Speaking to the Trades Union Congress last month, Jacqui Smith highlighted the role individuals can play in bringing communities together.
"When I think of the contributions being made by individual members to communities up and down the country, it shows how valuable that resource is in strengthening the social fabric," she said.
Doug Nicholls, Unite's national secretary for youth and community workers, welcomed Smith's comments but said they should be backed by practical support. "We need to expand the youth service and bring in 4,000 new full-time workers to work in the areas with high levels of alienation and deprivation," he said. "Then we'll start to deliver the improvements in society everyone talks about."
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