Ah yes, the New Deal for Communities. Big money there - is it working then? I think the key word here is potential. The Government naturally trumpets the achievements so far and, in particular, ministers jumped on figures suggesting the scheme is involving more local people than comparable programmes abroad. But the "international good practice" claim shouldn't hide some major problems.
That said, it's the early stages of a 10-year scheme: there's still time to improve.
There are 39 schemes, right? Yep, and they are based in communities of around 10,000 people that figure in the lowest 10 per cent of wards in England against a deprivation index. These are areas with linked problems of poverty, health, education, housing and access to services. The New Deal for Communities was set up to narrow the gap between these areas and the national average.
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