What you need

These resources guide you through the steps to plan, agree and run your Local Management Agreement.

Equalities

Local Management Agreements must comply with the law and reflect the Council’s policies on equalities, to make sure that services are provided fairly. Agreements and services must not unfairly exclude, disadvantage or discriminate against anyone because of their race, colour, culture, religion, age, sex, sexuality, disability, health, household composition, immigration status or for any other reason.

Where services are delegated to residents by a Local Management Agreement, the Council’s obligations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act still apply. Everyone involved (residents, residents’ groups, contractors and the Council) must cooperate to meet these legal standards and requirements.

For residents and other customers
Services provided under Local Management Agreements must be available to everyone who needs them. Contractors and other providers must take people’s circumstances into account to make sure they receive a fair service (for example, giving priority to older or disabled people, or those with young children).

You must provide information about services (for example, costs and changes to providers) so that everyone can understand them. This means translating material into relevant community languages, and using other media (for example, large print or audio tape) if people need it.

Local Management Agreements are all about tailoring services to the local needs and features of an area. So, the way services are provided must reflect and respect the diversity of the area and its surroundings.

For contractors and other providers
You must choose contractors in a fair and open way, using competitive quotes and tendering if appropriate. You must be able to justify your choice of contractor or provider on clear, objective grounds.

Residents must tell the Council or residents’ group if they have any personal connection with a contractor or other provider (for example, if they are related to or work for them).

Contractors and other providers must demonstrate that they understand and are committed to equalities (for example, their personal conduct and how they recruit staff). Contractors must agree to provide services in line with this policy, and cooperate with any equalities monitoring or checks that the Council or residents’ group wishes to carry out.

For the Council
The Council is willing to consider a Local Management Agreement for any group of residents or area. It may recommend that a Local Management Agreement is not suitable or the best option for a particular service or area, but will always give its reasons, and seek to negotiate a fair solution with residents.