Neighbourhood Wardens
Street Wardens Schemes
Guidance on bidding for funding under the Neighbourhood and Street Wardens Programme
This document sets out the details and criteria for Ł25 million funding of Street Warden schemes. This funding is to be allocated from now until the end of March 2004. Closing date for bids to be received by the Government Offices for the Regions is 25 September 2001.
Contents
Introduction
1. In April 2001, the Prime Minister identified a raft of measures that would improve liveability in local environments in England. He announced a Street Warden Programme that would build on the success of the pilot Neighbourhood Wardens’ Programme. Street Wardens should help make streets in villages, towns and neighbourhoods cleaner, safer and better places in which to live.
The Neighbourhood and Street Wardens’ Programme (NSWP) is part of the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) within the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). The NSWP is run jointly by the Home Office and DTLR.
Context
2. The primary aim of Street Wardens is to improve the local environment, particularly in relation to litter, graffiti and anti-social behaviour as well as promoting community safety. Wardens should be appointed and managed by a properly established scheme, which has the support of local residents, the local authority, police, and key local agencies.
3. Successful warden schemes have links with a wide range of activities aimed at environmental improvements and community safety and will often form part of a community or crime and disorder strategy.
4. Good relationships with the police are critical. Street Wardens should complement and not replace the police. The precise role of each in any setting should be discussed following an audit of crime and disorder. Clear demarcation of roles and good liaison between the police and wardens can make all the difference between successful and unsuccessful schemes. Street Wardens will need to work closely with enforcement officers employed by the local authority, for example those dealing with litter and dog fouling.
5. It is vital that all Warden schemes strive to represent the ethnic diversity of the local community and where this proves to be difficult, consideration should be given to introducing positive action or positive initiative measures to aid the recruitment of underrepresented ethnic groups. Local Racial Equality Councils (RECs) may be a useful source of further information and guidance. Suggested roles for wardens are set out in paragraph 9.
6. Money for this programme has come from DTLR and the Treasury Policy and Innovation Fund. It is important that funded warden schemes are designed in accordance with successful practice, targeted in the right places and on the problems they might reasonably be expected to influence and managed within a tight performance management framework. Outline proposals will need to show that they have taken full account of these requirements.
7. Warden schemes can play a part in reducing racial harassment and other forms of intimidatory behaviour. Schemes may also have links with employment initiatives such as the New Deal, providing a way back into work for the unemployed.
Aim of the Programme
8. The aim of the programme is to encourage the setting up of new or expanded warden schemes in a variety of settings; to evaluate the impact of the schemes and to add to our stock of knowledge about what works under what circumstances.
9. Wardens may have a number of different roles depending on local needs. The overall purpose is to improve quality of life by:
Caring for the physical appearance of streets
Deterring anti-social behaviour
Reducing crime and fear of crime
Fostering social inclusion
10. The functions of wardens may include:
Reporting of environmental problems to relevant authorities e.g. litter, graffiti, dog fouling and noise
Providing an information source for the police, local authority or housing associations
Responding to minor incidents of anti-social behaviour
Providing an information source for the public
Checking empty commercial or residential properties
Visiting vulnerable members of the community and victims of crime
Sign-posting homeless people to services
11. Applications may be made to set up new schemes or to expand and improve existing ones. Priority will be given to schemes which do not receive substantial amounts of Government money from other programmes.
Size of the funding programme
12. Ł25 million has been allocated over the next three years, starting in the current financial year. 12% of this money will be spent on programme support to include independent evaluation, technical assistance, scheme manager and warden training. New schemes are unlikely to commence before January 2002 and the funding period runs until March 2004. Expansions to existing schemes could commence earlier if the Scheme Implementation Plan (SIP) is approved quickly.
13. DTLR will be prepared to fund up to half the cost of schemes or half the cost of expansions of existing schemes. The funding is intended to act as pump priming for new and expanded warden schemes and applicants will be expected to find alternative sources of funding after the grant period. Grant will be paid under the powers in section 126 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and may be used to cover capital or revenue expenditure.
14. We would expect to fund between 75 and 100 schemes.
15. The Government recognises that applications may have to be submitted before the details of the match funding have been finalised. Grants will only be released once match funding is in place and SIPs have been approved by Government Offices in the Regions (GOs). The bidding proforma is therefore, in the form of an expression of interest to avoid significant amounts of time being spent on potentially unsuccessful bids. A SIP template accompanied by guidance notes will be issued with successful schemes being required to provide specific outcome targets, performance indicators and annual action plans.
Criteria for Funding
16. The following are the criteria against which applications for funding will be assessed:
Proposals should specify the area covered in the bid i.e. town, village, high streets or neighbourhoods.
There should be evidence of need from a crime audit or baseline data collected for a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). This should include environmental and housing data where appropriate.
The warden’s role should be clearly defined to meet the identified need showing how it complements the role of the police and the local authority.
Schemes should show that they have taken steps to enlist the support of local residents, the local authority and police and should be incorporated in local crime and disorder strategies or community strategies.
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The design of schemes should take account of the Fundamental Principles drawn up by ACPO (Annexe A). Local authorities wishing to give their wardens enforcement powers with litter, dog fouling or parking must have their bid endorsed at ACPO level within their local police service.
Schemes should show that they have considered whether racial harassment is an issue and, where appropriate identified ways of tackling it; they should comply with equality objectives, particularly in relation to consultation, staffing and services to the community.
There should be a clear management structure ensuring effective delivery and accountability with schemes having a dedicated warden manager post. There could be shared management arrangements amongst schemes in the same area.
Approved training for scheme managers and for wardens is essential. The NSWP has drawn up training guidance for scheme managers and wardens. Manager training is compulsory and the Home Office Crime Reduction College will deliver some elements of induction training on behalf of the NSWP. The programme for wardens and scheme managers provided by the NSWP will fund some induction training but other training should be costed and included in the funding proposal. The NSWP recommends 4 weeks induction training for wardens (see recommendation from NSWP’s Induction Training Guidance booklet available from NSWP)
Schemes should be designed, targeted and managed with care in order to increase the chances of their success and to allow for rigorous evaluation. The NSWP and GOs will offer on-going guidance and support.
All successful schemes will have a centrally-funded baseline and endline quality of life survey in their area, which will contribute to the independent evaluation but also assist LSP’s and Crime and Disorder Partnerships.
Who can apply?
Applications for funding may be submitted by local authorities, registered social landlords or other housing associations, police or voluntary organisations in England. Applications must have the support of the local authority and local police service. Applications should be completed on the proforma and 8 copies of the application should be returned to your GO by 5 PM 25th September 2001. Information about Wardens can be found by clicking on to regeneration on the home page of DTLR website, www.odpm.gov.uk This includes guidance on management and training, reports from study tours including details of Safe and Clean programmes in America.
Timetable
July 2001 |
Invitation to Bid |
25 September 2001 |
Submission initial proposals to GOs |
25 October 2001 |
Assessment and Ministerial announcement of successful schemes subject to Scheme Implementation Plans (SIP) approval |
6/8 November 2001 |
Scheme Implementation Seminars and allocation of technical support from NSWP |
6 December 2001 |
SIPs submitted to GOs |
December 2001 |
GOs approve SIP and issue grant offer letter |
January 2002 |
Approved schemes commence |
February 2002 |
Baseline Quality of life survey |
Proforma
Download the Microsoft Word version of the Bidding Proforma (77 Kb)
Download the Portable Document Format
(PDF) version of the Bidding Proforma 
PDF (19 Kb)
ANNEXE A
“Working the Beat”- Fundamental Principles drawn up by ACPO
Establishment of Schemes
Schemes should be established based on a locally expressed need, which will allow for them to be tailored to that local need.
Powers
There should be no diminution of the powers of police officers. In respect of neighbourhood warden and similar schemes, there should be no enhancement of powers beyond that of the ordinary citizen.
Intervention
The police must remain the only body with powers to intervene in situations without consent.
Other persons may only intervene with consent or under whatever arrangement lies between the employer of the warden/patrol and the citizen.
Government
Local authority patrols must be accountable to local authorities but, since their employment should arise from the community safety proposals of the Crime and Disorder Act, partnership working with the police is essential. However, they must bear responsibility for their own actions in joint initiatives whether with the police service or other agencies.
Regulation
Regulation of the security industry must be vigorously pursued; in the interim the police should seek an active local role in such matters as vetting and quality control to ensure that schemes are operating to an agreed acceptable standard.
Appearance
The appearance of non-police warden and patrol personnel must be distinct from that of the police in terms of uniform, livery and corporate image.
Standard Operating Procedures
Specimen standard operating procedures should be developed for a range of different locations (residential, town-centre), circumstances (intervention, patrol), relationship (local authority, private security) and purposes (information exchange, call responses). This must include reference to such matters as recruitment, training, managing processes and facilities management.
Funding
Complementary patrols and neighbourhood warden schemes should be funded from identifiable sources, which do not involve any diminution of police budgets.
Last update: 27/08/03