Neighbourhood Renewal
Smarter delivery, better neighbourhoods Neighbourhood Renewal floor targets
This report sets out the governments aims for neighbourhood renewal since the publication of the spending review 2005-2008. It contains government targets to tackle social exclusion, reduce health inequalities, worklessness, and to improve housing and education in the most deprived areas.
Title: Smarter delivery, better neighbourhoods
Author: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Date published: June 2005
Number of pages: 11
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The neighbourhood renewal strategy, launched in 2001 set out the government's clear vision that within 10 to 20 years, no-one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live.
The Government has recently introduced 2 new measures to help deliver neighbourhood renewal more effectively:
1. Public Service Agreements (PSA)
A PSA sets out a government department's aims.
The agreement commits the department to delivering on challenging targets using the resources available.
A PSA provides a way of measuring progress. In other words, it measures what the public can expect to see achieved and by when.
The government's new PSA on neighbourhood renewal and tackling social exclusion
To tackle social exclusion and deliver neighbourhood renewal, working with departments to help them meet their PSA floor targets, in particular narrowing the gap in health, education, crime, worklessness, housing and liveability outcomes between the most deprived areas and the rest of England, with measurable improvement by 2010.
2. Floor Targets
These help reduce the gap between the poorest areas and the rest of the country.
They show what the priorities should be at a local level.
These targets make sure that where public services are failing, they get better.
Sometimes, floor targets work like the minimum wage, setting the minimum standard for poor areas and disadvantaged groups.
The new floor targets following the Spending Review 2004 are more robust, with a greater range across government departments. They should ensure that, at a local level, those delivering services, like schools and police, focus more strongly on the key challenges of neighbourhood renewal.
The government's new floor targets
a new floor target on reducing smoking
a new floor element added to existing targets on reducing early deaths from cancer, heart disease and strokes
a new national target to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training
a new target on child development
a focus on achieving better results in high crime areas
a jobs target looking at employment in the worst areas
a new floor target on liveability.
Floor Targets for Neighbourhood Renewal
Health
The new targets to tackle health inequalities as set out in the 2004 Spending Review include:
Life expectancy target
To reduce early deaths (under 75) by 2010:
from heart disease and stroke so there is a 40% reduction in the gap between the national average and the poorest areas
from cancer, with a reduction in the inequalities gap of 6%.
Health inequalities targets
To reduce the health gap between the poorest areas and the national average by 10% as measured by infant deaths under age one and life expectancy at birth.
Tackle the underlying problems of ill health and inequalities by 2010 by:
reducing adult smoking rates to 21% or less
reducing the under-18 pregnancy rate by 50%.
Education
Better skills and qualifications are very important for neighbourhood renewal as it significantly increases people's chances of getting a job.
Education deprivation- related target
To reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training by 2 percentage points by 2010.
Develop performance indicators focusing on the lowest attaining pupils will be developed. This means concentrating on the most vulnerable and not just on middle-ability children and above. 170,000 16 to 18 year-olds fall in this category.
Crime
Crime has been recognised as both a symptom and a cause of deprivation. The new target is:
To reduce crime by 15% and further in high crime areas by 2007-2008.
Jobs
By spring 2008 the government aims to:
Increase the employment rates for lone parents, ethnic minorities, people aged 50 and over, those with the lowest qualifications and those living in the local authority wards with the poorest labour market position.
Significantly reduce the difference between the employment rates of disadvantaged groups and the overall rate.
Housing
The 2004 spending review sets a target for everyone to have decent homes. It aims to
Bring all social housing into a decent condition by 2010, with most of this improvement taking place in deprived areas and for vulnerable households in the private sector, including families with children, to increase the numbers living in decent homes.
Liveability
The new liveability target is:
To lead the delivery of cleaner, safer and greener public spaces and improvement of the quality of the built environment in deprived areas and across the country, with measurable improvement by 2008.
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Last update: 24 June 2005