Table Of ContentPrime Minister’s Strategy Unit
Improving the prospects of
people living in areas of
multiple deprivation in England
January 2005
A joint report with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Contents
Prime Minister's foreword .............................................................................4
Executive summary .......................................................................................6
Summary of main recommendations .........................................................18
1. Introduction .........................................................................................21
2. Progress since the National Strategy................................................22
3. The challenge remaining in deprived areas ......................................25
3.1 Eight million people, just over 15% of the population in England,
live in deprived areas ..........................................................................25
3.2 Deprived areas still suffer from serious problems...........................28
3.3 There is a clear rationale for ‘area-based’ interventions .................35
4. The cycle of decline: what is driving area deprivation? ..................37
4.1 There are a series of interlocking drivers of area deprivation ........37
4.2 The cycle of decline ............................................................................39
4.3 The drivers of area decline fall into three main categories .............42
4.4 Area deprivation is partly driven by poorly performing local
economies............................................................................................43
4.5 Unstable communities, poor housing and local environments are
key drivers of area deprivation...........................................................49
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4.6 The targeting and effectiveness of other key public services and
special programmes can fail to address the poor outcomes faced
by residents of deprived areas...........................................................55
4.7 Intervening successfully to arrest the cycle of decline requires
several challenges to be overcome ...................................................65
5. Vision....................................................................................................67
5.1 Aims of future strategy .......................................................................67
5.2 Turning the cycle of decline into the cycle of success....................67
5.3 Which areas should be prioritised?...................................................68
6. Revitalising local economies..............................................................71
6.1 Introduction .........................................................................................71
6.2 Tackle barriers to work facing individuals ........................................71
6.3 Address barriers in the tax and benefit system................................74
6.4 Overcome barriers to private sector investment ..............................76
6.5 Make better use of government procurement...................................81
6.6 Help areas adjust to economic change .............................................84
7. Stabilising communities, improving housing and local
environments.......................................................................................87
7.1 Introduction .........................................................................................87
7.2 Tackle the contribution of housing allocation and management to
poor local environments.....................................................................87
7.3 Deal with the impact of disorder, poor local environments, drugs,
alcohol and provision for young people ...........................................94
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7.4 Use neighbourhood management to improve local services and the
environment.........................................................................................99
8. Improving public services and creating a more effective delivery
system ................................................................................................102
8.1 Introduction .......................................................................................102
8.2 Improve the targeting, coordination and flexibility of mainstream
public services to achieve better outcomes ...................................103
8.3 Improve the targeting, coordination and flexibility of the
neighbourhood renewal delivery system ........................................116
8.4 Strengthen support from the regional tier ......................................125
8.5 Use neighbourhood bodies to improve local services and sustain
the renewal of deprived areas ..........................................................126
8.6 Raise aspirations...............................................................................131
9. What happens next? .........................................................................132
Annex 1: The project team, sponsor minister and advisory group .......133
The team .....................................................................................................133
Sponsor Minister........................................................................................133
Advisory Group..........................................................................................133
Annex 2: Visits and consultations............................................................135
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Prime Minister's foreword
In 2001, with the launch of the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, I set the goal
that within 10-20 years no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live. At that
time we had already done much for the most disadvantaged communities in England: the
New Deals, helping people move off benefit and into work; the ‘Decent Homes’ programme
transforming the quality of social housing; and the drive to raise standards in health and
education. But it was clear that we needed to do more.
Since 2001 we have launched a series of programmes to support neighbourhood renewal.
These include delivering around £3.9bn of regeneration funding directly to communities,
funding 245 neighbourhood warden schemes, and investing £552m in schemes to address
the problems caused by low housing demand and abandonment in nine areas. In addition
national public service agreements (PSAs) have specified improvements that must be made
in deprived areas, ensuring that a fair share of the increases in funding to public services
goes towards improving outcomes in these areas.
These programmes, plus the efforts of front-line staff such as teachers, doctors and
regeneration practitioners, have led to significant progress. For example the number of
students achieving 5 GCSEs has risen faster in deprived areas than elsewhere. Employment
rates have increased across the country and the gap has narrowed between deprived areas
and the rest of England. In addition, new ways of delivering support have been put in place
with more power to local partnerships and increased focus on community consultation and
engagement.
Three years after the launch of the Strategy it is time to assess the initial success of our
strategies. I have asked the Strategy Unit to assess how we are progressing towards our
goal. This report presents their detailed analysis, and identifies the factors that, together, drive
an area into decline. They are:
• Low levels of economic activity and concentrations of worklessness;
• Poor housing, badly managed local environments, and failure to tackle anti-social
behaviour which creates unstable communities;
• Key public services such as health and education, plus targeted regeneration efforts,
performing poorly so that deprived areas do not receive adequate support relative to
their needs.
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Addressing each of these issues in an integrated manner will turn areas around by creating a
positive cycle of improvement which will set neighbourhoods on the path to stability and
prosperity.
This report makes clear that we must tackle concentrations of worklessness by helping those
trapped on benefit – particularly the 1 million receiving incapacity-related benefits who we
know want to work – back into jobs. That only by involving local people in managing their own
housing, local services and – increasingly – local policing, will we tackle the fundamental
drivers of decline and disadvantage. And that we must ensure that our programme of public
service reform puts choice and power in the hands of those who live in our most
disadvantaged areas.
I strongly welcome this report as a sign of our continuing commitment to ensure that everyone
in our country has the opportunity to fulfil their talents and that no-one is held back by where
they live. The conclusions in this report will be implemented by government and will play a
crucial role in improving the cohesion of our society and the wealth of our economy.
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Executive summary
• People living in deprived areas are more likely to be worse off than similar people living in
more prosperous areas.
• The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal has made some progress in tackling
the problems of deprived areas but there is still more to do to ensure that within 10-20
years no one is seriously disadvantaged by where they live.
• Area-based deprivation is caused by a combination of drivers which form the cycle of
decline.
− Low levels of economic activity
− Poor housing, poor local environments and unstable communities
− Poor public services and an ineffective system for delivering support to deprived areas.
• The importance of different drivers of the cycle of decline varies from area to area.
• The Government’s overall goal should be that by 2021 no-one should be seriously
disadvantaged by where they live.
• Three years on we are in a position to build on the lessons from the 2001 Strategy.
− Revitalising local economies by tackling unemployment and economic inactivity is critical
for turning around an area
− Stabilising communities and improving housing and the local environment
− Improving the performance of public services and delivering support more effectively to
deprived areas
• Implementation of the actions set out in this report will be led by ODPM but will require
action and commitment from all parts of central and local government.
People living in deprived areas are more likely to be worse off than
similar people living in more prosperous areas
People living in deprived areas are less likely to work, more likely to be poor and have lower
life expectancy, more likely to live in poorer housing in unattractive local environments with
high levels of antisocial behaviour and lawlessness and more likely to receive poorer
education and health services. Living in a deprived area adversely affects individuals’ life
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