One Somerset Business Case

• The elected Somerset Council Councillors representing the electoral divisions covered by the Local Community Networks
• An elected representative from each City, Town or Parish Council within the area covered by the Local Community Networks
• Representatives from the following groups or organisations:
  • Local Neighbourhood policing team
  • Somerset National Health Service
  • Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
  • Education
  • Representatives from Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise Organisations
  • Representatives from Businesses or Trade Groups

Some of the core membership will be determined locally by each Local Community Network.

Local Community Networks will meet in local areas, in every part of the county. They will discuss what is most important for their area and work together to agree how best to achieve it.

You will find them here in our Terms of Reference (ToR) section on our website.

Whilst an indicative show of hands online and in the room can inform voting, only persons identified as part of the core membership can formally vote – and they are required to be physically present for the vote to count. This is detailed in the Terms of Reference (and following current Government legislation).

You will find them here in our Terms of Reference section on our website.

We do not anticipate regular voting will be required – our Pilot Local Community Networks have demonstrated much can be decided by consensus.

However, a vote will be necessary at the Local Community Networks Launch Meeting, to appoint the Chair and Vice-Chair roles and thereafter at each Local Community Network Annual General Meeting (AGM).

We would prefer Local Community Networks to meet in person, but we also want maximum involvement and no barriers to access. That is why we are trialling hybrid meetings in a community context to see if this is something we can easily support going forward. We have asked colleagues from our IT department at Somerset Council to help us set this up. Much will depend on Wi-Fi access at the venues, but it is our aim to deliver hybrid meetings via Microsoft Teams. Please note that we will not have the facility to live stream meetings.

They will:

• Be a forum for community voice, engagement, and influence
• Be a means for enhancing participation in democracy and local decision making
• Enhance collaboration by bringing together at a local level, representatives from partner organisations, town, City and parish councils, community groups and residents
• Identify evidence-based community priorities; across Economic, Social, and Environmental issues
• Create plans to reflect how the priorities will be addressed
• Identify and secure resource opportunities for local projects

Local Community Network arrangements must be flexible to respond to, and accommodate, changing priorities at a local and countywide level. Other Unitary areas have, over time, aligned local service delivery to the areas of their community networks.

Beyond Year One we would expect to see Local Community Networks demonstrating that they are focusing on the clear needs within their communities; that they are delivering against those needs, and that their work is aligned to partner priorities and those expressed in the new Council Plan.

Clerks cannot be the local representative, or vote, but are welcome, and indeed encouraged, to attend, if they have capacity.

We do recognise that parish councillors are unpaid volunteers and that there may be other capacity constraints for parishes.  We will continue to work closely with Somerset Association of Local Councils (SALC) and the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) to further consider the barriers to participation in Local Community Networks and how we can work together to address them.

In some places, our city, town, and parish councils are forming networks and looking at ways to share experiences and support each other. 

Somerset is both a rural and urban county and we believe it is important that Local Community Networks have representation that reflects its community.

The Local Community Network officer team, working with our partners, will be key to facilitating engagement and representation from our communities.

This will make sure that the voices of all our residents are heard.

Three Pilot Local Community Networks are exploring ways of working with city, town, and parish councils, highways, children’s services, public health, the police, voluntary organisations, businesses, and other local groups.

• The Frome Area pilot Local Community Network is exploring the theme of Children, Young People and Families.
• The South East Somerset pilot (in the Wincanton, Bruton and Castle Cary area) is considering Rural isolation and Wellbeing.
• In the Exmoor area, Somerset County Council is piloting a new approach to delivering local street scene and highways services, with city, town, and parish councils.