Content

8.1

The Director of Customer Experience and
Communities presented a report describing the process undertaken to
develop a new Communities Strategy for Sheffield City Council and
presented the draft Strategy to the committee for
approval.  The report also sets out how
the Council will be taking action to implement the Strategy,
including proposing the establishment of a grant
fund.
 
Representatives of community partners (Olivier
Tsemo – SADACCA; Matt Dean – Zest; Gulnaz Hussain
– Firvale Community Hub; Steven Gayle – AgeUK
Sheffield; and Helen Sims – Voluntary Action Sheffield)
attended the meeting to share their thoughts on the draft strategy
and the positive process that they had been engaged with in
developing it.

 

 

8.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Strategy and
Resources Policy Committee:-

 

 

 

(a) approves the
draft Communities Strategy attached to this report as Appendix 1
and agrees that it be incorporated into the Council’s
Strategy Framework;

 

 

 

(b) approves the
establishment of a grant fund of £2,200,000 using funds from
the Public Health grant reserve as described in this report and
delegate authority to the Director of Integrated Commissioning (i)
to determine the eligibility criteria for grants paid out of the
fund, and (ii) to the extent that this is not reserved to Offices
within the Council’s Constitution, approve the payment of
grants from this fund;

 

 

 

(c) notes that
officers will carry out work to review governance arrangements in
relation to the Community Infrastructure Levy, as described in this
report, and requests a further report on the outcome of
this;

 

 

 

(d) endorses the
Faith and Belief Charter between the Council and faith
organisations in Sheffield, attached to this report as Appendix 7;
and

 

 

 

(e) agrees to
receive an update on progress in implementing the Strategy during
2028 and agree refreshed commitments and action at that
time

 

 

8.3

Reasons for Decision

 

 

8.3.1

To set clear
direction for the Council’s approach to working with
communities and ensuring it makes the best contribution to
supporting communities to thrive.

 

 

8.3.2

To identify priorities for change to support that work and give
direction to relevant change programmes within Future Sheffield and
elsewhere in the Council.

 

 

8.3.3

To begin taking steps to implement the Strategy and deliver
change for the people and communities of
Sheffield.

 

 

8.4

Alternatives Considered and
Rejected

 

 

8.4.1

Alternative Option 1: Produce the Strategy
internally
The Council could have chosen to develop the Strategy purely
internally before consulting on the outcome.  However, this approach would have mean missing the
development of the Strategy itself as a major opportunity to begin
building a new way of working with community partners founded on
openness, trust and collaboration.

 

 

8.4.2

Alternative Option 2: Take more time to produce the Strategy in
partnership
The Council could have taken more time to produce the Strategy;
doing so could have allowed for a more authentic co-production
process to have been developed, and there was some desire from some
partners for us to take this approach. 
However, there was also a strong view from other partners that the
issues are well understood, and that the key to developing new ways
of working and improving relationships is in doing things
together.  As a result, officers took
the view that moving quickly and as collaboratively as possible to
develop the Strategy as a framework to guide future working was the
best way forward.