TSN Annual Report - Annex 4: Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland Draft New TSN Action Plan

The first New TSN Annual Report

November 1999

Annex 4: Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland Draft New TSN Action Plan

1.

1.1

Introduction

The Department of the Environment (DOE) has a wide range of policy, executive and regulatory responsibilities. Some 90% of the Department’s staff work in 11 agencies responsible for the delivery of discrete executive functions.

2.

2.1

Relevance of New TSN and Progress to Date

A large proportion of the Department’s expenditure is devoted to the provision and maintenance of services, for example, roads, water and sewerage and the potential to skew programmes to target social need is limited.

2.2

Programmes such as urban regeneration and housing have, however, been directly addressing social need for some time now. These programmes have already secured significant improvements in social, economic and environmental conditions in disadvantaged areas.

3.

3.1

New TSN Action Plans

The New TSN Action Plan reflects the outcome of a detailed look at the Department’s activities and identifies objectives which will sustain and enhance efforts to target resources more effectively to reduce social need. The Action Plan commits the Department to considering a range of measures relevant to Urban Regeneration, Housing, Planning, Transport, Roads and other areas which will improve conditions for disadvantaged people and areas.

3.2

Some important themes emerging from the Action Plan cut across several functional areas and engage other Departments. The pursuit of these objectives will require close liaison and co-operation with other Departments and Agencies.

4.

4.1

Urban Regeneration and Housing

It was estimated in 1996 that around 520,000 people lived in deprived urban areas, with over 225,000 people living in the 100 most disadvantaged urban wards. Urban Regeneration Group (URG) is responsible for the regeneration of Belfast, Londonderry and regional towns. Action is targeted on deprived areas and on the regeneration of vacant or underdeveloped land. The Group is committed to examining the causes of town centre decline and success and to the development of a regeneration programme targeted at the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods outside Belfast and Londonderry.

4.2

The baseline of the Group (Ł48.1m in 1999-2000) is considerably enhanced by EU (Ł63m) and IFI (Ł7m) funding. Indeed, EU funding for urban regeneration post 1999 will be a critical factor in the ability of the Group to meet its New TSN targets over the period of this Action Plan.

4.3

Housing has always been regarded as strongly relevant to Targeting Social Need and it is widely accepted that decent housing helps to promote social well-being and cohesion.

4.4

Indicators of the success to date of housing policies, legislation, funding and physical programmes, include:

the number in urgent housing need has reduced from 19,000 in 1981 to 11,500 in 1999
the level of unfitness in housing has reduced from 19.6% in 1974 to 7.3% in 1996 (most recent survey).

4.5

Allocation of social housing tenancies and of improvement grants for private housing are already targeted at those most in need and this will continue. Rural areas in particular benefit from the grants scheme. Other groups which housing programmes aim to benefit include people with disabilities, homeless people, older people, those subject to fuel poverty and Travellers.

4.6

The New TSN objectives illustrate how the Department and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive will consolidate and refine the targeting of social need in the future.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group
Social need to be tackled:	Multiple disadvantage in urban areas (including pockets of deprivation) in Belfast, Londonderry and other towns across Northern Ireland
Desired outcome:	Reduction in multiple disadvantage
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 1 Develop, implement and report on urban regeneration strategy.	a. Undertake a review of the current urban regeneration strategy and obtain Ministerial/Assembly agreement to revise the strategy by early 2000. b. Begin implementation during 2000-2001. c. Publish annual reports from 2002.
DOE 2 Consistent Northern Ireland-wide approach to monitoring the revised urban regeneration strategy.	a. Agree methodology, performance indicators and structures required by early 2000. b. Establish baseline by April 2000. c. Produce annual monitoring report from April 2002.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – Belfast Regeneration Office*
Social need to be tackled:	Multiple disadvantage in urban areas (including pockets of deprivation) in Belfast
Desired outcome:	Reduction in multiple disadvantage in Belfast
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 3 Develop, implement, monitor and report on a Regeneration Strategy for Belfast.	a. To finalise the strategy by June 2000. b. To provide support to individuals, groups and communities on the basis of objective need and through concentrated intervention within key themes and zones giving a more strategic programme-based approach, ie: Education Health and Social Wellbeing Environment Social Infrastructure Physical Infrastructure Investment and Economic Development Linkages and Infrastructure Partnerships as instruments of policy delivery Arterial Routes Development Zones. c. To nurture strategic alliances to create a viable city centre together with creative delivery mechanisms in collaborative approaches that systematically link the city centre. d. To influence strategic allies in the overall allocation of resources. e. To establish appropriate baseline measurements to ensure informed targeting, monitoring and measurement of the effects of regeneration activities.
* Belfast Regeneration Office is responsible for the functions previously carried out by Belfast Development Office and Making Belfast Work

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – Londonderry Development Office
Social need to be tackled:	Multiple disadvantage in Londonderry
Desired outcome:	Reduction in multiple disadvantage in Londonderry
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 4 To implement a regeneration strategy for Londonderry.	a. To implement the new Londonderry regeneration strategy by June 2000. b. To target resources at priority groups and areas through effective local partnerships. Establish 4 effective area-based partnerships representing local community, public and private sector interests. Partnerships established by December 2001. c. Local programmes adopted, with implementation from April 2001.
DOE 5 The objective measurement of social, economic and physical disadvantage across the city through key indicators.	a. Review data requirements to maintain and update a comprehensive baseline of relevant information, throughout the period of this Plan.
DOE 6 The monitoring and evaluation of progress against baseline positions.	a. Collect and analyse relevant key data. Prepare annual report on progress achieved in 2001 and thereafter.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – Regional Development Office (RDO)
Social need to be tackled:	Commercial centres of towns in physical, economic and social decline
Desired outcome:	Vibrant town centres providing services and employment to their catchment population
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 7 To examine the causes of town centre decline and success with special reference to social need.	a. To commission a study of declining and successful town centres outside Belfast and Londonderry using a random sample of 8 towns. This will identify best practice for physical, social and economic regeneration working along with other agencies with particular reference to social need. b. Full consultation will take place with town centre stakeholder interests. Report available by March 2000 and agreed programme in place by June 2000.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – RDO
Social need to be tackled:	High unemployment, low skills, low educational achievement, other social needs
Desired outcome:	Lower unemployment, improved skills
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 8 To tackle social need and social exclusion in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland.	a. To establish over the period 2000-2003 locally-based partnerships which will determine needs and devise regeneration strategies for neighbourhood regeneration.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – RDO
Social need to be tackled:	Poor health, high unemployment, poor housing, low uptake of health and social services among Travellers
Desired outcome:	Better quality of life for Travellers
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 9 To improve the living conditions for Travellers in Northern Ireland. (See also objective 22)	a. Establish an PSI Working Group to review the needs of Travellers and prepare a strategy across Departments for the delivery of key services. b. Report to Ministers within 12 months of the establishment of the PSI Working Group – report due by September 2000.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – RDO
Social need to be tackled:	People living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
Desired outcome:	Improved quality of life
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 10 To establish effective monitoring and evaluation procedures for establishing baseline data and measuring the outputs of New TSN policies.	a. Establish systems and procedures at neighbourhood level to monitor and evaluate policies targeting social need throughout the period of this Plan.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – District Council Sub-Programme, EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation
Social need to be tackled:	Reconciliation, primarily in disadvantaged areas, by means of social and economic progress
Desired outcome:	a. The promotion of social inclusion of those at the margins of economic and social life b. To stimulate social and economic regeneration
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 11 To develop appropriate strategies for District Partnerships to ensure that resources are spent and sustainability addressed particularly in areas of greatest need.	a. Consultation with District Partnerships to be completed by March 2000. b. Strategies to be in place by September 2000. c. Monitoring arrangements set up by September 2000.
DOE 12 District Partnerships funding post-1999 to continue to be targeted specifically towards New TSN.	a. To work with District Partnerships to access EU Structural Funds allocation, both from the Transition Programme and the Special Programme by March 2000 and to ensure that it is targeted towards New TSN. b. From March to December 2000, help Partnerships draw up a programme for funding which will include New TSN outcomes.
DOE 13 To ensure that District Partnerships funding and priorities with reference to New TSN complement and add value to the overall strategy for URG.	a. To draw up strategy for Partnership funding in consultation with URG by May 2000. b. To monitor complementarity and impact of funding 2000-2003.
DOE 14 To undertake a process of monitoring and evaluation of the impact of District Partnership expenditure, particularly in areas of greatest need and with specific reference to New TSN requirements.	a. Consultants evaluation to be published by January 2000 and disseminated throughout 2000 and beyond.

Business Area:	Urban Regeneration Group – Policy, Legislation and Resources
Social need to be tackled:	The problems of those in greatest social need in urban areas throughout Northern Ireland
Desired outcome:	Reduction in social need across a range of social and economic indicators
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 15 To remove existing legislative constraints on the Urban Regeneration Group to tackle the problems of those in greatest social need.	a. To promote and introduce by June 2000 the proposed Regeneration and Development Order which, amongst other things, broadens the base for addressing problems of social need in the context of urban regeneration.
DOE 16 To encourage Laganside Corporation to develop and implement a New TSN Action Plan.	a. To disseminate to Laganside Corporation all relevant written guidance, to organise seminars as appropriate and to take all other steps as necessary to ensure it has all the information and understanding it requires to produce its own Action Plan and to agree a date of January 2001 by which the Corporation is to have such an Action Plan in place.

Business Area:	Housing
Social need to be tackled:	Lack of decent housing in the social and private sectors
Desired outcome:	Decent housing for those in need
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 17 To ensure that all social housing programmes and services are delivered in a manner which is demonstrably fair and equitable on the basis of objective assessment of need.	a. Secure agreement to, and introduce by 1 April 2000, a Common Selection Scheme for all social housing.
DOE 18 To help re-house the homeless.	a. To process at least 95% of homeless applications within 30 days to identify those in greatest need.
DOE 19 To ensure that registered Housing Associations deliver their planned physical programme.	a. Expenditure of Ł69.8m, attracting Ł40m Private Finance. 2,200 units on site by March 2000.
DOE 20 To reduce unfitness and improve housing conditions in the private sector through grant-aid.	a. Grant-aid is targeted towards houses which are statutorily unfit and those persons who are less well off, by way of a means test. Expenditure of Ł38m in respect of 9,300 properties by March 2000.
DOE 21 To raise management standards in the private rented sector.	a. Enforcement of statutory management standards by the inspection of 200 Houses in Multiple Occupation and the issue of 30 management orders by March 2000.

Business Area:	Housing – Social Housing Estates
Social need to be tackled:	Housing, health and environmental problems in run down social housing estates and other areas
Desired outcome:	Renewal of run down social housing estates and other areas
New TSN objectives	Targets or actions and timescales
DOE 22 To promote interagency and community programmes designed to tackle health, environmental and regeneration issues. (See also objective 9)	a. Review 51 estate-based strategies against new criteria, by end January 2000, to enhance the effectiveness of policies and programmes in improving run down social housing estates. b. To complete scheme designs for 4 pilot accommodation projects for Travellers by March 2000 to improve the living conditions of, and promote the social inclusion of, the Traveller community.
DOE 23 To carry out urban renewal assessment to confirm the present condition of an area and suggest potential for improvement.	a. Complete urban renewal assessments in 3 areas by March 2000.
DOE 24 Produce development plans, derived from renewal assessments, which form the basis of programmes of activity which will renew urban areas. The implementation of these is to be managed in conjunction with other agencies and community organisations.	a. Implement development plans in 16 areas by March 2000.