Big Society
The Government's Big Society initiative aims to give more power
and responsibility to individuals and communities to help people to
improve their neighbourhoods and local services. It's about
transferring power from the Government to people so they can work
together to improve their own lives and build stronger
communities.
Greg Clark, the Minister for
Decentralisation, has stated what he thinks are three essential
parts of the Big Society: "The first is about what the state
can do for us. The second is about what we can do for ourselves.
And the third is about what we can do for others."
Community projects
At Allerdale, we work with a range of local partners
with the aim of supporting community
development and providing assistance to people in the
community. Partnership schemes we have been or are involved
with include the provision of sports and leisure activities,
Ways into
Successful Enterprise, and the Allerdale and Copeland Crime and
Disorder Reduction Partnership.
If you represent a local community project, we have a Community
fund which provides grants to voluntary and community groups.
Please see our Allerdale community fund
page for more information, including how to apply. Grants are awarded by a Panel composed of
representatives from local voluntary groups and a small number of
Allerdale Borough Councillors.
The Big Society initiative is still new
and will continue to develop and progress. Much of
our work and projects as a local authority fit in with
the ideas of the Big Society and we will provide more information
in this section on how we are getting involved as the initiative
progresses.
Getting involved
The Big Society is about you and your community. Here are some
ways you can start to get involved:
- Consultations - have your say on
the work of your local councils, police and health service in Cumbria.
-
Volunteering at www.csv.org.uk. CSV are a UK wide
volunteering and training charity. Find opportunities for volunteer
work and help improve your area.
- Petitions - you can submit petitions
to us which can have a direct influence on the political
process and to raise concerns that are important to you.
- The BIG
tidy up - a Keep Britain Tidy campaign. The
website provides lots of information and advice on how to get
a BIG tidy up event going in your community.
Big Society in Eden
Our neighbouring district of Eden has been chosen as one of four
Big
Society vanguard areas. As a vanguard area, they are coming up
with proposals to take forward projects which embrace Big Society
Principles. Eden are initially focusing on three areas within Eden
District. They will be working with these communities to help
enable them to deliver their community plans and to assist
them to address issues in their localities.
See Eden District
Council's Big Society pages for more information and latest
news.