INTERVIEWED BY/FOR THE SECULARIST

I'm interviewed over the phone by Harry Perry, of Leicester Secular Society, for the latest edition of their newsletter, The Secularist. The topic is cuts in funding by Leicester City Council and the effect on community cohesion. I don't snt this to be about faith communities work being funded by public money (a topic that I know especially exercises the Secular Socity) so I ask him to widen it out to include the cuts to and impact on agencies working across the "protected characteristics".

Originally, Harry was going to combine this with a story about the Near Neighbours fund which is to be administered in Leicester by St Philip's Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi-Faith Society, but he's now written these up as separate stories.

Here's how Harry has written up his interview with me and (hopefully) how it will appear in the next edition of The Secularist:

Council's budget cuts hit equalities work

Leicester City Council has cut funding to a range of "equalities" work and organisations including funding for the Council of Faiths.  The Council of Faiths, among other things, is the "host organisation" that channels the views of religious groups into the Leicester Partnership.

The funding cuts stem from the government's austerity measures.  It has reduced its contribution to the income of the Council of Faiths by what amounts to 50% of that needed to support the post of the Equality and Diversity Officer there.  It has made similar cuts to other organisations in the city addressing equality issues (on age, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation).  The Council has not yet decided what to do about its funding for the Council of Faiths' more general "core service" to the city.

The rest of the Equality and Diversity Officer’s costs are funded by a "rag-bag" of contributions from other interested parties and these and others are currently being approached to see if more money can be made available after March.

George Ballentyne, current E&DO, is concerned that equalities work in the City will suffer as a result of the cuts.  There is even a worry that the Council may fall short of its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty in the 2010 Equalities Act.

Voluntary & Community Sector Assembly

Back at Voluntary Action Leicester (VAL) after lunch, for another last meeting. This time it's the final meeting of the Steering Group for the Voluntary & Community Sector Assembly. This is another group whose early meetings I'd attended (on behalf of REDP), then been unable to do so for the past several months. In that time, the Steering Group has appealed for nominations for election to VCS Assembly Board, then arranged for elections to that Board take place and for those elected to vote for their own officers. The Board of the Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly is made up of representatives from the following bodies:

• Apex
• The Bridge
• CrossRoads Care
• Diversity Hub
• Focus
• Futures Unlocked
• Groundwork Leicester & Leicestershire
• Leicestershire Aids Support SErvice
• MRC Community Action
• RCC Leicestershire & Rutland
• Voluntary Action LeicesterShire
• Voluntary Action South Leicestershire

In the earlier meetings I attended, my continual refrain was that this Assembly should take care not to duplicate or shadow the operations of Leicester Partnership's Host Organisations for the various Communities of Interest, or their appointed representatives. I must have sounded like a one-note piano, I I spoke about this so often. Well, here we are, several months down the road: the VCS Assembly is a reality and Leicester Partnership's Host Organisation system is about to pass into memory.

Those bodies which had been serving as the Host Organisations never made a deliberate, minuted decision to stand aside from nomination and election for the VCS Assembly, but we all had our own business to get on with. The process went ahead and we weren't really able to get involved, but we were glad to see the work being shared out among the many competent and capable organisations in the city and county.

Now the VCS Assembly is the only game in town (and county) and those seven organisations who came to the fore as the most capable bodies to represent the various "protected characteristics" (as identified in legislation) find themselves distant far from the centre of this work. The VCS Assembly did not deliberately set out to represent the various "equality strands" or "protected characteristics" as Leicester Partnership did, with its designation of Communities of Interest and Host Organisations. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that we got a small amount of funding over two years for the work we did. The organisations represented on the board of the VCS Assembly are not getting any such remuneration for their work.

Certainly, those around the table don't seem at all bothered about this - and that's probably quite right too. I'm sure that the organisations elected to the VCS Assembly Board (and the individuals carrying out those responsibilities on behalf of their groups) can represent the Voluntary and Community Sector in city and county perfectly well. I hope that the rest of us can take our place in supporting them.

future funding for Leicester Partnership host organisations

22 December 2010

Dear George

I am writing to clarify the position in relation to future funding for the Leicester Partnership Community of Interest Host organisations.

Within the last week, the City Council has received its funding settlement which has as anticipated, resulted in significant cuts to the local financial envelope available to deliver all of our services into the future. Alongside this a number of specific funding grants have been stopped or significantly cut, including the Area Based Grant which will cease to exist from 1st April 2011. This does require some very difficult decisions to be made which have not been taken lightly.

Elected members are committed to protecting front line services. All services are being asked to achieve this as far as practically possible whilst being mindful of the funding stream notifications and restrictions, needs analysis and developing plans in connection with future service priorities.

It has been the Area Based Grant which has been the source of funding for the Leicester Partnership Community of Interest Host organisations. In view of the pressing financial situation and in order to meet our legal obligations, the principles set out under the Leicester Compact and protect the Council's financial position, I writing to formally advise you that the service you currently provided as a host organisation will not be re-commissioned at the end of the current term on the 31st March 2011 when the arrangement between us come to an end, and in particular no further payments for the cost of the services will accrue. You may wish, given this position, to consider the measures you need to take in respect of the organisations you represent and any staff or individuals that may be effected.

The Council recognises that having strong involvement of the Communities of Interest in the work of the Leicester Partnership is important to its continued success. Much time and effort has been invested on the part of the Host organisations themselves, by the previous Chair of the Leicester Partnership, Voluntary Action LeicesterShire and by City Council officers, in establishing this relationship and in developing the role of the Community of Interest Hosts. Whilst the funding may not be available going forward, it would be our intention, as much as is possible, to continue to build on and develop this approach.

Therefore, if beyond March, as a Host organisation you feel able to continue in the absence of funding, this of course would be very much welcomed and my team will do what they reasonably can to support this albeit recognising the constraints on both parties in terms of future capacity and resources. We very much want to seek to do what we can to support a workable approach into the future, albeit with a reduced level of resources ourselves.

It is always difficult to have to stop funding activities and organisations, and take a change of direction, but I hope you can appreciate that in the current financial climate these tough choices have to be made. In writing this letter I have also been particularly mindful of the potential difficulties that the end of any contract can mean for individual organisations and hence our desire to ensure we give you sufficient notice of our decisions.

I would like to take the opportunity to formally thank you for the work you have done to date as a Host organisation for the Leicester Partnership, and will no doubt continue to do during the remaining funding period, and where possible beyond this.

I should be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this letter by completing and returning the attached pro-forma.

Your sincerely

my management group

At the Welcome Centre this morning for a meeting with my Personnel Management Group. Although our Chair, Manjula Sood, has to offer her apologies for this meeting, still we have the benefit of a diversity of backgrounds, traditions in the members here today: Bahá'í, Christian, Jewish, Sikh. Major topics on our agenda today include: National Inter Faith Week; working relationships with Leicester City Council, Leicester Partnership and NHS Leicester City; our venture further into social media; involvement in writing the booklet series, "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester"; engagement in the developing Centre of Excellence in Community Cohesion. That's a lot to fit into two hours - exhaustingly so!

Leicester Partnership

At Forest Lodge Education Centre for the second time in three days - this time for a full meeting of Leicester Partnership.

The meeting is preceded by a buffet lunch in honour of Philip Parkinson, who is retiring today as Chair.

One of our duties as Host Organisation for the communities of interest of faith or belief has been to obtain the services of two representatives of that community at large, who can attend full meetings of the Partnership and act as channels of communication in both directions. For one reason or another (ill health, family support, work commitments) the two representatives who have held these positions for almost the past couple of years haven't been able to perform these tasks to the full. Today, Tony and Minou are attending, as named substitutes with full voting rights. I'm at my first meeting of the Partnership, as a substitute myself, for Dee Martin, representing the Equality and Diversity Partnership. I am entitled to attend these meetings normally, but as VCS / Host Organisation contact, with voting rights and only able to speak if asked for clarification.

The character and function of Leicester Partnership is changing. Today we are voting on acceptance of a new constitution and for the election of a new Vice Chair. The new Chair will automatically be Leader of Leicester City Council. The constitution is passed en bloc, with notes for the attention of the Partnership Executive. The new Vice Chair is Iris Lightfoote, Chief Executive of The Race Equality Centre and Chair of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP). This is a good thing for equalities in general in the city - and for the Equality and Diversity Partnership (EDP) in particular. Members of that partnership live from hand-to-mouth in an atmosphere where we never seem to be wholly welcome. We didn't even know if we'd be funded for our activities after today. The Chair assures the meeting that EDP is funded till 31 March. His further comments that the Leicester Partnership Executive will have to consider how it embeds equalities into all aspects of the Partnership's work sounds to me like a door being wedged open.

EDL/UAF briefing for Voluntary & Community Sector

To Leicester Town Hall this evening, for a briefing session jointly hosted by the City Council and Leicestershire Constabulary, updating us on preparations for the visit of the English Defence League, as well as the proposed counter-demonstration by Unite Against Fascism, on Saturday 9 October. There are a dozen or so attendees, specifically invited, representing a variety of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, working across the city or based and operating in specific parts or with specific communities. I'm accompanied by Gursharan Thandi, who (as well as sitting on the Board of Directors of Leicester Council of Faiths) is also one of two representatives for communities of interest in terms of religion and belief on Leicester Partnership.

Below is a copy of the presentation we were given this evening, word-for-word. My occasional interpolations are in brackets.

An overview of the proposed march and counter-demonstration

Briefing for Voluntary and Community Sector Stakeholders
Leicestershire Constabulary, Leicester City Council

Agenda

·      Introduction: Councillor Veejay Patel [Leader, Leicester City Council]

·      Overview Briefing: Sheila Lock [Chief Executive, Leicester City Council], [Chief Superintendent] Rob Nixon [City Commander]

·      Q&A

·      Summary of main action points

Who are we talking to?

·      Four Levels

·      The community stakeholder groups

·      Key partners in the public sector

·      The media

·      The EDL themselves and any counter protest groups

Objectives

·      Reassurance that we are working together

·      Let you know what we know

·      Make you aware of the legal position

·      Tell you what the police and council are doing

·      Inform you of what the police role is

·      Inform you of what the council role is

·      Explore what your role could be

·      Discuss next steps in relation to this event

·      Discuss how we as a city “move on” after this event

What we know

·      An early indication of an intent to march in September that came to nothing – through informal routes

·      Indication to the police from the English Defence League (EDL) that they intend to stage a march in Leicester city centre on Saturday October 9

·      The EDL formed in June 2009 – not legally defined as an extreme right wing group – previous events in the country have attracted those with strong right wing views

·      Indication from Unite Against Fascism (UAF) that they wish to hold a counter-demonstration

·      Application received on 15 September by UAF

·      Busy day for City – open day for universities (7000 international visitors), Somali event (smaller event), National Trade Union Conference, Navratri, Saturday morning Cathedral Service (600 people) – following day, Leicester Marathon [Option simply to close everything down for the day was considered, but it was decided in the end to go for “business as usual” – although taking this route requires that there be a strong plan in place.]

Legal position

·      Any ban for a march has to be made by the Council to the Home Secretary.  Supported by evidence that can demonstrate significant risk of disorder and risk to cohesion

·      Even if ban is applied for and is successful does not prevent static demonstrations taking place.  EDL can still come to Leicester

·      No legal powers to prevent a lawful peaceful protest

·      Legislative changes since BNP ban in 2001

What are Police and Council doing?

·      We take our community leadership role very seriously

·      Working with partnership agencies to jointly plan and manage the response to the event and any issues that arise before or after

·      Learning the lessons from other areas who have had similar events [good practice and bad]

·      Police and council engaging and listening to all communities

·      Police are in dialogue with groups who may seek to protest/counter demonstrate on the day

·      Exploring all our legal powers [e.g. ban on sale of alcohol in city centre on the day, management of public transport network]

·      Planning will continue in the weeks ahead – continued liaison

·      Police and council have considerable experience in planning events

·      Dealing with this in an objective way that is professional, to do otherwise leaves the city open to challenge and potential further risk

Police role

·      Facilitate peaceful protest and comply with duty under Human Rights Act

·      If anyone commits a criminal offence will be dealt with fairly but firmly

·      We will not tolerate damage to the city or acts of violence

·      Anyone involved in violence, disorder or racist behaviour which is unlawful will be liable to prosecution

·      Celebrate diversity and be proud of our city

Council Role

·      To exercise its community leadership role for the city – in partnership with others

·      To follow a lawful decision making process that considers objectively all the available advice and views

·      To make an application on behalf of the city to the Secretary of State if that is the outcome following the lawful process

·      Actively working with the Police to enhance security and traffic management

·      Clear united leadership [not a party issue; everyone putting political differences aside to work together for the good of the city, both Leadership and Opposition]

As community leaders: your role

·      Conveying the strength of feeling in Leicester is important, but so is conveying it in the right way

·      Support for non confrontational means

·      Getting out the message re consultation and alternative events

·      Helping to identify “vulnerable” groups and individuals [and sites] and providing diversionary activity

The message to the community

·      If you feel strongly about what is happening, express those views to your local councillor, trade union branch, community or faith leader or to the council chief executive so that your view can be fed into the decision making process.

·      If you are concerned please speak to your local police.

·      The police and council want to reassure and support all communities and encourage them not to be provoked into reacting to the protests [need to be sensitive to changes in mood as the day approaches]

·      We don’t want people coming into the city intent on confronting any protestors.  Please let the police handle events.

·      We would ask that you don’t get drawn into inflammatory dialogue on social networking sites.

·      If you want to come to Leicester to shop/normal business expect some disruption.  Busy but wish to see business as usual.

·      Celebrate in City event. [to take place on Sunday 10, the day following the march and counter-demonstration]

What next?

·      We will promise to keep you informed as the situation develops

·      To help us we really need a two-way conversation – tell us your concerns or any information you think we need to know.

·      ConsulationEDL@leicester.gov.uk

·      [email only opened at start of this week, but already more than 500 posts received]

·      If you don’t want to speak to the police or council speak to a community leader who will speak to us on your behalf.

·      Any questions?

Several minutes are given over to questions, answers and comments at the end, in which all those attending (including Gursharan and I) take the opportunity to chip in. Our Chair, Manjula Sood, had been to a similar breifing held in the same place the night before. She called me this afternoon and asked me to make sure that I'd speak here this evening. I said that, if the opportunity arose – "Don't wait for opportunity", she told me, "You should speak!" This evening's proceedings are being webcast; comments made here will form part of the body of evidence required for the City Council when making its decision whether to apply to the Home Office for an order to ban the march at its emergency Cabinet meeting tomorrow. Manjula doesn't want the meeting to go on record without something being heard from the Council of Faiths – and quite right too.

Well I've never exactly been backward at coming forward, so: several times this evening, Sheila has mentioned a meeting of the Faiths Leaders Forum this coming Monday, at which those present will agree a joint statment expressing a united view about 9 October. So I take the floor briefly to explain the distinction between the Faith Leaders Forum and the Council of Faiths, and the different functions they perform, saying how each supports and complements the other. While I'm on, I say that one of our objectives at the Council of Faiths is to collate and disseminate accurate infomation, as a way of building up confidence and playing down fears. We don't want our members or those they represent to be influenced by rumour. When I say that I'll be putting the text of the PowerPoint presentation on our blog, Sheila responds over the mic by saying, "That's just what we were hoping for" and giving me a double thumbs-up.

As the meeting nears its end, Gursharan expresses her heartfelt view that, as difficult as this issue is, it presents us with the opportunity to do the right thing by our city and its people and how we’ll be judged by our actions on 9 October and on the days leading up to it and following it. As she's speaking, what comes to mind is the recent meetings that Sheila Lock has convened on promoting Leicester as a centre of excellence in community cohesion - at which we're discussing how to bottle "essence of Leicester" and promote it around the country and further afield. The coming weeks will test out whether we really can walk the walk here or do we just talk the talk. Is our unity in diversity genuine or will it crumble at the first real challenge?

Gursharan's words nicely set up Councillor Mohammed Dawood, Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion, who sums up the meeting and signs off on a positive and upbeat note.

my management group

Meeting of my management group this morning at the Welcome Centre. Full complement of members today, representing five of the eight religions which are members of Leicester Council of Faiths. Among the matters we consider today: the Jimi Hendrix Converse shoe controversy; our "Faiths Trail" event on the weekend just gone by; our relationship with NHS Leicester City, Leicester Partnership and the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership; our involvement in Local Democracy Week (or "Leicester Speaks" as it's been rebranded in the local setting) and National Inter Faith Week; and the process of decamping to my new office downstairs. I've got the work space nice and tidy so I can show it off to the members of my management group today, but I can't help wondering if (unconsciously) I've worked too hard to turn it into a more efficient version of what I struggled to create at home for the better part of four years. Same colour carpet, same colour walls, same IKEA Billy bookshelf (same books for the most part). No sofa bed though - I certainly wouldn't fancy sleeping in it!

Leicester Partnership Host Organisations briefing

Attending a briefing for Leicester Partnership's Host organisations, which is regularly held two weeks or so ahead of the full meeting of the Partnership itself. This meeting, at Voluntary Action Leicester, is being done twice today, 1200-1300 and 1800-1900. I come to the latter, but I'm the only one! Philip Parkinson (Chair of Leicester Partnership) is gracious enough to give me the full briefing on the agenda etc with support from James Schadla-Hall (Project Support Officer, Performance Management and Democratic Services). We manage to fit this into half an hour, since there aren't so many questions as there would have been at the lunchtime briefing, which many of my colleagues and coworkers from the other Host Organisations attended.

host organisations meeting

At The Race Equality Centre (TREC) this afternoon, for a meeting of the Host Organisations for Leicester Partnership. These are the groups which liaise between the strategic partnership and the so-called "communities of interest", which identify around the protected characteristics: age (Age Concern for older people, Young People First for younger people), disability (Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living), gender (LeicestHER Day Trust), race (The Race Equality Centre), religion or belief (Leicester Council of Faiths) and sexual orientation (Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre). We also have with us a representative from Voluntary Action Leicester, which is responsible for training and support of the Host Organisations, so that we can help train and support the reps.

We consider representation for the communities of interest on Leicester Partnership at different levels (its Board, its various thematic groups). We're interested in identifying potential reps for the future, refining their roles and on contributing to a handbook which would describe best practice for representing the interests of the Voluntary and Community Sector (no one I know is using that new term, "Civil Society Organisations" - yet).

community cohesion charter

A one-hour briefing session at Voluntary Action Leicester (12 noon, then repeated later today, starting 1800), for those bodies appointed Host Organisations for communities of interest in the city and for those individuals appointed representatives for those communities. Within this structure, Leicester Council of Faiths is the Host Organisation for issues of religion and belief. Our two representatives are unwell today, so I'm holding the fort. Other Host Organisations and their representatives are here for the other communities of interest: age (different organisations for young people and old people), disability, gender (i.e. women),  race, sexual orientation.

This briefing is in preparation for a meeting of Leicester Partnership on 23 June. Today we get sight of paperwork for that meeting and have the opportunity to comment on it if need be. One such document is the "Community Cohesion Charter for Leicester and Leicestershire", the text of which is set out in full below. This version will be signed by representatives of the city and county and of the Strategic Partnerships covering them both; a shorter version is to be signed by city and country organisations involved in those partnerships.

COMMUNITY COHESION CHARTER FOR LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE

"We, the people who live and work in Leicester and Leicestershire are proud of our city and our county, our history and traditions, and value the diversity of our people and communities.

"We are committed to the development of Leicester and Leicestershire as a thriving and cohesive society of many faiths and cultures and we will work together for its continued success for ourselves, our children and for future generations. We all have an equal stake in our future.

"We believe in the importance of peaceful, harmonious and creative relations between our diverse communities. WE are committed to creating a positive and productive environment where difference is valued and celebrated and we ill take every opportunity to work to improve those relations and encourage greater understanding and contact between people and communities.

"We cherish and will uphold our long tradition of welcoming and respecting visitors and newcomers to Leicester and Leicestershire and those who seek refuge in our community.

"We recognise the need to remain vigilant to any threats or challenges to good community relations and will guard against complacency. We have a moral responsibility to speak out, to show visible leadership, and to respond to challenges to the peace and harmony of Leicester and Leicestershire.

"We, therefore, make the following commitments:

"We reaffirm what we have in common and what unites us, a wish to live in peace and security together, to be free from poverty, to have a decent standard of living and a fair share of resources, to have equal chances in life and enjoy good health.

"We celebrate all that is good about Leicester and Leicestershire, our wonderful heritage, our many cultures and beliefs our unique neighbourhoods and the energy, character and diversity of our people.

"We recognise and support the equal rights of everyone in Leicester and Leicestershire.

"We reject any form of discrimination, prejudice, harassment or violence.

"We will work to build bridges of understanding, friendship, cooperation and mutual respect between all the people and communities who belong to Leicester and Leicestershire."

It should be said that this is not necessarily the final form of words. Nor has it been agreed that there should be two different versions for signature by different organisations. There may yet be some debate over just what this should say in the end.

IMPROVING STANDARDS OF CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT: 2

To Leicester Town Hall at lunchtime for the second meeting of a Task and Finish Group on Improving Standards of Consultation and Engagement across Leicester Strategic Partnership. Among those attending on behalf of bodies involved with the Local Strategic Partnership, there are representatives of the City Council, Leicester City NHS, University Hospitals Leicester (UHL), Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust, Leicestershire Constabulary, Voluntary Action Leicester, I'm there on behalf of the Equality and Diversity Partnership (EDP) as well as flying the flag for Council of Faiths of course.

This piece of work is intended to improve the level (and kind) of consultation processes entered into by all the member organisations that comprise the Local Strategic Partnership - well, the public sector organisations at least, since those from the private sector have unanimously declined to take part. In terms of the Voluntary and Community Sector, we're making input as participants in the consultation and engagement processes as well as beneficiaries of the outcomes. Our boards (where we have them) are being invited to sign up to these documents too.

Something different from the first meeting: we started discussing the use of social media for this project, how to apply Facebook, Twitter, blogging ("Hel-lo-oh!") to making it a success. Leicester City Council has a twitter account, but we were told that the most recent tweet was a month ago. The City Council has 30 followers; Council of Faiths has 32! In this context, we discussed future involvement of Citizens' Eye Community News Agency and Leicester on the Map, possibly from the beginning of the public consultation stage.

come to The Dark Side (we have cookies)

An invitation to attend the monthly Leicester Pagan Moot this evening at The Dark Side, in Cank Street. The Dark Side is a new cafe in the city centre, which describes itself as Leicester’s first alternative cafe and information centre. It prides itself on having a welcoming, warm and relaxed atmosphere, with friendly, if "rather strange looking" (in their own words) staff. Music is a big part of the alternative identity at The Dark Side, varying from rock to emo, goth to metal. I can personally recommend the coffee and walnut cake. That's Lucie Belikova, who runs the place, outside the cafe in the photo above, cutting the red ribbon for the cafe's official opening.

At Leicester Pagan Moot, all pagan paths are welcomed and treated with fairness and equality. it's an occasion when people can meet and exchange ideas with others who look deep inside for the answers to those awkward questions everyone is dying to ask. The theme for this evening is "Candle Magic". We hear, ask and talk about colour, size, fragrance, their use and significance for different spiritual purposes. The evening ends with a "pathworking" exercise, with Angela Langrick leading a guided meditation using a candle flame.

The Leicester Pagan Alliance is not itself a member of our Council of Faiths. However, our contract as Host Organisation with Leicester Partnership requires us to develop positive working relations with the different communities of religion, faith or belief in the city - not just those who make up our membership. Working with the Pagans doesn't feel like an obligation, I'm glad to say. I've become good friends with a few of them and I won't forget how supportive they were of me in the earliest days I was in this post.

Visit the facebook page for The Dark Side:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leicester-United-Kingdom/The-Dark-Side-Cafe/320417872612

Visit the facebook page for Leicester Pagan Moot:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Leicester-United-Kingdom/Leicester-Pagan-Moot/298422108418

SAFER LEICESTER PARTNERSHIP

At Leicester City Council (Block B, New Walk) this afternoon, for a meeting of the Safer Leicester Partnership Board. This body focuses on crime (or, more especially it's prevention and reduction). I represent the Equality and Diversity Partnership (EDP) here - and, of course, speak up for the Council of Faiths and its interests when appropriate. In that capacity, I have a special interest in hate crime. The central feature of today's meeting is a presentation of the Safer Leicester Partnership's Delivery Plan 2010-11. This is led by two representatives of the Leicestershire Constabulary. It's a very dense sort of presentation, in the sense of being tightly packed with information - the kind of thing that's hard to grasp and respond to at this one sitting.

There's someone here (sitting immediately to my right) from the Audit Commission, who gives a preliminary (and generally positive) response to the Delivery Plan. It's hot in this room, my side of the table is bathed in direct sunlight and it's just after lunch. I'm conscious of a few moments of gonking; I hope the fellow from the Audit Commission didn't spot that.

EDP monthly meeting

We move from Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) on Upper Brown Street to the LGBT Centre on Wellington Street - from our monthly meeting as the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) to our monthly meeting as the Equality and Diversity Partnership (EDP). We're joined by colleagues from Age Concern and from LeicestHERday Trust. Also with us is Philip Parkinson, Chair of Leicester City NHS and Chair of Leicester Partnership.

We have a special focus today on children's issues: school transport for disabled children; eradicating child poverty; review of the incorporation of equality considerations in the mainstream of the Children's Trust Board for Leicester; children and Young People's JSNA (Joint Strategic Needs Assessment).

Find out more about Leicester LGBT Centre:
http://www.llgbc.com/

so, farewell then NI140

To Leicester City Council (B Block, New Walk Centre) for the second day running, this time to attend a meeting of the Stronger Communities Partnership.

A big part of the remit of the Stronger Communities Partnership has been oversight of one of the key National Indicators - NI140 (fair access to local services). It was confirmed at this meeting that central government has decided to do away with NI140 (among a few other National Indicators) on the grounds that it's too hard to obtain reliable evidence that it's being met. There were a few raised eyebrows (mine included) as NI140 has been at the core of so many meetings. I've become rather attached to the old thing; it was the first National Indicator that I understood and memorised - and the first I ever heard myself quoting out loud at a meeting. But rather than mourn its passing, it's easy to see abolition of NI140 (fair access to local services) as a good thing, since it will spread responsibility for assuring such fair access to all the Strategic Partnership's theme groups, rather than having it sit with Stronger Communities alone. So that takes some weight off this group and should allow it to be distributed more evenly. Of course, such joint responsibility should always have been the case, but it became easy to tag it on to realted responsibilites and pigeonhole it with this one group.

In case this makes it look these meetings are dominated by obscure beauraucratic language, I should unpack some of the topics covered here, especially in relation to Neighbourhood Working. This topic today involves (in no particular order) matters of hate crime, anti-social behaviour, immigration, graffiti, fly-tipping, vulnerability, estates maintenance, street cleaning, spikes in community confidence. These issues have to be rolled up into an effective strategic approach rather than a shopping list of "quick wins". We discuss ow to move away from a "command-and-control" model to being "needs-led". Sorry if that lapsed back toward beauracratic language there, but I'm sure it's not too hard to follow, faithful reader.

An interesting linguistic interlude here: we're told that some of the proposals related to this work are still going through the process of "stormin'n'normin". Eh? I've never heard this one before (have you, faithful reader?) and puzzled over it for some time. We try our best to eliminate beauracratic double-speak and gobbledeegook. This Stronger Communities Partnership agreed a code of conduct with EDP for accessible communication, to be adopted across the Strategic Partnership. But creativity is a wonderful thing and it'll find its way out through every available crack. "Stormin' Norman" was, of course, the nickname given Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who was in charge of Operation Desert Storm in the fist Gulf War. So, what might "stormin'n'normin" meaan in this context? That these processes are still being "brainstormed" and being systematised? ("normed"?). Who knows ...

Jim McCallum, from Voluntary Action Leicester, presents a draft paper on volunteering for our discussion. There's a call round the table for volunteers (ironically) to take the paper forward before the next meeting of Stronger Communities. Since I got some experience in this area when helping with Volunteeering England's "Volunteering and Faith Communities" project last year, I put myself forward. That and the fact that there's no real acknowledgement or promise of engagement with the faith communities in this document, an ommision that I'd like to help put right.

We discuss the goal of "talking up Leicester", in which context I mention the recent high level media contacts we've received at the Council of Faiths. There's agreement that the City Council, the Strategic Partnership and the Council of Faiths should develop a strategy for joint response to such enquiries.

improving standards of consultation & engagement (1)

To Leicester City Council (B Block, New Walk Centre) at lunchtime for the first meeting of a Task and Finish Group on Improving Standards of Consultation and Engagement across the Partnership. There's a cross-section of people representing different bodies involved with the Leicester Strategic Partnership: City Council, Leicester City NHS, University Hospitals Leicester (UHL), Leicestershire Constabulary, B-Inspired, Voluntary Action Leicester, I'm there on behalf of the Equality and Diversity Partnership (EDP). We're discussing ways to tighten up processes by which service users in the city are informed, consulted and engaged on the various aspects of work being done on their behalf. There's a genuine acknowledgement of the need to pool experience, knowledge and resources (for obvious reasons), to cut through the opacity of beuraucratic language and to make everything as user-focused and user-friendly as possible. We jump over one of the early items on the agenda - election of a Chair - and decide to use the short time we have together today actually to do some work. We set ourselves a tight deadline of having everything finished by 10 June, as that is the day on which Yasmin, the group coordinator, starts her maternity leave. Now that's the kind of deadline that can't be pushed back!

working with the Local Strategic Partnership

Meeting in the Welcome Centre this evening with Dr Rachel Chapman, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Northumbria (in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne). Rachel is involved in a research project commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, looking at how Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) have been promoting equalities and how they have been engaging with locally-based equalities groups. She's considering case studies, identifying good practice and seeing how much of that good practice could be shared. She's interested in asking us what we've learned from our experience of working with our LSP and how much of what we've learned could be transferred elsewhere.

The main experience that Leicester Council of Faiths has of working with our Local Strategic Partnership is, of course, in our capacity as the Host Organisation for Communities of Interest in relation to religion and belief.

There are seven of us gathered round the table: Julie-Anne Heath, Alan Race, Resham Singh Sandhu and his wife Surinder (who, while not a member of the Council of Faiths, can speak for the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society), Manjula Sood (our Chair, who arrives after an hour or so) and Gursharan Thandi. Gursharan is the focus for most of Rachel's questions, as she is one of the two representatives on Leicester Partnership for Communities of Interest in relation to religion and belief. The meeting lasts just over two hours (Julie-Ann and Gursharan have brought food and drink). I think we respond in interesting and varied ways to Rachel's questions. She's treating us as a focus group, recording our conversation on a small digital device. She's going to write up a report, anonymising our comments. She may be back in the future to do some follow-up work with us.

To read the published report ("The role of Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements in promoting equalities") click on the link below:

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/research/63_role_of_lsps_laas_in_promoting_equality.pdf

box 15

To Walkers Stadium this afternoon, for a meeting called by the Leicester Strategic Partnership for those doing the work in their Host Organisations. This meeting follows on from an all-day event, the latest in the "Making It Real" series of events - this one on the theme of "Stronger Neighbourhoods". We only received a week's notice of this and the other Host Organisations may not be able to send someone in support, but I thought it a good idea to go, so I've confirmed that I'll be there. This despite the fact that I'm labouring with a heavy cold and it's raining.

The woman on reception has this event on her schedule as the "Post 3:30 Meeting" and she directs me to Box 15, on the third floor. I sit in Box 15 (which has a very nice view of the pitch, as you can see, above) for about 20 minutes, wondering when anyone else is going to show. Sitting in this empty room, gazing out on the deserted stadium, pitch partly covered, goalposts taken down ... it begins to feel like a meditation on nothing much at all. After a while, I start to wonder if I'm in the right place. I make my way back down to the Grand Hall, where the "Making It Real" event would have been held. Perhaps it's overrun. I'll probably meet some people making their way up to the third floor for my meeting. These corriders are longer and quieter than I would have first thought - and because the lights switch on automatically by sensor as you pass under them, it's all a bit darker too. When I do find the Grand Hall, it's empty, with only a few staffers in the early stages of cleaning up. I ask one young woman picking up empty cups and saucers if she knows whether anyone was making their way up for the "Post 3:30 Meeting"; but she tells me she heard them making the decision to cancel that meeting earlier in the day.

On the way home through the rain, I phone Dee at LCIL. She reminds me that we'd made a decision that since we couldn't all go, then none of us would go. I remember discussing this at our meeting on Tuesday, but don't remember actually deciding anything about it. But it makes sense, and it's our mutually supportive way. But if that's so, how come the woman doing the cleaning up heard them decide to cancel the meeting this morning? And why was it still on the schedule at reception? My head is too full of cold and I've had way too much Lemsip to figure this one out - obviously.

Find out more about the Walkers Stadium:
http://www.thewalkersstadium.co.uk/

Not only ... but also

I spend most of today compiling the monitoring report for the second and third quarters of 2009-10. This report covers not only our "Core Service" (which the Council of Faiths has been delivering for Leicester City Council for a number of years) but also our new duties to Leicester Partnership as one of its "Host Organisations" representing one of the city's "communities of interest" - for issues related to religion, faith and belief. To most people that will sound stupefyingly dull. Well, maybe it's a quirk of my nature, but I can find fascination just about anywhere in my line of work. Seems like a good time to do this monitoring report, so soon after writing my top ten countdown for 2009. The monitoring report allows us to gauge just what we've done and how we've done it over the year as well as what remains to be done. Striving for the sake of striving isn't very effective; if you don't get the chance to reflect then you can end up feeling like you're flailing about in deep water and losing your sense of direction. My conclusion, reflecting on our progress in these past two quarters: Leicester Council of Faiths has been punching above its weight!

Nice view of a wintery Town Hall Square there and the Town Hall, seat of Leicester City Council. The Welcome Centre, where the Council of Faiths is based, would be just left of this scene. But in this recent weather it's been too cold to work in there. Lovely view, that's for sure, but sitting at my desk, heavy leather jacket on, scarf tied up tight, I've never felt so cold indoors. In fact, I felt like I may as well have been sitting in the square with my laptop. The heating has given up the ghost: so have I. No choice but to retire gracefully (if you disregard the shivering) to work from home. *Brrr!*

BACK TO EARTH

To Leicester City Council, Block B, New Walk (photo by Tim Hallam), where I'm presenting a paper to a meeting of the Stronger Communities Partnership. The paper is an Equality and Diversity Strategy for the Leicester Strategic Partnership, written on behalf of the Equality and Diversity Partnership (EDP). I've knocked it into its present form, but it's been a joint effort written along with Irene Kszyk, Head of Equalities at Leicester City Council, and Liz Carney, a specialist in equalities and employment law who has been working with LeicestHERday Trust. This is one aspect of EDP's "Embedding Equalities" agenda that we've been furthering for well over a year now with the Leicester Partnership.