The West of England Partnership brings together the four unitary authorities - South Gloucestershire Council, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council and a range of social, economic and environmental partners. It co-ordinates high level planning to improve the quality of life of its residents and provide for a growing population.
The Partnership was formed to focus on things that are better planned at the West of England level (the sub-region), rather than at the level of the individual council areas. One example is major transport schemes, which have an impact on the sub-region as a whole and which may cross the council boundaries.
The West of England is a prosperous area with an excellent quality of life and a growing national and international profile. However, rapid growth means that the sub-region faces increasing pressure on its infrastructure (such as roads, parks, flood defences and services, eg electricity and telecommunications). In addition, there are too many neighbourhoods which do not share in this prosperity. We must also adapt the way we live and plan to address the effects of climate change. The Partnership was formed in response to all these opportunities and challenges.
The Partnership is made up of various boards and committees. A partnership structure chart is available on the West of England Partnership website, which can be accessed using the link on the right hand side of this page.
West of England Partnership Board
The West of England Partnership Board meets every four to six weeks. The Partnership Board oversees all of the Partnership's activities and takes charge of any strategic decisions. To view the agenda and minutes of the board, please visit the West of England Partnership website using the link on the right hand side of this page.
Executive committees
The executive cabinets of each council have agreed to establish two West of England Partnership joint executive committees. One will consider transport issues and one waste issues. These joint executive committees will discharge the executive decisions of each cabinet in relation to waste and transport issues that cover the geographical areas of the four ouncils.
Partnership boards and theme groups
The Planning, Housing and Communities Board and the Skills and Competitiveness Board also sit within the partnership structure. The boards offer specialist advice to the Partnership Board, and help to implement its decisions. There are also two theme groups which support the Partnership Board.
Scrutiny
The West of England Partnership Joint Scrutiny Committee has been set up to scrutinise all of the activities of the West of England Partnership. Overview and scrutiny committees are tasked with developing new policy, holding the executive to account (by acting as a check and balance) and reviewing policy already in place.
Each council has established a scrutiny committee to undertake these functions in regard to the Partnership joint executive committee activities. The four scrutiny committees meet at the same time forming a scrutiny commission so that scrutiny also takes places in a joint manner.
Meetings
The dates of the meetings of the West of England Partnership Board, the joint executive committees and the scrutiny committee can be found by clicking on the link on the right hand side in the 'read more' section. Dates for 2010/11 will appear on this site shortly. The agenda and minutes for these meetings are available on the West of England Partnership website. A link to this website is available on the right hand side of this page under 'other websites'.