The Kent Partners Compact

The voluntary and community sector has a vital role to play in society, including the delivery of excellent public services to the people of Kent. They provide statutory services on our behalf, recruit volunteers, support individuals and groups and provide many other services.

Kent County Council is one of a number of partner organisations to support the Kent Partners Compact - an agreement developed through the Kent Forum to improve and enhance partnership working between the voluntary and community sector and the public sector in Kent.

Read the Kent Partners Compact (PDF, 300k).

We are currently reviewing the compact to reflect changes nationally. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our consultation (which closed on 30 September 2011). The reviewed compact will be launched in November during Compact Week.

What is a compact?

A compact is an agreement which brings together representatives from the public, private, and voluntary and community sectors to encourage closer working and co-operation.
The agreement:

• sets out the values, principles and commitments of how to work together to achieve the best results
• improves relations, planning and services, by drawing on the expertise of local groups and commissioning them to deliver public services
• is based on trust and mutual goodwill.

Each compact is also covered by a number of Codes of Practice to support the working relationship between partners. They include guidance on working together to improve volunteering, funding, equality and engagement.

The National Compact was the first compact to be established between central government and the voluntary and community sector in England.

After local compact guidelines were published in 2000, a number of public sector organisations in Kent began to agree compacts. These included the Kent Compact, an agreement between Kent County Council and Kent CAN (Kent Community Alliance of Networks, an umbrella body for voluntary and community organisations) produced in 2003. These compacts proved successful and supported partnership working across the county.
In 2006, a 'Compacts in Kent' group was formed to share good practice, support implementation, and assist the development of new compacts. The group received a commendation from the national Compact Working Group for their work.

What does it contain?

The Kent Partners Compact includes four codes of practice to guide partnership working in:

• funding and resources - promoting an agreed standard in terms of the financial relationship between the Voluntary Community Sector and the public sector
• volunteering - promoting and improving volunteering access, opportunities and best practice
• communication and engagement - strengthening relationships between organisations so they better understand the roles and responsibilities of each other
• equality and diversity - achieving a better understanding of minority groups and their needs. An action plan will be developed to deliver each code of practice and measure performance and impact.

What are the benefits?

The Kent Partners Compact will:

• provide a new compact for organisations which have not previously been involved or are not signed up to local compacts
• engage multiple public sector partners, beyond just local authorities
• minimise confusion and duplication by having a single document and set of codes of practice
• help create a more consistent and productive relationship between the VCS and public sector
• improve outcomes for the people of Kent through local implementation and development
• set a framework for effective engagement, communication, representation and partnership working
• complement 2 tier working between county and district councils.

Who is involved?

The Kent Partners Compact was developed through the Kent Forum and is supported by a range of public sector partners including:

• District and Borough Councils
• Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust
• Kent Association of Parish Councils
• Kent County Council
• Kent Fire and Rescue Service
• Kent and Medway Learning and Skills Council
• Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
• Kent Police
• Kent Probation
• South East Coast Ambulance Trust
• South East Coast Strategic Health Authority
• East Kent Hospital University Trust
• Kent CAN, the county level voluntary and community sector leadership body that is represented on the Kent Partnership makes sure that the voluntary and community sector has a strong voice in Kent.