The report of the Strategic Director, Place,  (Document “D”) outlines the progress of the Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan produced by the Stronger Communities Partnership.

Recommended –

That the work carried out in the development of the Bradford Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan, by the Stronger Communities Partnership, contained in Document “D”, be noted.

(Zahra Niazi – 01274 436082)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place, (Document “D”) outlined the progress of the Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan produced by the Stronger Communities Partnership.

The report revealed that the Stronger Communities Partnership’s Strategy and Delivery plan supported delivery of local interventions determined following Bradford District’s designation as one of five ‘Integrated Communities Pilot Areas’.

As a Pilot Area, funding had been provided to research why some activities worked and others did not; to test new ideas; to learn from what was already working and scale up best practice. 

It was reported that an independent ‘Stronger Communities Partnership’ Chaired by Bishop Toby Howarth, Bishop of Bradford had been formed to oversee the Stronger Communities Together strategy and a Delivery Plan for the District.  Along with this, a resident sub-group; People Together had been set up which broadly reflected the District’s demographics.  Keighley members were reported and it was explained that one member (from Keighley East) had withdrawn due to ill health and there were currently three vacancies for Keighley.  People Together members would be involved in the Innovation Fund, the District Values Pledge campaign and Anti-Rumour Strategy work.

The reason for the vacancies for Keighley members on the People Together group was queried and whilst it was not known why enough people had not come forward Members were assured that the group had been promoted widely.  In response to questions about the involvement of Ilkley residents it was confirmed that one member of the People Together group was an Ilkley resident and was very passionate about their role.

It was reported that the Partner Forum was another sub-group to the Stronger Communities Partnership Board and was launched on the 20 March 2019.  This was a vehicle for partners, particularly for small voluntary and community groups who worked in the area, to build capacity, share best practice, collaborate and be supported. There were 320 organisations registered. Local groups from Keighley were encouraged to register.

A copy of the partnership’s Strategy and Delivery plan was attached as Appendix A.  The plan currently contained approximately 17 projects and was continually evolving.

The Street Life project, launched on 1 June and was being delivered in Keighley West to encourage social mixing, was discussed.  It was reported that the project would engage with a core group of approximately 12 – 15 people in Keighley West who would be developed as community leaders who would work with the project to engage wider circles from within their communities to join specific events and engage in social action.  The aim was to encourage people who were socially isolated to get together and a serious of workshops would be organised.  A sum of £500 would be provided to groups to help facilitate activates and Keighley Ward Officers would be engaged in identifying people in the area. 

The recruitment of an English Language Service Co-ordinator was also reported and would be responsible for overseeing the work of the English Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) hub. Data collected would be utilised to help drive further funding and would assess what the current barriers were to learning and progressing in ESOL.

Whilst acknowledging the barrier which language could create a Member reported a lack of opportunities for English speaking residents to learn an ethnic minority language.  In response it was reported that the Innovation Fund could help towards running sessions/events for English speakers to learn to speak a foreign language, for example, such as Urdu, Punjabi, Polish or Arabic. Organisations would have to submit an application for funding but this could be encouraged.

Another project in the pipeline was reported which was Bradford United, a district wide project that would focus on social mixing for 14-24 year olds (targeting the young population of the district).  The Youth Service would lead on that project. 

An intergenerational mentoring approach, empowering older people to support young people classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), was discussed.  The aim of the project was to improve the confidence of young people by bringing them together with older residents.   

Whilst welcoming support for young and older people it was questioned what support was available for people with disabilities.  In response assurances were provided that people with disabilities were involved with the People Together group and would ensure all activities were accessible and all people had their voices heard.

Following queries that all faith groups were included an example of the Street Life Project, requesting contact information to allow it to work with all faith groups across the targeted areas was provided.  Project leads would work closely with the Area Co-ordinators ensuring that all key people were included and engaged.

A Member highlighted that the Stronger Communities Partnership was being chaired by the Bishop of Bradford whilst many residents may be of  no faith.  It was requested that all people, including those without faith, must be included.    

It was questioned if the Delivery Plan supported people to be entrepreneurial.  It was reported that whilst it was believed that there were no specific plans included there were initiatives to help people who did not speak English to develop language skills and access employment.  It was agreed to check the Delivery Plan and consider what could be included to encourage people to set up their own businesses. 

The report advised Members of the school linking network, working with primary and secondary schools.  It was revealed that the network had received 159 expressions of interest from primary schools and 11 from secondary schools.  Fourteen links had been made with 16 classes in Keighley and these were outlined in the report. A Member reported a role he held in encouraging pupils to become involved in engineering and requested he be involved in school linking discussions.  A Member also requested that Eastwood Primary School be invited to become part of the linking network. 

In response to queries about activities in Ilkley it was explained that the strategy was focused on areas of deprivation. There were Keighley West, Keighley Central and district wide projects.  It was agreed to explore what projects were happening in the Ilkley ward and how to improve social mixing and build connections between Ilkley and Keighley residents.

Resolved –

That the work carried out in the development of the Bradford Stronger Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan, by the Stronger Communities Partnership, contained in Document “D”, be welcomed.

Action: Strategic Director, Place