A purpose of the new structure should be to extend democracy. The structure must fit the need of citizens, not the Council, recognising that citizens' needs cross traditional service boundaries. Citizens need information and support to access services, to make their own choices and to understand and influence the decision-making process and thereby hold decision makers to account. Involvement structures and processes should be based on the concept of fitness for purpose outlined in the DETR Guidance. Their design will take account of citizens' motivations for participation.
Communities are complex and varying in nature.
New structures and processes must provide opportunities for groups of citizens, rather than individual consumers to participate in local governance. New structures and processes must acknowledge existing communities and ensure that their voices are heard. While the area structures may need to be based on a spatial approach, they should also engage communities of interest. The new arrangements should be designed to engage communities who have no history of active participation. New arrangements must allow the officer or members responsible for a particular function to be easily and quickly identified.