October 21, 2024

A new Local Government Organisation good practice guide has been published, which sets out some simple, practical steps that councils can take to work with infrastructure organisations (such as Cumbria CVS) in order to strengthen and engage effectively with smaller Voluntary Community Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

This good practice guide is based on a large number of real-life conversations with councillors, infrastructure and VCSE organisations. The recommendations are underpinned by some inspiring case studies of how strong relationships based on trust and partnership working have delivered real benefits for residents in many parts of England, in areas as diverse as public health, asylum hotels and grant-giving.

Amongst these is a case study focussing on the short notice opening of asylum accommodation in Barrow in Furness in early 2022. We were contacted by the then Cumbria County council and identified that coordination would be needed for the small local community groups who would get involved to provide support for the residents of the hotel, but for whom this was mostly a very new area of work.

Tracey Ingham, Assistant Director Safe and Strong Communities, at Westmorland and Furness Council said, “Building confident, empowered and resilient communities is a key priority for Westmorland and Furness Council, but with over 1200 voluntary and community sector organisations in our area, along with many smaller groups, we know we need to work with other local organisations to do this well.

Local Infrastructure Organisations play a key role in this, and it’s great to have a case study showing how our Community Development team worked with Cumbria CVS, Furness Multicultural Community Forum and other local groups to support people seeking asylum featured in this fantastic new guide from the Local Government Association.”