Tough Choices Consultation

Click to access Voluntary Sector Funding proposal for 2010- 2013

Click to view The Voluntary Sector Response to the Tough Choices Consultation.

Organisations should develop their own responses to complement the Voluntary Sector response and forward to their respective Convenor’s of PDSP’s.

Advice to Voluntary Sector Organisations on Responding to Tough Choices Consultation/PDSP’s

With the West Lothian Council Tough Choices consultation now underway, nine PDSP’s (Policy, Development and Scrutiny Panels) have been set up covering specific areas of Council and Voluntary Sector Service Delivery Areas.

Each PDSP meeting will be held in the Council Chambers at the Civic Centre, Livingston which is open to the public.  You should encourage representatives from your organisation to attend the respective PDSP meetings as a visitor, in this capacity they will not be allowed to contribute to the meeting but it will give an insight to the process and progress of any legitimate issues  submitted.

Click to view PDSP meeting dates, items to be covered by each PDSP and who from the VSSG (Voluntary Sector Strategic Group)  will represent the Voluntary Sector Gateway at each of the meetings .

Organisations are encouraged to submit a minimum of a one page document stating succinctly the case for the minimum reduction in funding, which is due to take place from 1^st April 2011 onwards.  When constructing your response please consider the following:

1. Your organisations details and core objectives
2. Your organisations fit with Council priorities.  (The service you deliver may be legislated for as part of Government Policy, other parts of your service delivery may be aspirational.  You have to differentiate between both, but apply appropriate emphasis)
3. Itemise the fit with the Single Outcome Agreement and West Lothian Life Stages model
4. Emphasise the added value of your service in line with all of the above.

It is not sufficient simply to tell the Council just how good an organisation you are without justification.  If you take time to construct your response, in line with items 1 – 4, and  every organisation is encouraged  to do so,  you should have the desired impact on  the PDSP.

Please ensure that your response is submitted at least 7 days before the PDSP meets to allow time for consolidation of responses.

The PDSP’s, as you will note have a range of meeting dates, these are not a repeat of previous business, it is because that area is so large that they need several days to cover the subject matter.

As a courtesy I would request that organisation’s responses are copied into the Voluntary Sector Gateway atjim.gallacher@vsgwl.org

E-mail addresses for all councillors are in the format – firstname.surname@westlothian.gov.uk for example jim.walker@westlothian.gov.uk

Voluntary Sector Gateway will be organising training and awareness events on the subjects of Outcomes, Efficiencies, Working Smartly, Strategy Planning and Collaborative Working. Dates and times of these events will be published in due course. If other areas of training are required and have not been highlighted please contact the GATEWAY and make your views known

Papers relating to the Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) can be found here