The Hackney Compact:

The Hackney Compact is a written agreement between public agencies, such as the Council, Health service and Police, and the third sector on the way we will work together in order to benefit local people.  This agreement was approved by the Team Hackney Board and the Local Authority’s Cabinet in autumn 2008.  

The Compact outlines a set of codes, principles and commitments to improve partnership working on a day to day basis between the sectors for the benefit of all communities in Hackney.  

Codes of Good practice:

The Hackney Compact has four strategic objectives, each underpin by a series of protocols, principles and commitments:

• Policy Development and Partnership Working: to enable Hackney’s public agencies and third sector organisations to work in genuine partnership towards shared Sustainable Community priorities

• Funding: To create a funding environment which enables local third sector organisations to play a key role in meeting Hackney’s Sustainable Community priorities, respond to the voluntary and community sector’s need for greater financial stability, to enable it to fulfil its potential and involves third sector representatives in designing commissioning and grants programmes

• Premises: To ensure the third sector has access to the premises, spaces and facilities needed to undertake community activities and deliver services efficiently and effectively in line with Team Hackney key priorities

• Volunteering: to encourage people from every section of the community to become active citizens, playing part in delivering the Sustainable Community priorities through volunteering opportunities that add value to existing services and make a real difference to both local communities and the volunteers’ lives.

Making the Compact work:

The Compact is supported by a comprehensive work plan that is delivered by the Council, Hackney Council for Voluntary Services (HCVS) and the Compact Implementation Group

The Compact and its Codes is a tool for partnership working.  However, as challenging bad practice can lead to better outcomes and relationships, signatories to the Compact can challenge each other for non adherence to the agreed principles and commitments the Compact.  

The Statutory sector Compact lead officer is based in the Council’s Community Partnerships team, and works with a team of Compact Champions in the various partner organisations to make the Compact known and used

Legal Status:

The Compact and its codes are not legally binding and can not be legally enforced.  It is a voluntary agreement. Its authority comes from endorsement by government and the voluntary and community sector.  However, the failure to live up to Compact commitments has formed part of judicial review cases.  

Conclusion:

Since the publication of the national Compact between government and the voluntary and community sector, the Compact and its codes have played a part in developing relationships between the sectors.  There is, however, much left to achieve in embedding the Compact into everyday practice both nationally and locally.