Who or what is the LSP ask victims of funding cut

Date published: 10/01/2008

Who or what is the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)? Who, if anyone, elects LSP members? And to whom are they accountable? The questions asked over and over at last night’s (Wednesday 9 January) Rochdale Township Meeting.

What was generally known was that the LSP is the body responsible for taking the decision to withdraw funding from Syke Community Base, and to do so at very short notice. However, it came as a shock to the public packing the room to find out that the LSP is an autonomous body set up as part of a government initiative that has a lot of power to decide how money is spent in the borough, and the amount under its auspices is soon to rise substantially, and yet its members are not elected and they are not accountable even to town councillors.

Indeed so unaccountable is this body that Township Chairman Councillor Elwyn Watkins revealed they refused to attend the Township meeting, they would not give him an explanation of why the funding for the Base had been withdrawn, and they even refused to answer his enquiry about who was present at the meeting the decision was taken at. Councillor Watkins said: "It is a disgrace, they refused to come to this meeting and they are not accountable." He asked Council Leader Alan Taylor to take the rebuttal up with the LSP Board.

When asked who appoints the members of the LSP, Councillor Taylor had to admit he did not know. His colleague Councillor Sharif explained that the make up of all Local Strategic Partnerships is under national review, and he said councillors should "demand a say and be on the panel".

However, speaking after the meeting to Rochdale Online, Councillor Wera Hobhouse revealed it was perhaps a touch disingenuous of councillors to give the impression to the public that they knew little about the LSP, she commented: "All councillors were shocked to hear that funding has been withdrawn from the Syke Community Centre. All Councillors agree that the Base do an excellent job.

• "Who withdrew the funding?
  The LSP (Local Strategic Partnership).
  
  
• "Councillors say they don't know anything about the LSP.
  Rubbish!

"Councillors do know about the LSP but it is such an obscure Government initiative and almost impossible to have any local democratic accountability. Therefore, the LSP is run by officers and unelected groups who use public money to fund their own programs.

"Syke Base didn't curry favour with the right people and were the first victim of an overall cut in Government funding.

"And which groups or programs did get the money?

"Tonight's promise of finding the money for Syke Base from the Council's Pressures Fund is only going to be very short term, and it is not a sustainable solution."

In fact, three councillors are members of the LSP, the three party leaders, Councillors Taylor, Brett and Dearnley, and Rochdale Council is represented by Council Chief Executive Roger Ellis. However, it is the LSP Board and not the members who take the crucial decisions affecting the lives of people in the Borough and there are no councillors on the LSP Board.

For a full explanation of what the LSP is and what it is responsible for visit:

• http://www.pridepartnership.co.uk/about.asp?ID=2