Council and democracy

Hertfordshire Commendation success for Working with the Third Sector

Hertfordshire has secured two Commendations at the Compact Annual Meeting held in Parliament between key stakeholders including Compact Voice, Government Ministers from the Office of the Third Sector, Cabinet Office, Department for Communities & Local government and the Local Government Association. At the meeting on 13 December 2007 ministers and national policy leads on this area met to discuss current examples of good practice and Hertfordshire was awarded a Compact Commendation for excellence in voice and independence in recognition for facilitating Third Sector involvement in setting priorities for Primary Care Trusts through Hertfordshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Group. Andrew Burt, Funding & Partnerships Manager in the Strategic Partnerships Unit was also awarded a Compact Commendation for excellence award for consistently developing the Herts Compact and contributing regularly to the Third Sector policy agenda by speaking at national and regional events as well as organising the ‘Transforming Local Public Services Together’ conference in April 2007.

In 2006 Hertfordshire also achieved recognition for the way that the Herts Compact provided the 'golden thread of principles' that formed Hertfordshire Forward's (HF) protocols for joint working. This followed on from Hertfordshire being given a Gold Award in 2005 for its policies to support the work of local voluntary and community organisations.

There are many thousands of voluntary and community groups in Hertfordshire, ranging from small community groups to larger district or countywide organisations and an increasing number of public services are delivered by voluntary and community organisations on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council.