Resources: Classic text revisited ... Faith in the City - A Callfor Action by Church and Nation, 1985

It reflected on the need for the Church to be locally focused, outward-looking and a collaborative partner in meeting community needs. The commission was established in light of the grave situation identified in the 1977 white paper Policy for the Inner Cities that, in spite of government measures, very little had changed for those living in urban communities.

Nearly 20 years on, it makes for sober reading. Many of the issues of concern are still with us: health, housing, social care and law and order among them. For those engaged in youth work, revisiting the chapter on education and young people demonstrates just how much has, or has not, changed in formal and informal education. Written at the time of the Manpower Services Commission and Youth Training Schemes, it states that there was "little evidence that Church or State had yet been seized by the degree of alienation experienced by young people".