§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress she has made in implementing the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal. [94214]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe Government will publish the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal for consultation in Spring 2000. It will set out a proposed approach for dealing with England's most deprived neighbourhoods.
The strategy will aim to bridge the gap between the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest; and to deliver on four key outcome targets in deprived neighbourhoods: more jobs, less crime and better health and educational achievement.
858WThe Social Exclusion Unit has set up 18 Policy Action Teams to drive forward the work to develop the strategy, focusing on key problem issues. These teams bring together civil servants from across Whitehall and outside experts. But the strategy will also need to draw on other work, particularly on ensuring that mainstream public services are enabled to do their job in deprived areas.