COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (162) issued by The Government News Network
on 4 July 2008
Secretary of State
for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, yesterday
announced extra funding to encourage local government to spread
their good practice and work - from affordable housing to
anti-social behaviour.
A pot of £1.5million for 16 projects across England, led by
beacons including Leeds, Sheffield and Bristol, will help local
authorities deliver on some of the toughest targets in the Local
Area Agreements announced this Monday.
The Beacon Scheme encourages local authorities to share their
best working practise and ideas with their peers, and the Peer
Support Fund supports this cause, financing innovative and
targeted support to help raise standards and performance.
Authorities among the winning bids this year have raised £1.3m on
their own to match their Peer Support funding, ensuring that even
more authorities will benefit from their advice and guidance. For
example, the four Beacons for delivering cleaner air have provided
additional funding of £250k to supply tools, resources and
mentoring to other authorities, and working with stakeholders to
feed in to DEFRA's emission policies.
Congratulating the winners at the annual LGA conference, she said:
"Today, we are giving 16 leading councils and their
partners an extra £1.5m to enable them to share what they have
learned more widely - from getting the local economy going to
reducing air pollution.
"The benefits will be two-fold. Beacon authorities can get
on with the job of stimulating good practise in other councils and
offer tried and tested solutions to local problems. And to work
with Whitehall to inform, develop or test national policy.
"This is about town halls helping to set the agenda in a
whole range of policies, and to share the best in local practice
on issues such as health, including how schools can work with
pupils and parents to get them eating better and exercising more."
Areas in England which have benefited are Birmingham, Bolton,
Bristol, Coventry, Durham, East Hampshire, Gateshead, Leeds,
Leicester, London, Merseyside, Rotherham, Sheffield, Shropshire
and West Sussex.
Notes to Editors
1. The Beacon Peer Support Fund was established in 2003 to
encourage Beacon authorities to provide further targeted,
innovative support to other authorities who can benefit from
Beacons' experience and excellence. Since then a second
'Policy Development' strand has developed providing an
opportunity for Beacons to work with the lead Government
Department for a particular theme to inform, develop or test
national policy.
2. Bids were assessed by an independent Peer Support Assessment
Panel consisting of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Beacon Panel,
a Local Authority Chief Executive, a Regional Improvement and
Efficiency Partnership Director and officials from the LGA and
IDeA who made recommendations to Local Government Minister,
Parmjit Dhanda.
3. This year 29 bids totalling more than £5.2m were received from
authorities awarded beacon status in round 6, 7 and 8 of the
Beacon Scheme.
4. The successful bidders were as follows:
Lead Local Authority Name(s) Theme
Birmingham City Council & London Borough
of Croydon
Increasing Voluntary and
Community Sector
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Anti Social Behaviour
Bristol City Council Healthy Schools
Coventry City and Westminster City Councils Effective
Environmental
Health
Durham County Council School Improvement
East Hampshire District Council Affordable Housing
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council Positive Youth
Engagement
and
Healthy Communities
Leeds City Council Asset Management
Leeds City Council Financial Inclusion
Leicester City Council Culture and Sport - Hard to Reach Groups
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