There are over 650 voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) in Luton and all of these are automatically eligible to be represented on the Luton Assembly.

The Luton Assembly is therefore an all embracing ‘body’ that pulls together like minded people in order to improve and extend the role and perception of community volunteers. The Assembly is not a recruitment body for the voluntary sector but it does by its very nature hope to increase voluntary activity in the town. The much wider role of supporting the sector and indeed ensuring the Assembly operates well, is in the remit of Voluntary Action Luton.

Luton is one of 88 local authorities identified by Government for assistance under its Neighbourhood Renewal Policy. As a result it receives special support in many areas of activity and the Assembly is the local voice helping to develop community empowerment.

Each local authority in the country must establish a Local Strategic Partnership(LSP) and produce a Community Plan. In the 88, these LSPs have to be accredited by Government. In Luton, the LSP is ‘managed’ by a Forum consisting of organisations such as the Primary Care Trust, the business sector, the Luton Borough Council and the Luton Assembly.

Assembly representation on the Forum consists of 14 representatives from over 650 organisations forming the Assembly, and forms an Assembly Steering Group. The Assembly has the largest numerical presence of any group on the Forum.

A major aim of Government is to ‘empower’ communities to better enable them to influence and communicate with decision makers, their own community and between each other. Its representation on the Luton Forum, the LSP, is an identifiable way in which the community and voluntary sector achieve these aims. This format is unique in the 88 areas. The links between the Borough Council and the Assembly are strong though not prescriptive. The Assembly maintains an independence that enables it to take on board the aspirations, goals and issues of most relevance to the sector in a strategic manner.

The Steering Group’s elected representatives play an important role in ensuring that the community and voluntary sector in Luton is empowered.

They are called upon to carry out a number of responsibilities on behalf of the Assembly. In its short existence, it has taken a major role in the writing of the Luton Community Plan as well as being a consultee for other documents and policies.