CEO reflects on productive first meeting with new council leader
Voluntary Norfolk CEO, Michael Kitching has met with the new leader of Norfolk County Council to highlight the opportunities afforded by stronger collaboration between the statutory and VCSE sectors. He writes:
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to meet with Cllr David Bick, the new Leader of Norfolk County Council.
I was also encouraged by how quickly David responded to a letter I had sent and by the way our conversation was conducted. There was openness, mutual respect and a willingness to have an honest discussion about some difficult issues.
I was clear from the outset that the voluntary sector isn’t pretending Norfolk County Council’s finances are in a healthy position. We all know they are not. Change and efficiency savings are coming, whether we engage with them or not.
In fact, I think many colleagues across the sector recognise that the council needs to change regardless of the financial pressures it faces. The real question is this: will that change be done to charities and community organisations, or with them?
I made a simple case for the voluntary sector.
We reach people who may never engage with statutory services, like those provided by the Norfolk’s councils. We often provide support more cost-effectively. And perhaps most importantly, we have community trust that has been built over decades and which cannot simply be procured.
However, none of those strengths matter if the voluntary sector is not involved in the conversations that shape future services and savings plans.
We also discussed what the sector would need to play a greater role in delivering services in the future, including the right support, investment and training to ensure organisations are equipped to step up where appropriate.
We ended the meeting on good terms and agreed to keep talking.
My honest impression from this first meeting is that the voluntary sector will be listened to and that future changes may be approached in a more considered way than we have perhaps experienced in the past, with greater thought given to the impact on communities and other services.
This was only a first conversation, and there is undoubtedly much more work to do. But I left the meeting feeling optimistic that there is an opportunity for genuine partnership working ahead.
I will, of course, keep the sector updated as these discussions progress.
