DETR/HO/EM/028/2001
5MILLION TO BOOST COMMUNITIES Projects in Derbyshire and Lincolnshire benefit from new scheme
Thirty-six communities nationwide will benefit from dedicated wardens to help improve community safety and combat deprivation thanks to a £4.8 million boost announced by the Government today. Projects at Alvaston, Derby and Boston, Lincolnshire will receive more than £160,000.
The new schemes will recruit 175 wardens, which will bring the total for England and Wales to 445.
Wardens are recruited from the local community to help improve quality of life for residents. They will be involved in reporting broken street lights and pavements and supporting vulnerable residents and victims of crime as well as mediating in minor incidents of anti-social behaviour, vandalism and racial harassment. Grants will also cover scheme manager, administration and project costs.
Home Office Minister Charles Clarke said:
"Neighbourhood wardens can make a real difference to the quality of life in our communities, playing a key part in tackling crime and the fear of crime.
"We know that many people live in fear of crime. Fifty per cent of respondents to the British Crime Survey thought that crime had gone up in the past two years in their locality. Initial feedback on warden schemes shows that they can go a long way to reduce the fear of crime and improve local perceptions of an area.
"Neighbourhood wardens work with the local police, providing an additional local resource for improving all our lives."
Local Government and Regions Minister Hilary Armstrong said:
"Neighbourhood Wardens are an important part of the government''s strategy to improve the quality of life in our most deprived neighbourhoods.
"Working at the heart of the community, neighbourhood wardens give local residents someone they know they can go to with their concerns over community safety, incidents of anti-social behaviour or with ideas to improve the local environment. This kind of grass root support will make a real difference to the fabric and sense of well-being of local communities, giving residents a renewed pride in where they live."
These additional 36 schemes should be operational by 1st April 2001.
Notes for Editors
1. A list of successful schemes in the East Midlands is attached.
2.The £13.5 million for neighbourhood warden schemes was announced on 13 March 2000 (Home Office press notice 55/00). New and existing neighbourhood warden schemes in deprived areas were invited to apply for funding.
3.This allocation is the second to be made from the £13.5 million total. Fifty schemes amounting to £7.5 million were announced on 14th September 2000 (Home Office press notice 282/00). Today''s announcement brings the total number of schemes to 86. Most of the bids have come from local authorities with seven from social landlords, one from the voluntary sector and one from the police.
4. Also available today is a guide for neighbourhood warden supervisors on the first 100 days of setting up a scheme.
5. The development of neighbourhood warden schemes was recommended by the Policy Action Team 6 - one of 18 Policy Action Teams set up by the Social Exclusion Unit as part of its work on neighbourhood renewal. The report is available on the Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk. It defines a neighbourhood warden as "a person who provides an official or semi-official presence in a residential area, whose primary aim is to improve the quality of life and who is appointed and managed by a properly established scheme".
Wardens in some schemes assume a community support role and perform regular visits to elderly or vulnerable residents to build trusting relationships and help with basic tasks such as grocery shopping or liaison with social services. Other schemes concentrate on environmental factors such as basic repair work.
Further schemes organise community foot patrols to provide a visible semi-official presence which reassures local residents and helps reduce their fear of crime.
6. The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal was published on 19 January 2001 which sets out a new approach to renewing poor neighbourhoods.
EAST MIDLANDS
Bid Title: Neighbourhood Warden Scheme Alvaston Derby Bid Ref: EM/06 Name of Lead Agency: FCH Housing & Care
BRIEF SUMMARY OF BID To provide a community base, successful local warden scheme operating on the basis that prevention is better than cure. The wardens would be part of the community with a clear understanding of its specific needs. The scheme would act as a constant source of information for the police and other local agencies i.e. Education, Fire Service, Social Services, Housing and Environment Health. The wardens would compliment and strengthen this already successful partnership. AMOUNT REQUESTED IN BID (TOTAL, ALL YEARS) : £ 68,900 NO OF HOUSEHOLDS IN BID AREA: 607 NO OF WARDENS PROPOSED: 3
Bid Title: Lincolnshire N Wardens Pilot Project Bid Ref: EM/11 Name of Lead Agency: Boston Community Safety Partnership
BRIEF SUMMARY OF BID To improve the safety and well being of the residents of Boston through better use of existing resources to provide a low cost and appropriate solution to real and perceived community safety issues AMOUNT REQUESTED IN BID (TOTAL, ALL YEARS) : £ 95,444 NO OF HOUSEHOLDS IN BID AREA: 12,988 NO OF WARDENS PROPOSED: 9 Including 1 co-ordinator
