Community Cohesion Seminar 16 October 2006 12'304'00pm

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Community Cohesion Seminar16 October
200612.30-4.00pm

• Police HQ

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Joanna SpicerPortfolio Holder for Public
Protection Suffolk County Council
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What is community cohesion?

• There is a common vision and a sense of belonging
  for all communities
• The diversity of peoples different backgrounds
  and circumstances are appreciated and positively
  valued
• Those from different backgrounds have similar
  life opportunities
• Strong and positive relationships are being
  formed from different backgrounds in the
  workplace, schools and neighbourhoods

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Leonie McCarthy Commission on Integration and
Cohesion

• Department for Communities and Local Government

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The Commission

• Ruth Kelly launched the Commission on Integration
  and Cohesion on 24th August, alongside the
  appointment of its chair Darra Singh, Chief
  Executive of Ealing Council and 13 further
  Commissioners.
• The Commission will report back to the Secretary
  of State for Communities and Local Government in
  June 2007.
• The Commission will cover England only, but will
  consider issues which affect Scotland and Wales,
  and good practice from other countries.
• The Commission will undertake its work within the
  context of existing Government policy.

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Terms of Reference

• Examining the issues that raise tensions between
  different groups in different areas, and that
  lead to segregation and conflict
• Suggesting how local community and political
  leadership can push further against perceived
  barriers to cohesion and integration
• Looking at how local communities themselves can
  be empowered to tackle extremist ideologies
• Developing approaches that build local areas own
  capacity to prevent problems, and ensure they
  have the structures in place to recover from
  periods of tension

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Peterborough History 2001

• Designated Dispersal Area
• Increased Numbers
• Refugee Communities
• Migrant Population
• Limited Awareness
• Limited Resources

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How?

• Multi agency approach
• Peterborough City Council, Police Health
• Invest to Save

Reduce Costs

• Interpreting Translation
• Joined up approach
• Reduce tension

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9 Projects

• 1) Resource Centre
• 2) Interpreting Translation
• 3) ICT
• 4) Citizenship Training
• 5) Refugee Migrant Awareness
• 6) Community Safety
• 7a) Education Celebration
• 7b) Education Having a Voice
• 8) Enhanced Health
• 9) Community Capacity

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Challenges

• Effects on local residents
• Understanding new communities
• Relations between communities
• Relations within communities
• Effects on local services
• Impact on cohesion

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The Growth Agenda A Bigger and Better
Peterborough.
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The Commission will have eight themed meetings in
each English region

• These will be focused around a theme, for example
  ways to build interaction between different
  people or ways to bust myths and change
  misperceptions and will be accompanied by a
  programme of visits to projects and initiatives
  in the region.
• The first meeting took place in the North-West
  last week and Commissioners had the opportunity
  to meet with communities in Liverpool, Trafford,
  Pendle and Burnley.
• In addition to these meetings, Commissioners will
  be able to form sub groups to look at particular
  issues in more detail

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The Research Programme

• The Commission will be supported by a Research
  Programme
• Reviewing the implementation of previous
  recommendations on cohesion
• Reviewing the evidence which is available at a
  local level on cohesion
• Summarising existing research on the main themes
• Working in partnerships with thinktanks,
  academics and other bodies to provide the
  Commission with the latest research and thinking

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The Outreach and Engagement Programme

• The Commission will be supported by an Outreach
  and Engagement Programme
• The Commission will engage both with those who
  work on cohesion at the grass roots and those
  who experience the tensions in their day to day
  lives. In particular it will engage with women
  and young people whose voices are often not
  heard.
• It will use a range of techniques to do this
  from traditional meetings to a modern website
• It will focus on finding examples of local
  schemes which have worked and examine whether
  they could be rolled out nationally.

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Community CohesionThe Suffolk Context

• Julia Stephens Row
• Assistant Director
• Social Inclusion and Diversity Unit
• Suffolk County Council

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Why are we here?

• The background, characteristics and changing
  nature of our communities in Suffolk
• The importance of community cohesion
• Links between community cohesion and social
  inclusion
• What work already contributes to cohesion

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What are the differences between social inclusion
community cohesion?

• Social inclusion Services and support to help
  those individuals who are disadvantaged and
  marginalised as a result of complex and often
  linked social problems.
• Community cohesion developing and empowering
  communities to reduce and overcome social
  exclusion so that they have the ability and
  confidence to participate. Establishing a sense
  of belonging and identity.
• Encouraging toleration and appreciation of the
  cultural differences between members of various
  communities.

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What are the outcomes of community cohesion?

• Including everyone Promotion of equality and
  valuing diversity. Encouraging communities to
  engage with others from different backgrounds
• Improved life chances and harmonious co-existence

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Background

• Recognition of demographic changes
• Scoped the change (SCC and the Police)
• Support from Suffolk Strategic Partnership
• Practical challenges for us to get it right
• Need to move together

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Suffolk Issues

• Divisions between children, young and older
  people
• Poverty, disadvantage and isolation
• Conflicting needs between urban and rural
  communities
• Parallel lives of white British and minority
  ethnic communities
• Lack of understanding of transient groups
• Health inequalities
• Spoken languages in schools increase from 35 to
  68

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Suffolk Issues

• Anticipating future changes
• Increase in mixed race parentage population
• Impact of student communities
• Increase in over 60s population

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Importance

• Promoting self-help
• Community leadership role
• Preventative agenda

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A wealth of good practice in Suffolk

• Community mediation to resolve conflict
• Development of Safer Neighbourhood Teams
• Working at a local level with community clusters
  and extended schools to provide better outcomes
  for all
• Supporting the growing number of cultural and
  community events

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Starting to build cohesive Suffolk together
Communication and dialogue
Suffolk Strategic Partnership
Community Cohesion Steering Group
Black Minority Ethnic Communities Reference
Group
New and Emerging Communities Forum
People Seeking Asylum Refugee Forum
Gypsy Travellers Forum
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Chief Superintendent Paul MarshallHead of
Corporate Development

• Understanding cohesion from a policing perspective

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BRADFORD RIOTS 7 JULY 2001
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Consequences

• 500 police (9 constabularies)
• Property, shops and vehicles firebombed
• Revenge riots
• 300 public injured
• 320 police injured
• 240 convicted (80 4 years imprisonment)
• Several premises never re-opened
• POLICE COST 3.4M
• TOTAL COST 11M

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But It Will Not Occur Here!

• 2003 Ipswich Large scale violent disorder
• February 2006 Brandon Racial Tension
• 2006 Felixstowe Large scale violent disorder
• March 2006 Ipswich Anti social behaviour
• July 2006 Brandon Violent disorder
• August 2006 Ipswich Violent disorder

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Initial Actions

• Mapping
• Emerging community events
• Supportive intervention at retail venues
• Community Cohesion Strategy

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Safer Neighbourhoods

• Safer Neighbourhood Teams aim to achieve
• The right people, at the right places, in the
  right numbers, in order to create neighbourhoods
  that are safe and feel safe
• There are three guiding themes for successful
  implementation -
• Dedicated and accountable resources with
  geographic ownership
• Intelligence led targeting of the issues that
  matter most to the public
• Joint action by the Police, partner agencies and
  the public

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SNTs and Community Cohesion
Next Steps
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Cathy CraigHead of Adult Services and Older
People

• Community Cohesion
• The Waveney Experience

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Background

• Some of the most deprived wards in Suffolk
• Intolerance around difference
• Acknowledgment of how Waveney was changing
• Wanted to affect and bring about change in order
  to develop a common vision and a sense of
  belonging for all communities 
• Waveney Community Cohesion Partnership 18 months
  old

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What this involved

• Identifying key agencies who needed to know what
  was happening (statutory/voluntary and community
  involvement)
• Ensuring that the local authority/police on board
• Developing mission statement (We will identify
  promote diversity, address all forms of
  discrimination encourage information sharing on
  the needs of the whole community)
• Ensuring partners would stay with us and help
  identify needs/priorities

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Early findings

• Attitude change in all staff
• Because of Lowestofts changing population
  agencies agree that they are not meeting
  customer needs
• How do we develop services that are accessible to
  a changing area?
• Agreement that we need to do more

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Achievements

• Held a conference in May to ascertain the views,
  experiences of different groups
• Outcomes included
• Better understanding of how agencies can
• assist meet the changing needs
• Involved the local authority
• Stronger links with the FE college
• Beginning to develop ideas on how we can make
• Lowestoft a safe place to be for everyone

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Waveney District CouncilOne Partner

• Is
• Part of the wider Community Cohesion Partnership
• New Community Cohesion Team
• Begun scoping whats happening locally
• Involving communities in greener spaces
• Improving staff skills-equalities training

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Challenges and the way forward

• How do we sustain the momentum with limited
  resources?
• How can we build on the wealth of information we
  have and use it to inform policy and action?
• How do we build links with our LSP?
• What should the focus of the group be in the
  future, doer or enabler?
• Positive note, processes we followed can be
  replicated across the County

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QA

• Chaired by Joanna Spicer

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The way forward