§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what reports the neighbourhood renewal unit is planning to publish on(a) social exclusion and older people and (b) the involvement of older people in neighbourhood renewal initiatives. [23292]
§ Ms KeebleThe neighbourhood renewal unit is not planning to publish any reports on social exclusion and older people in the near future. Engaging members of the local community to take decisions on solving local problems is a central aspect of neighbourhood renewal. This involves ensuring that groups which are often hard to reach are involved in and benefit from neighbourhood renewal activity. The neighbourhood renewal unit has developed a race strategy to ensure that this is the case in relation to black and minority ethnic communities. This strategy will be used as a pathfinder for other groups, including older people. Work on this will take into 21W consideration the work of the Better Government for Older People programme which was launched in 1998 to improve public services for older people.