Empowerment

Wednesday June 18th 2008, One Great George Street - London, 09:15 - 16:20

The Empowerment Action Plan: Making Empowerment A Reality in Every Community

''This action plan is about turning rhetoric into reality. We have talked about devolution, now we need to step up a gear; to go further and faster and to be more ambitious about what we want to achieve.

A number of authorities are leading the charge for empowering people doing excellent work. Now I want local government to grasp the opportunities that devolution brings across the country. This action plan will bring about a transformation and reinvent the way we govern by bringing ‘devolution to the doorstep'"

Rt. Hon. Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State, Department for Communities & Local Government, May 2007

Overview

Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears published the Government’s ‘Empowerment Action Plan’ (19th September 2007) that sets out how it will deliver on its commitment to bring about greater devolution and empower communities. The action plan clarifies how people will be given increasingly greater control over their communities on a wide range of issues from managing social housing, tackling litter and fly-tipping, tackling anti-social behaviour and improving playgrounds and parks.

Funding of £35 million will support the actions in the plan and support the successful delivery of the community empowerment agenda. The action plan will dramatically expand and accelerate the programmes currently underway at both central and local level to devolve more power to local power.

The action plan is an opportunity to make real changes to the way government does things – both nationally, and locally – and to deliver high quality services responsive to people’s needs.

Objectives

Delegates at this inside government event will have the opportunity to examine the main proposals within the action plan and related issues, including:

'Community Kitties' in every local authority;
More assets to communities;
Increasing the use of petitions;
A concordat between central and local government that will shape the future relationship between central and local government;
Shaping policy through Citizens Juries on community cohesion and housing growth;
Duty to Involve from 1 April 2009 (Parliamentary Approval Pending), which will require local authorities to inform, consult and involve local people in local decisions, policies and services.

Agenda

09:15	Registration and Coffee
10:00	Chair’s Welcome Address Kai Rudat, Director, Office for Public Management (OPM)
10:10	The Empowerment Action Plan: Making it a Reality in Every Community Bob Neill AM MP, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and Shadow Minister for Local Government Dan Rogerson MP, Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government Liberal Democrats Steve Bullock, Mayor, London Borough of Lewisham Fiona Blacke, CEO, The National Youth Agency
11:10	Coffee Break and Networking
11:40	Questions and Answers Session 1
12:40	Lunch and Networking
14:00	Building the Future of Local Communities Parmjit Dhanda MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government
14:15	Minister Questions and Answers Session 2 Parmjit Dhanda MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government
14:45	Coffee Break and Networking
15:00	Creating Profound and Long Term Transformation in our Neighbourhoods Steve Wyler, Director, Development Trust Association Ashok Viswanathan, Deputy Co-ordinator, Operation Black Vote (OBV) Cllr Audrey Lewis, Cabinet Member, Customers and Neighbourhoods, Westminster City Council
15:45	Questions and Answers Session 3
16:15	Chair’s Summary and Conclusions
16:20	Close

Audience

Delegates will be drawn from community empowerment officers, community safety teams, police & fire authorities, LSPs, community partnerships, faith organisations, youth offending teams, neighbourhood wardens, employment services, diversity & equality officers, neighbourhood strategy managers, refugee & asylum support officers, race hate crime co-ordinators, children’s trusts, education authorities, neighbourhood renewal directors, community projects & regeneration officers, planning authorities, social inclusion officers, urban renewal initiatives and city partnerships, community cohesion officers, schools, local criminal justice boards, prison/probation service, PCTs, central government departments & bodies, unions, academia, the private, legal & voluntary sectors and all those involved in creating empowered communities.