Community Engagement Policy
1. Aims and Objectives
Witham St Hughs Parish Council is an open and transparent Council, which values the opinions of the community which it serves. It continues to listen to the needs and concerns of the community and will do everything within its power and financial constraints, to make the Parish a better place to live and work.
The purpose of this document is to deliver a standard policy for engagement with residents and partners, whilst recognising the services that the Parish Council provides must reflect the needs of its residents and the locality.
This policy aims to improve communication between the Parish Council and the residents of the Parish to increase awareness of local issues and council involvement, encourage public participation and receive feedback.
Witham St Hughs Parish Council aims to:
Represent and promote the interests of Witham St Hughs and its residents in all forums.
• Pay attention to the needs of our children and young people.
• Pay attention to the needs of our elderly residents.
• Provide the best possible amenities and services by the efficient use of available resources.
• Actively involve local people in decisions affecting activities in the area.
• Promote equality of opportunity and oppose discrimination.
• Be open and accountable in all it does.
• Support development, which is environmentally, socially, and economically sound and sustainable.
• Enhance quality of life by protecting and enhancing the ecological and environmental assets.
• Encourage partnership working.
• Ensure all information published is clear, concise, and widely available.
In order to achieve these aims, the Council will:
• Work closely with residents, businesses, and community groups.
• Engage with as many people as possible who want to participate in decision making.
• Monitor services and plan.
• Ensure, that by using a wide range of approaches to public involvement and community engagement, we actively encourage the involvement of residents, to capture their views and learn their concerns and effectively use those views as an integral part of the decision-making process.
• Ensure that residents can be heard at every stage, and the capacity to be effective residents.
• Allocate a specific time for ‘Comments from the Public’ prior to Full Council meeting. This provides an opportunity for residents to make representations to the Council or to ask questions relating to any of its areas of responsibility. Comments must be in writing and in advance of the meeting.
• Publish all Council and Committee meeting agendas both on-line, and on the notice board.
• Ensure that minutes of Full Council and Committee meetings are available on the website or that printed copies are available upon request.
• The annual External Audit offers the opportunity for questions to be asked about the latest Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet. A synopsis of the financial accounts is published within the Annual Report.
• Publish contact details of all Council members on the website and at the council offices.
• Undertake consultation exercises with residents, children and other user groups (where appropriate).
• Invite members of the public to attend all Council meetings.
• Submit Council press releases for consideration to be featured in local newspapers to keep the public informed of community events, Parish Council projects and other items of interest as necessary.
• To ensure Members and Officers attend, as appropriate, meetings of ‘Outside Bodies’ as well as those comprising community groups and other levels of local government and agencies.
Future Improvements:
Witham St Hughs Parish Council is committed to improving community engagement by:
• Improving relationships with community groups including the development of measures to harness the views and opinions of people and groups who are often missed out of community engagement activities.
• Identifying and embracing opportunities to work with other local community groups, as and when the need arises.
• Participating in local networks to share knowledge and experience of community engagement activities in other areas.
• Publicising the positive results that have been achieved from working relationships between the Council and other community groups; to encourage new relationships / partnerships to be formed and raise community spirit.
• Ensuring that the public is appropriately informed about the difficulties as well as the successes with projects so that they can better understand the constraints that the Council operates within.
• Ensuring that appropriate evaluation is carried out following consultation exercises to ensure that lessons learned are carried forward and an assessment of how effective / useful the consultation proved to be.
The outcomes the Council hopes to achieve are:
• Improved communication with the local community.
• A better understanding within the community of the role of the Parish Council and of its Councillors.
• Local people actively contributing to decision making.
• Improved satisfaction with local public services.
• To respond to views and needs of residents and address their priorities.
• Promotion of local democracy.
• Proactively working to improve the Parish and the lives of residents.
• Working in partnership to maximise achievement and efficiency in service delivery.
• Delivering and improving upon value for money.
2. Defining the Community
Witham St Hughs Parish Council is keen to reach all groups and individuals who work or live in the Parish.
The Council considers the community to consist of:
• All residents of the Parish.
• All users of the Parish Council’s service.
• All those who work within the Parish.
• All those who own businesses within the Parish.
• All young people who live and/or go to school within the Parish.
• All local voluntary organisations, clubs, and societies.
• Any group or organisation that represents some or any of the members of the above sections of the community.
• Visitors to the Parish.
Additionally, the Council recognises that there are certain bodies that are crucial to the quality of life in the Parish and aims to maintain excellent working relationships with these bodies, including the Police, the other tiers of local government and neighbouring Parish and Parish Councils.
3. Provision of Information to the Community
Witham St Hughs Parish Council has many avenues through which it communicates with its community:
• The Parish Council offices in Witham St Hughs.
The Village Hall, Caraway Drive, Witham St Hughs. Lincoln. LN6 9XG.
Parish Council meetings are held in the Village Hall on the third Wednesday of each month.
• The Parish Council’s website – https://witham-st-hughs.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk provides information on the Parish Council
• The public can contact the Parish Council via email to the Parish Clerk, Mrs Rachel Popplewell parish.clerk@withamsthughs-pc.gov.uk
• The Parish Council provides a noticeboard outside the Parish office at the village Hall & on Nettleton Drive which is used to display agendas for Council meetings.
• The Annual Report is produced in May each year and is available from the Parish Council offices, on the website. This report is also presented at the Annual Parish Council Meeting.
• All meetings of the Parish Council and its committees and sub-committees are open to the public and a period is set aside at the beginning of each meeting for public questions relating to items on the agenda.
• Contact details of all the Councillors and the Clerk are published on the website.
• A website containing all relevant information about the work of the Parish Council including meeting minutes, policy documents, financial statements, annual report and how to contact the Council; this also includes links to other organisations including the principal authority.
• Publishing of agendas and other information, on the notice board in the Parish, for all Council and committee meetings.
• Publishing of minutes, on the Council website, for all Council and committee meetings.
• The production of the Annual Report, available from the Parish Clerks office or via e-mail
• The Parish Council’s involvement in the Annual Parish Meeting.
• The annual External Audit offers the opportunity for questions to be asked about the latest Statement of Accounts. A synopsis of the financial accounts is published within the Annual Report.
• Public meetings are called to gauge public opinion about important issues affecting the Parish such as major planning applications.
4. Opportunities for Community Involvement
Witham St Hughs Parish Council ensures the electorate can have access to council meetings and facilities ensuring increased and representative community involvement.
A public forum session is available at every full Parish Council meeting, where the electorate can raise issues in relation to the business on the agenda. The electorate can also request other matters to be discussed at future meetings.
5. Opportunities for Formal Representations to the Council
Issues received in writing, may be included as a stated item on a future agenda dependant on relevance and legality within the Parish Council’s duties, powers or responsibilities.
Correspondence received from a member of the public is acknowledged wherever possible, within five working days.
A period for the receipt of petitions is set aside at the beginning of each full Council meeting.
6. Involvement in Partnerships
The Parish Council encourages and supports public meetings organised by the Police, the health authority, North Kesteven District Council, Lincolnshire County Council, neighbouring Parish and Parish Councils and other organisations where it feels information should be made available to the residents of the Parish.
The Parish Council often works in partnership with other organisations and has nominated Councillor Representatives on the following outside bodies:
7. Role of Council Members, Parish Clerk and members of staff
As an open and transparent Parish Council, both Elected Members and the Clerk seek to offer a high-quality professional service to all whom they serve. Both Elected Members and the Clerk are keen to maintain relevant Codes of Conduct in their activities and view the community as “customers” rather than an electorate.
The Council’s officers are staff members, employed to carry out the day-to-day functions of the Council and make sure that its services are provided for the local community.
The Clerk is employed as the Parish Council’s ‘proper officer’ and as such holds relevant qualification(s) in Local Government Finance and Administration, having overall responsibility for the provision of Council services.
8. Objectives
• To improve, plan and shape the future of the Parish according to local needs and priorities.
• To improve the quality and delivery of services.
• To use engagement to inform decision making, ensuring decisions are fit for purpose and meet the needs of the Parish.
• To enhance the wellbeing of the Parish.
• To be a stronger, more active and cohesive Parish.
9. Specific Areas for Community Engagement
Where there is a specific issue, or new project that the Parish Council wish to consider, it is of value to the Parish Council to seek the views of the community who will be most affected. The residents of the Parish can have confidence that their “voice” will be heard, and that the Council will work with the community to reach a common goal.
Community Engagement takes many forms and is best described by the Ladder of Engagement, as seen in the diagram and table below, which describes the different levels of involvement.
| STEP | MEASURE |
| 5 | Empowering: placing decision-making in the hands of the community. |
| 4 | Collaborating: working in partnership with communities in each aspect of the decision, including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution. |
| 3 | Involving: working directly with communities to ensure that concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered. For example, partnership boards, reference groups and service-users participating in policy groups. |
| 2 | Consulting: obtaining community feedback on analysis, alternatives and / or decisions. For example, surveys, door knocking and focus groups. |
| 1 | Consulting: obtaining community feedback on analysis, alternatives and / or decisions. For example, surveys, door knocking and focus groups. |
• Informing
The Parish Council will raise awareness of consultation processes by various methods including promotion through local publications, the website, and local media.
Councillors are a rich and important source of two-way communication between the Council and its residents. Members of the Council will continue to inform their ward and residents of the Council’s vision, priorities, and aspirations.
In turn these Members will receive valuable feedback from residents which will assist in shaping the vision and priorities.
• Consulting
The key to effective community engagement is the consultation of all residents on important issues. It will ensure those most affected are able to put forward an opinion and given an opportunity to make a difference.
The Council will ensure consultations include all members of the Parish by identifying the hard-to-reach groups such as youths, the elderly, the housebound, the disabled, ethnic minorities etc. This may require the establishment of different engagement channels.
• Involving
The Parish Council will work with Police and Partner Authorities (e.g. LCC & NKDC), to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones.
The Parish Council will liaise with minority/hard to reach groups and identify channels of contact and consultation to ensure inclusion.
The Parish Council will work with and identify consultation / focus groups and identify residents (by means of survey to judge general opinions to minimise cost implications of full consultation processes) with specific skills who can be consulted on specialist subjects.
• Collaborating
The Parish Council will support local organisations and assist them in meeting their own aims and objectives. Support for local projects and participating in and organising local events will raise the awareness of the Council and its aims and objectives
• Empowering
By bringing together residents and partners, the Parish Council will find solutions to local problems ensuring they will be accepted and fit for purpose. Mediation and assistance in the formulation of action plans will engage and empower the community in decision making resulting in enhancements to the environment and the quality of life. Acting together in decision making and policy drafting will ensure residents have a voice and see they can make a difference.
10. Measuring Success
Success will be measured by predefined targets on individual projects and reviewed at inception, during the project and at the end of the project. This process will include consultation outcomes, monitoring of resident participation in consultation processes and increases in their involvement in local projects and events.
11. Action Plan
How can the Parish Council improve community engagement?
The Parish Council has identified certain activities it undertakes, how the service is delivered and how it can be improved:
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Activity |
What we do now |
What we could do |
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Council Presence |
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Council Meetings |
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Use of Media |
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Engaging individuals |
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Engaging groups |
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Public meetings |
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12. Outcomes
• Improved communication through the establishment of new channels of engagement.
• More residents understanding the role of Councillors and getting the best effect.
• Improved engagement with local communities, with more people feeling that they are involved in decision-making and a higher percentage of people involved in volunteering.
• Improved satisfaction with services provided by the Council.
13. Reviewing and Assessing Effectiveness of the Strategy:
This strategy will be reviewed and updated annually; its effectiveness will be assessed by Councillors and Council staff and amendments and / or improvements would be recommended if benefits are identified.
From time to time this policy can be subject to a publicity feedback review, in order that public opinion on its effectiveness and how it may be improved can be sought.
This Policy was formally adopted by Witham St Hughs Parish Council and approved reviewed March 2024
Appendix A
CUSTOMER SERVICE CHARTER
Who Are We?
Witham St Hughs Parish Council
Mission Statement
Witham St Hughs Parish Council will work to promote and develop the interest and diversity of this vibrant community
Aims
• To consider and respect the views of our service users and residents of Witham St Hughs
• To be efficient, effective, and accessible.
• To provide a quality service to the service users and the wider community.
• To be flexible and forward thinking, where possible.
• To communicate with service users and members of the public, whilst respecting confidentiality.
• To respond to service user needs.
• To have a robust complaint procedure.
Objectives
This strategy is part of the Parish Council's commitment to creating and maintaining effective working relationships with all sectors of the community, based on trust, openness, and constructive challenge.