Changes to voluntary and community sector outlined in video

A video explaining how voluntary and community groups are set to have more influence on local decisions than ever before is due to be ‘premiered’ at Oswestry Local Joint Committee (LJC) this week.

The way councils work with the voluntary and community sector is changing, with more power and influence being transferred to people working in their own communities as part of the Government’s localism agenda.

Shropshire Council has been talking to voluntary and community groups about the possibility of them taking on more services in the future, as the council moves to being more of a commissioner of services rather than providing everything itself.

Now the council has put together a brief video featuring interviews with councillors, the chair of the Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly, and a community group, talking about how things are starting to change.

The video will be shown at the Oswestry LJC meeting at the Eastern Oswestry Community Centre on Thursday 16 February 2012, starting at 7pm, as well as at other public meetings in the future.

Chair of the Oswestry LJC, Councillor Martin Bennett, said:

“One result of the Localism Act will be that, over the next few years, Shropshire Council will move away from direct delivery to commissioning services from others.  This is a really positive opportunity for local groups, but the changes needed to be made by everyone to make it happen will be enormous.  We need to think about the capacity of our local groups to create and deliver an Oswestry view of what ‘localism’ really means.”

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for the voluntary and community sector, Councillor Gwilym Butler, said:

“There is a huge opportunity for groups across Shropshire to take on services that matter to them, enabling them to provide the things they feel are needed in the community, rather than relying on a third party like the council to do it.  It’s about doing things better and saying to people, ‘what do you think you need?’ and then helping them to achieve it by working together.”

To find out more about the Oswestry LJC meeting, contact Kate Garner, community action manager at Shropshire Council , on 01691 677318.