Big Society score.......what's yours and does it matter?
It is generally accepted that the Big Society is more likely to happen in some parts of the country than in others. Does this matter? Well it shows that the playing field is not level, and that in some areas the task of building community engagement is going to be harder than in others.
A report by the New Local Government Network (NLGN) suggests that there is no strong link between a community’s wealth and its ‘Big Society’ resources, with some deprived areas comparatively rich in community wealth. Furthermore some communities face ‘double deprivation’ – lacking both financial wealth and community resources such as volunteering – these areas are less likley to cope with the withdrawal of traditional state services.
The table below shows “Big Society readiness” in the East of England. Not surprisingly this varies from place to place. More striking perhaps is the fact that 25 local authorities have Big Society scores below the national average of 32.3.
Data summary for the East of England ranked by Big Society score
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Click here for an interactive map that illustrates the ‘Big Society score’ across England. (click and drag to move the map around, click the different layers to compare heatmap scores)
Technical details
NLGN took the average of three of the National Indicators in the Audit Commission’s Place Survey to calculate a “Big Society score”. The indicators used were:
- Participation in regular volunteering (NI 6)
- % of people who feel that they belong to their neighbourhood (NI 2)
- Civic participation in the local area (NI 3)
(NB The Place Survey was abolished by the Coalition government in August 2010, so there is no way of tracking changes in this data over time)
Let us know your views and whether you plan to use this data to inform policy development or allocate resources.
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Belonging Score
It was pleasing but no surprise to see Castle Point had a Belonging Score of 62.5, highlighting our strength in local communities. We must be sure to not "exploit" this by looking more and more to communities and volunteers to take on new projects without the support of other partners and local authority. We need to encourage joint working and this should include community, local agencies, local business and local authority to be communicating and working together, in whatever capacity they are able to under the present restraints. The Big Society does not want to have a subtitle of The Big Cop-out! |
anonymous | 01/09/2011 12:19 |
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Big Society
Most community groups who want to engage are already at capacity and struggle to do the work they do. Asking the same few people to take on more is difficult. Government is convinced that the community will simply step in and take over where LA services are reduced, the reality is that tey are not ready, able or willing in most cases. |
anonymous | 01/09/2011 09:36 |
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Big Society Score
I think it will be very difficult for volunteers to take on 'Big Society Projects' and will effect continuity as in the long run volunteers are constained. Councils are moving to becoming enablers rather than service providers (as part of the 'Big Society' exercise). This is a cost cutting exercise, if no one comes forward externally to offer services to the Community, then the Council, in theory, won't offer them either, as they would have laid off experienced innovative staff that would have done this, then where will this leave communities, especailly those in low economic area's. These area's need more than ever support from Council's such as Play, Sport and Leisure Officers. These staff can raise aspiration and help volunteers and support the continuity of projects. |
Anonymous | 31/08/2011 14:39 |
