Social exclusion
Many of the people with the greatest and most complex needs have benefited least from Labour's drive to tackle deprivation, research by the government's social exclusion unit has found.
Unskilled or unqualified adults, people with chronic illnesses or disabilities, and some ethnic minority groups, including Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, have been identified as those helped relatively little by measures to promote social inclusion.
Stakeholder Response: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Danielle Walker, director of policy and practice development at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "Since its introduction seven years ago, the social exclusion unit has been a force for good within government. We welcome this review document and the progress that it records in reducing levels of family poverty and disadvantage. But we are also pleased that the review acknowledges the scale of the challenges that still lie ahead if a large, excluded minority of the population are to share fairly in the growing national prosperity that the majority take for granted. As the report says, this is not the time to relax our efforts.
"The stress that the review places on making mainstream public services work harder for those with greatest needs is also welcome - as is the emphasis on involving disadvantaged groups in improving the design and delivery of services. As our own research and development work demonstrates, these are important elements of translating good intentions into effective, sustainable action."
Stakeholder Response: The Prince's Trust
A spokesman for the Prince's Trust said: "The Prince's Trust is pleased to see progress in tackling social exclusion, as highlighted in the ODPM's report 'Breaking the Cycle'. However, with more than one million young people in the
"Young people experiencing multiple disadvantage continue to prove hard to reach. We feel the social exclusion unit's new focus on the most disadvantaged 16-25-year olds is timely as we fear this group's needs have tended to be overlooked.
"Engagement and retention is key to any youth work which hopes to combat social exclusion. We are piloting work to link skills development to a range of industries with recruitment shortages providing enhanced employability and long-term outcomes. Through this approach we hope to increase positive outcomes to the individual but also start to break cycles of multiple deprivation and social exclusion."
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