Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2000): Community Regeneration - UK
CITIES LOSE OUT IN POVERTY LEAGUE TABLE
J. Hartley-Brewer
Guardian, Apr. 3rd 2000, p. 8
Reports dramatic shifts in the rankings of England's 354 local authorities under the new index of local deprivation. The new rankings favour rural as opposed to urban areas. The revised index uses six indicators, income, work, health, education, housing, and access to transport and services, rather than the 12 used in the old index. Critics argue that it fails to recognise that cities have a mixed pattern of affluent areas and pockets of extreme deprivation. It also underplays factors such as crime while giving undue weight to others such as access to public transport.
LEARNING LESSSONS: TOWARDS A NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL: REPORT OF POLICY ACTION TEAM 16
Social Exclusion Unit
London: TSO, 2000
Concludes that, in order to make neighbourhood renewal more effective, people within deprived communities need to be encouraged to take up leadership roles and become 'social entrepreneurs'; local practitioners and professionals need to become better at working with each other and with local communities; and national policy makers need to understand, from personal experience, the deprived communities their policies are designed to help.
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL: REPORT OF POLICY ACTION TEAM 16: LEARNING LESSONS
London: TSO, 2000
Report focuses on what is being done to equip those involved in neighbourhood renewal with the attitudes, skills and knowledge they need to design and deliver policies that will make an impact. Discusses how best to encourage social and civic entrepreneurs, train community leaders, professionals and practitioners and make civil servants better aware of the realities of working in poor neighbourhoods through interchange and secondment activities.
POVERTY SNAP
D. Walker
Guardian, Apr. 3rd 2000, p. 19
Analysis of available research evidence shows that poverty is concentrated in very specific areas. In channelling aid to these areas, government has attempted to by-pass local government by setting up a plethora of adhoc committees.
SUSTAINING EXISTING COMMUNITIES
T. Babbage
Axis, Feb./Mar. 2000, p. 18-19
Argues that resources are being allocated to sink estates suffering from long term under-investment and requiring a massive injection of cash to turn them around at the expense of socially stable estates where tackling the physical decay would prevent the spiral of social decline.