Nicola Carroll finds out what the shift in funding towards neighbourhoods with ‘persistent worklessness’ means for regeneration plans in Bristol – which is losing £6m a year of the former Neighbourhood Renewal Fund –
and West Somerset – which is gaining £3m from the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund
and West Somerset – which is gaining £3m from the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund
If ‘holistic’ was the name of the game under the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF), ‘concentrated’ sums up the approach to regeneration signalled by Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) that replaces it.
Almost £3bn has been poured into broad-ranging programmes to tackle crime and disorder, and inequalities in education, health and housing in deprived areas, since the NRF was introduced in 2001.
But ministers have changed tack in recognition of the fact that one-fifth of England’s 5.2m unemployed are found in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods.
The new £1.5bn WNF fund – launched jointly by communities and local government secretary, Hazel Blears, and work and pensions secretary, Peter Hain, at the end of last year – is therefore aimed at boosting skills and entrepreneurship in targeted areas of ‘persistent worklessness’.
And, as the new funding comes into effect, councils throughout England are getting to grips with what the transition means in practice.
WNF’s allocation criteria are more tightly focused than NFR, which means some councils have gained in this new financial year, whereas others have lost out.
The MJ spoke to two authorities which have fared very differently – Bristol City was in receipt of £6m a year NRF, but has not been awarded WNF, while West Somerset did not get a penny under NRF, but is now receiving of £3m under WNF.
Bristol City is one of 21 ‘transitional’ councils which used to get NRF, but have not been awarded WNF.
The council, which formerly received £6m each year NRF, is getting just £5.12m in total in transitional funding over the next two years – £3.66m for 2008-09 and £1.46m for 2009-2010. The authority’s leader, Cllr Helen Holland, says it is obviously ‘very disappointed indeed’.
Bristol is continuing to press to ministers about the loss of some £7m and the criteria used to allocate funding.
The city was not deemed eligible for WNF because, although it has extremes of wealth and poverty, it has a strong economy with high unemployment overall, and the WNF assessment does not take those extremes into account.
The city council says that, so far, it has managed to ensure the impact of the cut in funding is ‘minimal’ – by using transitional funding and grants, contributing its own resources, ‘winding down’ some projects, and mainstreaming programmes previously funded by NRF through transferring them to the police, primary care trust and other Local Strategic Partnership bodies, who have all worked together on neighbourhood renewal. The new criteria means five councils that were not eligible for NRF are now seeing their coffers boosted in the form of WNF – Blyth Valley, Chesterfield, Copeland, Thanet and West Somerset.
West Somerset DC, two-thirds of which is situated in the Exmoor National Park, is pleased that the new finance system recognises the problems a rural district faces, despite its ‘postcard image’. Much of the local economy is based on seasonal tourism work.
Cllr Michael Downes, portfolio holder for economic development and tourism, commented: ‘Many people perceive deprivation as a problem of troubled inner-city estates.
However, we have pockets of deprivation linked to low income and unemployment.’ West Somerset, which fell in the top 40 districts for unemployment and benefit claims, will be using its £1m a year over the next three years to develop more concentrated approaches to long-term unemployment.
‘We will work with partners and the community to support self-employed people,’ says Cllr Downs. ‘Small businesses will be helped to grow and, in turn, employ more local people. ‘We need to attract suitable new businesses where possible, and assist the long-term unemployed access training and education to get back into work.’
The council is currently setting up a task group and commissioning an economic survey to ensure funding is spent where it is most needed.
Priorities identified so far include – a new visitor centre in Minehead to promote tourism and investment, targeted advise to individuals who are claiming benefits to help them move into work, and concessionary travel, where lack of public transport is a barrier to accessing employment.
Almost £3bn has been poured into broad-ranging programmes to tackle crime and disorder, and inequalities in education, health and housing in deprived areas, since the NRF was introduced in 2001.
But ministers have changed tack in recognition of the fact that one-fifth of England’s 5.2m unemployed are found in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods.
The new £1.5bn WNF fund – launched jointly by communities and local government secretary, Hazel Blears, and work and pensions secretary, Peter Hain, at the end of last year – is therefore aimed at boosting skills and entrepreneurship in targeted areas of ‘persistent worklessness’.
And, as the new funding comes into effect, councils throughout England are getting to grips with what the transition means in practice.
WNF’s allocation criteria are more tightly focused than NFR, which means some councils have gained in this new financial year, whereas others have lost out.
The MJ spoke to two authorities which have fared very differently – Bristol City was in receipt of £6m a year NRF, but has not been awarded WNF, while West Somerset did not get a penny under NRF, but is now receiving of £3m under WNF.
Bristol City is one of 21 ‘transitional’ councils which used to get NRF, but have not been awarded WNF.
The council, which formerly received £6m each year NRF, is getting just £5.12m in total in transitional funding over the next two years – £3.66m for 2008-09 and £1.46m for 2009-2010. The authority’s leader, Cllr Helen Holland, says it is obviously ‘very disappointed indeed’.
Bristol is continuing to press to ministers about the loss of some £7m and the criteria used to allocate funding.
The city was not deemed eligible for WNF because, although it has extremes of wealth and poverty, it has a strong economy with high unemployment overall, and the WNF assessment does not take those extremes into account.
The city council says that, so far, it has managed to ensure the impact of the cut in funding is ‘minimal’ – by using transitional funding and grants, contributing its own resources, ‘winding down’ some projects, and mainstreaming programmes previously funded by NRF through transferring them to the police, primary care trust and other Local Strategic Partnership bodies, who have all worked together on neighbourhood renewal. The new criteria means five councils that were not eligible for NRF are now seeing their coffers boosted in the form of WNF – Blyth Valley, Chesterfield, Copeland, Thanet and West Somerset.
West Somerset DC, two-thirds of which is situated in the Exmoor National Park, is pleased that the new finance system recognises the problems a rural district faces, despite its ‘postcard image’. Much of the local economy is based on seasonal tourism work.
Cllr Michael Downes, portfolio holder for economic development and tourism, commented: ‘Many people perceive deprivation as a problem of troubled inner-city estates.
However, we have pockets of deprivation linked to low income and unemployment.’ West Somerset, which fell in the top 40 districts for unemployment and benefit claims, will be using its £1m a year over the next three years to develop more concentrated approaches to long-term unemployment.
‘We will work with partners and the community to support self-employed people,’ says Cllr Downs. ‘Small businesses will be helped to grow and, in turn, employ more local people. ‘We need to attract suitable new businesses where possible, and assist the long-term unemployed access training and education to get back into work.’
The council is currently setting up a task group and commissioning an economic survey to ensure funding is spent where it is most needed.
Priorities identified so far include – a new visitor centre in Minehead to promote tourism and investment, targeted advise to individuals who are claiming benefits to help them move into work, and concessionary travel, where lack of public transport is a barrier to accessing employment.
