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This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Task Force report published

07/05/2003

The Community Planning Task Force report was published today.

Community Planning aims to ensure services are built around the needs of the people who use them. The report recognises that good progress has been made and offers recommendations on how to address the challenges which remain.

The Community Planning Implementation Group also met for the first time today under the chairmanship of Strathclyde Police Chief Constable, Willie Rae.

The Group has been established to ensure momentum is maintained in implementing and developing Community Planning. It will build on the work of the Community Planning Task Force. Mr Rae said:

"I am pleased that the Scottish Executive has established an independent group to take forward the implementation of Community Planning. Community Planning is making a real difference to the quality of people's lives. It provides a framework for making public services more responsive to and organised around the needs of communities. Our Group draws on the skills and experience of a wide range of interests involved in Community Planning.

"Significant progress has been made in the past two years, not least with the emergence of Community Planning legislation. That puts in place a framework to ensure the delivery of customer-focused services more consistently across Scotland. But significant challenges remain which needed to be addressed.

"Some of those future challenges are reflected in the recommendations in the Final Report of the Community Planning Task Force (CPTF) which has been published today. I hope that those involved will look carefully at those recommendations and respond positively to them. One of the tasks of the Implementation Group will be to monitor progress."

The creation of the Community Planning Implementation Group (CPIG) was announced on 28 March at the annual COSLA conference in St Andrews as a successor body to the Community Planning Task Force (CPTF) which concluded its work at the end of March. It has eleven members some drawn from the previous Task Force supplemented by other key interests eg Communities Scotland, the voluntary sectors and members of Community Planning Partnerships which recognises the focus on implementation. It will have a twelve month lifespan.

The Group will focus on maintaining progress in implementing community planning, raising the profile of community planning, providing guidance to those involved, promoting best practice and giving independent focus.

The Final Report of the CPTF summarises its achievements over the past two years, while making clear recommendations to the Executive, COSLA and others on future issues. The Implementation Group, as part of its remit, will monitor progress in implementing these recommendations. Copies of the report will be available on the Scottish Executive website

Members of Community Planning Implementation Group are:

* Willie Rae, Chair/Chief Constable Strathclyde Police
* Tom Divers, Chief Executive, NHS Glasgow/CPTF
* Douglas Paterson, Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council
* Stuart Black, Director of Strengthening Communities, Highlands and Islands Enterprise/CPTF
* Leslie Evans, Head of Local Government Division, Scottish Executive/CPTF
* Jon Harris, Director of Corporate Strategy, COSLA/CPTF
* Caroline Gardner, Deputy Auditor General, Audit Scotland/CPTF
* Derek Crichton, Community Planning Manager, Dumfries & Galloway Community Planning partnership
* Heather Koronka, Director of Regeneration, Communities Scotland
* Michael Graham, Steering Group Member, Cambusbarron Community Futures/Chair Cambusbarron Community Council
* Bill Craw, Chair, Hamilton District CVS/South Lanarkshire CPP

Page updated: Wednesday, July 21, 2004