Brown's agenda: Communities

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the challenges facing Gordon Brown in relation to communities and local government.

 

Stakeholder Response: the LGA

To send a comment to the LGA, click here

The LGA in a recent publication, 'Driving stronger performance, making services accountable and putting people in charge', said: "From homes for all to more jobs, local government has the answers. Councils are the only part of the public sector with a proven track record in driving up performance and giving local people a voice.

"The government should use councils more to sort out problems in complex areas which require co-ordinated action and to transform services.

"Councils have led the way in delivering better frontline services, becoming the most efficient part of the public sector and passing an even harder performance test with flying colours.

"We are hungry to go further and will be revolutionising how we measure success, join up and personalise services, and innovate to save taxpayers money over the next two years.

"As elected leaders of their communities, councillors have the legitimacy to mould the towns, cities and communities where people want to live and work.

"People also want to know that those who run services are held to account for their performance, and it is their council which is uniquely placed to fulfil this role.

"For citizens, councils give local people a say in shaping where they live.

"For consumers, we ensure people can shop, eat out and enjoy themselves without being ripped-off or falling ill.

"For carers, councils help people to look after their loved ones.

"For parents, we help people pick schools and influence the education of their child.

"We want to go further, giving greater influence to voluntary and community groups and local people."

You can view the publication in full here

 

Stakeholder Response: The EMF

To send a comment to the EMF, click here

EMF said: "Those of us who work with the most deprived and disadvantaged communities in Britain are only too aware of the huge challenges facing a new Brown administration, particular as it is to preside over a diverse, yet deeply unequal society still blighted by the spectrum of prejudice, discrimination and disadvantage.

"Despite a presence in the country spanning over half a century, the reality of multiculturalism in Britain for minority ethnic and marginalised groups remains far from the ideal.

"For many of our fellow, tax-paying citizens, everyday life in Britain remains a constant struggle to overcome barriers to social mobility, labour market participation, educational achievement,  adequate health care provision,  equal pay and political representation.

"Notwithstanding considerable progress in some areas, over three decades of equality legislation and diversity policy initiatives have not produced a truly equitable multicultural society that provides opportunities for all.

"The Ethnic Minority Foundation (EMF) has long worked to identify the needs of minority ethnic communities, while empowering them to improve their lives and become fully-fledged, active British citizens.

"The challenges facing those operating at the margins of society are huge and, unlike their wealthier peers, the choices they face are rather stark.

"If a Brown administration is serious about making a difference to their lives, perhaps it should start by acknowledging this very simple fact: there is no such a thing as life-style choices; only those who can afford to choose what they want, do so.

"The rest, are very much left to take whatever the state throws at them. Whether housing, education or healthcare; choice continues to be the preserve of those who can pay for it.

"For a Brown administration to have an impact at community level, it must involve those working at the grassroots with a view to develop practical local initiatives that work.

"National community leadership, both old and new, male and female, must also be sought for wider policy debates.

"Consultation of course means exactly that: listening to the concerns of stakeholders and acting on them; rather than pretending one does.

"From a list of challenges and possible solutions too long to consider here, a Brown administration would do well to have at least made some strides in addressing the following:

British identity and Citizenship

"Efforts must be redoubled to encourage good community relations and social cohesion through the strengthening of our sense of national identity and British citizenship, including promotion of our shared values and use the English language.

"It is paramount to inculcate a sense of respect for our country and her democratic traditions among those who voluntarily come to live and prosper here.

"While communities must be allowed to co-exist with difference, the greater good of the nation’s collective certainly supersedes the particular wishes of any individual group.

"There is a need to promote British identity and citizenship wider by using minority ethnic national organisations such as EMF as well as local groups to spread the message."

Multiculturalism

"There is also a need to recognise and celebrate the contribution and legacy of minority ethnic communities to our life of Britain.

"Government must build on the strengths of our multicultural nation through the development of local initiatives that build social capital." 

Religious hatred and Community Leadership

"There is a need to ensure existing legislation and monitoring systems already in place to deal with this social ill are adequately implemented.

"Religious communities need to own up to the problem of extremism within, and show leadership in acting decisively to eradicate it.

"There is a need for government to hold them accountable if they fail to do so. Unfortunately, some community reactions to the knighthood of Sir Salman Rushdi  have only served to illustrate how much work needs to be done here"

Youth Poverty

"Given the persistence of an impoverished social underclass of underachieving children, there is a need to look for alternative approaches to tackling this problem.

"We would like to see the setting up of a cross-party task force to identify practical interventions to address inter-generational poverty, particularly as it disproportionally affects minority ethnic communities.

"Within this context, we would like to see the removal of means-tested benefits.

Equality and Diversity

"There is a need to extend the public duty to promote equality and diversity – as enshrined in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 - to the private sector.

"There is also a need to ensure its adequate implementation takes place.

Gender Gap

"The scandalous normalisation of gender pay differentials in 21st century Britain must be addressed once and for all.

"We would like existing equal pay legislation made to apply to the private sector as much as it already does to the public sector.

"There is furthermore a need to ensure that such measures are effectively implemented, and this can only happen if compulsory pay audits of private companies are carried out regularly

Digital Divide

"Given the persistent digital divide between affluent and poor children, we would like to see local initiatives providing free access to the internet and e-learning tools for school children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Healthcare Inequalities

"Given the array of minority ethnic-specific illnesses and conditions affecting individuals from different communities, there is a need to provide healthcare services that adequately meet their needs.

"One such example would be the issuing of free NHS prescriptions for Sickle Cell and Thalassemia sufferers, particularly young people who cannot afford their medication.

Representation and democratic engagement

"There is a need to address the unacceptable the lack of political representation of minority ethnic individuals and women, in particular, in democratic processes.

"A combination of practical engagement initiatives, education and awareness campaigns  must be implemented, if we are to achieve a truly representative political process.

"Perhaps, the composition of a Brown administration along gender and diversity lines may give us an indication of how far it really is prepared to go on this front. 

"The challenges facing a Brown administration are many indeed, the problems often intractable and the solutions far from ideal.

"But if it is to succeed in making a difference, any difference at any rate, to the country’s marginalised communities; a Brown administration will have to engage in difficult conversations with them, make some unpopular decisions and above take all a very long-term view of the task in hand.

"Given the short-termistic, election-driven, media-obsessed nature of contemporary politics; this will undoubtedly be his administration’s greatest challenge."