A GROUP are meeting to discuss the concept of a ‘Luton pound’ and other economical ideas in Luton on Thursday.
The meeting follows an independent report that found ‘keeping it local’ is the best way for the town to survive the current economic climate.
Nearly 200 local and voluntary groups will meet at the summit to discuss this and future funding and relationships with Luton Borough Council.
The report by the independent Comission on Council and Voluntary Community Sector Relations says a huge amount can be achieved by local groups pooling their resources and also working closely with the local business community.
It makes over 20 recommendations for improvement, including clear guidelines for funding voluntary groups and setting up a new infrastructure to support them.
Council leader Hazel Simmons said: “In today’s difficult economic climate we all need to work together even more closely to survive. As public spending cuts start to bite hard we must focus on targeting help to the people who need it the most.
“But at the same time the public and voluntary sectors still have considerable spending power and the more we can keep this in the town the better we can help boost the local economy.”
The commission is made up of representatives from the Council and the town’s voluntary sector but it is completely independent, designed to consider a wide range of views and come up with an impartial, well-evidenced conclusion.
Their report - along with a summary and details of the summit conference – can be downloaded from the Council’s website at www.luton.gov.uk/internet/community_and_living/voluntary_organisations and clicking on ‘Vibrant, sustainable, local - The Commission on Council and Voluntary Sector Relations in Luton’.