New name and ten-year plan for East Lothian Community Planning Partnership

A new ten-year plan to improve East Lothian communities’ health and wellbeing, safety and financial security has been agreed.

The East Lothian Community Planning Partnership’s Board met on 9 March to approve the 2026-2036 Local Outcome Improvement Plan as well as a new name and streamlined governance structure to strengthen local voices in community planning.

Statutory body

The East Lothian Community Planning Partnership, formerly known as the East Lothian Partnership, is a statutory body that brings together public organisations including ours, NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, voluntary sector and communities to identify priorities and plan services. It carried out extensive engagement to create the new plan, distilling responses into three themes: Living Well, Keeping Safe and Money Matters. These were then subject to further engagement with communities and partners before being agreed by the Board.

Living Well highlights wellbeing, staying connected with others and communities, and healthy and active places and spaces. Money Matters is in line with the Partnership’s poverty plan prioritising the creation of good jobs that pay fairly, enough money from benefits, a good life with access to essentials and climate change ready. Keeping Safe covers a range of matters that impact people and communities from online safety and community-based issues to gender-based abuse and climate adaptation.

Strategic groups for each of the three themes will bring together relevant agencies to plan and take forward actions.

Name change

The East Lothian Community Planning Partnership agreed a name change to address feedback gathered during its consultation that people did not understand its work, role within community planning or standing as a statutory body recognised in law. Ongoing communication will be taken forward to raise awareness of the Partnership and to evidence its impact through better data gathering and reporting through the Plan’s lifetime.