Frequently Asked Questions
Please click on the relevant question below to find out the answer. If you have a technical question not answered below please contact Dialogue by Design. If you have a question about the consultation content please contact The Essex Strategy Team.
1. What is the Essex Strategy?
2. Why is the Essex Strategy being developed?
3. Which areas will be included in the Essex Strategy?
4. When will the Essex Strategy be published?
5. Who is producing the Essex Strategy?
6. Who is the Essex Partnership?
7. How is the Essex Strategy going to be created?
8. What impact will the Essex Strategy have?
9. How does this relate to similar work done by local district councils?
10. What is different about this strategy to past strategies?
11. I have registered my interest in the Essex Strategy - when will I receive more information?
12. How are views being collected?
13. How are you telling people about the Essex Strategy?
14. Is this the same as the Quality of Life questionnaire?
1. What is the Essex Strategy
The Essex Strategy will be a document. It will be a "Strategy of Strategies" and will act as an 'umbrella' document for the activities of all the key partners in Essex. It is being compiled from the views of Essex people and shows a vision of the sustainable development of Essex into the medium term future.
2. Why is the Essex Strategy being developed?
Local authorities have a duty to produce a Sustainable Community Strategy. The strategy should promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. The Essex Strategy will be the overarching strategy for the area and will reflect and inform all other strategies. It also gives direction for partnership working in Essex.
3. Which areas will be included in the Essex Strategy?
All parts of Essex within the Essex County Council administrative area, i.e. it will not include Southend-on Sea or Thurrock. Southend-on Sea Council and Thurrock Council are producing their own equivalent strategies.
4. When will the Essex Strategy be published?
In spring 2008. It will be based upon the views of the Essex public which we will be collecting during summer and autumn 2007.
5. Who is producing the Essex Strategy?
Essex County Council is working in conjunction with all other members of the Essex Partnership to produce the Essex Strategy.
6. Who is the Essex Partnership?
The Essex Partnership is the countywide strategic partnership for Essex the Essex Partnership is a working relationship between representatives of organisations who deliver services to the public across Essex. Member organisations include: all local authorities (county, district, town and parish councils); police; fire service; health trusts; academic institutions; private, community and voluntary bodies.
7. How is the Essex Strategy going to be created?
The priorities set out in the strategy will be arrived at through a process of analysis of data and consultation. It is a partnership plan not a council plan and draws on evidence and data, regional, sub-regional and county plans and strategies (for example the Regional Economic Strategy, Children & Young People's Plan, report on Public Health etc).
8. What impact with the Strategy have?
The Essex Strategy will:
- outline a vision for Essex for the next fifteen to twenty years
- identify common priorities that partner organizations will work together to achieve in the short to medium term
- be pivotal in improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of our county
- influence the planning of Essex Partnership member organisations
- inform all future public service delivery across Essex
- identify ways of better spending up to £6billion of public money each year in Essex in the way Essex people think it should be spent
- contribute to the development of the new Local Area Agreement (LAA2). A strong evidence-based approach will more effectively influence negotiations with Government.
9. How does this relate to similar work done by local district councils?
All local authorities across England are producing "sustainable community strategies". In Essex we are drawing from the strategies already produced by district councils and working with those councils who have not yet produced their strategies to ensure we do not duplicate work nor overlook opinions already expressed. The Essex Strategy will, therefore, be informed by any similar consultations that have taken place in districts across Essex but it will also need your views on the future of Essex as a whole.
10. What is different about this strategy to past strategies?
The difference is that this Strategy will be developed and delivered in partnership and not by one organisation on its own.
The Essex Strategy is being developed via wide public and stakeholder consultation and draws upon many other district and county strategies. The focus will be upon delivery of beneficial outcomes for communities across Essex, including ensuring that we can sustain the county as a diverse, thriving, safe and enjoyable place to live and work.
11. I have registered my interest in the Essex Strategy - when will I receive more information?
During July 2007 we are collecting expressions of public interest in the Essex Strategy consultation exercise and we will start sending out packs in a few weeks' time, continuing throughout the summer.
12. How are views being collected?
Whilst the short questionnaire will collect many of your views we will also be collecting views raised at a variety of meetings, focus groups and public summits which will be held around Essex during September and October 2007. Further details of opportunities to have your say will be advertised via this website.
13. How are you telling people about the Essex Strategy?
We are trying to make people aware of the opportunity to express their views and shape the Essex Strategy via a number of marketing approaches. The first of these has been Essex Matters and we are going on to advertise the Strategy via many different events, locations, networks and media including those developed by different Essex Partnership members. This will include flyers, adverts, agenda items at public meetings and letters sent out directly to key partners. All of this marketing will occur throughout July, August and September 2007.
14. Is this the same as the Quality of Life questionnaire?
No, the Quality of Life questionnaire seeks views over a shorter timescale than the Essex Strategy, but both pieces of work cross-refer and responses collected via each project will be shared with the other. Some of the questions are the same as this helps us to compare or aggregate the data.
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