consideration within the policies and operations of the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships), leading to improved design, delivery and monitoring of services.

• Provide a central point of contact for the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships) on behalf of the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief can be addressed in an effective, sensitive and timely manner.

• Assist faith communities and organisations in Leicester more fully to engage in the life of the city in general.

• Ensure dissemination of accurate knowledge of the beliefs and practices of the city’s diverse faith communities and organisations, in order to increase trust, understanding and cooperation among them (and between the city’s diverse faith communities and the general public in Leicester). 

Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council as a partner on issues relevant to section 4.3 of the draft plan. Leicester City Council wants to use “using lines of communication between and within faith communities and organisations to improve design, delivery and monitoring of services”.  This same approach can be adapted to serve the purposes of the Police and Crime Plan. As a practical example, Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council on places of worship and faith-based community centres as focal points of “resilience” (see p. 30). It would make sense, as an example of “joined-up working” to match these needs and outputs. It would make sense for Leicester Council of Faiths to be taken on as a “resilience partner” in terms of the plan. There are many references in the draft plan to “working with partners” that could be seen as applicable to working with Leicester Council of Faiths. These include the following:

• “the Force already has an excellent reputation for working with our partners who play their own critical part in helping to reduce crime” (p. 51)
• “working with partners to solve locally identified problems” (p. 5)
• “working with partners to prevent and tackle crime and re-offending” (p. 9)
• “shared strategic priorities to tackle with our partners” (p. 11)
• “working with partners” (in relation to terrorism, p. 29)

REDP DISCUSS COLLECTIVE RESPONSE TO DRAFT POLICE & CRIME PLAN

A meeting at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) this afternoon with colleagues from the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) to formulate a collective response to the draft five-year plan produced by Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader.

As well as LCIL itself and Leicester Council of Faiths, The Race Equality Centre (TREC) and Leicester LGBT Centre are represented here today.

This is the second time we've got together recently to talk about the draft plan. We met collectively (along with a few other VCSE participants) at TREC last month, when we spoke to face-to-face with Sir Clive and members of his team. I'd read the plan through and made some extensive notes before that meeting and was able to make what I hope were some salient points. But not everyone who was there then had been able to read, digest and comment on the plan. So we thought it best to meet at this later date and put together a united response. That approach has always served our organisations well in the past and we have confidence that it should do so in this context too.

We each have certain things to say about our own areas of interest and expertise, as well as highlighting issues around more general equality matters. So we'll all be contributing to this collective response. Chino Cabon, Senior Race Equality Officer at TREC, is going to write it on behalf of the four organisations and submit it to Sir Clive before the deadline in a couple of weeks. Sir Clive has scheduled a revision of the plan in September as part of its life cycle. We hope that our comments will be considered for that - and that we'll be involved in further consultation and discusion.

DAY OF ACTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTS CHOICES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Day of activities highlights choices for disabled people

Paralysed former rugby player Matt Hampson and disability minister Esther McVey joined more than 2,000 visitors at an event for disabled people.

They helped officially open the Choice Unlimited event at Leicester Tigers' Welford Road stadium on Wednesday to show what equipment and services are available.

It included displays of electric wheelchairs and vehicles, a Formula One racing car simulator and demonstrations for young people by the Leicester Cobras wheelchair basketball club.

Exhibitors representing employment, education, health and social care showed visitors the sort of services they could provide and a theatre area was set up for a speed networking session, workshops and a young person's question and answer time.

The event was organised by the Leicester Centre for Integrated Living and topics discussed included the Olympics and Paralympics.

In the photo above, left to right: Matt Hampson, Esther McVey, Steve Cooper (CEO of Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living) 

HUNDREDS DUE AT DISABLED EVENT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Hundreds due at disabled event

An event aimed at providing information about services for young disabled people is hoping to attract more than 2,500 people today.

The Choice Unlimited event is being held at the Tigers Stadium, in Welford Road, Leicester.

It has been organised by the Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) and will feature more than 200 exhibitors showcasing innovations, services and products available for disabled people and carers. Doors open at 10am. LCIL patron Matt Hampson and a number of Paralympians will also attend as special guests.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living this morning, for a meeting of the four Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership. The Core Partners, all Leicester-based Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, are: 

• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We used to meet on the first Tuesday morning of the month, but haven't done so since the funding for this project ended, in June this year.

It soon becomes apparent that there's life in the old dog yet, though. We spend the first half-hour or so catching up on what our particular organisations have been doing since last we met, where we are now, and what our futures might hold.

Our attention is focused on the forthcoming Choice Unlimited event, to be held at Leicester Tigers Stadium, Wednesday 21 November (1000-1800). The first Choice Unlimited, held in April this year, presented information, ideas, innovation, services, products for disabled people. It was an unexpectedly successful occasion, exceeding all our expectations in terms of interest and support. The November event will focus on the same sort of things, but for young people in what's called the "transition period" (14-25 years of age).

Since Choice Unlimited is taking place in the middle of Inter Faith Week (18-26 November) I'd assumed that the Council of Faiths (and, more specifically, I) wouldn't be able to take part in it, but I'm glad to say that we've come up with a plan for having a celebration of Inter Faith Week inside Choice Unlimited itself. Since I have to make sure that our exhibition in Highcross is kept going all that day, I'm not quite sure how we'll go about this, but where there's a will ...

I'll play as active a role as I can in promoting the next Choice Unlimited, through our various outlets - beginning with taking a clutch of fliers and posters to the AGM of Network for Change at the Guildhall this evening.

STAMP IT OUT ARRIVA!

Hurrying to Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living this morning, late for a meeting of REDP's Core Partners scheduled to start at 0930, I see a single-decker Arriva bus parked in Upper Brown Street, just across the road from LCIL. Nothing out of the ordinary there, although it's not a bus route and there's no bus stop at that spot. Then I notice Sophie and Tej from LCIL photographing (and, it turns out, tweeting the pictures of) people boarding the bus. On closer examination, I recognise some of them - quite a lot of them, actually - including Steve Cooper, in whose office our 0930 meeting is supposed to be taking place!

This bus, provided by Arriva, is there to promote Leicestershire Constabulary's Stamp It Out! anti-hate crime campaign, challenging verbal abuse, bullying and violence. Covering the full range of Protected Characteristics, today's Stamp It Out! event is especially focused on people with learning difficulties.

I persuade Diversity Officer Darren Goddard and Chief Inspector Rich Keenan to pose for a photo, then they bundle me on to the bus, where Deputy Mayor Cllr Rory Palmer, Chief Constable Simon Cole and a select band of other local luminaries are gathered. A photographer form the Leicester Mercury is there, getting a better class of picture than I've been able to. (An article and photo appeared in the Leicester Mercury the next day, which I also blogged here).

A nice opportunity to get involved in a worthwhile occasion - and proving that there can be a good reason to be late for meetings, once in a while!

REDP CORE REFERENCE GROUP MEETING

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living this afternoon, for a meeting of the Core Reference Group of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership. I've been able to zoom back here in time for the meeting from a morning delivering training on the Equality Act 2010 at South Derbyshire CVS's Staff Development Day in Hartshorne (or rather, Chino did the zooming, I just rode shotgun).

Attending today are representives of eight VCS organisations, all of them members of REDP's Core Reference Group:

• Derby & Derbyshire Race Equality Commission
• East Midlands Army Cadet Forces
• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Lincolnshire Association for People with Disabilities
• One East Midlands
• The Race Equality Centre

In a relatively short and focused meeting, we debrief and reflect on recent events hosted by REDP:

• Human Rights & Equality regional event, Derby, Thursday 22 March 2012
• Choice Unlimited, Leicester Tigers, Thursday 5 April 2012
• Training for Girls Friendly Society, Skegness, Wednesday 11 April 2012
• Equality Act 2010 training for  South Derbyshire CVS, Tuesday 17 April 2012

LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL BUDGET CONSULTATION

At Leicester City Council, B Block, New Walk Centre, King Street (Directorate Meeting Room, 8th floor) for a consultation meeting on the City Council's proposed budget. Not far to travel from the site of my last meeting this time, as it's in the very same room.

This meeting has been convened by Irene Kszyk, Corporate Equalities Lead at Leicester City Council, to give invited representatives of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations the opportunity to discuss concerns about  the City Council's budget proposals and the summary equality impact assessments in each of the service areas.

As well as Leicester Council of Faiths, there are four other organisations round the table, meeting with Irene:

• Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland
• Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• The Race Equality Centre

Collectively and individually we make a number of observations and recommendations, that Irene can take away and incorporate into the next stage of this process.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning we have the regular monthly meeting of REDP's Core Partners: 

• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We meet, as usual, at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, which is the accountable body for this project. Our meetings are normally held in the office of LCIL's CEO. That's now Steve Cooper, since Dee Martin retired at the end of November last year (see blog entry for 30 November 2011). When I go into the office, much to my surprise, there's Dee! After a moment of confusion on my part, she tells me that she's been coming in every so often, just to tie up some loose ends.

I haven't seen Dee since her retirement do, but I have to say, she's looking well for it. She looks years younger, in fact. Retirement is clearly good for her. Ah, “retirement” … that will be a thing of the past by time I'm ready for it, of course.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning I’m attending the monthly meeting of the Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP). Leicester Council of Faiths is one of these four Core Partners, along with:

• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We meet at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, which is the accountable body for this project.

Today we're joined by members of our Working Group, bringing them up to speed with our exit strategy as REDP approaches the end of its initial funding period and on our plans and prospects for sustainability in the medium and long term. This is following up on the meeting of Core Partners last Wednesday morning (see blog entry for 7 December).

This isn't our only topic today, of course. We discuss the remaining three regional conferences that we plan to hold in the first half of 2012, the topics for which are:

• Human Rights (led by The Race Equality Centre)
• Hate Crime (led by Leicester LGBT Centre)
• Localism (led by Leicester Council of Faiths)

These will be spaced about eight weeks apart and each one will be preceded by a short series of seminars in six different parts of the East Midlands.

We also discuss how to set a consistent tone for the public projection of REDP. As well as adhering to a list of inappropriate words and phrases that we hope would never pass the lips of anyone doing anything, anywhere, on behalf of REDP, we'd like to do something that would help define our values. My part in this will be to draft a brief statement regarding the positive dimensions of identifying with one or more of the Protected Characteristics enumerated in the Equality Act 2010. More often than not, identification with a Protected Characteristic is presented as having a negative impact on individual, family and community life - as if being rid of this, that or the other Protected Characteristic would only beneficial. As if (say) a black person's life would be made better if they had been born white; as if a gay person (for instance) would invariably be happier if they were straight; as if giving up one's culture, heritage and identity as a Sikh (for example) would lead to more success in this world. This is ridiculous and patently so. No doubt that belonging to any identifiable group can lead to discrimination, harassment, persecution or victimisation - and we would never deny that that's the unfortunate and unacceptable reality of life for many. However, the solution is not to aspire to some bland, featureless, flavourless "norm" of being British. What on earth would that be like - and who on earth would say that is them, or wish to be like that? This would help differentiate our approach to diversity (after all, it's in our name) as well as affirming our commitment to equality.

REDP EXIT STRATEGY AND SUSTAINABILITY

This morning REDP's Core Partners are meeting at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, to consider our Action Plan for an exit strategy and sustainability when our initial period of funding ends in June 2012.

Leicester Council of Faiths is one of these four Core Partners, along with:

• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We consider our current position, plans and future prospects under the following broad categories:

• Policy and Procedure
• Audit and Performance
• Workforce and Training
• Accountability and Scrutiny
• Health and Safety
• Training and Equality-Proofing
• Website
• Research
• Market Profiling
• Project Delivery
• Seminars and Events

You'll have to make do with that for now. I'm not giving the game away at this stage! You'll just have to keep up with developments.

VCS CEO LEADERSHIP NETWORK

An early start this morning with a breakfast meeting of the Voluntary and Community Sector Chief Executive Officers (VCS CEO) Leadership Network. We're meeting at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL), starting at 0745. I've been in Caffe Nero, Market Street, since half an hour before, going over the paperwork.

I've mentioned before that we don't have a Chief Executive Officer at Leicester Council of Faiths. It might appear daft if we did, with only 1.5 full time equivalent (FTE) staff (the likely CEO being the 1). However, not all the organisations involved in this network (certainly not all of those here this morning) have someone with the actual title of CEO, so I'm not the only one in this position (also, I've got the agreement and support of our Chair to do this).

When I attended the last meeting of this network, I was the only one (well, the only male) not in suit and tie. In keeping with that well known phrase, "If you can't fight, wear a big hat" (a good piece of wisdom that I first heard from one of my ex-mothers in law) I've decided to raise my game, sartorially, for this one.

As well as ourselves, there are ten VCS organisations represented here this morning:

• Action Deafness
• Action Homeless
• Apex
• Care and Repair
• Community Advice and Law Service
• Emerald Centre
• Giving World Online
• Leicestershire Aids Support Service (LASS) 
• LeicestHER Day Trust
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Lighthouse Learning
• MRC Community Action
• The Race Equality Centre (TREC)
• Stride

We review notes of our meeting with the Mayor (Sir Peter Soulsby) and Deputy Mayor (Councillor Rory Palmer) at our last meeting (at LASS on 18 August) and a number of actions decided on then and shared among the members.

Beyond these, we discuss what this network is for and how it should go about achieving its aims as it expands. When asked to consider the question, "Why are we here?", these are the answers that spring to mind from my perspective with the Council of Faiths: Leicester's faith communities are often isolated - not only from each other, but also from other agencies, groups and organisations in the city; even the networks that faith communities have established among themselves tend to be isolated from other networks; faith communities are too big, too important and make too distinctive a contribution to the image, life and reputation of Leicester to continue to be isolated in this way. They should have someone here who can represent them and speak up for them.

This network may work best by sharing support and learning for its members. We consider how formal it might need to be in order to serve these ends. in the end, we agree that it's better for us to be driven by interest and action rather than the "gubbins" of running an organisation.

We finish shortly after 0930 - just in time to dash across the road to Voluntary Action LeicesterShire and join in the latest in a series of meetings on Transforming Local Infrastructure.

REDP CORE PARTNERS TAKE STOCK

Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) is the venue for this morning's meeting of the Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) with Dennis Fisher, Grants Officer at The Big Lottery. It's The Big Lottery's Basis Fund that bankrolls REDP and Dennis is charged with overseeing our project. We've met with him several times in different settings over the past couple of years; he's here today to talk about our work so far and how we're going to make progress in the final year of this intial funding period.

Round the table for this meeting with Dennis are the Chair of REDP, Iris Lightfoote (The Race Equality Centre), Dee Martin (Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living), Ian Robson (Leicester LGBT Centre), Laura Horton (Project Manager, REDP) and myself, of course, representing Leicester Council of Faiths.

Ian, Iris and I are here until lunchtime, to join in an overall discussion of the project. Dennis spends the rest his visit with Dee (since LCIL is the accountable body for REDP) and with Laura.

We all get the chance to speak this morning; Dennis asks me directly about the "diversity" dimension of REDP.

There's a convivial atmosphere in the meeting today and our funders seem pleased with how REDP has performed.

OPEN PUBLIC SERVICES WHITE PAPER

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living this morning, for a joint meeting with One East Midlands on the Open Public Services White Paper.

More than a dozen participants are here today, representing ten organisations (including Leicester Council of Faiths):

• Age UK
• Leicester Local Involvement Network (LINks)
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service
• Nottingham Inter Faith Council
• One East Midlands
• Pakistani Centre, Nottingham
• The Race Equality Centre
• Speak Up 4 Urself Children's Advocacy

This meeting is partly in preparation for an event coming up in Nottingham on Monday 19 September, a conference on "Taking Public Services Forward in the East Midlands" at which there will be a presentation on the Open Public Services White Paper. Today's session is led by Rahcel Quinn, CEO of One East Midlands, who'll be appearing on a panel at the Nottingham event.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning we have the monthly meeting of REDP's Core Partners. Apart from Leicester Council of Faiths, the Core Partners are:

• Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• The Race Equality Centre

Our normal meeting place is Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, the "accountable body" for this project.

The regular Core Partners meeting is normally a fixed point in my monthly calendar. I’ve only missed a couple since REDP began - and then only under abnormal circumstances. I did miss the last of these meetings though (Tuesday 2 August) because I was helping run the Council of Faiths stall at the pre-launch event for Leicester Speaks 2011 in Gallowtree Gate. I had the kids with me that day and it was a good setting for them to dash about on their scooters - as you'll see them do, faithful reader, if you visit the video interview with me on YouTube.

That was such a lovely day. Warm and sunny, it seemed the very height of summer. Hard to imagine it was only one month ago. It's blowing a gale today.

The Core Partners meeting goes until till 1330. Soon after that, we're joined by members of REDP's working group, which is charged with getting its sleeves rolled up and doing most of the actual work between meetings of the Core Partners. I'm the only member of the Core Partners who is also on the working group.

We're still discussing some important aspects of our ongoing work when I have to leave LCIL at 1430, to head on up to the Quaker Meeting House on Queens Road. I have my next meeting of the day there in half an hour.

REDP meets with One East Midlands

This morning some of us from REDP meet with Rachel Quinn and Leann Leverton from One East Midlands. It's not anything formal, no set agenda; but we've been trying to find the time to get together and mull over a few things where our interests intersect.

We meet in Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL): Round the table are Iris Lightfoote from The Race Equality Centre (TREC) and Chair of REDP; Dee Martin of LCIL; Laura Horton, REDP Project Manager - and me.

We talk about the new Transforming Local Infrastructure programme from The Big Lottery; the Localism Bill currently going through Parliament; the White Papers on Open Public Services and on Giving. These all have major implications for equalities.

REDP had been intending to hold a regional event on the Localism Bill in October. Public consultation on the Bill ends in September and it's going to be published in November, which makes October too late to be a consultation event and too early for an information event. We're planning three other regional events at two-month intervals, so we've decided to swap Localism's place in the schedule for one of the others. We'll make arrangements for a special meeting of REDP's Core Reference Group in time to get their views on the Bill so we can compile them into a collective response.

This is of special interest to me, since I'm leading on the Localism regional event.

REDP briefing no. 5

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) this morning, where I'm helping present a briefing on the work of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP). This is the fifth in a series of six meetings held over the past few weeks. The others have been held in Derby (Wed 20 July), Wellingborough (27 July), Nottingham (28 July), Oakham (Wed 03 Aug) and one more to be held in Grantham. All in all, there are eight organisations represented here today:

• Disability Nottinghamshire
• Genesis / LAMP Direct
• Good Thinking
• Human Rights and Equalities Charnwood
• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicester Deaf Action Group
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Loughborough Women's Aid
• The Race Equality Centre

Up till now the briefings have been conducted by Chino Cabon, Policy Officer at  The Race Equality Centre (TREC) and Kelly Jussab, Project Officer at REDP. Kelly has a family obligation today and has asked me to deputise for her.

Each of these meetings has been hosted by a member of REDP's Core Reference Group from that locality. Today's host is Leicester Deaf Action Group (with assistance from two members of Signing Network). Oas from LDAG opens the meeting, giving us a historical overview and an outline of the future prospects of their user-led organisation.

I give a beginners' guide to REDP, Chino speaks about the Equality Act 2010 (concentrating on the terminology used in the Act and its relationship with previous anti-discrimination legislation) then I'm back up front to present on the Localism Bill and Big Society.

The whole thing takes about three hours (including lunch) and I'm glad to say we get some positive evaluations from the attendees.

Leicester's Healthy Heart campaign

This morning, while I’m in a meeting of REDP’s Working Group at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL), I receive a call from Ajey Sharma, Senior Marketing Officer, Directorate of Quality, Communications and Engagement, NHS Leicester City. He tells me about a new campaign that’s been launched in Leicester encouraging people to put on their walking shoes to help live longer, healthier, happier lives by reducing their risk of heart disease. Leicester’s Healthy Heart initiative is challenging people to try and walk as many minutes as possible this summer to improve their health and fitness, and help reduce their risk of heart disease.

By signing up to the campaign people can record all the minutes they have walked online and try to improve on their total each week. Team entries are also being encouraged, where people will be able to create or join a team to compete with friends and colleagues to walk the most minutes. Leicester’s Healthy Heart walking challenge runs until 2 September 2011, with prizes on offer to participating walkers and groups.

People can register at any time by visiting www.leicestershealthyheart.co.uk and those without internet access can also join the challenge by registering at their local Leicester library and posting details of their walking minutes using freepost forms.

Walking is being presented as one simple activity people can do as part of four simple steps to reduce the risk of heart disease, alongside others such as: giving up smoking; eating a healthy, balanced diet; increasing physical activity; drinking less alcohol.

Ajey would like the Council of Faiths to help publicise this campaign among the faith communities in the city. I tell him that I’ll publicise this initiative through our blog and other means. The proposal arises later of helping organise walking groups from one place of worship in the city to another, bringing together people of different backgrounds, communities and traditions in a new way – while also doing something to improve their health. Not much time to explore that, but it definitely sounds worthwhile if we can make it happen. There’s a possibility that this might be something for which we could apply for funding from Near Neighbours.

REDP: stand by for action!

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) this morning, where REDP's Core Partners are meeting, in preparation for our conference at Nottingham Conference Centre tomorrow.

The conference is on the theme, "The Equality Act 2010 and its Duties". We've had a rush of registrations at the last minute (as we were sure we would) and have good strong numbers).

I get first sight of the new leaflets that I helped produce at the end of last week - and mighty fine things they are too. Everyone seems pleased with them, I'm glad to say. There's one for just about each of the Protected Characteristics: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation (as well as a generic one we've called "Brief Definitions"). In the end, we didn't have time to do leaflets on the remaining two protected Characteristics: Marriage and Civil Partnership; and Maternity and Pregnancy. We've got a new leaflet for Leicester Council of Faiths entitled "Religion or Belief: A Protected Characteristic in the Equality Act 2010" (Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living and the Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre also have new promotional material linking them to their Protected Characteristics in the Equality Act).

CONNECTED COMMUNITIES: HEALTHCARE, MARKETS AND SERVICE DELIVERY

At Leicester Adult Education College today, for “Connected Communities: Healthcare, Markets and Service Delivery”. The workshop is being held in the college's Hansom Hall. This part of the college was recently renamed in honour of Joseph Aloysius Hansom (1803–82), the prolific architect who designed buildings that were to become the city's New Walk Museum & Art Gallery and part of Leicester Adult Education College. He's best known for inventing the Hansom Cab, a ubiquitous feature of 19th Century streets in several countries, which made its first journey on Hinckley's Coventry Road in 1835.

The Coalition Government envisages the future NHS as “the largest social enterprise sector in the world”. Part of this vision involves drawing the non-profit or ‘third sector’ into the welfare mix as a provider of care alongside statutory services. This workshop will clarify the nature and role of current and new relationships that will be needed for the “Big Society” to succeed.

This study is concerned with how diverse groups, communities and organisations hope to work and collaborate in order to play a productive and effective role in the fast-changing healthcare and social policy landscape. The aim of today's workshop is to provide a conducive environment and a safe forum for discussion of issues of common concern and so that further research can be conducted. 

The workshop is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), in partnership with other leading UK research councils. It is part of a scoping study and review on the theme, Connected Communities”.

The researchers aim to present the views of participants at workshops and other events in an impartial manner to that future research agendas can be established on sound evidence and practice. The research findings will be written up as academic journal papers, a report to the AHRC and will be presented at seminars and conferences.

We’ve been told beforehand that the research project has the following aims:

• To identify what connections and partnerships work in the sector at present and are likely to work in the future.
• To discover what kinds of new connectivities will be developed in the new markets for healthcare delivery.
• To examine what new sacrifices and new benefits the new environment will bring for patients and local communities. 
  

And that our participation will bring the following benefits to our communities of interest:

• Presentation of leading-edge research into what connections and partnerships matter for effective service delivery.
• Practical group exercises to identify key partnerships that currently work.
• Concrete ideas on next-generation connections and partnerships.
  

I get to display the Council of Faiths pop-up banner at the back of the hall. I was hoping that more of the community-based organisations represented today would want to display themselves in this way, but we’re the only one. We'd like to think that the Council of Faiths would be high up on the team sheet when this kind of event is being organised or this kind of project is being planned. We hope it could be said that the faith communities of Leicester are able to demonstrate a special kind of connectedness that can inform – and be informed by – such an event and project. On the other hand, when we put our minds to it we can also show a kind of disconnectedness – from each other and from society at large – that would probably beat virtually all others hands down!

Attendees are distributed around five tables, six people of mixed background, experience and interest round each one. I’m seated with Chino Cabon from The Race Equality Centre (TREC), Dee Martin from Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) both of whom I work with on a regular basis in the Regional Equlity and Diversity Partnership (REDP) and Parmjit Basra from Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service (LASALS) with whom I've worked most notably on Leicester Speaks. Some of us wonder if we’ve been corralled, so that we’re not able to mix our opinions in with others whom we don’t work with on a regular basis – a cynical notion that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, I hope! The facilitator on our table is Prof. Carlo Ruzza, Co-investigator, AHRC Funding Award on "Connected Communities" at the University of Leicester’s Department of Sociology.

The session is opened by Dr Ming Lim, Lead Investigator, AHRC Funding Award on "Connected Communities" at the University of Leicester’s School of Management. She directs us to two icebreaker questions for each table. Firstly: “If you were to describe the NHS as an animal, which animal would you choose and why?” Here are some of the answers that we came up with around our table:

• Gazelle: beautiful to behold, elegant and at home in its natural environment, blissfully unaware that just out of shot, a hungry lion is racing toward it, greedy death in its jaws.
• Ostrich: with its head in the sand, hiding from reality.
• Duck billed platypus: a bit of this and a bit of that, stitched together in an improbable unlikely and unconvincing manner.
• Giraffe: head in the clouds, with only a tenuous relationship with reality.
• Human being: claiming allegiance to one set of principles, but acting in a contrary way.
  

And secondly: “If the NHS’s service delivery was a form of transport, which one would it be and why?” Here are some of the answers that were offered around the tables:

• Edinburgh's ill-fated tram system: they’ve spent most of their budget laying the foundations of a new system and now find that it’s been ruined by having normal traffic drive over the rails. Now they don't think there's enough money left in the coffers either to finish it or to scrap it – which would cost more than the former! (oops – is my Glaswegain schadenfreude showing through?)
• Bus: involves queuing, sometimes not being able to get a seat and it not going all the way to where you want to go (amongst other drawbacks).
• Oil tanker: hard to manoeuvre, hard to change course, disastrous consequences if it sinks or runs aground.
• Bus in rural Africa: no timetable, no fixed route, too many people in too small a vehicle – but still it does the job.
• UFO: some people report having had a close encounter with it, others are sceptical about its very existence (a stage whisper mentioned something about both involving people being subjected to undue amounts of “probing” but it went by unremarked upon).
• Bennie railplane: a revolutionary system that was supposed to be the future of public transport, abandoned by the diversion of resources into war and eventually scrapped.
• Earliest motor car: capable of going much faster than it did, held back by the requirement that it be preceded by a man waving a red flag.

After the icebreakers, we’re invited to take part in group discussions to help further this study. Each table is asked to consider three questions:

Question 1 In 2010, the government released a White paper on proposed reform to the NHS. One of its key proposals is that, for patients thee should be “no decision about me without me.” What is the significance of this focus on patient and user engagement for your organisation? 

Question 2 How do you think you can improve relations with your users and the community you serve in this time of change in the NHS?

Question 3 How have financial pressures over the last couple of years affected your organisation and your level of service delivery? 

I’m just putting the questions themselves in this blog entry, rather than picking and choosing from the wide range of responses. Perhaps you may be able to think of what some of the responses might have been, faithful reader – and to come up with a few of your own.

During the lunch break, members of the research team take the notes from the five tables off into another room, identify some headline themes, topics and comments from them and compile them into some slides that Dr Lim presents to us all after lunch. There’s speed and efficiency for you! So the afternoon session comprises Dr Lim debriefing us all from slides, followed by a “roving mic”session, in which attendees respond to the content of these slides and whether they represent fairly the things we discussed earlier in the day.

After the formal end of the workshop, several attendees stay behind to be interviewed for the study individually or in small groups (anonymously).

This would appear to be an interesting, timely useful project. I hope that Leicester Council of Faiths has the opportunity to be involved in the long term and to contribute positively to its progress and outcomes. There are ways in which it would appear to be complementary to our Faith Communities Health Champions initiative. We'd hope that our involvement in each of these projects would offer some crossover experience and learning, by which could inform the other.

In the photo above: Prof. Carlo Ruzza (left) and Dr Ming Lim (right).