Westmorland & Furness Council’s Cabinet has agreed to enter into a new compact with Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) and the Town and Parish Councils located in the area.
The ‘Building safe and stronger compact’, which was co-produced by the Council, CALC and the wider Town and Parish Council sector, provides a framework to build strong and effective partnerships between the two tiers of local government.
Compacts are written agreements, binding organisations to commitments on matters where they have shared interests, or concerns. They are popular with government departments and the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise Sector as they encourage sound partnership working by identifying a two-way agreement on behaviours and ways of working.
The aim of the Building Safe and Strong Communities compact is to deliver better outcomes for local people by building effective collaborative relationships to maximise resources, shape places and empower communities to thrive, as well as supporting the Council’s ambitions, as laid out in its Council Plan.
The compact will also strengthen and support existing legacy agreements, such as the Working Together parish agreements.
Commenting on the new compact, Jonathan Brook, leader of Westmorland & Furness Council said, “This is a very exciting step forward on our journey to help us achieve true localism in our area, working with our partners.
“Westmorland & Furness Council is a caring council and believes everyone matters. This new compact represents an opportunity for us to work together, for the greater good of our communities, using a shared set of values for the benefit of all.”
The full compact is available under the Cabinet Meeting Agenda for 17 October at www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk