Community Planning and Multi-Agency Working

1. Community Planning and Multi-Agency Working Norman Bonney, Public Policy, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

2. Community Planningand Multi-Agency Working • Intra- agency coordination hard enough • Departmentalism and silo thinking • Problems of getting departments working together • Operational versus support departments • Inter-agency coordination even more difficult • London Resilience – 50 agencies

3. Community Planningand Multi-Agency Working • Role of top managers – achieving greater organisational coherence and internal joint working • Creating and exploiting new internal links and partnerships to create greater value • Creating and exploiting new external links and partnerships to create greater value

4. Community Planningand Multi-Agency Working • Scottish Police Services • One agency or nine? • Nominal operational independence of each force but pressures for centralisation • from UK security and terrorism concerns • From Scottish Executive and Plmt • From HMIC responsive to Executive • From senior officers’ career interests

5. Community Planning and Inter-agency Working • Community Planning versus emergency planning • 2 policing priorities; 2 polar opposites • One instant, urgent, calamitous, specific actions, clear outcomes, many agencies working together, effective planning • One lethargic, drawn out, routine, visionary, experimental, difficult to judge outcomes or success, debatable philosophy, some gains

6. 23/2/07 The Virgin Cumbria Train Crash • Many agencies – drawn from across UK • British Transport Police, Cumbria Police • Fire and Rescue and Ambulance services • NHS hospitals • Air Force helicopters - lights • Rail operator – information, passenger and victim support, equipment maintenance records

7. Community Planning and Multi-Agency Working • Local helpers • Local authority educ and social services • Network Rail – managers and engineers • Railway Inspectorate • Rail Accident Investigation Branch • Police scene of crime investigators • Media; BT Police and Ambulance conference at 0830 24/02/07

8. Community Planning and Multi-Agency Working • Large number of organisations • Well organised planning and training • Organisations quickly into emergency mode • Public information important • Agencies know their respective roles • Sequence of shifting leadership roles • Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, Investigation, inquiry, restoration of site, reports, accountabilities

9. Community Planning and Inter-agency working • Community planning • How does it compare? • What is it? • Attempt to counter the fragmentation of government and produce effective inter-agency working and public involvement in order to cope with challenging problems of social and economic change in an effective coherent way. (NB)

10. Community Planning and Inter-agency Working • Fragmentation of government • 1996 32 local govt’s but still • But still regional police, health and enterprise boards and independent colleges and universities • How to get these to work together effectively? • Community plans – with private sector?

11. Community Planning and Inter-agency working • Pathfinders 1998, • Key flagship policy since 1999 SP elections • Tardy and erratic progress • Nebulous idea, partners reluctant • Police very much in the lead in implementation. Eg CP working parties, eg Edinburgh police reorganisations • Police command culture responsive to ministers, better resourced and more community oriented?

12. Community Planning and Inter-Agency Working • Local authority lead role • But not all cllrs convinced • Key ideas of CP not thoroughly thought through • Is private sector involved or not? • Is it just public sector agencies? • How should public participation be organised?

13. Community Planning and Multi-Agency Working • Participatory schemes separate from elective ones. Does participation make a difference? • Overarching visions flawed • Glasgow abandons the Alliance approach and now goes for independent agency • Inherent flaws; Does community planning require specialised staffs or should existing agency staffs just coordinate?

14. Community Planning and Inter-agency Working • Health orgns less responsive – troubled by their constant reorganisation • Regional bodies - Health, police, enterprise have to cope with several LG’s • LG depts have much the same problems • CP meant to be overarching – to bring together the work of agencies in a coherent way – but just another layer of planning?

15. Community Planning and Inter-agency Working • Each dept eg transport, town planning, housing, has its plans, consultations and participation (to which police feed in) • On top of this required to relate this to CP • Intra-agency coordination a problem for Las and other agencies?

16. Community Planning and Inter-agency Working • Some positives • Does promote improved contact between agencies • Sparks of useful links and connections • Promotes a general culture of cooperation • Provides avenue of participation for some citizens

17. Community Planning and Inter-agency working • Tendency to secrecy and consensus • Difficulties of measuring success or outcomes • CP just badges work of other units? • Life goes on independently of CP • The way forward: Back to the regions –which is, of course, the way the police are still organised.