Council at Community Planning Conference

Aug 26 2010 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

A NEW scheme to help support West Lothian people from cradle to grave is set to be discussed at a conference next month.

More than 100 delegates from West Lothian Community Planning Partnership will join neighbouring councils on September 16 to learn more about West Lothian’s innovative ‘Life Stages Programme’.

Community Planning Partnership delegates include representatives from the police, NHS, the local voluntary sector, education and West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership.

The hard-hitting conference is to explain the Life Stages approach, which provides a targeted approach to service provision for vulnerable members of society from the cradle to the grave.

The scheme aims to enable the Community Planning Partnership to plan and deliver effective services, which tackle social inequalities; demonstrate new and innovative ways of developing positive outcomes for local people and achieve flexibility in allocating resources.

West Lothian is the first area in Scotland to introduce this approach on a Community Planning Partnership wide basis.

And the scheme’s organiser say early indicators confirm that the approach is well received by partner agencies and benefits from strong internal support and interest nationally.

Event organiser and manager for the Life Stages Programme, Lorraine Gillies explained: “In West Lothian we have successfully piloted five ‘life stages’.

“These are early years, school age children, young people in transition, adults of working age and older people.

“We are now fully focused on implementing the Life Stages approach which will benefit thousands of families and individuals across West Lothian.

“The conference is a catalyst and cost effective way to bring everyone up to speed on the progress we are making.

“At the same time, we can focus on the issues and launch a completely new way of working and service delivery.

More information about the CPP is available online atwww.westlothian.gov.uk.