The government have published a Framework for Regeneration ‘transforming places; changing lives’. This proposes that regeneration programmes should have a new focus on improving economic outcomes. A briefing on the framework is below, and a full copy of the Framework can be found at www.communities.gov.uk/documents/citiesandregions/pdf/896104.pdf
The Urban Forum would be grateful if you could copy and complete the short questionnaire which is below the briefing, the results of which will be used to inform their response to the Framework. If you do not want to answer a question feel free to skip it. All answers will be treated in confidence. Please return your completed questionnaire to the Urban Forum by Friday 17th October.
Please also contact Leeds Voice next week if you want to help inform our response.
‘transforming places; changing lives’ – A framework for regeneration
October 2008
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published a Framework for Regeneration known as ‘transforming places; changing lives’ in July 2008. It sets out proposals which ‘aim to shape the way that regeneration is carried out in future in England’. The Framework is currently out for consultation, and is due to be finalised in early 2009 to feed into the next spending review.
What changes are being proposed?
The document states that regeneration programmes (such as New Deal for Communities and the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy) have made ‘substantial progress’ in narrowing the gap between deprived neighbourhoods and the rest. However, many pockets of deprivation remain and minority communities and disabled people are still over-represented in deprived communities.
The government believes that regeneration should now be focused on the ‘underlying economic causes of decline’ and that there should be a shift of emphasis onto ‘improving economic outcomes in deprived areas’. Work is seen as the major way for people to improve their social and economic prospects and statistics are provided to show that people in employment are happier, healthier and less likely to get involved in crime. The government therefore proposes to place greater emphasis on supporting people to get a job and boosting enterprise in deprived communities.
The Framework proposes a significant change to the way that different regeneration agencies (including local authorities, Regional Development Agencies, and central government) work. The proposals are designed to delegate decision-making to a regional and local level in order to:
1. put communities and councils at the heart of regeneration;
2. develop a stronger sense of common purpose for regeneration across different agencies; and
3. get better value for money from regeneration funding.
Like the Local Government White Paper ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’, the Regeneration Framework puts local authorities at the heart of delivering regeneration. The Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) and the Local Development Framework (LDF) should identify the regeneration challenges and goals in a local area. Under the proposals there will be fewer national programmes and greater devolution of spending decisions, including through participatory budgeting. And through this local communities will ‘be able to take ownership of activities in their neighbourhood and have incentives to participate in shaping the future of their community in partnership with the local authority’.
Does the Third Sector get a mention?
The Framework acknowledges that regenerating deprived communities takes far more than simply improving economic performance and people having jobs. The third sector, particularly social enterprises, are seen as having a key role in tackling deprivation, being ideally placed to reach out to ‘communities in areas that are hard to reach through mainstream services’. As well as playing a key role in engaging communities, the sector is also seen to contribute towards developing skills and providing training and routes into education and employment. The document states that ‘the government is committed to supporting the third sector and creating conditions where social enterprises can thrive’.
What would be different?
a) Priority Outcomes
The Framework sets out three priority outcomes that will guide Government spending on regeneration in the future. They are:
1. improving economic performance in deprived areas;
2. improving rates of work and enterprise in deprived areas; and
3. creating sustainable places where people want to live and work, and where businesses want to invest.
It is proposed that progress against these outcomes will be measured at a very local, neighbourhood, level (using Lower Super Output Area Statistics). Super Output Areas, or SOAs, are small areas used to collect and compare statistics about areas (not necessarily neighbourhoods), or approximately 1,500 people. There are over 32,000 Lower SOAs in England. You can find more information on SOAs at: www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk
The Framework goes on to state that although there will be a greater focus on worklessness, this does not mean all regeneration should be about economic outcomes. However regeneration programmes will need to support ‘activities that strengthen the wider economy’.
b) Targeting regeneration investment
The document also indicates that regeneration needs to be better targeted and co-coordinated, based on a shared strategy. The idea is that a more transparent approach to targeting activity would help all the different partners to understand and agree regeneration priorities and develop a joint approach. The partners identified include community and neighbourhood organisations, the third sector, local government (and the Local Strategic Partnership), Regional Development Agencies, the private sector and central government. Each region will be asked to set up Regional Regeneration Priorities Maps to identify areas where investment is needed.
The document sets out a common approach to targeting or prioritising regeneration investment. By doing this the government want to ensure that their funding is consistent with local and regional priorities. Four criteria, which have been designed to be used in consultation with the community, are proposed, which would be used to identify ‘priorities’ for investment. These are the:
1. area’s level of deprivation;
2. strength of the wider sub-regional economy;
3. economic and social characteristics of the area; and
4. dynamics of the area (whether it is getting better or worse).
c) Types of regeneration
According to the Framework, these four criteria can help determine the type of regeneration that is likely to be most successful in a particular area. The Framework suggests categorising the types as follows:
1. improving the physical environment (physical regeneration)
2. improving opportunities for people (community or social regeneration). This includes building the skills, capacity and aspirations of residents to enable them to take advantage of wider opportunities. It is acknowledged that this will need to be aimed at third sector organisations and social enterprises and that improving mainstream services has a key role to play. It is also stated that these types of activity will need to support physical improvements to ensure that regeneration is effective.
3. improving the wider economy (economic development). This is a process of ‘economic adaptation’ through new investment and improved business (and social enterprise) performance to boost local employment and incomes.
According to the proposals, the nature of the regeneration ‘challenge’ will determine which of the above activities would be more or less appropriate. Regardless of the approach, activities must be
co-ordinated as part of an overall plan for an area and with an understanding of how they will contribute to the three overall priority outcomes.
The Framework proposes that in future regeneration funding should not only go to deprived areas, and that funding going into other nearby areas can also benefit the poorest communities. For example, a new retail park might create jobs for people in a neighbouring (deprived) area.
Who will need to act differently?
If the proposals set out in the consultation were to be implemented, the following agencies would need to work differently:
Roles for Local Government as ‘place makers’ would include:
• Lead the delivery of economic development and social and physical regeneration.
• Use Local Area Agreements (LAAs) and SCSs to drive positive outcomes for deprived areas.
• Develop appropriate structures and processes to put communities at the heart of the design and delivery of regeneration.
The LSP would:
• Prioritise regeneration funding in context of the LAA, LDF and SCS.
Regional Assemblies (along with RDAs) would:
• provide indicative regional regeneration priorities maps.
The Housing and Communities Agency (HCA) and RDAs have different but complementary roles with the HCA leading on housing led regeneration and the RDAs on economic regeneration. The HCA will contribute to the government’s objectives for housing supply, as well as ensuring that new affordable homes are built. Both organisations will be expected to work together with local authorities to make sure the views of local residents and communities are heard when making decisions about regeneration and investment.
Third Sector
Given the role of the sector in providing a voice for marginalised groups, the expectation is that the sector will ensure that communities are at the ‘heart of regeneration’. Within the Framework the sector is identified as a key local partner in regeneration, working with both the RDA and local partners to identify and address regeneration priority areas.
Conclusion
‘Transforming Places, Changing Lives’ proposes a new focus on improving economic outcomes for regeneration programmes. The Framework is based on three priority outcomes (improving economic performance in deprived areas; improving rates or work and enterprise in deprived areas; and creating sustainable places where people want to live and can work and businesses want to invest) and clearer geographic prioritisation of funding.
Responding to the consultation
Urban Forum will be submitting a response to the consultation. We welcome your views on the Framework, and would ask that you respond to our short questionnaire. Please return this to consultation@urbanforum.org.uk by Friday 17th October. Many thanks.
Caroline Gaunt
6th October 2008
Questionnaire: please copy and paste and complete.
Your details
Name:
Organisation:
Address:
E-mail:
Questions
1a) Do you think that it is right that in future regeneration should focus on helping people into work and improving economic prospects in an area? Yes/No
Please explain:
1b) If not, please set out the areas that the Framework should focus on.
2) The Framework proposes to focus on three outcomes to measure regeneration; improving rates of economic performance, improving rates of work and enterprise and creating sustainable places where people want to live and work.
Are these helpful?
Will they ensure that regeneration benefits the people and places that need it most? Yes/No Please explain:
3) Priorities for regeneration in the future will be based on four criteria; level of deprivation, strength of the wider sub-regional economy, economic and social characteristics of the area, and dynamics of the area.
Are these criteria helpful?
Will they help to make the way regeneration funding is prioritised more consistent? Yes/No Please explain:
4) What should central government do to give communities a stronger voice in shaping regeneration?
Please give up to 3 points
a.
b.
c.
5) What should local government do to give communities a stronger voice in shaping regeneration?
Please give up to 3 points
a.
b.
c.
6) The third sector ‘will be expected to make a reality of the framework’s principle of putting communities at the heart of regeneration’. How should the sector be supported to do this? Please give up to 3 points:
a.
b.
c.
Any other comments?
Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire.
Please return your completed questionnaire to consultation@urbanforum.org.uk (or post to Urban Forum, Freepost RRLJ-SRGG-ABJG, 33 Corsham Street, London N1 6DR or fax on 020 7253 4817) no later than Friday 17th October. Please also contact Leeds Voice to help inform our response: richard.robson@leedsvoice.org.uk or raquel.silvestre@leedsvoice.org.uk.
Many thanks for your help.
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