Regenerating Our Most Deprived Communities - "Communities First"

A response from NIACE

Published: May 2000

As the national organisation for adult learning, whose remit is the promotion of the interests of adult learners, with a focus on those who are currently excluded, NIACE welcomes more evidence in the proposals for "Communities First" of a new approach to tackling the problems of the most deprived communities in Wales. We welcome the intention to involve a wide audience in the consultation process which is now beginning, and intend to participate fully, and to encourage a wider discussion among everyone concerned with adult learning in Wales. By being centrally involved in these developments, the stakeholders in NIACE DYSGU CYMRU/Learning Wales, have an important contribution to make to learning led policy decisions which will crucially affect the lives of the most disadvantaged individuals and groups with whom we work.

NIACE endorses the commitment of the National Assembly for Wales to:

The paper reminds us that "Better Wales", the National Assembly’s Strategic Plan, is based around the principles of combating poverty, and removing inequalities in health, education and social care. It confirms a commitment to operate in partnership, to be inclusive and strategic and to ensure good government, sustainable development and equal opportunity. NIACE agrees that these principles must underpin the approach to community regeneration which is a priority following the Assembly publication, "Mapping Social Exclusion in Wales", which highlights the gaps which exist between the most deprived areas in Wales and the rest, in terms of health, employment and income levels.

General Comments

Poverty and Learning

1). The report of the Policy Action Team, (PAT), established by the Social Exclusion Unit in England, reminds us that, over two decades, poverty has worsened in the UK, becoming more concentrated in particular communities. With poverty come serious social problems and challenges. Twenty-five per cent of crime occurs in 10 per cent of places; in deprived areas mortality rates are 30 per cent higher than in other areas and there are 25 per cent more people with low skills and literacy in deprived neighbourhoods than elsewhere. Some have unemployment rates six times the national average.

2). The PAT report contains the following observations about the roots of the problem, which are multiple, complex and deep-seated. Those with the "get up and go" have often got up and gone, leaving a residual population with impoverished social capital. Poor areas usually have poor services, despite special area improvement programmes. Generally the state response has been thin and ineffective, applying sticking-plaster treatment of small-scale, short-term regeneration programmes. NIACE concurs with the following analysis form the PAT and would recommended it to the National Assembly in the context of "Communities First".

a) The education and training system does not, for a variety of reasons, address the needs of socially disadvantaged adults adequately

3). NIACE believes that outreach work is essential. The size of the challenge calls for a major injection of in-service training and staff development since this aspect of provision has largely been neglected over the last 20 years and the skills have been lost. A national programme to train, deploy and support outreach workers is required to help build the infrastructure and recruit learners at local level.

4). NIACE also believes that it will be important to provide training and support for local people so that they can become champions of learning in their neighbourhoods. There is likely to be a limited supply of such people and it will be necessary to provide them with networks of support. It is encouraging that the National Assembly recognises the need for ‘first-rung’ confidence-building opportunities. Careful thought needs to be given to the planning and delivery of such provision and lessons learnt from past practice should be distilled and disseminated.

5). It will be important for the voice of learners from disadvantaged communities to be heard in the Community Consortia for Education and Training. They may not always say things that providers want to hear but if responsiveness is to be ‘designed in’, facilities for feedback from users (and non-users) on the quality and accessibility of programmes have to be provided.

b) Local capacity to develop and sustain initiatives which can help improve skills is usually weak, as is local involvement in and ownership of learning activities.

6). Funding proposals for new post-16 education system needs to be adult-friendly and focus on current non-participants. Through NIACE DYSGU CYMRU, we will be able to offer advice to CETW and to CCETs on how funding regulations can be made more flexible and sensitive to the needs of all adult learners – especially those from disadvantaged communities who may encounter re-entry problems.

7). While recognising that voluntary and community organisations have an important part to play in providing opportunities directly to learners, we know that not all will want to do so. Support and a sensitive funding regime will be welcome. This is a long-term strategy requiring patience, perseverance and trust.

8). Our view is that sensitive guidance services are crucial to encourage participation by those who live in disadvantaged areas. There is much good practice to build on and develop and Careers Wales is well placed to work with the Employment Service and others to take this forward sensitively. People need more than information; they need advice interpreting it and support it making choices derived from it. A proliferation of databases is not sufficient. Informed, accurate, customised personal advice on a one-to-one basis is vital, as the New Deal has shown.

9). There is much that can be re-discovered from work done in the 1970s to join up various aspects of education provision, including adult education, youth work, basic skills, family learning, community development and leadership, supported by outreach workers and tutors running workshops in local centres on housing estates. For many people for whom education has meant little, this provides the first steps on a learning journey leading on to higher education and professional training. Lessons learned from these projects must be distilled and disseminated. NIACE DYSGU CYMRU is well placed to help.

10). It will be important for the voice of learners from disadvantaged communities to be heard in the CCETs. They may not always say things that providers want to hear but if responsiveness is to be ‘designed in’, facilities for feedback from users (and non-users) on the quality and accessibility of programmes have to be provided.

ANNEX

In addressing the specific questions on pages 11 and 12, NIACE believes:

A

1). The divisions in Wales between developing and affluent areas and localities that are marked by high unemployment, low levels of educational attainment, poverty, ill health and social disadvantage must be eradicated

2).The principles identified in the Paper should underpin the approach

3). The Assembly should define the strategic objectives, identify resources and delivery mechanisms and monitor and review outcomes within the framework of "Better Wales". There should be a cross-departmental team responsible for managing this work. Many statutory, private and voluntary bodies have a role, and the local management and delivery of " Communities First" should be written in to their strategic and operational plans. Partnerships in delivery should take responsibility for ensuring that resources which relate to any aspect of community development should be seen to link effectively into the "Communities First" strategy. There will need to be local mapping of on-going initiatives which are funded from the public purse, from private sponsorship, from grants from the National Lottery or other charitable sources, or from Europe to establish the contributions they can make to the overall approach.

4). Non-governmental organisations have a key role to play as a bridge between government and the network of support agencies, and groups and individuals on the ground whose views should be heard and whose participation in the programme will be essential to its success. Many such NGOs have strong links with those who are most excluded in current arrangements. NIACE would be keen to be involved, in representing the needs of adult learners and those who work with them. The role would include offering advice on good practice, staff development and training, support for multi-agency partnerships and for outreach, and tools for engaging learners and potential learners in development.

5). As the paper suggests, we are not working in a vacuum in determining the structures and supports which facilitate community regeneration. The task would be to draw together past experience by the range of contributors in deciding on an infrastructure which would deliver the outcomes needed. In relation to learning and skills, the National Assembly has endorsed the proposals in the Education and Training Action Plan which will introduce the Community Consortia For Education and Training (CCETs), overseen by the Council for Education and Training for Wales (CETW). These new structures will have the potential to contribute to the "Communities First" strategy, but will need an appropriate and secure funding base as well as practical support, which NIACE DYSGU CYMRU can provide, to work collaboratively to address in the needs of the hardest to reach groups. One of the dimensions which is integral to the new approach, and for which there is only limited experience, is the need to engage individuals and communities in the agenda for change. We would be pleased to be invited to address this issue, with others, on behalf of the National Assembly.

6). In considering targets, we believe that the learning targets articulated in the lifelong learning green paper, "Learning is for Everyone" form useful starting points at national level for a step change in community participation in learning. But there should be a greater emphasis on specifying aspirations rather than setting targets, when they are locally derived. Some of the communities with which we are concerned are subject to volatile changes in the wider socio-economic and demographic environment, which can make both the setting and achieving of targets difficult.

7). By careful involvement of all with a role to play and a thorough mapping of existing community action, from whatever source, the chances of duplicating or overriding existing initiatives diminish, and, in this process, we shall become aware of what works for particular communities, and what doesn’t.

B

8). The Special Programming Document for Objective One provides an excellent overview of disadvantage in Wales. It will be important for the public at large to be consulted and to understand why some communities take priority over others, according to the deprivation index, and for everyone to see the benefit of this approach.

9). Inputs being made by other government funded initiatives, including Welfare to Work and People in Communities, must be drawn together through the engagement of officials in a joined up approach. At local level, the mapping exercise will include an assessment of the their contributions at community level by partners before drawing up an action plan for the area.

10). A failure to act to alleviate the effects of poverty and disadvantage in our communities would undermine social cohesion and threaten the security and well being of all of us. The costs of dealing with such an outcome would far outweigh the costs associated with "Communities First".

11). The national commitment to welfare reform, with an emphasis on alleviating the effects of poverty through employment will make an important contribution to the impact of "Communities First". This is an example of the need to address the interface of UK policy with that emerging from within Wales in a way which will benefit our people. The resources which are associated with the New Deal, and the expansion in its coverage to include most of the people who are economically inactive, together with the expertise of those who are responsible for its impact at community level, should be embraced in a coherent approach to community regeneration. If, as is expected, the New Deal Programme is enhanced through Objective One, the potential for a significant attack on one of the major causes of disadvantage will be considerable. It is intended that the merger between Employment Services and the Benefits Agency, when accomplished, will reinforce the focus on supporting individuals into greater independence and reducing the numbers of people who are reliant on state support to a minimum. This will require a greater focus on those who are suffering from multiple disadvantage and will lever a level of resource which will be needed to ensure that " Communities First" can be successful.

C

See above

D

See above

Top of page