COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (079) issued by COI News Distribution
Service on 8 April 2009
Young people will
get extra encouragement to unlock their talents as part of a £10m
Inspiring Communities initiative, Communities Secretary Hazel
Blears announced today.
The Government's New Opportunities White Paper argued that
social mobility has improved in recent years. Some 600,000
youngsters have been lifted out of poverty in the last decade. The
proportion of young people from lower income families going to
university has gone up.
However, the White Paper also recognised that in some deprived
areas, young people are less likely to aim high. They do not
always make the link between doing well in education and doing
well in life. Low self esteem, low aspirations and limited
horizons can act as barriers to success.
What happens in schools is crucial to addressing
underachievement, but a child's sense of what they can
achieve is influenced by factors beyond the school gate. Lack of
inspiration or support from friends, families or peers can all
play a part.
Inspiring Communities is about investing in locally conceived,
locally delivered projects that will get whole communities
standing behind the talented young people in their midst and make
sure that communities play a bigger part in fostering and
investing in that talent.
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said:
"Sometimes a young person can't get the breaks they
deserve or don't have a sense of what's out there for
them because the people around them fail to see their potential.
We need to turn this around.
"The communities where young people live should not hold
them back; they should be the source of inspiration and practical
support that will help them to achieve. This programme is about
getting all the people in communities who want the very best for
their children and for their area to work together to make the difference."
Inspiring Communities will support people in deprived communities
to develop innovative campaigns and activities designed to raise
the achievement of young people, broaden their horizons and build
up self esteem. The programme is designed to put local people -
parents, neighbours, businesses, teachers, voluntary groups and
councils - in the driving seat to harness their collective
knowledge, energy, resources and enthusiasm to boost the
aspirations and achievements of young people.
Beverley Hughes, Children and Young People's Minister said:
"This is a great opportunity for parents, businesses and
everyone who works with young people to come up with ideas to
engage and benefit the young people in their communities. We know
most young people are doing well and working hard at school, so I
am delighted that this initiative will give them the chance to
demonstrate their skills and talents and the valuable contribution
that they can make to their communities."
Funding will be made available to up to 15 neighbourhoods
(comprising between 5,000 and 10,000 residents) who will receive
up to £450,000 and expert help over the next 2 years to design and
deliver projects and activities that will:
* Break the cycle of generational underachievement by broadening
young people's horizons and experiences - this could include
volunteering programmes, youth led projects, visits to university
campuses, theatres and museums, support for young people to
undertake work experience placements;
* Provide advice and
inspiration to young people about the routes they can take into
training, work experience, employment, further and higher
education;
* Raise parents' aspirations and self
confidence so that they can support their children to make the
most of opportunities available to them;
* Draw on the talents
of the whole community and beyond in order to expand social
networks. For example by twinning with communities from different
parts of the county or country, or encouraging local people to
make a "community pledge" to support and encourage local kids.
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Liam Byrne said:
"The world economy will double in size in the next two
decades, creating one billion jobs for skilled workers. We are
working to ensure British people can seize the opportunities of
this new global age. The Inspiring Communities project is designed
specifically to raise the expectations of young people in 15
communities so that they can make the most of their potential and
turn aspiration into success. We are making sure that Government
acts together so everyone can achieve their potential over the
decades to come."
Only deprived neighbourhoods within 64 local authorities will be
eligible to apply for funding, with the final 15 Inspiring
Communities selected from applications which must be on behalf of
neighbourhood partnerships. The initiative is intended for
neighbourhoods where low aspirations have been identified as a
barrier to young people achieving their potential.
As a minimum partnerships must feature the local authority, local
secondary school(s) and local third sector organisations. However,
the involvement of young people, parents and the wider community,
local business local youth services, and other relevant service
providers is strongly encouraged, so as to bring together as many
people and organisations who can help kids on the road to success
as possible.
The areas that become Inspiring Communities will each have a
Community leader who will be the champion and public face of the
campaign, galvanising support and ensuring that it delivers its objectives.
Inspiring Communities is a joint initiative from the Department
for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Children
Schools and Families and the Cabinet Office. It has also secured
support right across government, with a further 11 government
departments committed to encouraging ambitious and creative work locally.
Notes to editors
1. The Inspiring Communities Grant Programme Information Pack for
Applicants is available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/neighbourhoodrenewal/inspiringcommunities
. This information pack sets out the aims and intended outcomes of
the programme, the model for designing and delivering the
Inspiring Communities programme locally (including details of
funding and wider support), who may apply and how applications
will be assessed
2. Inspiring Communities was first announced in the New
Opportunities White Paper, published in January 2009, which is
available at http://www.hmg.gov.uk/newopportunities.aspx
3. Inspiring Communities is a response to the joint Social
Exclusion Taskforce/Communities and Local Government/DCSF short
study into the 'aspirations and attainment of young people in
deprived communities' published in December 2008, the
evidence pack for which is available at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/109339/aspirations_evidence_pack.pdf
4. Deprived neighbourhoods within the following upper-tier local
authority areas will be eligible to apply:
* Barking and Dagenham
* Barnsley
* Birmingham
*
Blackburn with Darwen
* Blackpool
* Bolton
*
Bradford
* Bristol, City of
* Calderdale
*
Coventry
* Cumbria
* Darlington
* Derby
*
Doncaster
* Durham
* Gateshead
* Greenwich
*
Hackney
* Halton
* Haringey
* Hartlepool
*
Islington
* Kent
* Kingston upon Hull, City of
*
Kirklees
* Knowsley
* Lambeth
* Lancashire
*
Leeds
* Leicester
* Liverpool
* Manchester
*
Middlesbrough
* Newcastle upon Tyne
* Newham
*
Norfolk
* North East Lincolnshire
* Nottingham
*
Nottinghamshire
* Oldham
* Peterborough
*
Plymouth
* Redcar and Cleveland
* Rochdale
*
Rotherham
* Salford
* Sandwell
* Sefton
*
Sheffield
* South Tyneside
* St. Helens
*
Stockton-on-Tees
* Stoke-on-Trent
* Sunderland
*
Tameside
* Torbay
* Tower Hamlets
* Wakefield
*
Walsall
* Waltham Forest
* Westminster
* Wigan
*
Wirral
* Wolverhampton
5. Eligible upper-tier local authorities are where 10 per cent or
more of the Lower Super Output Areas (statistical units of average
1,500 population) in a local authority area are in the most
deprived 10 per cent in England on the Index of Multiple
Deprivation 2007 or 20 or more Lower Super Output Areas within the
local authority area are in the most deprived 10 per cent in
England on the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007.
6. Inspiring Communities encourages radical models of local
partnership working, including the pooling and aligning of budgets
between partners and gives participating neighbourhoods the
opportunity to negotiate with government about any freedoms and
flexibilities that would remove barriers to delivering the sorts
of services that local people believe will make the most
difference to helping young people achieve their potential.
7. The deadline for applications is 3 June 2009. We will announce
successful neighbourhoods as soon as we are able, within a maximum
of 12 weeks from the closing date.
Media Enquiries: 020 7944 3288
Email:
press.office@communities.gsi.gov.uk
News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsroom