Speaking at today’s ‘Building Communities Trust’ Fringe event on ‘Community Action in Wales’ at the Welsh Conservative Party Conference in Newtown, North Wales MS and Shadow Social Justice Minister Mark Isherwood highlighted the vital role played by community groups in Wales and the need ‘to enable, empower and set free our local communities’.
Building Communities Trust (BCT) is Wales’ only national community development organisation. They run the Lottery funded ‘Invest Local’ programme, supporting local people to take action to make their areas better places to live. Their ‘Building Stronger Welsh Communities’ Manifesto for the 2021 Welsh General Election stated, “a public sector culture of ‘doing to, not with’ has eroded community capacity, trust and reduced social infrastructure”.
Mr Isherwood, who Chaired the event, welcomed Chris Johnes, Chief Executive of BCT, and Paul Joslin from MaesNi, part of the Invest Local group from Maesgeirchen in Bangor, both of whom spoke later.
Referring to research carried out by BCT on the scale of assets providing public (and private) services run by community organisations and on community responses to the pandemic, he said:
“Their research shows the extent to which community groups are now taking on roles providing essential community support, such as social care, emergency food projects, advice services, child care, mental health support; and running key community services such as leisure facilities, post offices, play facilities, pubs, libraries, arts centres and multi-use community hubs - and in some cases leading on local economic regeneration. This type of social infrastructure, in addition to the ever present role of Sports Clubs and religious institutions, has always existed to a degree, but has accelerated significantly over the last decade, now providing vital and valued resources in many places across Wales.
“This event aims to illustrate the vital role community groups are playing in providing local social infrastructure and supporting communities. The event will also discuss what policy measures will assist community organisations to become even more effective at a time of crisis for many.”
Mr Isherwood also said:
“After I first met BCT online during lockdown in July 2020 to discuss their ‘Building Stronger Welsh Communities’ Manifesto for the 2021 Welsh General Election, they emailed: ‘The Local Trust Left Behind report in England evidences that poorer areas with greater community capacity and social infrastructure have better health and wellbeing outcomes, higher rates of employment and lower levels of child poverty compared to poorer areas without. We believe there is big opportunity for a future Welsh Government to develop better support for community-led, long-term, local approaches in Wales as part of the wider UK ‘levelling up’ agenda’.
“The Institute of Welsh Affairs's recent 'Our Land: Communities and Land Use' report ‘found that Welsh communities are the least empowered in Britain’, and community groups in Wales told them ‘about an arbitrary, demoralising scenario with little real process for communities to take ownership of public or private assets’.
“As I said when closing the Welsh Conservative Debate on Local Communities earlier this month: ‘Welsh Conservatives recognise the need to revitalise local decision-making, encouraging decisions to be made as close to the people it effects as possible. After 23 years of top-down, poverty trapping, command and control Labour Welsh Government, a Welsh Conservative approach to enable, empower and set free our local communities is urgently needed.
“This will require a revolution in policy and service delivery in Wales: Enabling people and communities to identify their strengths and to tackle the root problems preventing them from reaching their potential; working with people to build resilient communities; seeing everyone as equal partners in local services, and breaking down the barriers between people who provide services and those who use them.”
Mr Isherwood referred to Building Communities Trust research which found that “people in Wales feel increasingly less able to influence decisions affecting their local area”.
He added:
“The 2011 UK Conservative Localism Act gave new rights and powers to communities and individuals in order to decentralise power, and encourage greater local innovation and flexibility. However, Labour Welsh Government has failed to introduce many of its key provisions in Wales.
“By finally adopting the Community Rights Agenda in Wales we would shift power away from Central Government towards communities, creating a society that is more engaged and responsive. It is time to break the shackles of top-down Welsh Government, time to enable our local communities and time to set Wales free to travel the road to a vibrant, people-powered recovery.”
ENDS