l
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy and Action Plan
Newcastle City Council
Community Cohesion Strategy
June 2008
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Contents
Page
1. Executive summary.................................................................. 2
2. Introduction .............................................................................. 4
3. Defining community cohesion .................................................. 4
4. The national context................................................................. 6
5. The local context...................................................................... 7
6. Current activity ......................................................................... 8
7. Why Newcastle needs a community cohesion strategy ......... 10
8. Principles of our approach ..................................................... 16
9. Strategic objectives................................................................ 18
10. Delivery of the strategy ....................................................... 19
11. Measuring and monitoring community cohesion................. 26
12. Action Plan............................................................................ 0
Appendix 1 Strategic Context .................................................... 15
Appendix 2 The Government’s response to ‘Our Shared Future’17
For more information contact:
Simon Underwood
Head of Social Inclusion
Chief Executive’s Office
Newcastle City Council
Civic Centre
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 8PN
Tel: 0191 277 7686
[email protected]
5 June 2008
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
1.
Executive summary
Newcastle City Council’s first corporate community cohesion strategy and action
plan seeks to:
•
•
•
Define the Council’s approach to cohesion and unify directorates and
external partners around this approach
Demonstrate the importance of cohesion in the context of issues facing the
city, and of national and local strategies and plans
Recognise existing work, and identify and address gaps
i. Consultation
A four-month period of consultation on an initial draft of the strategy took place
between October 2007 and January 2008. We sought input from within and
beyond the Council, from statutory and voluntary/community sector partners, and
from organisations and individuals. The responses we received have influenced
the content of the final draft Strategy, particularly the Action Plan.
ii.
Definition
We have adopted the Commission for Integration and Cohesion’s definition of a
cohesive community. This definition recognises the importance of:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Shared vision
Individual rights and responsibilities
Equality
Trust in local institutions
Integration
Meaningful interaction between all sections of the community
Since we began the development of our strategy, the Government has also
adopted a definition that is broadly similar to that suggested by the Commission.
iii.
Strategic context
The strategy describes the background to community cohesion as a national
policy issue. It also highlights the key local strategies and plans which already
make reference to community cohesion. The purpose of this strategy is to link
these references into a unified approach to cohesion across the local authority’s
work.
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
iv.
Current activity
The full strategy includes examples of some of the wide range of projects and
organisations contributing to cohesion across Newcastle. At the same time, we
are conducting an ‘audit’ to provide a more extensive snapshot of current activity.
This will highlight how different initiatives contribute to the different elements of
our definition of cohesion, and to our strategic objectives (below), and will help us
to identify gaps or duplication and make our working more efficient.
v.
Key issues and principles
As part of explaining why Newcastle needs a community cohesion strategy, we
highlight a number of the key issues facing the city, backed up with statistical
data where relevant. Based on this evidence, national guidance and the picture of
local activity, we outline a set of principles underlying our approach to cohesion in
Newcastle.
vi.
Strategic Objectives
In summary, the four objectives of the strategy are:
•
•
•
•
To improve the capacity of agencies to promote community cohesion in all
that they do
To enable all communities to participate in the process of cohesion
To ensure the safety of all communities
To communicate positive cohesion messages
vii. Delivery and measurement
This section outlines key delivery challenges and the principles that will shape
our approach to meeting them. It describes some of the tools and techniques that
the Social Inclusion and Equality team will develop to support work on community
cohesion, and identifies partners within and beyond the Council who are already
playing a key role, or who will need to be engaged in future. Finally, we outline
the processes we will adopt for measuring cohesion and monitoring progress.
This includes drawing together existing measures and performance indicators,
and developing new measures where relevant.
viii. Action Plan
The strategy is supported by an action plan outlining the action that will be
needed to achieve each of our objectives. This action plan will be subject to
ongoing development and expansion, following input from partners, and in
response to changes in the Newcastle cohesion context.
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
2.
Introduction
This is Newcastle City Council’s first corporate community cohesion strategy.
Community cohesion is about how different people in the city integrate and get on
with one another, so it is relevant to almost every area of activity.
This strategy is therefore designed to be overarching, pulling together the work
on community cohesion that is already taking place, filling gaps where they exist
and taking our thinking and action forward on the subject. We are also developing
this strategy at this time because, for the first time, the Council has a Social
Inclusion & Equality team that can devote time to providing co-ordination and
leadership to work on cohesion.
Community cohesion is not a new issue, but it is a relatively recent phrase in
government terminology. Understanding of it is changing rapidly. Because of this
it is important to lay out the definition, policy context and key issues before
getting down to the business of describing what we are doing now and what we
plan to do in the future.
In due course, this strategy will be discussed with the local strategic partnership,
the Newcastle Partnership. This strategy, or an amended version, may then be
adopted by the Partnership as their strategy.
3.
Defining community cohesion
For many people, the term community cohesion is unclear. It can mean different
things to different people, and the subject is complicated and often contentious.
In particular, it is often confused with race relations or seen as relating only to
minority groups and immigrants rather than the whole community.
We believe that it is much more than this. But if we are not clear about what we
mean by cohesion and cohesive communities, we can’t be clear about why the
subject is so important, what we want to achieve, or how we will measure our
progress towards them.
The Council’s draft Social Inclusion Strategy defines community cohesion as
being …“about creating and sustaining communities in which people of all kinds
can live together safely, happily and with a sense of belonging.”
The Commission on Integration and Cohesion, an advisory body set up by
Government, has recommended a longer definition which combines the concepts
of cohesion and integration.
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Figure 1. The Commission suggests that an integrated and cohesive
community is one where:
•
There is a clearly defined and widely shared sense of the contribution of
different individuals and different communities to a future vision for a
neighbourhood, city, region or country
•
There is a strong sense of an individual’s rights and responsibilities when
living in a particular place – people know what everyone expects of them, and
what they can expect in turn
•
Those from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities, access to
services and treatment
•
There is a strong sense of trust in institutions locally to act fairly in arbitrating
between different interests and for their role and justifications to be subject to
public scrutiny
•
There is a strong recognition of the contribution of both those who have newly
arrived and those who already have deep attachments to a particular place,
with a focus on what they have in common
•
There are strong and positive relationships between people from different
backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and other institutions within
neighbourhoods.
We propose adopting this definition for Newcastle, for several reasons.
Firstly, it emphasises the importance of equality to cohesion. This was something
which strongly appealed to many people during our consultation on earlier drafts
of the strategy. Newcastle City Council recognises that the two issues are
interdependent: responsibility for our policies on equality, inclusion and
community cohesion is linked under the remit of the Head of Social Inclusion.
Secondly, by including the concept of integration, it recognises that we need to
look not only at the relationships between different groups of existing residents,
but also at the relationships between existing residents and new residents
arriving into our communities. This is important to Newcastle in pursuit of our
vision as a growing and diverse city.
Thirdly, the definition acknowledges that a sense of belonging can be rooted at
the national, local or neighbourhood level. The factors which affect the cohesion
of Newcastle’s communities will be different to those affecting other parts of the
country. We also know that within the city, different neighbourhoods and
communities are facing different challenges and the priorities and objectives of
this strategy will reflect this. It is also important that we recognise the many and
changeable forms that ‘communities’ can take. They may be based on identity
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
(e.g. ethnic group, sexual orientation) or interest (e.g., people experiencing
similar issues of disadvantage, people in similar employment) as well as
geographical location – or a combination of more than one of these forms.
Individuals can feel a sense of belonging to, or exclusion from, a range of
communities, often simultaneously. However, we also need to focus on the points
at which different interests and identities link or overlap to create a wider sense of
what is shared by the whole community.
Fourthly, there is an emphasis on the individual’s sense of their rights and
responsibilities and contribution to the community, their sense of trust in local
institutions and their sense of trust in and respect for each other. We will need to
work closely with communities and with other agencies in the city to create clarity
and consensus about the responsibilities both of individuals and of institutions.
The priorities and objectives of this strategy will reflect this too.
Finally, because the definition covers several specific aspects of cohesion, it
helps us to come up with measurable results that tell us how much we have
achieved in ensuring our communities are integrated and cohesive.
The definition includes not just the result that we want to see, but also the
process of arriving at it. In devising an action plan to support this Strategy, we are
mindful of the fact that the bringing together of groups and agencies to work
towards shared goals of cohesion is, in itself, a process of cohesion.
Since the process of developing this Strategy began, the Department for
Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has responded to the
Commission’s recommended definition by accepting it in principle but rewording it
slightly. The Government’s definition is therefore broadly similar to ours.
4.
The national context
In recent years, the issue of community cohesion has risen up the national
political agenda as part of the Government’s response to civil disturbances in
several northern towns in 2001. Reports into the causes of these disturbances
highlighted issues of deprivation, inequality and lack of communication or
understanding between different communities as significant factors. Further
issues have arisen in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001
in New York and 7 July 2005 in London.
Various key guidance documents have emerged since 2001. In summer 2007,
after extensive consultation around the country, the Commission for Integration
and Cohesion produced a report which included wide-ranging recommendations,
many of which are of significance to the Newcastle context. Another significant
development is the new duty on schools “to promote community cohesion”.
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In October 2007, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
set out the Government’s initial response to The Commission for Integration and
Cohesion’s report. A full, formal response was published in January 2008. This
outlined the steps the Government is taking or intends to take in response to the
Commission’s recommendations. The Government’s approach will further
influence our understanding of and approach to cohesion, and the response also
included publication of a number of tools and guidance documents which may
assist in implementing this strategy. More details can be found in Appendix 2.
However, we believe that we should develop our approach in Newcastle
independently and proactively. We will take account of local needs and issues, as
well as acknowledging and supporting the valuable work that is already going on,
some of which is already recognised nationally as good practice.
Community cohesion links with the more recently coined phrase “place-shaping”
to describe the broad impact a local authority can have on what its like to live and
work in the area they cover. Councils must have a vision that suits their
communities and bring together partners in all sectors to deliver this vision. They
have a practical role in attracting business to the area, contributing to the
economic inclusion and well-being of communities.
Place-shaping can also refer to the physical environment. This too has an impact
on community cohesion, for example in developing city centres that people want
to work and socialise in, accessible transport links, or in the planning of major
regeneration schemes. Housing types, tenure and shopping and other services
all have an effect on the type of community being created. Methods need to be
developed to ensure that community cohesion is taken into account in economic
and physical regeneration, for example through impact assessments and training.
5.
The local context
Newcastle City Council and its partners have a number of strategies and plans in
place which address aspects of community cohesion. These include:
• The Sustainable Community Strategy, and its delivery plan, the Local Area
Agreement (2007-2010)
• The Social Inclusion Strategy 2008 - 2011
• The Regeneration Strategy
• Safe Newcastle Strategy 2008-2011 – and accompanying sub-strategies
and plans
• The Newcastle Plan for Children & Young People 2006-2009
• The Housing Strategy 2006-2021
• Everyone’s Tomorrow; - the Strategy for Older People and an Ageing
Population
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In addition to these and other strategies, there are a number of current major
planning and regeneration projects in Newcastle which are relevant to cohesion,
such as:
• City Centre Action Plan
• Newcastle Great Park
• Walker Riverside Regeneration
• Scotswood Expo
• The Newcastle Brewery Site
We also work on community cohesion issues with local public, private and
voluntary and community sector partners; other local authorities in the region;
Government Office North East, other major cities in England, and other cities in
Europe through Newcastle’s membership of the Eurocities network.
These wider links are important for several reasons: many of the issues cross
borders; we can learn from the experience of others; we can help others by
sharing examples of projects and approaches that have worked for us; and
sometimes we can bring resources into Newcastle to work on our issues. Links
with the neighbouring authority of Gateshead, for example, are important in
relation to the housing market renewal pathfinder Bridging Newcastle Gateshead,
cultural and artistic links via Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, and communities
which cross authority boundaries.
6.
Current activity
We know that there is much community cohesion work going on in Newcastle
already, but sometimes not under the banner of community cohesion. Some work
is taking place in support of the strategies and plans listed above. We have
conducted a community cohesion ‘audit’ as we develop this strategy to provide a
snapshot of what kind of work is already happening and who is doing it. A few
examples are outlined below.
The Commission on Integration and Cohesion visited Walker in April 2007 to see
how residents were responding to the challenges of high levels of unemployment,
people leaving the area and new communities arriving. Local community groups
and projects have taken the lead in bringing new and established communities
together. The Images for Change project asked local people to think about what
was good about their area, as well as their fears and concerns, by taking photos
of local issues. It provided an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage
acceptance of diversity. It also led to a celebration event involving over 1,000
people and 28 different community groups.
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A project run by Save the Children called Positive Press is working in Byker
Primary School. It aims to build community relationships and increase the
understanding of the different cultures in the school. Refugee and non-refugee
children are learning about communities around the world as well as each other’s
lives at home in Byker.
ARCH, a Safe Newcastle partnership project based in the Community Safety Unit
at Newcastle Council, has launched a new system for reporting homophobic
incidents and supporting victims in Newcastle. The project is already recognised
as a national model of best practice for its work in combating hate crime and
reducing community tensions. The system is also being adapted for schools so
that young people can report bullying and access support.
ARCH and a local Neighbourhood Renewal Advisor for the Department of
Communities and Local Government developed a course in community cohesion
and conflict management. It aims to provide participants with the knowledge,
skills and tools to identify community tensions and work with communities to
reduce conflict.
Newcastle’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration includes a linked
programme of community events. In 2006, a project was devised in response to
community tensions in Benwell. Adult and young people from local white,
Bangladeshi and Czech Roma communities travelled together to Brzno in the
Czech Republic, together with local police officers and community development
workers. They visited a museum dedicated to Roma who died in the Holocaust
and the sites of two Roma work camps. During the trip, all the different
participants gained a better understanding of the Roma community, their heritage
and the experiences they suffered under the Nazi regime. A documentary film of
the trip was made by acclaimed Newcastle-based video makers Swingbridge
Video and screened at the national Holocaust Memorial Day commemorative
event, held Newcastle in January 2007
The Newcastle Mela is a major free festival, now in its fourteenth year, which
celebrates diverse arts, culture and creativity. It offers activities for all
communities and generations and takes place in August at Newcastle’s
Exhibition Park. The ‘mela’ is a long-standing tradition in South Asia,
strengthening communities by bringing people together in a festival atmosphere
where everyone can enjoy food, music and dance. One measure of its
contribution to community cohesion is the overall increase in the proportion of
white visitors from 30% in 1999 to 44% by 2007.
As well as recognising valuable work that is already taking place, the community
cohesion audit will help us to address gaps or areas of duplication, and to make
sure that all the work links up.
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7.
Why Newcastle needs a community cohesion strategy
7.0
Going beyond ‘crisis management’
Various aspects of the Council and Safe Newcastle’s work seek to address
conflict and the causes of conflict. However, much of this work is reactive in the
sense that it deals with existing conflicts, often when they are already openly
taking place. The model below illustrates the stages of conflict escalation. This
strategy will aim to promote more, and more effective, work at the pre- and postconflict stages. At these stages, conflict and confrontation tends to be less
visible, but there will be opportunities to identify and address issues in way which
will provide a stronger foundation to cohesion and prevent escalation.
Figure 2. Stages of conflict 1
Crisis
Axis of Escalation
Outcome
Confrontation
Post Conflict
Pre - Conflict
Axis of Time
7.1
Public concern
A poll undertaken by Ipsos MORI for the Commission for Integration and
Cohesion shows that matters related to community cohesion figure very highly in
the minds of citizens.
•
1
MORI polling undertaken for the Commission in 2006/7 found that
tolerance and politeness towards others; respect for different faiths and
ethnic groups; justice and fair play; and equality of opportunity were
amongst the values mentioned most often as being important to Britain.
Adapted by ARCH from a model used by Responding to Conflict in Birmingham
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•
•
7.2
At the same time, significant numbers of people said ‘patriotism’ and
everyone being able to speak English were also important aspects of life in
Britain.
In the August 2007 ‘political monitor’ poll by Ipsos MORI, the most
important issues facing the country were crime and race/asylum,
mentioned by 55% and 35% of respondents respectively.
The social and economic reasons for cohesion
Newcastle City Council is committed to making Newcastle a fairer place to live,
where council, health and other services, as well as opportunities such as jobs
and leisure activities, are open to everyone.
We currently live in a city where race, faith, gender, class, disability, age and
sexual orientation are all factors which can affect the opportunities, income and
civil rights of an individual. Ensuring equality, tackling discrimination and
promoting social inclusion are necessary in allowing communities and individuals
to cooperate on an equal footing and find shared ground, and therefore to
fostering cohesion. Developing and sustaining communities in which everyone
feels safe and has a sense of belonging contributes to attracting a range of
people to the city, and to increasing social, cultural opportunities and diversity.
7.3
•
The Index of Multiple Deprivation provides evidence of social and
economic polarisation in Newcastle. Around 25% of our population live in
the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the city. At the same time
Newcastle also has very prosperous areas – many neighbourhoods are in
the 50% to 100% least deprived nationally. Parts of Jesmond and Gosforth
are among the most affluent areas in the county
•
Costs of a breakdown of cohesion can be high. During civic disturbances
in Bradford in 2001, 100 police officers were drafted in to contain the
violence and over 200 people were injured. Immediate financial costs to
the city were estimated to be £15m but, as subsequent reports highlighted,
a figure cannot be put on the long-term damage to the city, its residents
and its reputation
Changing demographics and economy
The OECD Review undertaken in 2006 highlighted the fact that demographic
changes – a falling birth rate and an ageing population - mean that Newcastle
and the North east region need in-migration to sustain the local economy.
We have a long tradition of people coming to the North East and becoming part
of the society of the region. However, in the second half of the 20th Century we
have had relatively small levels of in-migration compared to some other major
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
cities in England. This is now changing and, whilst this change is often hugely
beneficial to the economy and culture of the city, we need to recognise that many
people find change threatening.
We need to make sure that all communities in Newcastle understand and benefit
from changes that are taking place. We also need to be aware that some
neighbourhoods are experiencing change at a much faster rate than others. This
places particular pressure on local services, especially in neighbourhoods facing
significant issues of deprivation. If communities are, or perceive that they are, in
competition for scarce resources, this can pose a serious threat to cohesion.
•
Between 1991 and 2001, Newcastle’s black and minority ethnic (BME)
population grew by 60% to nearly 6.9% of the total population. This is still
below the national figure (9.1%) but will have grown further since 2001.
13% of the school-age population now belong to a minority ethnic group,
compared to under 2% of over-65s.
•
With a student roll of approximately 52,000, (including the two universities
and Newcastle College) Newcastle has the third largest student
population of all the Core Cities. Much of this population is concentrated
in four wards in the centre of the city where they make up 18-25% of
residents. The universities’ and Colleges’ growth plans imply a need for
6,000 more student homes.
•
The popularity of the housing in Newcastle’s different neighbourhoods
varies significantly, with areas of significant population decline, lower
house prices, high turnover and numbers of long-term substandard and
empty homes concentrated in the riverside wards of the East and West
End and in parts of the North of the city.
Some of these changes, such as an increase in ethnic diversity and immigration
into the city, may be more visible and therefore receive more public attention as
potential challenges to community cohesion. However, an important principle of
our approach to community cohesion (discussed in more detail in section 8
below) is that it is not just about ‘race’ and faith. It includes matters of gender,
sexual orientation, age, ability, and class. We must ensure that no groups are
excluded from the potential benefits of change, and that the more challenging
changes do not disadvantage some groups more than others or cause tension
between groups.
We also know that we need to improve the data that is available to us to
understand the scale and nature of population change and movement. In the
context of rapid change, census data alone is not sufficient. This is recognised as
an issue and ways of addressing it are being sought at a local, regional and
national level. An example of a factor in Newcastle which can cause tension in
some neighbourhoods is the comparatively large number of students
accommodated in the city, most for a comparatively short time. Students
contribute greatly to the local economy but in some areas tensions are reported
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between students and local residents over issues such as parking and noise
nuisance.
7.4
Fear of difference and prejudice
We acknowledge that change and difference can feel threatening and that we
need to address legitimate concerns that communities have about the pace of
change and how it affects them. But it is essential to community cohesion that
these fears are not allowed to legitimise or develop into prejudice about minority
communities or other potentially vulnerable groups. Cohesion will not happen
unless Newcastle is a safe, tolerant place for all communities, where tensions
and conflicts are managed and resolved.
•
•
•
•
7.5
In our 2007 residents survey 65% of people agreed that their local area is
a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together –
down from 70% in 2006.
Since 2001, Newcastle has been home to a total of over 5,000 asylum
seekers. This is a tiny proportion of the overall population, but asylum
seekers are amongst the most vulnerable groups in society and often
subject to hostility and racism.
In our 2007 residents’ survey 24% of respondents believed that people
being attacked because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religion is a
problem in Newcastle – up from 12% in 2006.
In recent reports on the experiences of Polish economic migrants in
Newcastle by Luke Shannon (a student at Newcastle University) a majority
felt that they belonged to the UK as a whole, but only a minority felt a
sense of belonging to their neighbourhood
The role of deprivation
Community cohesion is an important issue across the city, not just in deprived
communities. But we recognise that there is a particular need to combat poverty
and unemployment in some of our most deprived neighbourhoods.
•
•
Although employment growth has been steady in Newcastle, with around
5,000 more people in work than ten years ago, the overall employment
rate (68.5%) still lags behind the national rate (74.9%). For some groups,
the rate is lower still – for older workers it is 10% below the national rate,
for example.
In Newcastle 39.1% of households include a person with a long-term
limiting illness (national average: 33.6%) and 27.3% someone with a
disability (national average: 15%)
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Around a quarter of Newcastle’s residents live in a neighbourhood that is among
the 10% most deprived in Britain (2007 Index of Multiple Deprivation).This is a
major challenge to social inclusion, but it also has a potential negative impact on
cohesion, if communities trapped by a cycle of deprivation feel alienated,
disempowered and angry. The fact that many new in-migrants to the city first
come to settle in poorer areas, because this is where there is available housing,
may contribute to pressure on services and community tensions.
•
•
7.6
The Newcastle Neighbourhood Information System (NNIS) Vitality Index
2006 shows that deprived neighbourhoods are concentrated in Byker,
Walker and Walkergate in the east and Benwell & Scotswood and Elswick
in the west
In 2005/6, 85% of the 428 asylum seekers housed by the local authority
were in the Inner West or Outer East, with the remainder located in Outer
West wards
Anti-Islamic feeling
Muslims are one group which often feels under suspicion or attack because of
their cultural or religious identity. However, the way that anti-Islamic feeling has
developed in recent years, particularly since 9/11, illustrates the way that national
and international events have an impact on local cohesion. Such events are
beyond our control as a city, but we can put strategies in place to make sure that
communities at a local level understand and communicate with one another, and
to guard against prejudices and distrust developing because of outside factors.
This also relates to the important role played by the media. The content and tone
of media reporting is also often beyond our control, but it is important to work with
local media outlets to encourage constructive and responsible reporting which
contributes to, rather than threatens, community cohesion.
•
•
7.7
In three focus groups looking at the experiences of Muslims in Newcastle
(run by independent researchers commissioned by Newcastle City
Council), 97% of participants reported experiencing some form of direct
Islamophobia or anti-Muslim sentiment
Most participants attributed these negative attitudes to negative portrayal
of Muslims in the media
Fear of crime and anti-social behaviour
In common with the national picture, peoples’ perceptions of crime and anti-social
behaviour in Newcastle do not always reflect the actual crime figures, which are
generally falling. This gap between perception and reality may be partly down to
the tone of media reporting on crime, but it is also the case that the experiences
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of individuals and particular communities may not always match the city-wide
picture of falling crime.
The Commission for Integration and Cohesion has highlighted that crime and
perceptions of crime have significant impact on peoples’ perceptions of the
cohesiveness of their area. Fear of crime can create barriers and damage trust
between sections of the community (for example, between young and older
people); highlight divisions between neighbourhoods (with some areas being
perceived as unsafe); and affect the confidence of residents in those institutions
they see as responsible for addressing crime and anti-social behaviour.
•
•
7.8
Since 2003, there have been year-on-year reductions in crime levels in
Newcastle. There has been a reduction of nearly 18% across the city
between 2005 and 2007. In the last three years, crime has reduced in all
wards of the city.
However, the 2007 Residents’ Survey shows that, whilst the majority of
residents feel safe during the day in Newcastle, after dark 45% of people
feel unsafe in the city centre and 32% feel unsafe in their own
neighbourhood
The role of institutions
As we highlighted above when defining community cohesion, the sense of trust
that communities have in local institutions plays a key role. The local authority
and its partner agencies must act fairly – and be seen to be doing so – in
provision of services, allocation of resources, and the way that they arbitrate
between groups when conflict occurs. In areas where high-profile breakdowns of
cohesion have occurred, the absence of this trust is a common feature.
Once again, this is a factor which becomes heightened in areas where
deprivation is embedded – if groups are not confident that scarce resources are
being allocated fairly, resentments and prejudices can quickly develop. A
common example of this is housing. The allocation of social housing and the
access to other forms of housing has been shown to be very important to
communities. For this reason, subjects like housing will be central to this strategy.
To gain this community confidence and trust, the local authority and its partners
need to go beyond simply advertising the fairness of their policies and
procedures by actively involving all sections of the community in setting priorities,
allocating resources and shaping service delivery.
It is important to consider the need to mainstream the issue of community
cohesion in institutions including the Council. The work can be compared to the
Council’s approach to equality, in that cohesion is not only the role of specialised
staff with specific responsibility for the subject; it is about how all sections of the
Council (and others) do what they do. We want to see cohesion become an
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important consideration in the development of all policies and practices, including
service areas which might not immediately consider this to be part of their role.
Examples of this could include lettings policies, or the way in which parking
schemes are introduced – both of which have come up during consultation as
issues which can cause considerable community tensions.
8.
Principles of our approach
Newcastle City Council’s vision is:
To create a vibrant inclusive safe sustainable and modern European city. We will:
• Build on our heritage, cultural and economic strengths and the sense of
identity and civic pride of our people;
• Improve the quality of life for people in our communities and play a leading
role in the sustainable growth and prosperity of the region.
This community cohesion strategy is fundamental to delivering our vision and
values and is an important priority for this Council. The key principles of our
approach to community cohesion are outlined below.
Community cohesion is about more than just ‘race’ and culture:
Sometimes, community cohesion may be about breaking down barriers between
different ethnic or religious groups. But there are many other potential factors, for
example:
• Younger and older people understanding one another’s needs and
concerns better. This emerged as a significant issue during consultation
on an early draft of this strategy.
• Matters of ‘class’ such as tackling tensions between neighbouring areas of
relative wealth and poverty. This links to the element of our definition of
community cohesion which talks about the responsibility that institutions
have to make sure that allocation of resources is fair, and seen to be fair,
to all communities.
• Making sure that services and facilities are inclusive for people with
disabilities.
• Understanding the interests of both students and long-term local residents
and the tensions that can exist between them.
Newcastle will continue to become a more mixed community and we will
welcome and support that mix:
This means continuing to make the case that immigration is vitally important to
the future of Newcastle, culturally and economically. We will continue to celebrate
diversity but we will also encourage integration and inclusion. The concepts are
not incompatible (see below).
Integration is a two-way process and does not mean assimilation:
Communities and individuals, throughout the ages, have happily maintained dual
and multiple identities, including British communities settled elsewhere in the
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
world. For both newly-arrived and long-established communities to live together
there needs to be a two-way process of adaptation, but we believe that
communities in Newcastle can maintain their unique identities whilst still playing
an active role in the life of the city; interacting in a meaningful way; and sharing a
common sense of belonging. This applies to settled communities as much as it
does to newly arrived or arriving groups.
Multiculturalism should be modernised, not dismissed:
The concept of multiculturalism has been criticised in recent times by some
politicians and other public figures. Some have expressed concern that
multiculturalism has fostered individual group identities at the expense of building
cohesion between groups and that the resulting phenomena of “living separate
lives” was a cause of civil disturbances in 2001.
Other people believe that supporting and celebrating group identities offers a
distinctiveness that makes individuals feel good about themselves. And that this
quality, which has been called “bonding capital”, may offer a safe basis from
which to feel comfortable interacting with others of different groups (“bridging
capital”).
We believe that the concept of multiculturalism should be “modernised” in that it
should be developed to balance the need for integration with that of support for
the development of multiple community capacity and identities. We also of
recognise the increase in scale and diversity of changes to the make-up of our
population and the need to meet any challenges that these changes present. This
would affect, for example, the provision of translation and ESOL (English as a
Second or Other Language) teaching or Council grant support to different
community groups.
So in summary, we do not believe that multiculturalism itself need cause
segregation, or that it is incompatible with having a sense of what unites all of us
as well as what makes us different to each other.
An integral part of the strategy will be to communicate the truth and combat
misinformation:
There are many misconceptions and myths spread about “other” people, whether
they are lesbian or gay; asylum seekers or refugees; or, latterly, Muslims or
migrant workers. Many of these misconceptions are spread for political purposes
by parts of the press and some political groups. But other factors such as lack of
contact or perceived competition for resources can influence whether or not such
views take hold. Stereotypical portrayals of young or older people may also
contribute to preconceptions and a lack of intergenerational understanding.
An integral part of our Community Cohesion Strategy will be to inform and
educate people about the truth and realties of the situation in Newcastle. This is
the first step towards breaking down distrust, prejudice or resentments between
groups and creating an environment in which meaningful and successful
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
interaction can take place on an equal footing. Newcastle City Council has a key
role to play in ensuring open and accountable local government, so that people
will trust the information that it provides to them.
Equality is an underpinning value of the strategy:
Equality legislation with regard to age, gender, disability ‘race’, sexual orientation
and religion and belief places extensive responsibilities on local authorities in
relation to its employment practices and service delivery. Newcastle City
Council’s commitment to equality, however, goes further than simply enacting
legal requirements. Equality is a fundamental aspect of the Council’s vision for
the city. Without ensuring equality, it is impossible to foster cohesion – unless
groups and communities interact on an equal footing, contact may even do more
harm than good. Through consultation on an earlier draft of this strategy, we
know that many people from a wide range of backgrounds share this view.
9.
Strategic objectives
Figure 3. Key objectives of this strategy:
1. To support agencies to promote community cohesion and make it an
integral part of their policies and practices
2. To support all communities to develop their contribution to the city,
recognise the contribution of others, and build strong and positive
relationships with each other
3. To ensure the safety of all communities by identifying, managing and
reducing tensions
4. To develop the council and their partners’ role in communicating positive
messages, both proactive and reactive, on community cohesion-related
issues
These objectives express the four strands of action that we believe are necessary
to improve community cohesion in Newcastle. The action plan which
accompanies this strategy follows these strands.
While these will be actions for the Council to progress, we will also explain how
we will involve our partners and link to work that is already taking place in our
detailed action plan. Under each action strand, we will take into account each of
the six elements of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion’s definition of
cohesion.
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
10.
Delivery of the strategy
This section outlines key aspects of our approach to delivering community
cohesion in Newcastle such as the type of activity, the main challenges that we
face and the key partners we will work with. It will be complemented by the
detailed action plan which follows in section 12 of the strategy.
Figure 4. Example actions
Under the first objective:
• Improving understanding of cohesion among senior Council officers and
councillors
• Build community cohesion considerations into Council and Your Homes
Newcastle policies and practices on housing
Under the second objective:
• Develop a programme of community and civic leadership skills
• Support and develop intergenerational work and approaches
Under the third objective:
• Developing a critical incidents and community relations plan
• Rolling out conflict prevention training with young people
Under the fourth objective:
• Working with the media to promote positive cohesion work and prevent
reporting which could damage cohesion
• Making better use of local, regional and national opportunities to promote
good work that is happening in Newcastle
Figure 5. Key delivery challenges:
These challenges will partly be addressed through specific actions in the action
plan. For example, one action aimed at obtaining commitment to this agenda
from partner agencies will be to identify community cohesion ‘lead officers’ in
these agencies. More generally, however, these challenges have been borne in
mind throughout the strategy and inform our overall approach.
•
•
•
•
•
•
To develop a common understanding and knowledge of what the process
of cohesion involves and what the outcome of the process is
To develop our understanding and knowledge of what factors threaten or
inhibit cohesion and lead to its breakdown
To get the different directorates of the City Council to work effectively with
one another and in effective partnership with private, voluntary and
community sector organisations and other public sector agencies
To obtain commitment from agencies and communities in the city to
working together to achieve cohesion
To gain trust in public institutions, from all communities, to act fairly
To ensure that community cohesion implications are considered in policy
development, across all Council functions and at a structural level
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
•
To challenge stereotypes, prejudices and misperceptions that endure
about some communities, including by working with the media to develop
their role in promoting cohesion
10.1 Partners
The City Council’s leadership role
The City Council has a crucial leadership role to play in developing the type of
place that Newcastle is. The specific mechanisms for providing this leadership
are:
•
Overall leadership via the Council’s own position and its role as key
agency in the Newcastle Partnership and other multi-agency partnerships
•
Leadership on the delivery of community cohesion, work which is provided
through the various Council Committees, Portfolio Groups and Boards.
•
The Lead Officer responsible for the delivery of this strategy will be the
Head of Social Inclusion, reporting to the Assistant Chief Executive /
Director of Policy.
Council Members
Councillors have a vitally important role to play in community cohesion. They
have a democratic mandate to represent people in their local wards and they
know their local communities in detail. They may also come under pressure to
support particular sections of the community or certain views on community
issues which may increase tensions in local communities. Through the Social
Inclusion & Equality Team, Ward Co-ordinators and other council staff,
councillors of all parties will be supported in their roles in respect of community
cohesion.
Social Inclusion & Equality Team
With the appointment of the Council’s Head of Social Inclusion, the Council
established the Social Inclusion & Equality Team in July 2006. The team is based
in the Chief Executive’s Office. Its role is to provide expertise, advice and support
to delivery directorates in their work on social inclusion, equality and community
cohesion. The team has a wide remit, which can only be successfully delivered
through close collaboration with our internal and external stakeholders and
partners.
The team will act as a specialised consultancy service for the authority which will
gather and hold intelligence about inclusion and cohesion, for example,
demographic information around deprivation, or examples of good practice. The
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
unit will also be able to assist in trouble-shooting when required, and is already
being used for this purpose. The team will champion community cohesion and
monitor how effective we are at embedding and delivering against the targets of
this strategy.
The Community Development Unit
The community development team is also based in the Chief Executive’s
Directorate under the direction of the Head of Social Inclusion. Community
development staff work with a wide variety of communities throughout the city
and community cohesion is part of their remit. They play a key role for the
Council in close contact with diverse communities.
From April 2008, a sub-team of three community development staff have been
identified to work specifically on community cohesion issues.
The Community Safety Unit
The Council’s Community Safety Unit, in the Regeneration directorate, is
responsible for taking forward the work of Safe Newcastle, the partnership
responsible for working to make Newcastle a safe place for everyone who lives,
works and visits the city. Its remit includes reducing crime and anti-social
behaviour, alcohol misuse and the supply and use of drugs, and diagnosing,
diffusing and preventing community tensions. The Community Safety Unit has
also taken the lead in developing Newcastle’s Safe Neighbourhoods approach to
intelligence gathering, conflict management and problem solving at a local level.
Staff in directorates
In addition to the Community Safety Unit and Community Development staff,
there are also staff in other parts of the Council who work on community
cohesion. Examples include play and youth, arts and culture, street wardens,
schools inclusion and more.
This strategy is designed to support and co-ordinate their work, to help them to
contribute to cohesion as effectively as possible and enable them to share good
practice and build partnership working.
The Local Strategic Partnership
The Newcastle Partnership is an essential mechanism for cross-sector multiagency working on key issues facing the city, including equality, inclusion and
cohesion. We intend to discuss with the Partership the possibility of the Council’s
Strategy, or an adapted version of it, being adopted as the Partnership Strategy
on cohesion. This would be a valuable method of securing commitment to the
strategy from key agencies besides the Council.
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Voluntary and community sector partners
We have already said that community cohesion is not a new issue, even if the
phrase is a recent addition to the language of government policy. Many agencies
and projects are already undertaking work which aims to promote cohesion, even
if it is not always described in these terms. Much of this work takes place within
the voluntary and community sector (VCS). VCS organisations have in-depth
knowledge of the communities in which they work and a more ‘grassroots’
perspective on changes and developments which may threaten cohesion. They
are also often better able to be flexible and responsive to emerging needs than
large public sector organisations.
However, many VCS organisations operate with severely limited resources and
capacity and the support of the local authority for their valuable contribution is
essential. This will also entail working with the Council for Voluntary Services and
other umbrella groups such as the East End Community Alliance and West End
Community Development Consortium, whose remits may include capacity
building and identifying resources for the VCS.
Trades Unions
Many important aspects of community cohesion are also at the heart of the
trades unions’ agenda. Unions play a significant role, for example, in challenging
prejudice and discrimination, working towards equality for all, and empowering
people to access their rights and participate in civil society. Active trade unionists
constitute a resource of ‘social capital’, in that volunteering to work for the good of
their community and the wider society has been shown to have a strong positive
correlation with community cohesion (see Predictors of Community Cohesion,
Lawrence & Health/DCLG, 2007).
Faith Groups
Many faith groups are also engaged in much of the grassroots work that already
takes place to promote peaceful coexistence and shared values between the
different communities that they serve. The Government is currently consulting on
its own interfaith strategy and this has already prompted consideration in the
North East faith sector of the role of faith groups in cohesion work.
Public / statutory sector partners
The Commission for Integration and Cohesion’s research suggests that peoples’
experiences and perceptions of crime and safety in their area are fundamental to
their perception of how cohesive their community is. But the Commission’s “Our
Shared Future” report also says that the complex links between crime and antisocial behaviour on one hand, and community cohesion on the other, are not yet
well understood. The role of the police is clearly vital, as are levels of trust in the
police force and the community’s perceptions of fairness in policing.
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Schools play a fundamental role in the communities they serve, and are one of
the most important settings in which the process of cohesion between groups can
take place. The Citizenship curriculum is a key vehicle for this, but most schools
now provide a range of extended services to the communities in which they are
based. Their role therefore goes far beyond educating children during the school
day. State-maintained schools, including faith schools, now have a statutory duty
to promote community cohesion, but we also need to consider how private
schools can be engaged and encouraged to take on this task.
Housing providers, including social and private landlords as well as the
Council’s housing management organisation Your Homes Newcastle, are also
important partners. The fairness and perceived fairness of the way in which
housing is allocated relates to how communities perceive each other. Tensions
can develop in areas where one community feels that another is receiving
priority. Housing allocation can also influence the extent to which communities
have opportunities for interaction and integration, or conversely the extent to
which some groups can become isolated or segregated from the wider
community. These factors may be particularly significant in areas which are
subject to rapid population change, or which are experiencing increased diversity
for the first time. For this reason the housing market renewal pathfinder Bridging
Newcastle Gateshead and partners in regeneration areas such as New Deal for
Communities will also be significant partners.
Students are a notable group within the community of Newcastle. The two
universities and Newcastle College are also key players in contributing to the
nature and achievements of our city.
The health sector is also relevant, because of its contribution to equality and
inclusion, and because, as with housing, the allocation of resources for health
services can cause considerable tension between groups if there is a perception
that this allocation is not fair and open.
Private sector partners
Engaging with the private sector will also be an important aspect of our approach.
For example, many large companies and recruitment firms now recruit staff
abroad for roles that are difficult to fill from within the UK. This can lead to new
communities arriving in Newcastle, either temporarily or on a more permanent
basis, but currently these changes often happen without the knowledge of the
local authority. Partnership working with the private sector will be necessary to
managing these movements of people, laying the ground to make sure that
communities experiencing in-migration are receptive and positive about the
change, and preparing new arrivals to orient themselves and integrate.
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The Government
The Government has a key role in terms of the legislative and policy framework
that they provide. The Government also has responsibility in terms of
disseminating good practice in the field of cohesion, and we will seek to benefit
from the experiences of other areas, as well as to promote successful cohesion
work that happens here. Lastly, the Government plays a key role in influencing
the general level and tone of media attention to cohesion issues.
The Media
One of our strategic objectives (above) relates to communicating positive
messages and the role of the media in this is clearly fundamental. We will work to
establish communication, understanding and sensitivity to cohesion issues in the
media presentation to them and to develop the media’s role in fostering a positive
image of Newcastle.
10.2 Delivery tools and techniques
This section covers some of the key areas of activities in this strategy, but it is not
intended to be a full description of all the actions in the action plan.
Community cohesion awareness and skills development
Our work in developing this strategy indicates that both professionals and citizens
need time and support to get to understand what community cohesion is about.
Confusion, debate and controversy exist about how to define community
cohesion and what needs to be done to promote and sustain it. The action plan
includes a number of ways in which information giving, awareness raising,
training and discussion and debate can take place.
If we want our staff and council members to be more effective in promoting and
supporting cohesion, we have to provide them with the information, skills and
confidence to do this. Likewise, if we want communities to be able to develop
cohesion, we need to support them with what is known as “capacity building”.
This needs to include information and training in subjects like equalities,
leadership and citizenship.
Tension monitoring and conflict resolution
Through the work of our Community Safety Unit, Newcastle is already a leader in
hate crime reporting, tension monitoring and conflict resolution. The work in these
areas under the guidance of Safe Newcastle will also be a key element of this
cohesion strategy. We are also developing a comprehensive resilience plan for
community incidents in partnership with Safe Newcastle.
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
A community cohesion toolkit
To inform the Council’s work in relation to community cohesion we will be
compiling a community cohesion practice toolkit – probably web based. This will
not be created from scratch because a lot of good material has already been
produced elsewhere, but it will also include local resources and contacts and be
available to all Council departments, partner agencies and community groups. A
regular newsletter may be a part of the package of information available.
Impact and Needs Assessments
Newcastle City Council is expanding its current system of Equality Impact and
Needs Assessments (EINAs) to take into account social inclusion and community
cohesion. The Department for Communities and Local Government has also
produced an Impact Assessment Toolkit specifically for community cohesion as
part of its response to the ‘Our Shared Future’ report. New policies and functions
will need to be considered to see whether they have the potential to impact
(positively or negatively) on community cohesion. If this potential exists, a fuller
assessment of how to promote positive impacts and mitigate negative impacts
will be needed. In this way, thinking about cohesion will become part of the way
we plan and deliver our work, and not an afterthought.
Networks and learning opportunities
A key network for the Council in the delivery of this strategy is the LSP, the
Newcastle Partnership. Through this and bodies like the Council for Voluntary
Services (CVS) we hope to develop shared learning and the delivery of cohesion
projects.
As part of the Social Inclusion Strategy, we will also be inviting universities and
other key partners to explore with us the potential for establishing a local
research and development partnership with expertise on inclusion and cohesion.
Linked to this, we plan as the City Council, to co-host a regular series of
discussions and debates on social inclusion, social policy and community
cohesion issues. Through these, we aim to build the knowledge base and the
consensus of thinking in the city on these crucial current issues. Some of this
work has already started.
Partnership Fund
We believe that the objectives of our both our Community Cohesion strategy and
our Social Inclusion Strategy will only be achieved through extensive partnership
initiatives with community and voluntary sector organisations. Such initiatives
need to be resourced. To enable this we will seek to establish a partnership fund
and programme of work. Our intention is that by judicious use of Council
resources, this fund could lever charitable, other public and private sector funds
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
into the city in at least a 3 to 1 ratio. A feasibility study into the potential of setting
up such a fund is currently underway.
11.
Measuring and monitoring community cohesion
Measuring community cohesion is not easy. Current measures tend to focus on
the negative, like incidents of hate crime or civil disturbance. There is some
justification for this. Home Office research in 2006 (and other previous studies)
has found that areas with a high sense of community, political trust and sense of
belonging show significantly lower levers of all categories of reported crime. It
follows that reducing crime, and related factors such as peoples’ perceptions of
levels of crime or safety in their area, is likely to have a positive impact on
cohesion.
However, the exact relationship between crime and community cohesion is
complex. For example, it may be the case that a strong sense of community,
political trust and sense of belonging contribute to a reduction in crime, rather
than the other way round. So it is important to consider ways of directly
measuring the ‘softer’ aspects of community cohesion. These aspects include
better relations or increased interaction between communities, changing attitudes
to ‘other’ groups, increased trust in political leadership or local institutions and
whether people feel that their area is improving.
The action plan that goes with this strategy indicates the actions we believe need
to be taken to achieve each of the four strategic objectives of this strategy, and
the key partners in this process. As well as the actions themselves, we will be
developing measures of success in each case. For example, one action under
our fourth objective might be to work with the local media to promote good work
going on at a neighbourhood level to welcome new migrants to a community, or
to break down barriers between young and older people. An increase in positive
stories in the local media on the subject could be one measure of success, but
we would also need to consider how to measure whether this increase had had a
positive impact on perceptions or attitudes.
Performance Indicators
Community cohesion is a cross-cutting issue which should inform everything that
the Council does, from the delivery of social care services to our strategic
involvement in economic regeneration. This means that there are potentially
many indicators which can measure cohesion to a greater or lesser extent. It also
means that some existing Council strategies and plans do include some relevant
indicators.
In the list below, indicators with an NI number are in the Government’s national
indicator set. Local authorities select indicators from this set according to the
priorities agreed in their Local Area Agreements. The indicators Newcastle has
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
chosen to prioritise in this way are in bold. Indicators without an NI number are
measured by Newcastle’s Annual Residents Survey or measures suggested by
the Commission for Integration & Cohesion.
Fig 6. Key current community cohesion indicators
•
NI 1: How well people of different backgrounds get on with one
another
•
NI 4: Whether people feel they can influence decisions in their local
area
•
NI 2: Whether people feel they belong to their neighbourhood
•
NI 6: Whether people participate in regular volunteering Whether people
from particular communities believe that they would be treated worse
than people of other races by one or more public service
•
Whether people feel that ethnic differences are respected in their area
•
Whether people have a shared view of priorities for improvement in their
area
•
Level of social interaction between people of different backgrounds
•
Whether people of different backgrounds have similar life opportunities
Some of these indicators refer specifically to ethnic differences but, where
possible, our understanding of what constitutes “particular communities” or
“people of different backgrounds” will follow our principle that cohesion is not just
about race. For example, the indicator “levels of social interaction between
people of different backgrounds” could be used to in the context of different
geographical or social backgrounds as well as different ethnic backgrounds.
Even where the reference is specifically to ethnicity, we are aware that people
can think of this as encompassing a variety of factors, including differences in
country of birth, skin colour, nationality and culture.
In summary, our approach to developing indicators will be three-fold:
•
There will be a limited number of general, nationally approved indicators of
community cohesion.
•
There will be a series of specific measures linked to agreed actions under
each strategic objective in the Action Plan
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
•
There will be other indicators of relevance in other strategies and plans
which we will cross reference against this strategy.
In line with Government guidance on measuring community cohesion, we
recognise that many of these indicators may not be measures of performance in
themselves. Rather, they need to be taken into consideration along with more
qualitative knowledge of the local context, to provide the basis for an overall
assessment of what we are achieving.
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy and Action Plan
12.
Action Plan
Notes on implementation of this action plan
Our action plan for the next three years is outlined below. Our current assessment of the issues and priorities that need to
be included has been developed following extensive consultation with partners. We will approach the action plan flexibly,
developing it further in response to progress made on key challenges and the changing context in the city. Some of the
delivery partners listed are already engaged and undertaking the actions described. In other cases, we recognise that
further work is needed to engage the right partners.
For this action plan to succeed many people and many agencies and communities need to take responsibility for work on
community cohesion. In the jargon – it has to be mainstreamed.
There are limited corporate resources in the Council – two full time posts and one part time post within the Community
Development Unit, and one policy officer within the corporate Social Inclusion & Equality team – to support and coordinate work. However, our approach from the start will be to mainstream responsibility for implementation of the action
plan wherever possible. This means learning from good practice within the city and elsewhere, sharing this learning and
ensuring that cohesion is seen as everyone’s responsibility and part of how we do things, rather than the preserve of a
small group of specialists.
It is generally accepted that to bring different groups or communities together, identifying common issues and concerns
and working together on these is more effective than attempting to unite people around the idea of cohesion itself. In
other words, community cohesion is process of coming together, not the subject matter that brings people together.
However, under objective one in particular, it is also important to find ways to explicitly address the subject of cohesion.
This action plan predominantly seeks to identify and address gaps in current work. Where work is already taking place
and this is reflected in other plans and strategies, we have sought to cross-reference to these rather than duplicating
activity or imposing unnecessary extra reporting or monitoring requirements. This explains the apparently uneven
weighting given to different objectives, in that much of the relevant work under objective three, in particular, is already
taking place under the auspices of the Safe Newcastle Strategy and ARCH’s Hate Crime Action Plan.
June 2008
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
CCS ACTION PLAN AT 05.06.08.
Objective 1: To support agencies to promote community cohesion and make it an integral part of their policies and
practices
Action
1. Establish and
maintain an ongoing
system of community
cohesion information
management to
involve demographic
information;
community tensions;
latest policy
developments etc
2. Establish appropriate
personnel and other
resources to deliver
the CC action plan
3. Build community
cohesion
considerations into
service planning
process (based on 2stage EINA process)
4. Build community
cohesion
considerations into
commissioning
process (based on 2-
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we
measure success
Timescale
Social Inclusion and
Equality Team in CX
Directorate [SI&E
Team]; Community
Development Unit;
Community Safety
Team; others on
request
Staff time
Occasional
specialised
research
External scrutiny
after 12 months
1
H
Head of Social
Inclusion; SI&E
Team;
As per draft
budget
spreadsheet
Appropriate budget
and staffing
established
1 [see also action 2.1 below]
H
SI&E; Business
Management Team
Staff time
Via service plan
monitoring systems
1/2
M
SI&E; Head of
Efficiency; sections of
Council responsible for
commissioning
services/ projects
Staff time
No. of EINAs
including cohesion
1/2
M
1
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L), medium (M) or high (H)
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we
measure success
Timescale
SI&E; Strategic
Housing; YHN
Staff time
Assessment report
1/2
H
SI&E; Social Policy;
Accessible
Communications task
group
SI&E; Adult learning;
culture; VCS ESOL
providers
Staff time
Publishing costs
Completed guidance
Monitoring of take up
1
H
Staff time
Completed guidance
Monitoring of take up
1
H
SI&E; LSP Equalities,
Inclusion and
Cohesion Group
Staff time
2
H
SI&E, LSP partners
Staff time
Confirmed officers
identified
Briefing to and
outputs from officers
Assessment reports
Community
Development Unit
CDU staffing cost
From existing
Completed
Pre 1
[April 2008]
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L), medium (M) or high (H)
stage EINA process)
5. Build community
cohesion
considerations into
Council and YHN
policies and
practices around
housing
6. Produce clear
authority-wide policy
and guidance on
translation
7. Produce clear
authority-wide policy
and guidance on
ESOL provision
8. Identify cohesion
lead officer/s in all
LSP partner
agencies
9. Work with cohesion
lead officers to
identify and address
cohesion
skills/knowledge
gaps in these
agencies.
10. Increase number of
Community
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
2
2
M
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
Development
workers focussing on
cohesion work from
1 to 3 (two f/t, one
p/t)
11. Improve methods for
tracking and
forecasting
population changes
[see also 1.1 above]
12. Identify schools
succeeding in
implementing the
Schools Equality &
Cohesion scheme,
promote their work
and use as models
for development of
work in other
schools.
13. Improve
understanding of
community cohesion
among elected
members and senior
officers
14. Explore potential for
establish a research
and development
partnership with
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we
measure success
resources
Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L), medium (M) or high (H)
H
RDA; urban &
economic policy team;
universities; LGA etc.
Staff time
TWIU Stats unit
ONS data etc
Completed database
/ periodic reports
2
L
SI&E; governors
services; schools
Via staff in schools
section of Council
Assessment report
1/2
M
SI&E; Community
Safety Team; ARCH;
Budget to employ
trainers where one
does not exist
No/ / % of persons
trained
Training assessment
1
H
SI&E; local
universities; other?
Staff time
Established
database
1
L
3
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
expertise on
cohesion and
inclusion.
15. Plan a series of
debate/ seminars as
part of 1.14 on
relevant cohesion
issues.
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we
measure success
SI&E; local
universities; other?
Budget to hold
events
Number of sessions
held.
Assessment of
session outcomes.
4
Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L), medium (M) or high (H)
2
L
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Objective 2: To support all communities to develop their contribution to the city, recognise the contribution of
others, and build strong and positive relationships with each other
Action
1. Establish (if possible)
Social Inclusion &
Community Cohesion
Partnership fund to
support VCS involvement
in cohesion agenda
2. Develop a programme of
community and civic
leadership skills
development for leaders
from all types of
communities
3. Review content of
monthly Citizenship
Ceremonies to maximise
contribution to cohesion
4. Develop integration (i)
events and (ii) longer term
mechanisms for
promoting cohesion
between longer-standing
and newer residents in
areas experiencing large
scale population change.
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we measure
success
Timescale
SI&C; external funders;
community foundation;
Secure 2008/9
growth fund for
development.
Further resources for
the actual fund from
UK and EC sources
Staff time NCC and
partner agencies
An established fund
1
H
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1 (and onwards)
H
SI&C;
Corporate training
Other consultant
agencies
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
Activity costs
SI&C; Registrars?/Lord
Mayors? etc
Staff and Council
Member time
Completed review
Customer feedback
2
L
Community
Development; agencies
involved in planning
regeneration, e.g. BNG.
Staff time NCC and
partner agencies
Assessment of the
situation
Identified priority areas
Successfully completed
programme of activities
(i) 1
(ii) 2
M
Activity costs
5
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we measure
success
5. Develop the idea of a
New Residents Welcome
Pack and methods of
involving local residents in
the process of welcoming
new arrivals to their area.
SI&E, VCS, faith sector
and trade union
partners….
Staff time to develop
Develop or adapt from
ANO a pack
6. Undertake events to
promote and discuss
cohesion issues in areas
where it has not
previously been a focus
(e.g., Jesmond &
Gosforth, Heaton, Outer
West…)
7. Identify key events (Mela,
Chinese New Year, etc)
and work with organisers
to promote more diverse
attendance where
appropriate.
8. Develop cohesion work
through arts activity
Community
Development; SI&C
Team
Relevant Councillors
9. Provide support to VCS in
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Check with NESMP and
Customer Services /City
Services
Print and distribution
costs
Translation costs
Web development
costs
Ongoing update
costs
Staff and Council
Member time
Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
2
M
Successfully completed
programme of activities
Successfully completed
programme of activities
2
L
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1/2
M
Activity costs
SI&E, arts & culture,
event organisers – eg
faith and community
organisations, trade
unions
Staff and Council
Member time
Partner agency time
SI &E, Community Arts
and other partners
Staff time
Other agency staff
time
Other agency costs
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1/2
M
SI&E; VCS partners;
Staff time
Successfully completed
1/2
Activity costs
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
organising events with
cohesion in mind
(including use of CLG
impact assessment tool)
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we measure
success
ARCH; NCVS
Other agency staff
time
Other agency costs
programme of activities
M
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1/2/3
M
Revision of grant aid
guidelines already
completed. Applicants
must demonstrate
contribution to 1 of 5
objectives and ward
coordinators must assess
cohesion implications of
all bids.
Successfully revised
processes
Completed.
Activity costs
Staff time
10. Identify groups
experiencing barriers (e.g.
asylum seekers, people
with learning disability,
specific faith groups etc)
preventing their
engagement in cohesion
activity and take action to
remove these barriers.
11. Build cohesion
consideration into ward
committee grant aid
process
SI&E, VCS, faith sector
and trade union
partners….
Ward coordination
Expected to be done
with existing ward
committee resources
12. Build cohesion
consideration into other
Council grant and SLA
funding processes
[incorporating outcome of
diversity review, expected
Grants & Awards
Various other
commissioning
departments
Expected to be done
with existing grant
and SLA resources
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
Activity costs
7
1/2
M
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
July 2008]
13. Develop and support a
programme of
intergenerational work
14. Increase participation in
formal volunteering
Who’s responsible
(lead in bold)
Resources
Required
How will we measure
success
Timescale
Quality of Life
Partnership, Elders
Council, NCC, youth
organisations and groups
NCVS, organisations and
agencies encouraging
volunteering and
supporting volunteers
NCVS, SI&E
Staff time to develop
Other agency costs
Activity costs
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1/2
H
Staff time to develop
Other agency costs
Activity costs
Successfully completed
programme of activities
2
M
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
15. Develop cohesion
Staff time to develop
Successfully completed
2
Other agency costs
M
awareness sessions
programme of activities
targeted at people
Activity costs
involved in volunteering
Staff time
Successfully revised
1/2
SI&E, city service
16. Develop information
M
programme of sessions
(equality rep); internal
sessions held in
and external agencies
Customer Service
Centres to maximise their holding advice sessions
contribution to cohesion
17. Programme and toolkit to
SI & E; Regeneration
Staff time.
Successfully developed
2
Other costs to
M
look at cohesion issues in directorate, other
and implemented toolkit.
develop toolkit.
areas undergoing
partners.
regeneration
Further actions relevant to this objective may be found in:
• The Social Inclusion Strategy and the Council’s Equality Schemes
• The Children and Young People’s Plan
• Everyone’s Tomorrow (particularly intergenerational work under Aim 1: ‘Making a positive contribution (active citizens)’)
• The Regeneration Strategy
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Objective 3: To ensure the safety of all communities by identifying, managing and reducing tensions
Action
Who’s responsible
(lead underlined)
Resources
Required
How will we measure
success
Timescale
1. Develop and maintain
capacity re community
intelligence on tension
monitoring and reduction
(through SNAPS/Safe
Neighbourhoods model)
2. Establish local cohesion
focus areas and ‘learning
from practice’ database
drawing on successful
and less successful
cohesion interventions in
these areas
3. Develop and maintain
work to support vulnerable
victims
ARCH; ward
coordination; wardens &
other frontline workers
(including voluntary
sector)
Council and Safe
Newcastle resources
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1/2
H
Policy officers; ward
coordination; community
safety/Safe Newcastle;
VCS and communities in
relevant areas; ARCH;
local private sector
See 2.3 above
See 2.3 above
1
H
RHPT, Safe Newcastle,
Victim Support, other
agencies
Council and Safe
Newcastle resources
TBC
1/2
H
4. Develop shared learning
and networking on conflict
resolution
5. Development of tension
escalation model
6. Develop and maintain
overarching critical
incidents and community
relations plan
Quakers, other agencies
and networks.
Quaker network
already resourced,
Council resources
Safe Newcastle
resources
Council resources
TBC
2
M
TBC
1
M
2
M
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
ARCH/Safe Newcastle
Head of Social Inclusion;
Community Safety Unit;
Police
9
TBC
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
7. Roll-out of Westgate
model and other models
of conflict training with
young people
8. Newcastle Unity
Programme (local delivery
of PVE programme) –
various initiatives
9. Other Tackling
Extremisms project
Who’s responsible
(lead underlined)
Resources
Required
How will we measure
success
ARCH/Safe Newcastle;
other agencies
Safe Newcastle;
resources of external
agencies
Successfully completed
training programme
2
M
Corporate Policy; SI&E;
community development;
play & youth; external
facilitators; VCS
YJB/YOT/ARCH
PVE grant from
DCLG via ABGs
Successfully completed
programme of activities
Evaluation systems being
put in place
Successfully completed
programme of activities
1/2/3
M
Possible grant from
Govt.
Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
1/2/3
M
10. Support and develop
Play & Youth, VCS,
Mainstream
Successfully completed
1 and ongoing
M
diversionary and
others
resources, others?
programme of activities
preventative work with
young people
11. Support and develop
Adult services; CDU;
Mainstream
Successfully completed
1 and ongoing
M
diversionary and preventative
others
resources, others?
programme of activities
work with adults
Further relevant actions can be found in the Hate Crime Action Plan of the Safe Newcastle Strategy and in the Children and Young
People’s Plan
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Objective 4: To develop the Council’s role in communicating positive messages, both proactive and reactive, on
community cohesion-related issues
Action
1. Work with the City for Peace
initiative to promote
Newcastle as a diverse and
cohesive city
2. Begin engagement with local
media by identifying key
contacts
3. Develop understanding of
community cohesion and the
role of the media within local
media sector
4. Establish procedure for
monitoring the reporting and
presentation of cohesionrelated issues in local media
5. Establish procedure for
responding to local media
content which is negative or
otherwise threatens
cohesion
6. Establish procedure for
proactive communication on
projects and initiatives which
potentially affect cohesion
(i.e., providing clear info
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Who’s responsible
(lead underlined)
Resources
Required
How will we measure Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
success
SI&E; partners across
authority and LSP;
community orgs and
members
SI & E; communications
Staff time
Agreed message
effectively
communicated
1
M
Staff time
1
H
SI&E; communications;
external media
organisations
Staff time
Completed and
maintained contacts
database
Briefing session or
notes completed
SI&E; communications;
Staff time
Successfully working
system
1
H
SI&E; communications;
Staff time
[Largely already in
place] Successfully
working system
1
H
SI&E; communications
Staff time
Successfully working
system
1
M
11
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
1/2
M
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
about resource allocation/
Council intentions/ which
communities benefit, etc.)
7. Ensure consistent promotion
of cohesion success stories,
particularly at local level, to
local media
8. Build database of good
practice examples from
other areas of engagement
with the media/ challenging
negative messages/
promotion of positive
messages
•
(part of SI&E cohesion
toolkit)
9. Disseminate a ‘community
cohesion pledge’, based on
our key message, to be used
to secure public commitment
from elected members,
organisations, prominent
citizens, other community
leaders, etc.
10. Develop schemes to
recognise or ‘reward’
individuals who make
significant contributions to
fostering and promoting
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Who’s responsible
(lead underlined)
Resources
Required
How will we measure Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
success
SI&E; communications
Staff time
Successful stories
1/2/3
M
SI&E
Staff time
Established and
maintained database
1 /2
M
SI&E; community leaders
including elected
members and heads of
key organisations
Staff time
Agreed and
implemented pledge
system
Potential link with City
for Peace?
Also to link with LSP
messages/ badging?
1 /2
M
SI&E; community
development;
communications
Staff time
Agreed and
implemented award
system
1/2
M
Event costs
Event costs
12
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
Who’s responsible
(lead underlined)
Resources
Required
How will we measure Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
success
SI&E; communications;
publications; customer
service centres; libraries
Staff time
Print and other
activity costs
[See also other
above]
Effective communication
via these media
1
M
SI&E; communications
Staff time
Effective communication
via these media
1
M
SI&E; communications
Staff time
Completed review
1/2
M
SI&E
Staff time
Sucessfully completed
activities like speaking
engagements, entries in
publications etc
1/2
M
Maintained and
communicated list on a
monthly basis
1 onwards
M
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
cohesion
11. Develop more consistent
use of Council ‘outlets’ for
promotion of positive
messages and success
stories (eg, Citylife, Council
venues and access points,
etc)
12. Ensure promotion of positive
messages and success
stories to Council staff
through staff information,
managers’ briefing sessions,
etc.
13. Review other media for
communication of positive
messages – e.g. community
radio, local newsletters, etc.
14. Ensure promotion of positive
messages and success
stories as good practice at a
regional and national level
(eg ICoCo, DCLG, IDeA,
etc)
15. Maintain and publish diary
list of relevant local and
national initiatives (e.g.
National Democracy Week,
Refugee Week, Community
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
Activity costs
CD Unit
SI&E
Staff time
13
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Action
Week…) and opportunities
they provide to promote
cohesion
16. Identify ‘myth-busting’ needs
about particular groups or
communities and address
any current gaps
Who’s responsible
(lead underlined)
Resources
Required
How will we measure Timescale
Year: 1, 2 or 3
success
SI&E; organisations
delivering myth-busting
work (e.g. YHN, NERS,
trade unions, RHPT,
ARCH, NESMP…)
Staff time
Successfully completed
programme of activities
Activity costs [see
above]
KEY to abbreviations
ARCH = Agencies against Racist Crime & Harassment
ASBU = Anti-Social Behaviour Unit
DCLG = Department of Communities and Local Government
ESOL = English as a Second or Other Language
ICoCo = Institute of Community Cohesion
IDeA = Improvement & Development Agency
LSP = Local Strategic Partnership (aka Newcastle Partnership)
NCC = Newcastle City Council
NCVS = Newcastle Council for Voluntary Services
NERS = North of England Refugee Service
NESMP = North East Strategic Migration Partnership
RHPT = Racial Harassment Prevention Team
SI&E = Social Inclusion & Equality Team, NCC
VCS = Voluntary and Community Sector
YHN = Your Homes Newcastle
5 June 2008: Newcastle City Council
14
Priority: low (L),
medium (M) or high
(H)
1/2
M
Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Appendix 1
Strategic Context
Local
Sustainable communities are places in which people want to live, now and in the
future. Equality, social inclusion and community cohesion are essential principles
underpinning the creation of sustainable communities. Newcastle’s Sustainable
Community Strategy (due to be completed in April 2008) is the long-term plan
for the future of the city and partners across the public, private and community
and voluntary sectors. The delivery plan for the Sustainable Community Strategy
is called the Local Area Agreement (2007-2010). The Local Area Agreement
includes a number of outcomes which this Community Cohesion Strategy will
help to deliver, including:
•
•
•
•
•
Enable people to play a full part as citizens, participating and contributing
to their community, reducing isolation and loneliness
Improve reporting for domestic abuse and hate crime
Build respect in communities and reduce anti-social behaviour
Empower local people to have a greater voice and influence over local
decision making and a greater role in public service delivery
Improve quality of life for people in the most disadvantaged
neighbourhoods; service providers more responsive to neighbourhood
needs; improve service delivery
One of the themes of the Regeneration Strategy is ‘safe, inclusive and cohesive
communities.’ Under this theme, the following priorities are identified:
•
•
•
•
•
•
to address deprivation and its causes – particularly to try to reach the
people who are most excluded from services and opportunities;
to promote greater community involvement in local decision making and
the delivery of services;
to promote safer communities; and,
to develop more diverse and cohesive communities
The Regeneration Strategy identifies the following outcomes for this theme:
•
•
•
•
•
•
a decrease in citywide pockets of deprivation;
further reductions in the fear of crime;
mixed communities where people get on well together;
thriving neighbourhoods where people are actively involved in and
take ownership of resources and the wellbeing of their communities; and
increased levels and quality of services in the currently most deprived
parts of the city.
The Safe Newcastle Partnership has a key role to play in creating stronger, more
cohesive communities in Newcastle. The Safe Newcastle Strategy (2005-2008)
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
has identified nine priority outcomes for the city. Those of particular relevance to
the community cohesion agenda include:
•
•
•
•
Anti-social behaviour is reduced, ensuring neighbourhoods and public
spaces are sage, clear and green and used by all members of the
community
Hate crime, domestic violence and harm to vulnerable groups are reduced
through a strategy that prevents and deters
Children and young people and protected and respected
Community confidence is increased through communication and
participation.
The Newcastle Plan for Children and Young People (2006 – 2009) reflects the
views of children and young people in the city. Priorities for change identified by
children and young people include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Respect for children and young people in relationships with adults
Respect between different groups of children and young people
Fair treatment from organisations
Anti-discrimination including bullying, racism and homophobia
Decent neighbourhoods to grow up and live in
Involvement in decision making
Newcastle’s Housing Strategy (2006 – 2021) aims to reflect policy priorities
drawn from the national, regional and sub-regional and local level. One of these
priorities is to “Promote mixed communities where different groups of people live
together in an inclusive and sustainable way, using different housing types and
tenures.”
Everyone’s Tomorrow; Strategy for Older People and an Ageing Population
City Development Company
Community Engagement Strategy
Regional:
Regional Economic Strategy
Regional Housing Strategy
Tyne & Wear City Region Multi-Area Agreement
National
• Community Cohesion, A Report of the Independent Review Team; Home
Office 2001
• Building Cohesive Communities; Home Office 2001
• ‘What Works’ in Community Cohesion; DCLG June 2007
• Our Shared Future; Commission on Integration & Cohesion June 2007
• Education & Inspections Act 2006 (includes the new duty on schools to
“promote community cohesion”)
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
•
•
•
Strong and prosperous Communities. The Local Government White Paper;
DCLG Oct 2006 (includes the concept of ‘place shaping’)
Making ‘place shaping’ a reality; Joint CBI/LGA statement on economic
growth Dec 2006
Housing Market Renewal Programme/Growth Point bid
International:
WHO European Healthy cities Programme (includes a theme on migration)
Appendix 2
Future’
The Government’s response to ‘Our Shared
In February 2008, the Government published the second part of its three-part
response to the Commission on Integration & Cohesion (CIC)’s report ‘Our
Shared Future’. An initial response, announcing an extra £50m to support
cohesion work over the next three years, was published in October 2007. The
third part will be a Cohesion Delivery Framework to assist local authorities in
analysing cohesion issues and developing action plans. The first part of this
Framework will be published in summer 2008.
The response sets out the Government’s new definition of community cohesion:
Community Cohesion is what must happen in all communities to
enable different groups of people to get on well together. A key
contributor to community cohesion is integration which is what must
happen to enable new residents and existing residents to adjust to one
another.
Our vision of an integrated and cohesive community is based on three
foundations:
• People from different backgrounds having similar life
opportunities
• People knowing their rights and responsibilities
• People trusting one another and trusting local institutions to act
fairly
And three key ways of living together:
• A shared future vision and sense of belonging
• A focus on what new and existing communities have in
common, alongside a recognition of the value of diversity
• Strong and positive relationships between people from different
backgrounds
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
This definition re-words but does not substantially change the meaning of the
definition proposed by the CIC.
The document also outlines six key principles:
1. A move away from a ‘one size fits all approach’. The Government accepts
the CIC’s use of ‘family groups’ to group different areas according to the types of
cohesion challenges they face, to help map communities and think through likely
challenges and solutions.
2. Mainstreaming cohesion into wider policy areas. Cohesion needs not just
separate policies and projects, but incorporation into all policies.
3. National framework for local support and guidance. The Government’s
role will be supportive but not prescriptive, providing good practice not rigid
solutions.
4. Integration of new migrants and existing communities. The importance of
this is recognised through the new Immigration and Migration Directorate’s crossgovernment action plan on the impacts of migration. Improvements to the way in
which the Office of National Statistics collects data are continuing.
5. Building positive relationships. The National Community Forum is
undertaking further research into what works in terms of promoting sustained,
meaningful, positive contact. Dealing with negative perceptions held by some
communities about others is acknowledged as a key aspect of this work.
6. Stronger focus on what works. The research work behind “Our Shared
Future” provides a new evidence base , and measuring of cohesion through the
Citizenship Survey will continue. More in-depth work to understand drivers and
indicators of cohesion includes the publication of “Predictors of Community
Cohesion; multi-level modelling of the 2005 Citizenship Survey” [summary
below].
The response concludes by addressing each of the Commission’s 57
recommendations individually.
Tools, guidance and initiatives detailed in the response
Cohesion Delivery Framework: Building on existing guidance, this framework,
containing good practice examples, will enable local authorities to analyse issues
and develop a plan of action [due summer 2008].
PSA 21: a new public service agreement ‘to build cohesive, empowered and
active communities’.
Guidance on Translation: published by DCLG, December 2007.
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
Interfaith Strategy: consultation launched by DCLG, December 2007.
£50m investment: Distributed through Local Area Agreements over the next
three years. Newcastle is expected to receive around £150,000.
Predictors of Community Cohesion: A multi-level modelling analysis of the
2005 Citizenship Survey by Laurence & Heath [summary below].
Single web portal for cohesion guidance: currently being developed to bring
together guidance, good practice, toolkits etc. together in one place.
Cohesion Impact Assessment: toolkit for local authorities to test if planned
activities will have a positive or negative impact on cohesion.
Specialist cohesion teams: these teams, based around DCLG’s Neighbourhood
Renewal Advisors, will be able to support local authorities facing specific
challenges, such as rapid population change.
Template information pack for new migrants: this is being developed jointly by
DCLG and IDEA.
Guidance on ESOL: Sets out the Government’s aim that ESOL funding should
be targeted specifically to promote cohesion. Consultation launched by
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), January 2008. NCC is
responding to this consultation on an authority-wide basis.
National Community Forum research: Reporting in summer 2008, this will look
in-depth at how contact between groups functions to promote or inhibit cohesion.
Cohesion guidance for funders: DCLG is currently consulting on this document,
which includes guidance on the issue of ‘single group funding’. NCC is
responding to this consultation on an authority-wide basis.
Predictors of community cohesion: multi-level modelling of the
2005 Citizenship Survey
This study was commissioned by DCLG to address the lack of existing
research exploring predictors of community cohesion. It sought to identify
factors or combinations of factors which can predict cohesion levels in
different types of communities. The key findings were:
•
•
•
Both individual and community-level factors influence cohesion.
Ethnic diversity is generally a positive predictor of cohesion, but an
increasing percentage of in-migrants from outside the UK is a negative
predictor
Disadvantage erodes cohesion levels, but not all deprived areas have
low cohesion. Cohesion scores are higher in deprived, diverse areas
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Corporate Community Cohesion Strategy
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than in deprived, predominantly ‘white’ areas.
Crime and fear of crime, perceptions of racial discrimination and racial
prejudice all strongly undermine cohesion
Feeling able to influence local decisions and engagement in formal
volunteering are both strong positive predictors
Vulnerable groups have more negative perceptions of cohesion
Predictors vary across ethnic groups. For example, white people’s
perceptions of cohesion are not related to how long they have lived in
an area but Indian people’s perceptions are. White people’s
perceptions are not related to income levels, but Pakistani,
Bangladeshi and Black African people’s perceptions are.
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