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Partners in Somerset

Somerset County Council works with different partners in pursuing opportunities offered by EU programmes that are relevant to the county. These partnerships enable the council to make use of local specialist expertise and skills that are required for successful bidding.

Partners come from a wide range of both governmental and non-governmental agencies (NGOs), including charities, businesses, individuals and local community groups.
For the implementation of the European Social Fund (ESF) programme in Somerset during the last programming period, for example, SCC has worked closely with both the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Jobcentre Plus, as the ESF is an important source of funding for activities to develop employability and human resources in line with the European Employment Strategy.

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for the planning and funding of all post-16 education and training in England, except that which takes place in universities.

Somerset LSC is one of 47 local Learning and Skills Councils and responsible for post-16 education and training within Somerset. As a so-called Co-financing organisation (CFO) for ESF, it works in partnership with Somerset County Council to deliver some of the fund’s educational and training elements.
Their Annual Plan 2005-06 identified four priority sectors for the county: construction, care, engineering/manufacturing and the public sector. These priority sectors are reflected in planning discussions with providers of education and skills training (e.g. colleges, adult community education centres, school sixth- forms) and in the allocation of initiative funding, including ESF.

Jobcentre Plus started as a Co-financing organisation (CFO) for ESF in the spring of 2003. By 2004 all of the regions (including Somerset) were successfully operating as such bodies.

In Somerset, Jobcentre Plus worked with ESF on projects to help people back into work. These groups have included people with disabilities, health problems, basic skills needs and criminal convictions.

Three recent examples highlighting the nature of these projects are given below:

The Crossroads Project

This project was a partnership between Avon & Somerset Probation Service and Jobcentre Plus. The project helped beneficiaries with a criminal conviction to access work or training. It used risk assessments to identify suitable offenders and provide specialist and disclosure advice. Support was offered for an average of 20 weeks per offender and included action planning, job search and work placements.

First Steps

This project was a partnership between WTCS Ltd and Jobcentre Plus. It was designed to assist beneficiaries who claimed a range of benefits related to their disabilities, but were harder to reach because they were not engaged with Jobcentre Plus. The project was aimed at motivating beneficiaries to consider their health condition and find ways of improving their situation and, for the individuals concerned, it resulted in an interview with a specialist Jobcentre adviser.

Careerfinder - The Into Work Project

This project provided support to 150 unemployed beneficiaries with mild or moderate learning difficulties, mental health problems or basic skills needs living within the Somerset Jobcentre Plus District. It encouraged them to attend work placements or obtain open or sheltered employment. A 13-week programme included modular workshops, diagnostic assessments and individual learning plans, etc. to overcome barriers to work, communication and job search skills.

For more information about Jobcentre Plus and ESF
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Partners/Europeansocialfund/Dev_008230.xml.html

SAIN is an organisation of disabled people working through consultation, representation, research and service provision to improve access to all services and facilities in Somerset.

SAIN's main objective is to build up a network of individuals and organisations and to improve communication between them. It seeks to obtain information from the participants and to impart information to them. To achieve this, SAIN works with individuals with disabilities, with organisations representing disabled people and with service providers throughout the county.
SAIN engages with local government, the health service, social services and anyone else who can benefit from their knowledge and expertise. By actively involving disabled people, their carers and disability organisations, SAIN is improving inclusion in decision-making and policy-formation for various bodies in Somerset.

SAIN receives ESF funding via the VISTA Project, which is a consortium with the Somerset Voluntary Sector Network as its lead organisation. Its aim is to deliver strategic and co-ordinated training and learning opportunities to the voluntary and community sector across the county. They were awarded a grant of £500,000 which is to fund activities from July 1st 2004 until December 31st 2006

Somerset Racial Equality Council (SREC)
Somerset Racial Equality Council (SREC) is an independent voluntary sector organisation. It is linked to the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) through its racial harassment, discrimination and compliance work. SREC is a member of the Somerset Voluntary Sector Network and receives some of its funding through the ESF-funded VISTA project.
Somerset Racial Equality Council works in three main activity areas: casework in racial harassment and discrimination, policy development and training, as well as public education and community development to the following CRE objectives: to eliminate racial discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to promote good race relations between people of different racial groups.
SREC was formed in 1995 as a network and became a council in 1999. It covers the county area of Somerset and the unitary authority area of North Somerset. Bath and North East Somerset has its own REC.
http://www.srec.org.uk/

The Somerset Global Education Network (GLEN) is an association that exists to enable young people to explore and engage with the global issues of the day - issues that affect all our lives. The association believes that this is good for the pupils, good for their community, for the whole school and for everyone’s achievement.

Enabling Effective Support SW (EEF-SW) provides teachers, pupils, students and everyone with an interest in or responsibility for the global dimension with the support they need to ensure that this entitlement becomes a reality. It is a regional network of LEAs, voluntary sector organisations, teachers and their associations, as well as others committed to creating a world with more fairness and justice funded by the Department for International Development (DFID).

Somerset’s GLADE Centre encourages and supports global citizenship by maintaining a development education, multicultural and anti-racist resource centre for use by schools and colleges, community groups and individuals. They support teachers and students in the classroom, provide participative workshops and training on global, development and anti-racist issues, as well as organising exhibitions, displays and presentations.