£6 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR COMMUNITY COHESION
(11 December 2002)

Joint guidance on community cohesion was today launched at a joint LGA (Local Government Association) and Home Office Conference. The Guidance covers issues such as housing, young people, refugee communities and how local councils can best promote strong united communities and avoid the conditions which gave rise to the disturbances in the Summer of 2001. It has been published after a year of extensive consultation with local authorities and other organisations during the course of the past year.

The guidance, which has been jointly published by the LGA, the Home Office, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Interfaith Network, provides advice on ways local authorities and other local agencies can review their existing policies and practices to contribute to more cohesive communities.

Community Cohesion Minister Beverley Hughes welcomed the opportunity to launch the final community cohesion guidance for local authorities and said, "The Government shares the vision of a safe, tolerant and cohesive society. To achieve this we need to start at local level. We all need to play our part to get it right. This guidance gives councils the advice they need to eliminate division and promote unity in their policies and in the services they provide. The guidance will also help those councils interested in bidding for funds from the £6 million Community Cohesion Pathfinder programme, to be launched in February 2003. I urge everyone in local government - leaders, ward councillors, workers - along with community groups and local businesses, to use this guidance and continue the drive towards strong and united communities in which people from different backgrounds can live and work together with mutual trust and respect."

Chair of the LGA Equalities Executive Cllr Laura Willoughby, speaking at the launch of the guidance said: "This guidance represents a significant step in local government 's drive to promote and facilitate harmonious communities. In developing this guidance we have consulted a wide variety of local communities as each are faced with differing circumstances and problems. The guidance has sought to offer practical and long lasting solutions for all local authorities to build on the work they are already doing to counter fractured communities up and down the country."

The guidance sets out a definition of community cohesion, presents a joint central/local government policy position and offers a practical toolkit for building cohesive communities. It is available on the LGA website www.lga.gov.uk and www.communitycohesion.gov.uk.

Click below to download a copy of the document:
Community Cohesion Guidance (551kb)

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