Highland Wellbeing Alliance

Highland Wellbeing Alliance is the Community Planning Partnership for Highland.  It has grown from a group formed in 1996 of five public organisations in order to express their commitment to improve the wellbeing of the people of the Highlands and to develop collaborative ways of working. More detailed information can be found at Highland Life (external link).

Legislation in 2003 required the setting up of Community Planning Partnerships across Scotland to take forward the process of community planning and Highland Wellbeing Alliance, with an expanded membership, took on that responsibility for Highland.

The Highland Wellbeing Alliance includes:

• The Highland Council
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• NHS Highland
• Scottish Natural Heritage
• Northern Constabulary  
• Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
• Representatives from the private sector
• Representatives from the voluntary sector

What is Community Planning?

• Community planning is the process through which the connections between national priorities decided by the Scottish Executive and those at Highland, local and neighbourhood levels are improved.
• It is about making sure that people and communities in the Highlands are genuinely engaged in making decisions on public services which affect them.
• It requires a commitment from organisations in the Highlands to work together, not apart, in providing better public services.
• It provides the over-arching partnership framework within which other initiatives and partnerships can be co-ordinated and, where necessary, acting to rationalise and simplify public sector working arrangements. In Highland community planning involves representatives of the voluntary and business sectors as well as public sector agencies.

Connecting local and national priorities
Making explicit connections between the Highland Community Plan and local priorities and actions will be a key activity to 2007. During this period current and emerging local community planning partnerships (LCCPs) will be supported. Formal arrangements for LCCPs have been established across all eight areas within Highland. These are based on the eight administrative areas operated by Highland Council and are facilitated by the Council’s Area Managers. Arrangements in each area will be fit for purpose. There is local variation between LCCPs, although the following guiding principles have been relevant. 

• LCPPs must reflect public, private and voluntary sector interests for their area;
• Their role will concentrate on identifying local action to deliver local priorities, set in the context of the Highland Plan's seven priority areas of action, and through the involvement of local communities;
• LCPPs should be dynamic with a membership which reflects changing needs (e.g. the new Community Health Partnerships – CHPs);
• Existing local partnerships will need to be rigorously examined to decide how they can best interact with the LCPP, or indeed whether they should be dissolved and their agenda absorbed into the LCPP;
• LCPPs will provide the key route for communication and links with the pan-Highland Wellbeing Alliance on community planning issues.

Community involvement
Not only do public sector organisations need to strengthen a joint-working culture and practice between each other but also with and between communities. Highland Wellbeing Alliance recognises that these relationships require considerable levels of support and action in order to enable full community participation in the community planning process to take place.

Community engagement will be developed to new standards and will be supported by activities under the Community Learning and Development Strategy to strengthen the capacity of communities to become increasingly involved in the process of planning and delivery of services.

The Structure of the Partnership is:

• Highland Wellbeing Alliance Partnership Group
  Comprising Chief Executives and Board/Elected members of partners. 
  Chair:  Sandy Park, Convener, Highland Council
• Highland Wellbeing Alliance Officers Group
  Comprising officers representatives of partners
  Chair:  Carron McDiarmid, Head of Policy and Performance, Highland Council 

A number of sub groups of the Highland Wellbeing Alliance have also been established:

• Community Safety Steering Group: 
  Chair:  Brian Murray, Firemaster
• Intelligence and Monitoring Group: 
  Chair: Dr Paul Monaghan, Northern Constabulary
• Domestic Abuse Strategy Group:  
  Contact Gillian Gunn tel: 01463 704814
• Joint Health Improvement Group: 
  Chair: Cathy Steer, NHS Highland
• Financial Inclusion Working Group: 
  Chair:  Cath King, Highland Council
• Highland Alliance for Racial Equality: 
  Chair:  Gordon Ellis, COPFS
• Inward Migration Group:
  Chair:   Alex Paterson, HIE
• Equalities & Diversity Group:
  Chair:  Moira Paton, NHS Highland

Highland Wellbeing Alliance publications are attached in 'current documents'.