Author: LPL

Preamble
In March 2008, Local People Leading produced a position statement reflecting the joint views of a number of leading community sector intermediaries in relation to what community empowerment is, why it is important and identified a number of key opportunities for further development. This has subsequently been revised and adapted to reflect new thinking and emerging ideas both from within the community sector itself and as a result of the Government’s and COSLA’s published Joint Commitment and emerging Action Plan.

Three key areas for action:
1. Extending community ownership of assets
Action : Publish evidence/ case studies where successful asset transfer of public assets has occurred and prepare separate guidance for Councils in the production of strategies and policies for community asset transfer
Action: Publish evidence/case studies demonstrating impact of community ownership and control of assets on community empowerment (viz a viz housing, renewable energy, community businesses)
Action: Amend Scottish Government regulations concerning disposal of land by local authorities in such as a way that makes it easier for Councils to transfer assets at less than market value
Action: Commission the production of a risk assessment and risk management toolkit in relation to transfer of public assets
Action: Establish an Asset Transfer Fund for local authorities to bid into to refurbish properties for transfer to community ownership
Action: and guidance as to how communities can use the legislation
Action: Instigate a formal review of the effectiveness and operation of the Land Reform Act allied to a national campaign to raise public awareness of the Act.

2. Renewing and revitalising local democracy
Action: Recognise and actively promote the concept of community anchor organisations highlighting the role that these organisations play in their communities in terms of providing support and resources to small and informal groups, and in the delivery of local services and the provision of other local facilities.
Action: Initiate a programme of investment and support to community anchor organisations in the most deprived communities in Scotland by establishing a scheme of independently managed, locally controlled financial endowments – enabling these organisations to become independent of grant support for their core costs.
Action: Produce guidance on models of participatory budgeting ( based on experience of Dundee CC and elsewhere)
Action: Develop early clear guidance on the future role of community councils following the Scottish Government consultation which closed 1/8/008

3. Building capacity and training
Action: A new programme of training and support for community based development workers and local residents committed to regenerating their communities (based on developing community leadership, local confidence and skills, and building effective local community infrastructure)
Action: A national programme of technical support and capacity building to be made available to communities to assist them in the process of asset acquisition and asset development
Action: Deliver training / seminars to raise awareness/ study tours for appropriate local authority officers which highlights rationale and potential benefits of asset transfer

Author: LPL

Extract from Evaluation by Clear Plan (UK) Ltd.

9 Learning points from the study

9.1 The National Standards provide a shared language and consistent understanding of the nature and elements of effective community engagement which did not exist before. This has had the effect of enhancing communication between community engagement specialists and non-specialists.

9.2 The National Standards have given Community Planning Partnerships and Community Planning Partners a framework and language with which to describe their community engagement practice and their plans for improving that practices.

9.3 Community Planning Partners with limited expertise and experience in community engagement require support from community engagement specialists to interpret the National Standards’ relevance to their practice. Locally produced and discipline specific resources which are more explicitly focused on the practical implementation of community engagement are valuable complements to the National Standards.

9.4 The National Standards are applicable as a framework for review of the ‘fitness for purpose’ of community engagement in a diverse range of situations including Community Planning Partnership structures, Community Planning Partner strengths and weaknesses, community consultation exercises and individual practitioner reflection.

9.5 The National Standards have assisted Community Planning Partnerships and Community Planning Partners to identify specific areas for improvement of community engagement processes. The Feedback Standard in particular has contributed to a significantly enhanced awareness of the importance of investing in providing feedback to communities from engagement and consultation exercises.

9.6 Some practitioners have a misplaced confidence in the quality of their community engagement practice which the National Standards have not been effective in challenging. This misplaced confidence has the potential to limit the impact of the National Standards on improving community engagement.

9.7 The National Standards are not always immediately relevant to Community Planning Partners. They can become relevant in situations where Community Planning Partners are required to undertake or evidence community engagement or consultation as part of service/strategic planning and review processes.

9.8 The National Standards have provided a resource for practitioners to consider the nature of community engagement outcomes and how to evidence them. They are however insufficient as a tool to provide evidence of community engagement outcomes.

9.9 The National Standards are contributing to a ‘culture change’ in how community engagement is perceived. In the long term the status and impact of the National Standards will change as commitment to high quality community engagement becomes more embedded in the culture of public service provision.

9.10 The absence of significant requirements for Community Planning Partners to report on the quality of community engagement processes or the outcomes arising from these processes limits the potential of the National Standards to become embedded in mainstream service planning.

9.11 The introduction of Outcome Agreements for public services may provide an opportunity to further embed community engagement processes and to develop systems to capture and evidence outcomes from community engagement.

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Dear Colleague,

Community Empowerment Action Plan – National Standards for Community Engagement

The Scottish Government and COSLA remain committed to ensuring that local people have opportunities to shape the way public services are delivered by making them more responsive to their needs. Engaging effectively with communities is a key element in the ongoing development of Single Outcome Agreements and sits within the strategic context of the development of the joint community empowerment action plan that was announced by Stewart Maxwell and Cllr Harry McGuigan in April this year.

You will be aware that the National Standards for Community Engagement, published in May 2005, are designed as a key tool to help improve community engagement practice. Over the last three years the Standards have been used by a wide range of organisations in a wide variety of settings. You may also remember that Audit Scotland recommended that Community Planning Partnerships should champion the National Standards as good practice in their initial review of Community Planning in 2006. Audit Scotland are currently developing their approach to the next round of Best Value Audit and will be consulting on their approach later in the year. The National Standards are likely to form part of a key line of enquiry in terms of evaluating progress on community engagement. They will also be working closely with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in the development of their approach, drawing on their experience in Community Learning and Development inspection.

The Scottish Government has now evaluated the impact of the National Standards and the findings of that evaluation are generally very positive. The evaluation found that the Standards are helping to bring about a culture change in the way communities are involved in improving public services. They have helped to develop a shared understanding of what community engagement is and there is also emerging evidence that positive change in the way public services are delivered can be attributed to improved community engagement The report of the evaluation can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/07/16085900/0

The evaluation also found however, that more help was needed to allow partners to better plan and co-ordinate community engagement activity. Colleagues involved in frontline work, with Scottish Government support through the Scottish Centre for Community Development (SCDC), developed a new database tool to respond to these findings. The “Visioning Outcomes in Community Engagement” (VOiCE) tool was launched in May 2008 and has been warmly welcomed by those who have seen it.

As part of the community empowerment action plan, the Scottish Government will invest in raising awareness of VOiCE and helping partnerships understand how best to use it to further improve practice. SCDC will be in touch with Community Planning Partnerships in the coming months to agree how to deploy that support. Further information on VOiCE can be found at http://www.scdc.org.uk/voice/

We will keep you updated with further developments of the community empowerment action plan over the next few months.

If you would like more information on VOiCE prior to SCDC making contact with you, please contact Fiona Garven on fiona@scdc.org.uk. If you have any queries about the National Standards for Community Engagement please contact Alasdair McKinlay, head of the community engagement team in this Division on alasdair.mckinlay@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Alisdair McIntosh
Deputy Director for Regeneration

Author: LPL

STONEHOUSE is to benefit from a large-scale makeover with the proceeds of a £135,000 grant awarded earlier this month.

The money, provided by Scottish Community Foundation, will be used to create an accessible community garden in the heart of the village.

Stonehouse Brighter Village and Stonehouse Development Trust worked together on plans for the King Street plot (opposite the Co-op).

The development will include a paved area, planting, seating and extra parking spaces. As well as being fully wheelchair accessible, the garden will feature planting that can be enjoyed by those suffering from sensory deprivation.

The grant, secured on July 9, will be used to carry out phase one of the project, which will include all major development work.

Bill Craw, chairman of development trust and board member of Stonehouse Brighter Village, said: “This is great news for Stonehouse.

“It is the result of a close working relationship between the brighter village project and Stonehouse Development Trust with the support of the community council.

“The facilities that will be developed at the heart of the village will enrich and strengthen the bonds of community which already exist in Stonehouse.”

Funding from the Scottish Community Foundation was allocated through the Fair Share Trust. A total of £50m was put in the trust by the Big Lottery Funding scheme to address the fact that certain areas had missed out on Lottery funding in the early years.

The money is to be spent over ten years on 75 communities, one of which is the Stonehouse, Larkhall, Ashgill and Netherburn ‘region’.

Scottish Community Foundation’s grants director Nick Addington said: “When considering an application, we look specifically at addressing the three ‘local priorities’ that have been identified for that area.

“In this area, these priorities are to develop and support services for young people, to develop strong community spirit by encouraging community participation, and to support community-led solutions to crime and improvements to the appearance of the area.

“The fact that several groups are working together on the Stonehouse community garden project is something we were particularly attracted to.”

Plans first went into action last year when the Brighter Village Group approached South Lanarkshire Council for permission to spruce up the green space with some new plants.

After completing the planting project, the group decided they wanted to do something on a grander scale and went to Stonehouse Development Trust to look at ways of further improving the plot.

After drawing up initial plans and holding a series of community consultations, the Wise Group, a social inclusion charity, were contacted to look at the possibility of using the project as a training opportunity for the unemployed.

With their help, it is thought that about 10 trainees will be taken on throughout the course of the Stonehouse project.

Although dates have not yet been confirmed, it is hoped that trainees will be recruited later this year.

Stonehouse Development Trust hope the garden, when completed, will be used by local groups as well as the public and that it will be viewed as a valuable and attractive resource.

Development trust officer Jeff Frew said: “As well as attracting visitors to Stonehouse, we want this to be a place people can come and enjoy.

“We also hope to involve local school children when we get to the stage of choosing plants for the development.”

Funding for phase two of the project, which will involve finishing touches such as planting, is still to be sourced.

Information about the works will be posted in the window of the trust office on King Street.

Author: Community Development Foundation

Community development is a set of values embodied in an occupation using certain skills and techniques to achieve particular outcomes or provide an approach used in other services or occupations.

Community development often plays a special role in overcoming poverty and disadvantage, knitting society together at the grass roots and deepening democracy.

Given the fluid nature of communities, the purpose of community development is to help groups and networks of people to take joint action on matters that concern them for the public good. Effective joint action is built on forming group relationships, and often needs to engage with agencies which deliver public services. The work usually has a local focus, through communities of interest such as faith groups as well as local communities.

To find out more about community development, visit http://www.cdf.org.uk/SITE/UPLOAD/DOCUMENT/communitydevelopmentchallenge.pdf. The Community Development Challenge report was published by the leading organisations in community development and outlines a vision of a way forward for community development.

A summary is also available and can be downloaded here http://www.cdf.org.uk/SITE/UPLOAD/DOCUMENT/cd2.pdf

Author: David Cameron

Speech to CPRE on Local Communities by David Cameron

SOCIAL VALUE

“The attitude that has done so much damage is the belief that the only thing that matters when it comes to policy and administration is economic value – that social value doesn’t matter.

“So for the last decade or so, in the name of modernisation, rationalisation and efficiency we have been living under a regime of government by management consultant and policy by powerpoint.

“The result has not been a contented, streamlined nation humming with efficiency and gleaming with modernity.

“The result has been an explosion of bureaucracy, cost and irritation endless upheavals and pointless reorganisations the elbowing aside of colourful, human, informal relationships based on common sense and trust in favour of the grey, mechanical, joyless mantras of the master planner with his calculations, projections and impact assessments.

“The real world effect of all this? Post Office closures, library closures, police station closures, the closure of small shops, small schools and now GP surgeries under threat. All this because we live under a regime that prizes bureaucratic neatness above all else.

“A regime – indeed a whole culture that it has spawned – which knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. This is not just socially destructive; it’s economically inefficient too. Because when you attack and undermine the institutions that are the foundations of our society – family, neighbourhood, community – all you do is create extra costs for the state to pick up.

“These are the costs of social failure, the failure to recognise social value as well as economic value the failure to recognise that there is such a thing as society, it’s just not the same thing as the state.

THE PRACTICAL STEPS WE WILL TAKE

“So our philosophy is one that understands social value and seeks to enhance it. But what will that mean in practice? Let me give you some examples of the specific steps we will take.

“Our school reforms will make it easy to set up more small, independently run schools that are sensitive to community needs and not the direction of central or local government.

“Our police reforms will create accountable police forces, so that people can come together and make the police – through elected commissioners, crime maps and beat meetings – act on crime and anti-social behaviour.

“We will stop the top-down reorganisations and pointless structural upheavals that have done so much damage in the NHS.

“We will make it easier and more attractive to set up co-ops: voluntary collective action to serve local needs. The Conservative Co-Operative Movement was established last year to encourage and help people to start co-ops, and to recommend what more government can do to help.

“And in perhaps less obvious areas, too, we will look for ways to give power to the local, the individual, the community. Power is – literally – a case in point. The energy market in this country is crying out for Conservative reform.

“In the twenty-first century, we shouldn’t have to depend solely on the big, lumbering national grid that wastes so much energy in generation and transmission. So our plans for feed-in tariffs will encourage a shift towards more decentralised energy so farmers and others can become producers as well as consumers of power.

“There’s something else we’re looking at too: the position of small shops. The personal and specialised offer from independent retailers, combined with their tendency to be more involved in community activities, to be plugged into local social networks or to support local suppliers, means that they should be treated differently. They should be considered to compete with larger chains not just on economic terms, such as price or the range of goods or services available, but also on their social value.

“If small independent shops have a greater social value than chains or larger shops, then it makes sense for them to benefit not only from retention and strengthening of the ‘needs test’ in planning law but also from an advantageous tax and regulatory regime which tips the balance back in their favour against the larger retailers.

“This new approach is part of a bigger picture. The next Conservative government will attempt to develop a measure or series of measures of social value that will inform our policy-making when in power. When making decisions, ministers will take account not just of economic efficiency but also social efficiency.

“Some people may question if this is possible. I say to them that it has been possible to develop new measures of the impact of public policy within the environmental sphere, which were previously not included in public policy making, and I see no reason why it should not be the case within the social sphere. Taken together with our renewed emphasis on localism – more powers for local government and greater rights for local communities to decide for themselves on issues that affect them the countryside will be immeasurably strengthened.

Author: LPL

On the 3rd September 2007 a once popular rural watering hole in Midmar, Aberdeenshire closed its doors to customers.

The Midmar Inn was originally a shop but has been an Inn for more than 100 years. Known as the Cottage Bar pre-1985 – and still referred to as such by the locals – it has been an important hub of the community with some locals visiting regularly for up to 36 years.

The Inn was taken over by its current owners in October 2004 as what a local paper recently described as a ‘thriving business’ . The then new owners stated that they planned to offer good home-cooked quality meals at reasonable prices as well as running a musician’s night every Thursday and to build on its reputation as a real ale pub. The Midmar Inn had the much sought-after honour of being mentioned in Roger Protz’s CAMRA Good Beer Guide and real ale enthusiasts came from as far afield as Dundee. After a busy start, trade appeared to decline until the unannounced and shocking closure in September 2007.

The owners stated at a public meeting that they were losing money on the Inn. The business status of the Inn appears to be at odds with several other local hostelries and a nearby visitors centre which continue to attract investment and a strong trade.

The Friends of Midmar Inn Community Company

The Friends of Midmar Inn Community Company has been formed to represent the views of the community and customers of the inn whilst its future is decided. Our vision is to have the opportunity for the company or other interested party to purchase it in order that it can re-commence trading, and once again contribute socially and economically to the community.

Why the Community Company

Midmar has a geographically dispersed population with a tremendous sense of community spirit. After the closure of the local shop in 2003, the pub is the second important community hub and amenity to be lost in recent times. The Community Company and its many supporters believe it is time to highlight their concerns about the decay of the rural way of life and their wish to maintain this valuable social gathering place.

We also appreciate certain attributes of the premises such as
o Its setting with views over the Hill of Fare, Midmar Castle and the associated herds of red deer
o Its proximity on a fast road to Echt, Westhill and Aberdeen
o The ongoing business and residential developments at Echt and Westhill
o That a shortage of local hotel accommodation ought to provide valuable revenue at a country Inn if it were set up to take advantage of such.
o The power of the local ‘community spirit’

Author: CVN

Conclusions and recommendations

Overview

The study has been undertaken when it is still very early in the life of the CVN, which is useful in terms of reviewing progress and making productive adjustments, but less so in attempting to identify tangible impacts on individuals, their localities or national community regeneration policy.

It has proved difficult to collect evidence which moves beyond individual member’s enjoyment of CVN activities and a perceived increase in confidence, to obtaining evidence of how their involvement has led to direct or indirect impacts in their communities. This remains the challenge for future evaluation.

Below we outline our conclusions and make recommendations in relation to specific aspects of the structure, operation and future development of the CVN.

CVN structures, membership and strategic linkages

Structures

● There is a perception amongst some CVN members that it is a top down initiative, and the membership has limited opportunity to input into or lead its development. This persists, despite considerable evidence that members are consulted on future network priorities at events, and through other consultative mechanisms.

● The national dimension of the network is viewed positively by members but there is a lack of connection with local structures and community engagement approaches.

● The CVN has not made inroads into the area of equalities and this is an area which requires to be given due consideration. There is however, a need to be realistic about the CVN’s role here and the resources which would be necessary. Collaborative working with equalities networks and representative bodies will be crucial.

Recommendations

1. The CVN should establish a process for involving the membership base in forming the agenda and promoting and developing the Network. This could include the establishment of issue groups (possibly short life) which could look at topics such as promotion and member services in addition to the suggested annual review group

2. The CVN should review how to improve linkages between the CVN as a national body with local community planning structures and local engagement processes

3. The CVN should embark on an exercise to develop its position in relation to equalities in partnership with key representative groups

Membership and activity levels

● Whilst a 200 per cent growth in the first year is a reasonable achievement, as a national network, the membership level of the CVN across Scotland needs to be increased.

● Just under half of the network members are living in deprived communities, which, given its overall focus, is too small a percentage.

● Activity levels amongst the membership are too low, with a core group of around 60 members being active on a regular basis.

● The database is limited in terms of what it can tell us about the membership, particularly in terms of equal opportunities.

Recommendations

4. The CVN needs to embark on a recruitment drive, targeted at the most deprived 15 per cent data zones in Scotland

5. The CVN should conduct an exercise to re-engage with its non-active members to examine why they are not participating in events and to find ways of increasing activity levels amongst this group

6. The CVN should review its monitoring arrangements to ensure that systems reflect the need for adequate monitoring of equalities. The current database should be amended to enable more detailed information collection and analysis in terms of age, gender, black & minority ethnic status and disability

Strategic linkages

● The CVN now needs to establish stronger linkages with related national and local networks. These have not advanced as first anticipated, and represent a missed opportunity to advance network development in a range of ways. Some group focused national networks express an ongoing willingness to work with the CVN, and these linkages could be very beneficial to advancing the CVN equalities agenda.

● Links with local structures – especially those linked to CPPs – are at best patchy. Some good practice is apparent in some areas, but more commonly connections are weak. This needs to be urgently revisited to ensure connections are maximised between local and national community engagement activity.

Recommendations

7. The CVN should seek to proactively develop stronger linkages with key national networks, linked in particular to advancing its equalities agenda. This should involve working with and utilising the specialist expertise in these forums to engage specific groups. High profile joint events may be a useful way of launching new working links.

8. The CVN should revisit linkages with all local Community Panning Partnerships updating them on: developments to date; local membership levels; and forthcoming events. The CPP contacts should also be invited to make suggestions on further network development.

CVN activities

● The CVN is delivering a good range of activities which have been well received by participants but only a core group of around 60 members are actively participating in events.

● Members are particularly positive about the opportunity to meet with people from other areas and to learn about their experiences.

● Activities designed to achieve the aim of “influencing policy” are less well developed and there is no clear process in place although recent approaches could be more effective in enabling members to input into the policy process.

● If the CVN is to make advances in the area of equalities, its events programme and other activities will have to be developed to reflect that.

Recommendations

9. Develop measures to increase the involvement of the membership in setting the programme of activities and to increase member activity levels.

10. Review activities (e.g. learning opportunities and events) in relation to equalities and develop approaches in partnership with relevant equalities organisations and networks.

11. Further develop the website as a mechanism for encouraging member participation in CVN development and activities.

CVN impact and measurement

Impact and measurement

● Measuring the impact of a development such as the CVN is always likely to be difficult and will require a number of differing information gathering mechanisms. Observations on impact are further restricted at this stage by the relatively early stage of network development.

● Discussions and surveys with members are nevertheless positive in terms of the way they perceive the network supporting them – most notably in terms of knowledge, understanding, contacts and confidence building. But in terms of what they have tangibly done with these supports to advance further regeneration activity, the message is less easy to articulate. In addition, an analysis of active membership – as measured by attendance at events – suggests the CVN has a relatively small number of core activists many of whom are very experienced.
Consequently, the impact is more likely to be to deepen rather than widen involvement.

● Evidence of influencing national policy is weaker. This is not surprising at this stage, but we have concerns that the concept is not commonly understood, and open to varying interpretations. This leads to confusion, and the danger of creating false expectations in some members on what this can achieve – particularly given current membership levels and profile. We suggest “understanding and inputting” to policy may be a better future definition.

● An ongoing evaluation process for the CVN is required, and we have detailed a framework for this. This will require that Communities Scotland has access to appropriate information from the delivery contractor. It is also suggested that an annual review group should consider a composite report on performance.

Recommendations

12. Communities Scotland should review the second aim of the CVN considering whether “understanding and inputting” to national policy is a more realistic and understandable aspiration than “influencing”.

13. The CVN should adopt the suggested future performance management framework detailed in section 5, and convene an annual advisory group of members to consider an annual report from this.

Author: LPL

City of Edinburgh Council this quarter rubberstamped a £120,000 revamp of Dalmeny Street Park after more than 500 people flocked to a community festival organised by Friends of Dalmeny Street Park (FDSP). Visitors to Parklife’s third annual gala weekend on May 31st and June 1st at the park – a centrepiece of this year’s Leith Festival – gave an overwhelmingly positive response when canvassed about the proposed improvements.

“It was like old times at Dalmeny Park with large numbers of the community having their memories rekindled of how it used to be. The FDSP vision is now becoming clearer after the success of the festival. The potential to grow the FDSP Festival is huge and could easily become a vital annual community gathering looked forward to by many,” confirms Pilmeny Youth Centre Manager and FDSP committee member Bryan Maughan. Now city planners are sitting up and taking notice of plans to overhaul the ageing sports and play facilities.

In the wake of the successful gala weekend, a June 20th council meeting gave the greenlight to a £50,000 upgrade to sports facilities in the park. That’s on top of £70,000 already earmarked for a new children’s play area. Last year, the Parklife project won £30,000 worth of council improvements to the park.

The event featured gardening, a basketball tournament, five-a-side football competition, poets’ corner, live music, sculpture and a dog show in a bid to raise the profile of the project which aims to regenerate this previously neglected public greenspace. Membership of FDSP rocketed to over 100 after the festival. FDSP Treasurer Lise Bratton comments, “Having done the last two annual events, I’m blown away by the increased numbers participating and developing new initiatives.” And in news that underscores the project’s dynamism, FDSP scooped an £1,000 O2 It’s Your Community award to create a nursery garden.

Author: Rob Links

We live in an oil-dependent world, and have got to this level of dependency in a very short space of time, using vast reserves of oil in the process – without planning for when the supply is not so plentiful. Most of us avoid thinking about what happens when oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive), but The Transition Handbook shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive outcome. These changes can lead to the rebirth of local communities, which will grow more of their own food, generate their own power, and build their own houses using local materials. They can also encourage the development of local currencies, to keep money in the local area.

See more here including info on where to buy http://transitionculture.org/shop/the-transition-handbook

Author: Stephen Maxwell

AMIDST the media headlines on the government’s Green Paper proposals to reform the benefits system the philosophy underlying the reforms is easy to overlook. Shorn of tabloid sensationalism the intention of the proposals is straightforward enough and in the context of previous reforms evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Since the introduction of the New Deal successive Labour Governments have required people in receipt of unemployment benefits to meet progressively more qualifying requirements. This progression has been matched by an increasing emphasis on personalised plans and support for people to move back into work. With the help of a growing economy this combination succeeded in moving one million people off out of work benefits, halving the number of unemployed claimants and saving the Treasury £5bn annually.

The government’s latest proposals take the process a step further. The longer people depend on Jobseekers’ Allowance the more stringent the requirements imposed on them in return for the increased support. After one year on the Allowance a requirement for four weeks community work will be imposed. After two years on JSA the requirement to carry out some form of agreed work will be extended. The prospect, never fully spelled out, is that those who fail to find work after two years will be required to work permanently on make work schemes or lose their benefit.

The change proposed for the 2.6m people on Incapacity Benefit is more radical. From October 2008 IB will be replaced by an Employment and Support Allowance. All recipients of IB will be expected to undergo a new Work Capability Test focused on their potential for paid employment. The WCT will divide people into two groups, a Work Related Activity Group and a Support Group. Those in the Work Related Group will be required to follow a programme designed to get them back into work with the carrot of personalised support but backed by a threat ofiosing entitlement to benefit if they do not cooperate. Those in the support group will be encouraged to volunteer for a work related programme but like those assessed as incapable of working will (eventually) be entitled to a higher rate of income support.

Some changes are proposed in how these back to work services will be delivered. Individuals will be given a right to request control of their support budget. And private and voluntary sector providers of the services will be given an open right to bid for contracts and under an enhanced system of payment by out- comes will retain a proportion of the public budget for their client.

There are some purely practical questions to ask about these proposals, not least whether the success claimed for the New Deal can be repeated for a more intractable client group in far less favourable economic circumstances and which professional if not an individual’s GP is best qualified to assess capacity to work. But there are also questions of underlying philosophy exposed in part by the Green Paper itself.

With its constant reiteration of rights being matched by imposed responsibilities the paper confirms the govemment’s fixation with a ‘contract’ model of society. But a contract model not only risks marginalising people who are chronically disadvantaged but is hard to reconcile with the growing inequalities of globalising market economies.

The paper grandly proclaims that “our objective is a social revolution: an 80 per cent employment rate -the highest ever”, as if paid employment whatever its quality or content must be superior, for the individual and for society, to a life focused on home, family and community. No less surprising is the confidence with which employment is presented as the answer to child poverty in the face of the fact that nearly half the children living in poverty in the UK live in house-holds in which at least one of the adults is in work. There is no doubt that these proposals are fashionable but are they truly timely?