Compacts (Hansard, 22 June 2004)

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the Compacts with the voluntary sector which are now in place. [176115]

§ Fiona Mactaggart
A list showing where Local Compacts between the voluntary and community sector and local public sector bodies are now in place and a copy will be placed in the Library.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is available from central Government for the setting up and operation of Compacts. [176116]

§ Fiona Mactaggart
Assistance from central Government for the setting up and operation of Compacts is available throughguidance including publication of the Local Compact Guidelines and supporting the development of the Compact website a revision of the Local Compact Guidelines planned this year, which will encourage Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) to take a leading role, and a toolkit is also being developed for evaluating Local Compacts by local public bodies funding the Compact Working Group Secretariat to promote and help with Compact implementation focusing on work with the voluntary and community sector encouragement of Compact engagement in the work of central Government Departments, including through their local delivery agencies (—all Departments are producing strategies on working with the voluntary and community sector) the Department of Health's work to target Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and NHS Trusts asking these organisations to engage in Local Compacts, and its Strategic Health Agreement which will support the Compact, including partnership working at local level the Active Community Unit's work in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Local Government Association to encourage and incentivise Local Compact engagement, for example through targeting the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) refresh process for 2005–06 the work of Government Offices to promote Local Compacts across the regions setting targets for the coverage and effectiveness of Local Compacts in the Compact Action Plan (2004–05) agreed through the annual meeting to review the Compact 1366W the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Community Empowerment Fund as a source of assistance for building partnerships with the voluntary and community sector in neighbourhood renewal areas building on Local Compacts with Community Empowerment Networks (CENs)—which enable the voluntary and community sector to get involved in LSPs—which are in the process of setting out detailed working arrangements with their LSPs in protocol agreements.