Ben Adams (centre) with (left to right) Nicola Edmonds and Tim Leese of Staffordshire County Council and Dave Benge and Jeanette Burrows of SCIO

Agreement brings county organisations closer together

Residents across Staffordshire will benefit from an improved relationship between public sector and voluntary and community organisations, thanks to a new agreement.

Delegates at a county-wide conference held in Stafford saw the signing of the Staffordshire Compact document. The event was jointly organised by the county council and SCIO (Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Consortium of Infrastructure Organisations), a voluntary and community sector consortium. National and regional speakers told representatives of the positive impact for everyone of closer and effective working between the sectors.

The Staffordshire Compact has been drawn up between the county's public sector organisations, including councils, and various voluntary and community sector organisations (also known as the third sector). It sets out values and commitments on how the sectors can best work together to achieve more for people living in Staffordshire.

It was signed by county council Chief Executive Ron Hilton representing the Staffordshire Strategic Partnership, which includes all public sector agencies, and Kent Parson, a chief officer within the SCIO consortium representing the third sector.

In addition consultation was launched on the Staffordshire Third Sector Commissioning Standards, which will help Staffordshire's third sector in delivering public services to those in need.

Staffordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture Ben Adams, said: "We already have an excellent working relationship with the third sector so it was a pleasure to attend the conference and to hear how the Compact can further benefit our residents.

"This is particularly reassuring in today's economic climate. The signing of the Compact document puts into action the great plans laid out for even more effective partnership working and we look forward to seeing the results."

Kent Parson added: "The participation of so many agencies at the event is testament to their commitment to ensuring the principles are disseminated throughout their organisations so that front line staff from all sectors can communicate with a common understanding of the issues and principles embodied in the Compact."

Richard Cordon, Chief Executive of the national Commission for the Compact, said: "The new Staffordshire Compact is a model of clarity and contains all the essentials of partnership working. The Commission for the Compact congratulates those who have worked to put it in place. We look forward to seeing the fruits of partnership working in Staffordshire based on this excellent new Compact."

Commenting on the Staffordshire Third Sector Commissioning Standards, John Marshall, Policy Manager for Commissioning at the Cabinet Office, said: "The draft commissioning standards document is an excellent example of turning policy into practice at local level. It draws on current best practice around third sector commissioning, presented in a down to earth and accessible way with helpful local references and examples to support the standards. This is a model that I'm sure others will want to follow."

Page Last Modified: 30/06/2009 13:58:54

Back to top