Memorandum by the Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG)
1. CHANGES TO
THE DEPARTMENT'S
STRUCTURE AND
REMIT, INCLUDING
IMPLICATIONS FOR
STAFFING
1.1 The Machinery of Government changes
announced on 5 May bring together in the new Department for Communities
and Local Government (DCLG) responsibilities drawn from the former
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), Home Office and Department
of Trade and Industry.
1.2 The new Department unites responsibility
for race, faith, community cohesion (including working with Muslim
communities tackling extremism as part of the Government's counter-terrorism
strategy) and civil renewal previously undertaken by the Home
Office with former ODPM responsibilities for housing, planning,
regeneration and local government. The new Department has lead
responsibility for equality policy, with the Women and Equality
Unit transfering to DCLG from DTI. The Prime Minister has appointed
the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government as
the Cabinet Minister with responsibility for Women, supported
by a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equality.
1.3 As part of the wider Machinery of Government
changes announced on 5 May, the Prime Minister announced the appointment
of a Cabinet Minister for Social Exclusion, based in the Cabinet
Office. The relationship between the DCLG and Cabinet Office on
social exclusion policy is discussed at paragraph 3.1 below.
1.4 105 Home Office staff and 64 DTI staff
transfer to DCLG as a result of these changes. Around 19 posts
are expected to transfer from DCLG to the new Social Exclusion
Taskforce in the Cabinet Office.
1.5 Discussions are ongoing with the Home
Office about some detailed aspects of the precise balance of responsibilities
between the two departments. These discussions may result in the
transfer of a small number of additional posts to DCLG.
1.6 On 6 June the Permanent Secretary published
a discussion document setting out proposals about the future structure
and organisation of the Department across the full range of its
new responsibilities.[1]
Following discussions with staff, the Board intend to take final
decisions on new structures in early July, with a view to implementation
by the end of September.
1.7 Under these proposals, Departmental
Groups will provide a "home base" for each member of
staff, responsible for their professional development. Staff will
be drawn from different Groups to work on specific cross-cutting
projects, reporting to Programme Executives chaired by a Board
member. The Programme Executives will be responsible for matching
resources to priorities and will simplify reporting lines to Ministers
and the Board.
1.8 The Board intends that the Department's
senior management structure should reflect these organisational
changes, enabling directors and divisional managers to lead projects
which cut across a wide range of departmental policy responsibilities.
This will entail changes to a number of senior posts, initially
at director level. As the discussion document indicates, the Board
intends to announce decisions on senior posts during July.
1.9 The Department has the benefit over
the coming months of a Capability Review process, led by the Prime
Minister's Delivery Unit. This gives the Department access to
a high-quality team of leaders from the public, private and voluntary
sectors, acting as "critical friends". The Board intend
to draw on the Review Team's emerging insights in reaching decisions
about organisational change.
2. NEW PSAS
/TARGES AND
OBJECTIVES ARISING
FROM THESE CHANGES
2.1 Under the changes described above, DCLG
has acquired lead responsibility for two PSA targets in addition
to the nine PSA targets for which the ODPM was responsible. These
additional targets include:
— Gender Equality (formerly
DTI PSA9: By 2008, working with other departments, bring about
measurable improvements in gender equality across a range of indicators,
as part of the Government's objectives on equality and social
inclusion.
— Race Equality and Community Cohesion
(formerly Home Office PSA7): To reduce race inequalities and build
community cohesion.
2.2 As part of preparatory work for the
Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, the Department will keep its
suite of PSA targets under review and consider whether synergies
across its new responsibilities could be further strengthened.
3. THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE
DEPARTMENT AND
THE CABINET
OFFICE IN
DEALING WITH
ISSUES OF
SOCIAL EXCLUSION
3.1 Under the Machinery of Government changes
announced on 5 May, the Prime Minister appointed the Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster as the Cabinet Minister with responsibility
for social exclusion. The Chancellor of the Duchy chairs the new
Social Exclusion Cabinet Committee on which the Secretary of State
for Communities and Local Government sits as a key member, reflecting
the strong synergies between the work of the Cabinet Office and
that of the DCLG.
3.2 Under these arrangements the Cabinet
Office will lead on cross-Government strategic work on deep and
persistent exclusion, including the Autumn Action Plan on Social
Inclusion. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
and the Minister for Social Exclusion have agreed to establish
a new Social Exclusion Taskforce, based in the Cabinet Office
and made up of staff drawn from the former Social Exclusion Unit
and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. It will concentrate on
identifying the most at-risk and focus on specific hard-to-reach
groups including children in care, people with mental health problems
and teenagers at risk of pregnancy.
3.3 DCLG will continue to lead on policy
and delivery in addressing social exclusion and deprivation in
deprived areas, working closely with the Cabinet Office and other
Government Departments.
3.4 The Department's engagement with issues
of social exclusion will run across the range of its policy responsibilities,
driving social mobility and promoting economic inclusion. The
local government white paper, which Ministers aim to publish later
this year, will set out the role of local authorities and their
partners in protecting equity and tackling disadvantage. Following
the State of the Cities report we will be taking forward work
to develop world class, economically vibrant and socially cohesive
cities. Neighbourhood renewal will continue to improve quality
of life for those living in the most disadvantaged areas and attract
people and investment back to them. We will publish our future
strategy on Supporting People and continue work to develop and
support effective models of mixed income, mixed tenure communities.
4. ESTIMATES
OF THE
COSTS ASSOCIATED
WITH REBRANDING
FOLLOWING THE
DEPARTMENTAL NAME
CHANGE
4.1 Up to £12,000 has been allocated
to cover corporate communications costs associated with rebranding,
including the design of a new Departmental logo, corporate stands
and display material, on-line media design and stationery. In
addition, some £3,000 has been spent on upgrading signage
within departmental buildings.
Department for Communities and Local Government
June 2006
1 Building the Department for Communities and Local
Government: A discussion document, DCLG, 6 June 2006. This was
followed-up by the publication of Building the Department for
Communities and Local Government: Next Steps, DCLG, 11 July 2006. Back
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