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Making the most of our money
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The main effect on deprivation at a national level will come through the bending of the spending programmes of key Government departments to focus more specifically on the most deprived areas.
By 2004, this will mean spending across the country £10 billion more on education, £1.6 billion a year more on the police, and £1.6 billion more on housing.
And there will be tough targets - called 'floor targets' - for departments to meet. This will mean that, for the first time, they will be judged on the areas where they are doing worst and not on the national average. The NRU will monitor their progress against these targets.
So neighbourhood renewal requires real commitment from government departments, local government and other public service providers to make sure that this significant investment in public services benefits deprived areas most. And it means using mainstream spending in different ways to better meet local needs, working in partnership with other agencies.
A key starting point for achieving this was the agreement of deprivation-related floor targets. This means that, for the first time, Government will be judged on where it is doing worst rather than on the national average. The new floor targets are designed to improve the condition of social housing, reduce health inequalities, reduce burglary, improve education performance, and reduce unemployment. The most improvement should be seen in the most deprived areas.
The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has been working with other government departments to set out how they will achieve the floor targets.
On 16 November 2001, DfES and the housing division based in DTLR launched their Implementation Strategy.
Over the coming months, we will be working with the various departments involved with a view to optimising the impact of these plans, as well as promoting neighbourhood renewal goals within the departments' main programmes of work.
The Whitehall Co-ordination team within the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit will monitor the achievements of various departments against the commitments they have made - both in the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal Action Plan and the Social Exclusion Unit's PAT reports - and seeking to ensure those aims remain at the forefront of their planning.
Kickstarting the strategy
In the most deprived areas, extra spending will be needed to address their particular problems.
The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), worth £900 million over three years, provides extra resources for 88 of the most deprived local authority districts. The fund boosts Government departments' main spending programmes, helps kickstart new partnership arrangements and gets neighbourhood renewal strategies underway. All partners are involved in deciding how the money is spent.
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