COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (300) issued by COI News Distribution
Service. 4 December 2008
Communities
Minister Baroness Andrews has today called on community leaders
from across the country to look to the future and build on the
success of the New Deal for Communities programme over the past decade.
New guidance published today highlights the many ways in which
New Deal for Communities projects are working to ensure that
efforts continue to turn around the most deprived areas of the
country when the programme comes to an end in 2010.
In particular, NDCs are looking at ways to build on the work they
have done over the course of the programme, by encouraging greater
community involvement and engagement in the delivery of local
services by mainstream agencies such as the Primary Care Trusts.
Through the New Deal for Communities programme, £2billion has
been allocated to 39 projects in some of the most deprived parts
of the country, to improve quality of life and opportunity for
local people.
Since its launch, the New Deal for Communities programme has led
to a number of significant improvements, including:
* An improvement in educational achievement - 37 per cent of
children in NDC areas achieve five or more GCSEs in 2005, compared
to 26 per cent in 2002
* Over 17,000 people gaining employment
* Over 3,000 additional childcare places
* Increased satisfaction with NDC areas as places to live - up
from 60 per cent to 71 per cent
The New Deal for Communities programme also has a successful
record in encouraging local people to get involved - nearly 60 per
cent of NDC board members are local residents.
Communities Minister Baroness Andrews said:
"Over the past decade, the New Deal for Communities
programme has made a real difference to the lives of people in
some of the poorest parts of the country.
"But too many people still suffer from the cycle of
deprivation, and it is vital that the 39 NDC areas must ensure
that this legacy is not lost, and build on this success.
"That's why I am publishing guidance today which will
help secure the future. NDCs must learn from the experience of
others, develop strategies to continue the efforts of the past
decade long after the programme ends, and ensure that the
expertise of local people - which has been vital to the success of
NDCs - is not lost."
Notes to Editors
1. Delivering Succession Strategies: some lessons from the New
Deal for Communities programme is published today and can be found
at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/ndcsuccessionstrategies
2. Further support is available to NDCs from organisations
including the Community Development Foundation, Regional
Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships and the Development Trust
Association. Baroness Andrews will be writing to all 39 NDCs with
further details shortly.
Two further reports on the New Deal for Communities programme are
also published today. Neighbourhood Governance: making NDC
elections a significant event for partnerships and communities? Is
published at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/ndcelections
Worklessness policy and practice issues based on NDC experience
is published at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/ndcworklessness
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