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Voluntary Sector representation on strategic boards

The question of how voluntary sector representatives for strategic boards are chosen is an ongoing issue. This page brings together some of the strands to this debate.

Lewisham Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership

Lewisham Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership

Lewisham Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership Board (CYPSPB) is the Children's Trust for Lewisham. It oversees decision making on policy and services affecting children, young people and families, and reports to the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The Partnership is made up of representatives from all major agencies:

  • Lewisham Council
  • Lewisham NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT)
  • Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust
  • South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLAM)
  • Lewisham Voluntary and Community Sector CYP Forum
  • Lewisham Metropolitan Police
  • Lewisham College

Link to show Children and Young Peoples Working GroupsFourteen specialist Boards and Working Groups sit under the CYPSPB, including the Joint Commissioning Group (JCG), which oversees funding allocation to children's services, and the Lewisham Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), which oversees child safety and protection.

Each year our VCS CYP Forum elects two representatives to each Board and Working Group within the CYP Strategic Partnership. For details of this year's reps, download the 'VCS Reps 2010' attachment below.

For feedback from your Reps from recent meetings please download the VCS Reps' Feedback documents below. If you wish to contact Reps to respond to and/or request action on any of the points raised in the meeting notes, please contact jennifer@valewisham.org.uk or call me on 020 8314 7679.

If you are interested in becoming a VCS Rep yourself, you might be interested to read the 'Lewisham VCS Reps' Handbook', also attached below. Our next elections will take place in December 2010.

Big thanks to all our VCS Reps for their fantastic work on our behalf!

More information
For more information contact: 
Jennifer Laing

Nominate yourself for the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership Boards

Please consider nominating yourself as a Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Rep on Lewisham’s Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership for 2010!

This is an exciting opportunity to engage in strategic decision making in Lewisham on behalf of our sector.

For detailed information about the Partnership, the Rep’s role and the time commitment you would need to make, please see the attached Guide.

Nominations are open to all individuals who work or volunteer in a VCS organisation in Lewisham. Your organisation MUST be a full or associate member of VAL (for more information on this please see www.valewisham.org.uk).

Partnership Boards

There are fifteen Boards and Panels for which you could stand:

  • Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board
  • CYP Joint Commissioning Group
  • Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB)
  • 14-19 Strategy Forum
  • Children’s Centres and Extended Services Board
  • Integrated Youth Support Services Board
  • Child Poverty Working Group
  • Disability Multi-Agency Group
  • Emotional and Mental Health Working Group
  • Healthy Eating/Healthy Lifestyles Working Group
  • Family Support and Parenting Board
  • Play Partnership Board
  • Teenage Pregnancy, Parenthood and Sexual Health Programme Strategic Board
  • Youth Crime Management Board
  • Children’s Workforce Development Working Group

Each Board/Group has spaces for two VCS Reps, except the LSCB, which only has one.

You may nominate yourself as a Rep on more than one Board. Please complete a separate nomination form for each.

Nomination Procedure

To nominate yourself, please return completed Nomination Forms to Kate English by 23rd November 2009. Reps will be elected by secret ballot at our next CYP Forum meeting on 9th December at the Albany, Deptford.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Kate by phone to discuss this opportunity further, if you wish. Tel: 020 8314 7018.

VCS Election Results

Voting for the LSP elections closed at midday on Tuesday. Joel Hartfield from the LSP team supervised the ballot count.

As a result of the ballot, the 5 organisations with the most votes were:

... read more.

Feedback from the Representation Meeting

Feedback from the meeting held in the Civic Suite on April 20th 2009 to discuss voluntary sector representation on strategic boards. See below for a copy of Kevin Sheehan's presentation and for details of who currently sits on which strategic boards.

... read more.

VCS representation on LSP and Partnership Boards - new meeting

Work on this issue continues.  Unfortunately, the second of the two consultation meetings had to be cancelled. However, a further meeting has now been arranged for Monday 18th May, 7.00-9.00pm at the Civic Suite (Room 4).

This will not now be a repeat of the first event, as originally planned. ... read more.

UPDATE 2: Open Meetings to discuss sector representation

UPDATE The event due to take place on Tuesday 21st April has been cancelled, but the event on Monday 20th April will still be going ahead.

Agenda

... read more.

Voluntary & community sector representation

For some time a number of us in the voluntary & community sector have been concerned about our representation on Lewisham’s partnership boards.

Lewisham values partnership highly and we are fortunate to be in a borough where this is the case. Lewisham Council, and the other bodies that make up the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), have always recognised our sector and valued our involvement.

However, the widely varying nature of our sector, with its many different organisations, means that it is not easy for individuals to fully represent the sector as a whole. In addition, we do not have a well-developed infrastructure to support our representatives and the work they do.... read more.