News
Urban Forum - Policy Round Up - June 2010
7th June 2010
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Neighbourhoods and Local Governance
Twenty projects chosen for asset transfer scheme
In the fourth round of government asset transfer programme, twenty projects have been selected to receive support to community-led organisations seeking to take over public buildings.
Eric Pickles has been appointed as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Read Urban Forum's ‘who's who' in the Conservative/Lib Dem cabinet here.
Big Society Plans Unveiled
The government has pledged to put the ‘big society' at the centre of public sector reform. The proposals include: giving communities more powers; encouraging people to take an active role in their communities; transferring power from central to local government; supporting co-ops, mutuals, charities and social enterprises; and publishing government data.
Places and the Built Environment
Call for new Urban Taskforce
The Centre for Cities says in a manifesto setting out policy recommendations for the next government that a new Urban Taskforce should be set up to "take a fresh look at the medium-term economic prospects for cities struggling to recover from industrial decline, and to recommend a new approach to urban regeneration".
New Government: Who's who in planning
PlanningBlog outlines the appointments to planning-related departments in the new Government.
Coalition deal: Heathrow plans scrapped
The Conservative/Lib Dem administration has rejected plans to build a third runway at Heathrow airport, and have further agreed that no new runways will be constructed at Gatwick or Stansted.
TCPA reveals ‘future of planning'
The Town and Country Planning Association has published a document outlining what it hopes will be a guide to the new government's plans for reforming the planning system. Future of Planning report: Distilling the TCPA roundtable debates develops five key themes: the shape of strategic planning; the shape of local planning; the future of housing and planning; the climate crisis; and the guiding principles for planning.
Diversity, Equalities and Cohesion
New report on women and poverty in the EU
Oxfam and the European Women's Lobby have published a report, An Invisible Crisis? Women's poverty and social exclusion in the European Union at a time of recession, examining the problems women face in the EU during recession, including discrimination against women, issues for migrant and minority women, violence against women, and access to social benefits and services.
Government Equalities Office Appointments
Theresa May (Con) has been appointed Secretary of State for Women & Equalities, and Lynn Featherstone (Lib Dem) is Minister for Equalities. In her first speech as Minister, Lynn Featherstone made assurances that women would retain a strong voice under the new coalition government.
Impact Assessment
Committee publishes report on helping over-indebted consumers
The Committee of Public Accounts published a report which analyses the experience to date of delivering the debt advice project, based on evidence from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. It also looks at how the overall strategy for support to the over-indebted has been managed.
Social Investment: Ten Years On
The Social Investment Task Force, which was set up by the Treasury in 2000 published Social Investment Ten Years On, looking at the role the Task Force has played in exploring innovative roles that the voluntary sector, business and the government could play as partners. Recommendations include:
• introducing a UK version of the US Community Reinvestment Act: legislation that would force banks to disclose who they lend to, and thus reveal if they are serving underprivileged communities.
• establishing a definition of social enterprise.
• introducing a tax incentive to ‘encourage trusts and foundations to use some of their considerable assets of more than £60bn to engage in social investment'.
• supporting the development of the social impact bond which could become part of the remit of the social investment wholesale bank.
See www.socialinvestmenttaskforce.org for more.
Other News
Coalition Agreement Published
The Coalition Agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats was published on 11th May. The document sets out coalition agreements on: deficit reduction, spending review, tax measures, banking reform, immigration, political reform, pensions and welfare, education, relations with EU, civil liberties, and the environment.
Read Urban Forum's briefing on the coalition agreement.
Public contracts 'undermine charities' independence'
National Coalition for Independent Action says commissioning practices are particularly damaging to the sector, undermining their independence by their growing role in delivering public services.
The Queen's Speech
The Queen announced the coalition government's policy programme for the next 18 months. Educational, welfare and public service reform are high on the agenda, as is tackling the budget deficit. Read Urban Forum's policy briefing here.
