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 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.

East Midlands regional event: Knowledge, Impact & Success

At the Riverside Centre, Pride Park, Derby, for a conference jointly sponsored by the Big Lottery Fund, Capacity Builders and One East Midlands. The title of this regional event, "Knowledge, Impact and Success" offers an upbeat face when much of the sector is unsettled in the light of changes, cuts and contractions threatened by the new economic regime of the Coalition Government. But there's actually no doubting that there is a generally upbeat air about the proceedings here today. The Voluntary and Community Sector has never been comfortable and safe, never really felt at ease with its political masters, never been able to look to the future with security and certainty. Things may look unsettled and grim all round, but many people are saying, "Well, what's new?" Oh, what is new is that it seems that we're not the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) now, we've been dubbed "Civil Society Organisations" (CSO). I spent a fair bit of time yesterday, going through some of REDP's texts, making it read consistently, "Voluntary and Community Sector" and "VCS". Does this mean I need to go back through all that and change them all again?

Be that as it may, it's another worthwhile trip out of Leicester. Laura Horton, Project Manager of REDP, and I are here to make contacts and make an impression. I'd like to think we manage to do both. In the afternoon, we conduct three "speed dating" workshops, where we both sit at a table while someone comes and sits with us for up to 20 minutes and quizzes us about our organisation and its work. I'd been asked to write a short  piece about REDP's work for Insight, the One East Midlands magazine, which is in delegates' packs today. We were a bit anxious about this when we saw the proofs a week or so ago, and were unable to make some alterations that we thought necessary - but seeing the finished product, I'm glad to say that it's turned out just fine.

The event finishes at three o'clock, to allow everyone to follow the England v Slovakia match at the World Cup. I end up watching it in a big hall behind where we've had our conference, sitting with the centre staff, who've been given a few free hours in the afternoon to cheer on Rooney & Co. I enter into the spirit of things with a great big chip butty. But then I reveal my true nature by putting mayo on my chips, rather than ketchup. Mind you, it could have been worse. I could have really given myself away by asking for a can of Irn Bru!

REDP ARTICLE FOR ONE EAST MIDLANDS

An hour or so this afternoon to put together a 450-word article about the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) for publication in the magazine of One East Midlands. One East Midlands wants to get this out in advance of their "Knowledge, Impact and Success" regional event in Derby on 23 June at which REDP will get to showcase its work.

One East Midlands works to ensure that the voluntary and community sector is actively engaged with key regional bodies and other partners, from across the public, statutory, business and social enterprise sectors. We bring together organisations that support Voluntary and Community Sector groups across the region to influence and shape policy, improve services and provide a point of contact at a regional level. REDP has a good working relationship with One East Midlands as we pursue our specialist service for the Voluntary and Community Sector.

REDP INVOLVEMENT EVENT: NORTHAMPTON

To Northampton, for the seventh in the series of "Involvement Events" hosted across the East Midlands by the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership. Dee (from LCIL) drives Taherah (from TREC), Dennis (from Leicester LGBT Centre) and me down from Leicester. We're getting on familiar terms with Dee's SatNav and now all talk back to it.


The meeting is held in the King's Park Centre. When we arrive, a group is setting up in the smaller room next to ours. Before long, they start singing - in tongues. First time we've encountered anything like that on one of our days out and about.


It takes a while for our attendees to begin showing up and there are a few moments of anxiety about our support today. One East Midlands is running a health equality event in Northampton today, which has drawn away some of the people who'd said they'd be joining us. REDP has a good working relationship with One East Midlands and we'd normally have been able to avoid this sort of clash, but it was the health sector which set the date, time and place.


I chair the first part, Dee does the "Beginner's Guide to REDP". She describes the current lineup of REDP as being a "catalyst". Nice analogy, but only partly true. A catalyst promotes change, but remains unchanged itself in the process: the four core partners are certainly changing and learning as we go along.


On the floor, there's general assent that the reason why previous attempts to establish a regional partnership on equalities have come to grief is because they have been "top down" operations rather than "bottom up".


Guest speakers this afternoon are Patrick Devine and Jagdish Singh Shemare, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. They're both Regional Advisers for EHRC - Patrick for the East Midlands, Jagdish for the West. They give a deep and knowledgeable presentation about the Equality Bill and the Non-Statutory Guidance that will accompany it (as you'd expect). The photo at the top of this entry was taken during their joint presentation.


I have the last half hour or so to present Carolyn's statistical profile of Northampton and Northamptonshire. I haveen't done this before, but have seen Carolyn do it at the six previous events. Mind you, that's a bit like having been to the circus half a dozen times and thinking you can have a go on the flying trapeze. I seem to carry it off alright - with a smattering of trapeze-themed jokes as I go along.