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Social Exclusion Unit

: I have no hesitation in acknowledging the point, and the policy change that was brought about. I highlighted the methodology that we use for measurement, and the target of narrowing the gap as well as raising the bottom, precisely to draw attention to the point that the hon. Gentleman made. Some argue that community cohesion can be damaged by a widening of the gap. That might be a valid point in certain circumstances. Our goal is to ensure that everyone is better off and, while doing so, to narrow the gap. I acknowledge the importance of the hon. Gentleman's point; the discussion about equality of opportunity and egalitarianism that lies behind it is a fundamental point in post-war British politics. The SEU is well resourced and bucks the trend of the stereotype of the civil service culture. It is buzzing with ideas and draws in support from across the voluntary and private sectors, academia and elsewhere. It is focused on turning words into action. It reports across Government and recommends cross-Government action. Let us examine some of the successes. There has been a 75 per cent. reduction in rough sleeping, which, in significant part, has been brought about because of the pointers given to us by the SEU. There has been a radical overhaul of benefits for young people, and a fall of nearly 10 per cent. in teenage pregnancies. There has been a new duty on local authorities to promote educational attainment of children in care. We all understand that point. Over the time that it has been in existence, more than 50 reports have examined the severe problems experienced by a wide range of groups: children in care; ex-prisoners; and young people who are not in education, employment or training—I think we called them NEETs. All of the reports led to practical steps forward. The mental health and social exclusion project led directly to a national anti-stigma and discrimination programme, helping more people with mental health problems into work. The report on jobs and enterprise in deprived areas in 2004 enabled those delivering services to identify areas of worklessness right down to individual streets. As a result of modern statistical methodology, that was the first time that we were able to do that. The SEU provides groundbreaking solutions to complex problems. It examines all the available facts objectively, tests them and then proposes actions. It has made joining up more than just a slogan; 18 policy action teams were set up in 1998 to cover wide-ranging issues. Uniquely, they included local residents alongside officials from right across Government and other outside experts. The resulting recommendations were outward focused; nearly 600 were made and 86 were accepted. One led to the establishment of the neighbourhood renewal unit, which we debated in this Chamber on 30 June. As I draw to a conclusion, I will detail what remains to be done. Before I do so, I will answer the question raised by the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth). He asked about the time frame. The national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, of which social exclusion is a part, says that in 10 to 20 years time no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live, as measured by specific floor targets on educational attainment, health and so on. We narrow that down further. For example, the goal for health is that mortality rates from heart disease, stroke and related diseases in deprived areas should substantially decrease so that the absolute gap between the national rate and the average rate for deprived areas is reduced by 40 per cent. by 2010. There are specific goals. Anyone who considers our strategy of local area agreements, which try to bring together public service deliverers in local areas, and our neighbourhood agenda for neighbourhood empowerment and service delivery will understand the importance that we place on such issues. So what remains to be done? In 2004, we asked the SEU to review progress, and it reported that we had yet to reach some of the groups with multiple problems. Five per cent. of adults still fall into the category of most disadvantaged, which means five or more problems. The figure is lower than in 1997 but still too high. Such people are most at risk of social exclusion. We chose five priority areas: economic inactivity and pockets of worklessness, poor educational attainment, inequalities in health, homelessness and concentration of crime. Overall, progress has been made in each area, but it is obvious that the problems that remain are the most difficult. Despite record employment levels, the number of people who are economically inactive has stuck at about 22 per cent. since 1997, and worklessness has become more concentrated in the same areas and the same households. Again, despite improvements in educational attainment, about 25 per cent.—one quarter of all 16-year-olds—fail to achieve one D grade at GCSE. Five per cent. receive no educational qualification at all, and 9 to 10 per cent. of young people are not in education, employment or training. There are other issues. For example, despite the fact that there are fewer deaths from key killers such as heart disease and stroke, a boy born into the professional class can still expect to live seven and a half years longer than his school mate whose father is a labourer. I highlight the problems but remind the House that there has been steady progress. Despite achievements in tackling rough sleeping, more than 3 million children and 3 million pensioners still live in non-decent housing. Despite the fact that the risk of being a victim of crime declined by 16 per cent. in the past 10 years, people living in the most deprived areas are still the most likely victims of crime or antisocial behaviour. That is unacceptable to the Government, and that is why our challenge is to reach those people who are in the most difficult situations. One consequence of our progress so far is that we have had to dig deeper, think more radically and re-examine what we are doing when we consider how we can tackle the more difficult areas. That is why we are publishing a series of reports that recommend different actions. The areas that my Department are reviewing include housing and planning policy, fire—it is still the case that 50 per cent. of deaths by fire occur in deprived areas—and local and regional government. We build our policies alongside local and regional government, and we have new tools at our disposal. As I mentioned, a key to success is the local area agreement. By April 2007, every area in England will have a local area agreement whereby public sector partners will work with the voluntary sector and, crucially, the private sector to co-ordinate the approach in a meaningful way. If the money is joined up, power and decision-making tend to be joined up as well. Success also requires people to take responsibility for themselves. At the end of the day, respect works two ways. That is why it is crucial that we work to empower people, and our neighbourhood empowerment agenda is central to that. That is an important part of the debate that we are having with the Local Government Association about the proposals that we will put forward in the spring, and about the potential funding and financing consequences that follow from that. The SEU is taking steps to prepare us for these challenges; the ““Improving Services, Improving Lives”” document looked hard at improving service delivery to disadvantaged people, and that was just the first in a series of projects. However, if we are to eradicate exclusion, we need to look further by examining the root causes of persistent poverty and exclusion. To achieve real social inclusion, we will need to go beyond what we have done so far. I invite Members to join me in debating this issue.