HC Deb 09 March 1999 vol 327 cc167-8
11. Mr. Michael Connarty (Falkirk, East)

What assessment he has made of the implementation of the new deal for communities. [73423]

16. Ms Margaret Moran (Luton, South)

What assessment he has made of the implementation of the new deal for communities. [73428]

The Minister for Local Government and Housing (Ms Hilary Armstrong)

We are delighted that people living in 17 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England have seized the opportunity presented by our new deal for communities to confront the problems that they face. Across Government and across the country, we will continue to work closely with communities as they develop plans to deliver lasting change.

Mr. Connarty

Is my hon. Friend aware that communities welcome in particular the move from the short-term projects of the previous Government to the sustainable improvements of this Government? She will recall that the document that launched the scheme talked about Britain and drew from good practice throughout the UK, including Scotland. Will she ensure that lessons learned from the new deal for communities will play a part in continuing dialogue with the Scottish Office and the Scottish Parliament, to ensure that we work together throughout Britain to deal with the scourge of social exclusion?

Ms Armstrong

My hon. Friend is right. There is great support out there for a more long-term, strategic approach to the problems, involving local people identifying problems and finding solutions to them. I can assure my hon. Friend that we are determined to learn the lessons, and we will do that for the whole country—including Scotland. I am in discussions with right hon. and hon. Friends at the Scottish Office so that we can all learn the lessons from the early round, and make sure that every deprived community in Britain benefits from those lessons.

Ms Moran

What plans does my hon. Friend have to integrate the new deal for communities with other Government programmes? She may be aware that my constituency benefits under the Labour Government— unlike under the previous Government—from several programmes, including the new deal for regeneration; single regeneration budget 4 and, we hope, 5; and a health action zone. Will she assure us that we will have joined-up government programmes, so that the community in Luton can get maximum value from all of them?

Ms Armstrong

My hon. Friend is right: it is very important that not only the additional money going to an area, but the mainstream money works effectively to tackle the problems that communities and citizens face. We will take careful steps to ensure that we know what is going on, and that people locally can know and understand the breadth of work that is going on and how it can be most effectively applied. They will benefit from Government working with them to tackle their problems.

Mr. Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid-Kent)

Does the Minister accept that, over the past 30 years, progress in community development strategies in this country has been pathetic, whereas it has been remarkably effective overseas? Will she ensure that the lessons that have been learned all over the world are repatriated here so that we can make some serious progress?

Ms Armstrong

I have to be careful, because I used to be a community worker and I do not want anyone to think that I am seeking to gain advantage from the Government's recognition that we cannot change communities without working effectively with the people in them. We have lessons to learn from elsewhere. We want to learn them and to ensure that people in the communities with which we are working have the opportunity to learn from others, share experiences and get the very best deal.

Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)

I recognise that the new deal for communities is designed to tackle the problem of urban blight, which so many rotten Labour authorities have caused over such a long period, but what guarantee can the Minister offer us that there will be no slippage whatever in the timetable, and that the pathfinder partnerships that have submitted bids will be told whether they are successful in July 1999?

Ms Armstrong

I invite the hon. Gentleman to read the report of the social exclusion unit on the most deprived communities in our country. The report acknowledges that Government, both nationally and locally, have sometimes been part of the problem, not the solution. The Conservative Government were massively part of the problem.