Stategic_Policy_Committees

[pic] Module: PA 4013 Title Number: 3 3. (a) Outline the contribution of the CDB and Strategic Policy Committees in one local authority area. (b) Has the creation of such structures made local government more effective' Introduction: County/city development boards were set up in response to the establishment of the Task Force Report in 1998. This report proposed setting up these development boards in each of the twenty-nine county councils and in each of the five major cities. These development boards were set up in 2000, in response to the main objective of the Government’s Programme for Local Government Renewal. This objective is closer partnership between local authorities and local development bodies operating at local level. The CDBs hope is to bring about an integrated approach to the delivery of both State and local development services at local level. Each CDB is required to prepare and oversee the implementation of a ten year county/city Strategy for Economic, Social and Cultural Development, which will provide the template guiding all public services and local development activities locally; in effect bringing more coherence to the planning and delivery of services at local level (County and City Development Boards 2006). CDBs have brought together the key players at local level to engage in a process of long-term planning for each county or city. The CDBs aim to ensure the avoidance of duplication in the delivery of services at local levels, as well as filling gaps in meeting the needs of their communities. Strategic Policy Committees are a new layer of committees at city/county level. These committees derived from a Better Local Government initiative which was launched in 1996. They replaced the existing committee system and was anchored in the main functions of the local authorities. The number of SPCs is tailored to the size of each council. SPCs assist the county council in the formulation, development and review of policy. They also reflect the major functions or services of a local authority within a broader context (Cork City Council 2007). These two boards, in particular, contribute hugely to each council throughout the country. (a) City and county Development Boards (CDBs) are present in every county council in the country. With these development boards present in the 34 councils throughout Ireland, it becomes evident how important these boards are to the country. These boards contribute to each council in a variety of different ways. However, each board is increasingly imperative to its county/city. The task force looked at how the activities of various organizations could be co-ordinated in a more effective way at local level. Therefore, the CDBs were set up in response to this task force. In County Tipperary, the councils are split up into two, the North and South. Each council has its own CDB and operates independently. North Tipperary County Development Board was established in April 2000. The Board brings together representatives from many organizations active at a local level. These include local government, local development organizations, social partners (including the community and voluntary sector) and state agencies. The Board has prepared and is implementing a comprehensive strategy for the economic social and cultural development of North Tipperary. It also promotes and fosters the co-ordination and integration of public service delivery at local level. Each CDB is serviced by a Director of Community and Enterprise. This person then becomes an employee of the county/city council. One of the main functions of the Director of Community and Enterprise is to prepare the ground for the establishment of the CDBs. The Director also makes a report on their progress. They will also lead, reinforce, promote and guide local authority activity related to community development in its broader sense. The Director of Community and Enterprise for North Tipperary is Tom Barry. Although the director plays an important role in the county/city council, the Board is strongly based on a teamwork approach and therefore, strives to work in a participative way, consulting with all relevant bodies and interests within the region (North Tipperary County Council 2007). Designing an effective strategy for Economic, Social and Cultural Development is crucial, and therefore, work can only be done on the basis of constructive co-operation between all its members. Votes are avoided and every member has equal weight. The members of the boards come from a wide range of sectors including local government, local development, State Agencies and social partners. The CDB would typically consist of twenty-five members. This will vary depending upon features such as the existence of other town local authorities, the number of Strategic Policy Committees in a particular county or city the number of relevant State Agencies active in the county or city, etc. (Interdepartmental Task Force 1999). CDBs are extremely important to the councils throughout the country, as they design the different strategies for the development of the community. These strategies are set up through Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs). Strategic Policy Committees have been set up in many of the County and City Councils for a number of different reasons. One of these was the number of weaknesses of the existing structures in the councils. The Local Authorities carry out a significant range of functions of vital importance to economic and social development on a national and local level. They have a very high standard of accountability, both political and financial. However, their functions, though extensive, do not cover the full range necessary to provide a balanced contribution to local economic and social development. The role of the community representative (the Councillor) within the system also needed to be strengthened both internally and in ways of working in partnership (Department of the Environment and Local Government 1998). However, Partnerships also had their weaknesses. The OECD review described Partnerships as “extraordinary innovative but they have been better at creating new things than at building stable institutions that embody and extend their innovations”. Under the Operational Programme for Local, Urban and Rural Development (OPLURD) they have a mandate to "improve co-ordination and evaluation at local level of mainstream programmes and policies to ensure their effective delivery to the long-term unemployed and the socially excluded and from this experience to contribute to the national policy making process". So far Partnerships have had limited success in achieving this objective (Department of the Environment and Local Government 1998). These are just a few of the many reasons for the introduction of Strategic Policy Committees. The aim of these SPCs is to bring the focus of development to local communities. North Tipperary County Council adopted its first SPC scheme in March 2000 and the committees commenced their business shortly afterwards. There are four SPCs in North Tipperary County Council. These Committees were established in North Tipperary on 30 June 2000. Each SPC is comprised of elected Councillors and sectoral representatives. The North Tipperary SPC meets regularly and is necessitated by the amount of work allocated to them. The role of the SPCs is to formulate, develop and review policies for their respective areas of responsibility. However, the Council retains its function as the decision-making authority and makes the final decision on all matters of policy. It is the responsibility of the SPCs to provide advice and make recommendations on policy matters through the Chairperson of the SPC to the full Council. Although the policy formulation role is central to each SPC, they do not have a role in respect to the day to day operation of the Council or non-policy matters. North Tipperary County Council is a progressive multi-purpose body providing an extensive range of services in its area. In 2003, some €78 million was spent by North Tipperary’s SPC, delivering services and providing infrastructure to enhance the quality of life of all the citizens of the County. The Council operates at two levels- a democratic/representational level and an operational level. North Tipperary County Council carries out many different functions and services throughout the County. These are classified into eight programme groups. These groups include, Housing and Building; Road Transportation and Safety; Water Supply and Sewerage; Development Incentives and Controls (this group includes CDBs and SPCs); Environmental Protection; Recreation and Amenity; Agriculture, Education, Health and Welfare; and General which involves local elections, consumer protection and register of electors (North Tipperary County Council 2004). At the Annual Meeting held on 25 June 2004, the County Council decided to establish four Strategic Policy Committees. These Committees included: |Strategic Policy Committee |Chair Designate | |Transportation, Roads and Water Services |Cllr. Jim Ryan | |Environmental and Emergency Services |Cllr. Dr. Joe Hennessy | |Housing Services |Cllr. Denis Ryan | |Planning & Development and Community & Enterprise |Cllr. Seamus Hanafin. | |Services | | There are many requirements for the successful operation of these committees. These requirements were issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government in August 1999 together with recommendations furnished by the Department in June 2004. There are many requirements for the successful running of the committees. Some of these recommendations are: • Each SPC must have a minimum of one third of its membership drawn from sectoral interests. • Chairpersons must be appointed for a minimum period of 3 years which can be renewed by the Council and ordinary members will normally be appointed for a period of 5 years. • Meetings of SPC’s will normally be held on a quarterly basis but, in any event, not less that 4 meetings of every SPC will take place annually. • Meetings shall be conducted in an informal but efficient manner at venues and times to be decided in advance by the committee. • A Director of Services will attend meetings and provide support for the SPC. • Documentation and agendas should be issued well in advance of scheduled meetings. • Where a SPC has agreed on a policy recommendation, the Chairperson of the SPC or his/her nominee, shall present the recommendation to full Council (North Tipperary County Council 2004). These are just a few of the general requirements for the operation of North Tipperary SPCs. There are also many requirements for Councillors and Sectoral Representatives. As each Strategic Policy Committee has had a huge positive impact on North Tipperary County Council. It has provided the North of Tipperary with many services for the development of the whole county. Since 2000, North Tipperary has seen huge improvements to roads and infrastructure. This is seen in both national primary and secondary roads. The development of these roads is evident on primary roads through the strengthening programme on the N7 from Ballywilliam to the Nenagh bypass. This completed the upgrading of the N7 from Limerick to the Nenagh bypass. It is also evident on secondary roads where strengthening and overlay works have took place on a number of roads throughout the North of Tipperary (North Tipperary County Council 2006). In more recent development plans, the Dublin Road has also commenced in the hope of developing the Cork-Dublin route. The Council also set up an Action Plan for Social and Affordable Housing 2004-2008. In this plan the Council made an application for the remedial works to eight estates and forty pre-1980 rural houses. Work was completed on the forty house scheme in 2007. Remedial work also commenced on four housing estates during 2007 with plans for four more estates at advanced stage. The works included replacement of windows/doors, provision of central heating plus insulation, fascia, chute replacement and physical environment works – roads, driveways, boundary fencing (North Tipperary County Council 2007). The North Tipperary County Council also set out a number of plans for the development of the Environment. Agricultural bye-laws were adopted by the council in 2000. This meant that all the farms in the bye-law area were assigned a risk category. The County Council also introduced Waste Management Regulations in 2001. These regulations meant that it was then illegal for anyone to collect waste other than in accordance with a Waste Collection Permit granted under these regulations. These are just a few of the many contributions Strategic Policy Committees and County/City Development Boards have made to not only North Tipperary County Council, but the whole county of Tipperary. (b) I think these structures have made local Government a lot more effective since they have been introduced. These structures enabled each county council throughout Ireland to focus on the development of their own area making Local Government extremely effective. This proved to be effective throughout the whole country as it dealt with the individual problems of each area and made plans to correct these problems one by one. These structures are so effective because of the broad extent of the members. As seen above, there are members from many different organizations throughout the country including local government, local development organizations, social partners and state agencies. The relationship between these members contributes to the efficient organization and operation of such structures. The quality of this relationship holds the key to the efficiency and effectiveness of local authority and local government (Coakley, Gallagher, 2005, p.391). Without these structures in place, the problems of less important areas may have been overlooked, slowing down the development of these areas. However, CDBs and SPCs have aided the development of every county throughout Ireland. This development can be seen in many sectors such as roads/infrastructure, the Environment, Water supplies, Emergency Services. Since 2000, there have been a number of plans introduced to areas such as the Affordable Housing Scheme. Without these structures in place, such plans and schemes may have been overlooked in many counties. The effectiveness of Local Government is also evident in less developed places such as Ballymun in Dublin. Such places have been disregarded by the National Government. However, with the establishment of development boards, a development scheme is now in place that ensures a better quality of life for the 20,000 people living there. In conclusion, I think it is evident, in many different ways, that the establishment of these structures has made Local Government a lot more effective. This is because; the development of many counties has taken place in a quick and efficient manner. With these structures in place, it enables the members of Government to concentrate on the more important issues in their own areas. Also, with the members living around the area, they can identify the problems first hand and solve the problem based on their knowledge of the community. I also think these structures have contributed greatly to North Tipperary County Council with their mission reading “We commit ourselves, in partnership with all our stakeholders, to improve the quality of the economic, social and cultural life of our communities”. Reference List: • Coakley, J. and Gallagher, M. (2005) “Politics in the Republic of Ireland”, 4th ed., London, Routledge. • Cork City Council (2007) ‘Strategic Policy Committees’ [online], available: http://www.corkcity.ie/ourservice/corporateaffairs/strategicpolicycommittees/ [accessed 15 March 2009]. • County and City Development Boards (2006) ‘What are CDBs’ [online], available: http://www.cdb.ie/what are.htm [accessed 13 March 2009]. • Department of the Environment and Local Government (1998) ‘Task Force on Integration of Local Government and Local Development Systems: Report’, Dublin: Department of the Environment and Local Government. • North Tipperary County Council (2004) “Report: Strategic Policy Committee Scheme”, North Tipperary: North Tipperary County Council. • North Tipperary County Council (2006) “Annual Report 2006”, North Tipperary: North Tipperary County Council, available: http://www.tipperarynorth.ie/docs/Your_Council/Reports/Annual%20Report%202006.pdf [accessed 21 March 2009]. • North Tipperary County Council (2007) “Annual Report 2007”, North Tipperary: North Tipperary County Council, available: http://www.tipperarynorth.ie/docs/Your_Council/Reports/Annual_Report_2007.pdf [accessed 22 March 2009]. • North Tipperary County Council (2007) ‘County Development Board’ [online], available http://www.tipperarynorth.ie/cdb/county-cdb.html [accessed 18 March 2009]. • South Tipperary CDB (1999) ‘Preparing the Ground’ [online], available: http://www.southtippcdb.ie/ [accessed 21 March 2009].