Introduction

 

The Torbay Strategic Partnership has agreed to support the Community Partnerships in Torbay to increase the involvement of local people and communities in the way in which the Torbay Strategic Partnership works.

 

Community Partnerships provide an opportunity for the people who live or work in the area to discuss issues of common concern.  They provide an opportunity for local people to understand and influence the way in which services are provided in their area.  The Torbay Strategic Partnership hope that the Community Partnerships will involve local people in helping to shape some of their major plans and strategies.  Ultimately, it is hoped that the Community Partnerships will produce local action plans that will feed into the Community Plan for the whole of Torbay.

 

Aim

 

The Community Partnership’s aim is to act as a multi-sector Community Partnership, working together to add value and achieve a better quality of life for the local community.

 

Objectives

1. To promote the economic, social, health and environmental wellbeing of the wards within each Partnership
2.  To provide a mechanism for the views of local people to be fed into the Torbay Strategic Partnership and other partnership boards
3. To improve community leadership for the benefit of the whole area
4. To increase democratic participation by local people
5. To encourage openness and transparency
6. To develop area plans to inform the Community Plan

Membership

 

Membership of each Community Partnership will be open to all people living or working, or organisations operating, within the boundary of the Community Partnership.

 

Annually, each Community Partnership will appoint a Steering Group of around 12 people (dependant on the population served by the Community Partnership).  The precise composition of the Group will be agreed at this stage by the Community Partnership.  The Steering Group will act as the core membership of the Community Partnership.

 

Ward Councillors and Neighbourhood Beat Managers will be members of the Steering Group.  Where more than one ward is included within a Community Partnership, all of the appropriate Ward Councillors and Neighbourhood Beat Managers will be members of the Steering Group.

 

Nominations for representatives to sit on the Steering Group will be sought from local schools and colleges, community and voluntary groups, trade organisations and residents’ associations.

 

Stakeholders of the Torbay Strategic Partnership will, when appropriate, be invited to send representatives to meetings of each Community Partnership.  These include Torbay Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, Torbay Care Trust, South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust and South Devon College.  These representatives may be in addition to any representatives of these organisations who sit on the Steering Group.

 

The statutory bodies will endeavour to meet reasonable requests for officers to attend meetings of the Community Partnerships to assist in the discussions.

 

Quorum

 

No business will be carried out at a meeting of the Community Partnership unless at least four voting members are present.  The voting members form the Steering Group, the membership of which will be agreed by each Community Partnership.

 

Frequency of Meetings

 

Each Community Partnership will meet in public normally every quarter.  The dates and times of the meetings will be agreed by each Partnership and will be widely publicised.  They will also be published on the Torbay Strategic Partnership website.

 

Venue of Meetings

 

The venue for meetings of Community Partnerships will be determined by the Steering Group.

 

The Police and the Council will make available premises for meetings of each Community Partnership and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the venues are easily accessible for everyone who wishes to attend meetings of the Partnerships.

 

Chair and Secretary

 

The Chair (and Deputy Chair, if appropriate) will be elected (from the membership of the Steering Group) by each Community Partnership at its first meeting after 31st March each year.  The Chair will preside at meetings of the Partnership.

 

In the absence of the Chair (and Deputy Chair, if appointed), those present will elect a Chair for that meeting.

 

The Chair (or Deputy Chair) of each Community Partnership has two main responsibilities:

• To co-ordinate the arrangements for meetings of the Community Partnership
• To ensure that meetings of the Partnership are conducted efficiently, fairly and harmoniously

The Chairs (or Deputy Chairs) of the Community Partnerships will, from time to time, act together as a consultation group on community issues.

 

The Secretary will be appointed by the Steering Group at the first meeting of the Community  Partnership after 31st March each year.

 

The Secretary will prepare agendas and take minutes for each meeting and will assist the Chair with the administration of the meeting.

 

Matters for discussion at meetings of Community Partnerships

 

All members of a Community Partnership can ask for items to be considered by the Partnership subject to the following:

• Any proposed item of business must be notified to the Partnership Chair or Secretary at least 15 working days before the meeting of the Partnership is due to take place
• Individual or personal complaints or issues cannot be accepted for discussion unless the person asking for the item to be discussed can demonstrate that the issue is of wider concern to the local area

Urgent items of business can be discussed at meetings provided that the Chair agrees that discussion on the matter could not reasonably wait until the next meeting.

 

The Torbay Strategic Partnership will ensure that contact arrangements for each Partnership are well publicised and included on its website.

 

The Secretary will publish an agenda listing all of the matters to be considered at the meeting of the Partnership at least 10 working days before the meeting is due to take place.  Agendas will be structured around the priorities within the Community Plan.  Agendas will be published in a number of different ways including on the Torbay Strategic Partnership’s website and in local libraries, Connections offices, schools and community centres.

 

Any person or organisation that has an item for discussion at the meeting will have up to 5 minutes to address the Partnership on the item.  This time can only be extended with the agreement of a majority of those present at the meeting.  There is no time limit on the amount of time a Community Partnership can take to discuss an item, although the person presiding will guide the Partnership taking account of the other business to be discussed.

 

The Community Partnerships are not decision making bodies and may only make recommendations to other persons or bodies.  However, from time to time the Torbay Strategic Partnership, or its stakeholder organisations, may find it helpful to ask for the views of the Community Partnership on a particular issue.  On certain issues, the Community Partnerships in each town (as shown on the map at the start of this document) may be asked to meet as a group.  On other occasions, the Chairs (or Deputy Chairs) may be asked to meet as a group.

 

Each Community Partnership will be able to bid to the Torbay Strategic Partnership for sums of money from the Community Partnership Fund.  This Fund is available to enable projects which promote aims of the Community Plan to be undertaken in each Community Partnership area.

 

Any resolution of the Community Partnership will be reached by consensus of the members of the Partnership present at the meeting.

 

Draft minutes of each meeting of each Partnership will normally be finalised within 10 working days of the meeting, approved by the Chair and be published on the Torbay Strategic Partnership website.  Minutes will then be formally approved (with any appropriate amendment) at the next meeting of the Community Partnership.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

The rules of the Torbay Strategic Partnership (as set out in its Constitution) in relation to conflicts of interest will apply to Community Partnerships.

 

Variation and Suspension

 

Two thirds of the Steering Group present at any meeting of Community Partnership may vote to vary or suspend this Constitution for that meeting.

 

Development

 

The Torbay Strategic Partnership recognises that it will take time for each Community Partnership to develop.  To help in this, the Council and Torbay Police will provide support to each Partnership and will also organise particular events or activities aimed as developing each Partnership.  The Council and Torbay Police will also provide as much assistance as possible to individuals and community groups who wish to become involved in each Community Partnership.

 

This Constitution may be reviewed and amended by the Torbay Strategic Partnership in consultation with all of the Community Partnerships.