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What is the Surrey Compact?

Click here to view the Compact Document

As the vision says:

The Surrey Compact is a commitment to continually improve relationships, between public sector organisations, the voluntary and community sector, and organisations representing service users and carers. This document is a practical tool to achieve this.

A wide range of groups and organisations has helped to create this Surrey Compact. It has also been shaped by the many views expressed during a formal consultation in 2003.

All Surrey voluntary and community organisations, and public bodies, are invited to support the principles and practices of the Surrey Compact, and to take part in its development.

The Surrey Compact aims to help us:

communicate better with each other
understand and respect each other's views
work together more effectively to support the people of Surrey.

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What are our Compact principles?

We recognise that:

community involvement is vital to improving the quality of life for people in Surrey
the differences between the voluntary sector and the public sector should be respected and valued
each sector has its own set of responsibilities and constraints
the diversity within each sector should be valued and respected
the independence of the voluntary and community sector, and organisations representing service users and carers, should be respected
relationships between the sectors should be open and respectful (but we are realistic enough to acknowledge that, even in the healthiest partnership, problems will sometimes arise)
in our joint working we should give equal value to contributions from all sectors and communities
all organisations have the right to contribute to, and if necessary challenge, matters that affect them without penalty.

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How can we put these principles into practice?

Together we will:

develop policies and services taking into account the experience and views of both sectors
use our resources including people, buildings, knowledge, skills and money – to produce the best results for the people of Surrey
raise awareness of Surrey's needs at regional, national and European levels
promote the Compact principles in our working relationships
update the Compact by reviewing it regularly
develop Compact Codes of Practice
resolve problems in a constructive and open way.

Participating public bodies will observe the Surrey Compact in their interaction with the voluntary, community, service user and carer organisations. All future arrangements will be made within the context of this Surrey Compact, and will apply its principles and practices. They will also contribute to the ongoing process of developing the Surrey Compact.

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The Codes of Practice

Codes of Practice will help us bring the Compact principles into our day-to-day work. The Compact Working Group will produce framework Codes of Practice. All Compact participants are invited to be involved with this.

Organisations from both sectors will be invited to adopt the framework Codes of Practice, and any relevant additions, as they are developed.

To ensure that these Codes are relevant to the public bodies in their area, participating organisations may, if necessary, wish to build on these framework Codes.

The Codes of Practice will be based on these themes:

Funding
Volunteering
Equality and Diversity
Working with Community Groups
Policy Making and Consultation.

The following sets these out in more detail.

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Funding

Providing funding for the local voluntary and community sector, and organisations representing service users and carers, helps to ensure that the needs of all Surrey's communities are met.

We will develop a Code drawing on the National Funding Code of Good Practice that will:

encourage openness and transparency
make it easier to find out about what funding is available
improve the process of applying for funding
address the issue of changes to, or withdrawal of funding
enable us to attract funding from outside Surrey
encourage appropriate and proportionate monitoring and evaluation
address the need for longer term funding arrangements as appropriate
recognise the value of assisting organisations that support other voluntary and community groups, and service users and carers.

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Volunteering

Volunteers provide a valuable contribution to the quality of life in Surrey, but are a declining resource. We will draw on the many examples of national and local good practice to produce a Code that will address:

the recruitment and retention of volunteers
training and development needs
supporting and managing volunteers and
the costs associated with volunteering

Equality and Diversity

Surrey has a diverse range of communities with many unmet needs within them. A commitment to applying the principles of equal opportunities is a central part of a fair and democratic society, and is vital to the success of the surrey Compact.

We recognise that issues of equality and diversity take many forms. Our Code will link to existing laws and ways of working. It will provide a source of good practice to address issues such as:

black and minority ethnic needs
disability
gender and sexuality
faith
age discrimination
rural and social isolation
the needs of service users and carers.

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Working with Community Groups

Each community group is different in its purpose, its size, its membership – and so has different needs. To make the most of their valuable contribution to Surrey this Code will:

provide a straightforward way to directly involve them in issues that affect them
encourage involvement through use of plain language
involve them in developing the Surrey Compact.

Policy Making and Consultation

More can be achieved for Surrey by involving each other in our day-to-day activities, but we recognise that lack of time, resources and flexibility may hinder involvement. The Code will:

provide a framework that enables people to get involved in decision-making early enough to make a real difference
recognise that service providers, service users, carers and campaigning organisations each have different needs
offer a minimum of twelve weeks for formal consultations, taking holiday periods into account
encourage quality in how consultation is designed, carried out and used
remind everyone of their responsibility to encourage wider involvement in decision-making, and
incorporate the principles outlined in the best practice guidance for service user and carer organisations.
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The Compact Working Group

The Surrey Compact has been developed by the Compact Working Group. People from the following organisations have contributed directly to this group so far. New members will be joining the group in the short term, as the group addresses its longer-term composition.

Central Surrey Council for Voluntary Service
Citizens Advice, Surrey
Runnymede Borough Council
Surrey Community Action
Surrey Council for Voluntary Youth Services
Surrey County Council
Surrey Learning and Skills Council
Surrey Primary Care Trusts
Surrey Wildlife Trust.

An independent chair will be appointed to the Group. The Group will meet at least six times a year. Decisions will not be made unless the group is attended by an agreed number of members from both sectors. Group members have a responsibility to share information and developments from the group with their own organisation, group or membership.

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Role of the Compact Working Group

The duties of the Compact Working Group will include:

ensuring that the CWG membership is representative
drawing up an action plan for producing the Codes of Practice and applying them
drawing up terms of reference for the Group that reflect the Compact principles
promoting the Compact principles
developing ways of sharing information about the Surrey Compact
monitoring, reviewing and updating the Compact each year
creating a wider reference group to read and respond to developments.
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Accountability

To ensure accountability, the Compact Working Group will:

work in an open and transparent way
make its minutes and decisions available to the public
produce an annual report and hold a review event each year
be accountable to their own organisations and networks, in relation to the Compact.
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Mediation

If an organisation has a problem involving the Compact or its principles, the Compact Working Group will try to solve them by talking to the people involved.

If this doesn't work, we will seek an independent point of view – for example, by referring the matter to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Compact Mediation Service.

If no agreement is reached, the matter can be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman.

For further information or to discuss involvement in the Surrey Compact, please contact the Compact Working Group, c/o Surrey Community Action. Tel: 01483 566072

Click here to view the Compact

For information on the Compact is on the website of Surrey County Council

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