3 Ensuring sustainable improvement
14. The NDC programme aims to bring the deprived
neighbourhoods taking part in the programme up to a level that
is on a par with national averages in five key theme areas: crime,
education, health and housing and the physical environment.[17]
15. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has commissioned
a long term national evaluation that aims to assess the cost effectiveness
and value for money of NDC interventions and outcomes. The evaluation
is examining emerging changes in each of the key theme areas as
well as how NDC partnerships are working with their communities
and the main service providers to achieve change. An annual report
of findings, together with examples of success and best practice,
are publicised including through the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit
website (www.renewal.net).[18]
16. In the absence of standard guidelines for partnerships
to use to report progress, the availability and quality of data
available to the National Evaluation and the Department is limited.[19]
The absence until recently of a central database of neighbourhood
level crime statistics made it difficult to establish baseline
data against which to monitor progress in this key area.[20]
The Department now intends to pull together in a more consistent
and regular way data on the NDCs' financial management and outcomes,
together with a series of core indicators covering the five key
theme areas.[21]
17. A priority for NDC partnerships in their initial
years was to identify and carry out projects which would be immediately
visible and raise the morale of the neighbourhoods they serve.
Many of these "quick win" projects are in areas where
existing service providers have not delivered as well as they
might have, for example, street cleaning and lighting, housing
renewal and transport services. The Department were unable to
inform us how much money was channelled through the voluntary
sector rather than through existing agencies.[22]
18. It is important that NDC funds are not used merely
as an additional income stream to allow existing statutory agencies
to deliver services to a standard which, in less deprived communities,
is provided without additional funding.[23]
Evaluations will need to determine whether the partnership structure
is adding value, or whether results could have been produced by
additional spending through existing channels. [24]
19. There is a tendency in regeneration programmes
to raise the standards and expectations in communities only for
these to be dashed when additional funding ends. The Department
is encouraging NDC partnerships to plan exit strategies to ensure
service improvements and initiatives are continued.
20. The Department told us of examples where local
service deliverers have used NDC neighbourhoods as test beds to
explore alternative ways of operating. For example, the Devonport
Bobbies on the Beat initiative trialled a different approach to
community policing that is leading to positive results and Devon
and Cornwall police force are adopting the approach more widely.
[25] Transport
for London have taken over bus routes developed in the first instance
to meet the needs of NDC residents. In this instance the partnership
was able to demonstrate that actual demand for the routes was
greater than predicted by Transport for London. The lessons from
such successful mainstreaming need to be spread widely so lessons
can be learnt not only throughout the neighbourhoods involved
in the NDC but more widely.[26]
17 Qq 51-52 Back
18
Q 129 Back
19
C&AG's Report, para 3.11 Back
20
Ev 25 Back
21
Q 9 Back
22
Ev 23 Back
23
Q 129; C&AG's Report, para 3.21 Back
24
Qq 45, 129, 133 Back
25
Qq 33, 128; C&AG's Report, para 30 Back
26
Q 124 Back
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