Working Together for Wales

1. Housing and community cohesion Jo Glenn Community Cohesion Unit 12 October 2010 Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

2. Your home is your world Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

3. What do we mean by ‘community cohesion’? The UK definition Community cohesion is what must happen in all communities to enable different groups of people to get on well together. A key contributor to community cohesion is integration which is what must happen to enable new residents and existing residents to adjust to one another People trusting local institutions to act fairly Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

4. The Picture in Wales • Disturbances in Caia Park, Wrexham 2003 • 2007 Citizenship Survey: • levels of neighbourhood cohesion and feelings of safety are significantly higher in Wales • Less diverse social networks in terms of income and ethnicity • 2007 Living in Wales Survey: • 76% agree with statement – This neighbourhood is a place where people from different backgrounds can live together harmoniously • 58 % agree with statement – It is better for a country if there is a variety of different cultures Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

5. What is the focus of the Strategy? • The Strategy focuses on policy and service areas that research has shown can have a significant impact on how well a community gets on together: • Housing • Learning • Communication skills • Emphasis on local partnerships identifying and taking action on local issues • Specific Wales focus on rural areas, the Welsh language and equality/ social inclusion • Preventing violent extremism policy part of overall approach to community cohesion Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

6. Community Cohesion Funding • Community Cohesion Grant of £50,000 per year to Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham & Newport • Community Cohesion Fund of £3.5 million 2009-11 to all local authorities Where funding went in 2009-10 Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

7. Community Cohesion Funding • Involvement of Community Safety Partnerships, Communities First and the Third Sector • Strategic approach encouraged and 18 out of 22 local authorities are producing strategies or action plans • 50% of funding for the benefit of Communities First areas • Local authorities encouraged to work together on cross cutting projects • Long term looking to mainstream community cohesion Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

8. Housing and how it contributes to poor community cohesion • Perceptions of unfairness in the allocation of social housing • Poor maintenance of houses & lack of community facilities • Lack of affordable housing • Demand for houses outstripping supply • Anti-social behaviour, hate crime Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

9. How housing can help improve community cohesion • Social housing staff can monitor community tensions & make other partners aware • Myth busting & ensuring transparency of • housing allocation policy • Tackling anti-social behaviour & hate crime • Identifying how existing projects can support cohesion • Considering availability and access to affordable housing Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

10. Current picture • Some evidence that local authority housing teams/ social landlords are being included in local cohesion partnerships • Use of toolkits & training to tackle hate crime • Partnership working with police, social • Services & Communities First • Providing diversity training to staff, residents, schools etc • Tackling a range of social issues that can impact on cohesion Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government

11. Any questions? Working Together for Wales Welsh Assembly Government