The Way ahead

This Framework for Community Engagement has been called Local Matters  because in Cumbria, local really does matter.  

As the second largest county in England, Cumbria contains a broad array of diverse communities.   Cumbria County Council is very aware of this special heritage and is working hard to continually improve the delivery of its services in ways that reflect the various communities that it serves.  Local Matters  has been written to help that process.

Ten years after the introduction of Local Committees and Neighbourhood Forums the County Council has funded an independent Local Democracy Commission.   This was established in March 2005 and Chaired by Professor Phil Thomas (who in 2002 Chaired the Cumbria Inquiry into Foot and Mouth Disease).   The Commission examined the way in which the Authority works with local communities and published options for improvement in February 2006. 

Nb - the report runs to over 200 pages and is a very large pdf file - it may take some time to download depending on your internet connection.