The government published its response to a taskforce report (published in July 2009) on joint working between government, businesses, and the third sector aimed at supporting communities under stress as a result of the economic recession.
Source: Building Stronger Communities Taskforce: Government Response, Cabinet Office
Links: Response | Cabinet Office press release | Taskforce report
Date: 2009-Dec
The Welsh Assembly government published a strategy for community cohesion. The strategy focused on those policy and service delivery areas that research had shown could have a significant impact on how well a community got on together: housing; learning; communication; promoting equality and social inclusion; and preventing violent extremism.
Source: Getting On Together: A community cohesion strategy for Wales, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Strategy | WAG press release
Date: 2009-Dec
A briefing paper said that in recent years there had been a 'dramatic' increase in the number of racist incidents in Northern Ireland recorded by the police, and that there had also been an increase in the percentage of people who were prepared to admit to being prejudiced towards members of minority-ethnic communities.
Source: Neil Jarman, Prejudice and Tolerance in Northern Ireland, ARK/School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work/Queen's University Belfast (028 9097 3034)
Links: Briefing | UU press release
Date: 2009-Nov
The government published guidance for frontline workers on techniques that could help build community cohesion. It also announced the first phase of a £12 million programme of additional support for those local communities in England under the greatest 'pressure' as a result of the economic recession.
Source: Building Cohesive Communities: What frontline staff and community activists need to know, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Guidance | Hansard | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2009-Oct
A report summarized a series of seminars that explored the dynamics of bridging social capital in a number of different contexts. Themes included diversity and social cohesion, intergenerational connexions, and dimensions of equality.
Source: Altogether Now? The role and limits of civil society associations in connecting a diverse society, Carnegie UK Trust (01383 721445)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Sep
A report examined community cohesion, attitudes towards the neighbourhood and the local area, belonging to the neighbourhood, fear of crime, social networks, and people's interactions with others from different backgrounds – based on 2007-08 Citizenship Survey data.
Source: 2007-08 Citizenship Survey: Community Cohesion Topic Report, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Aug
A study examined the available evidence on the economic benefits of building cohesion. It reviewed evidence for crime, fear of crime, education, employment, health, and economic investment. It suggested that cohesion could have positive effects in a number of different areas.
Source: The Economic Case for Cohesion, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Aug
A think-tank report said that the government's 'Prevent' scheme for tackling extremism was alienating Muslim communities, and should be scrapped. It called for the scheme to focus on tackling all extremism – including far-right extremists – rather than just focusing on Islamic extremism. A government minister reportedly said that the strategy would be reformed to focus on white racist groups as well as radical Muslims.
Source: Anna Turley, Stronger Together: A new approach to preventing violent extremism, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051) | Comments by Shahid Malik MP (Cohesion Minister), reported in The Daily Telegraph, 10 August 2009
Links: Report | NLGN press release | Local Government Chronicle report | Telegraph report
Date: 2009-Aug
A report identified key themes, and good practice, from around 15 reviews of efforts to build community cohesion at a local level.
Source: Building Community Cohesion in Britain: Lessons from iCoCo local reviews, Institute of Community Cohesion/Coventry University (024 7679 5757)
Links: Report | BHA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Jul
An article examined how the racial attitudes of white English people were affected by local ethnic context. Those who lived in neighbourhoods with relatively large black populations displayed lower levels of racial hostility than those with few black neighbours: but residential proximity to Pakistanis and Bangladeshis was associated with more negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities.
Source: Benjamin Bowyer, 'The contextual determinants of whites' racial attitudes in England', British Journal of Political Science, Volume 39 Issue 3
Links: Abstract | CUP press release
Date: 2009-Jul
A paper suggested guidelines for developing policy and debate on racial and cultural diversity, and the requirements of a common citizenship.
Source: Mike Waite, Combining Diversity with Common Citizenship, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (01904 627810)
Links: Paper | Guardian report
Date: 2009-May
An article examined the government's 'preventing violent extremism' programme. Although the educational aspect of its focus on Muslim young people was to be welcomed, there were serious concerns as to whether the policy, as designed, was falling between two stools. The programme focused exclusively on Muslim communities, in flat contradiction to the integration policy priority of community cohesion, so risking further defensiveness from Muslim communities and resentment from white working-class communities. It was failing to engage openly and robustly with the real political issues driving Muslim anger and minority extremist support.
Source: Paul Thomas, 'Between two stools? The government's "preventing violent extremism" agenda', Political Quarterly, Volume 80 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
A new book examined the relationship between faiths, public policy, and civil society. It considered the role of faiths as public actors; their contribution to welfare services; and how they both helped to build community cohesion and to break it down.
Source: Adam Dinham, Faiths, Public Policy and Civil Society: Problems, policies, controversies, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Mar
A report reviewed the evidence for the existing state of cross-community interaction within England, together with theoretical approaches – such as 'contact theory' – that could inform activities that brought individuals and groups together.
Source: Andrew Orton, What Works in Enabling Cross-community Interactions? Perspectives on good policy and practice, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Mar
A think-tank report said that some private Muslim schools were preparing children to live separate lives in Muslim enclaves, rather than to play their full part in the wider society to which they belonged – thereby threatening the social cohesion of Britain.
Source: Denis MacEoin with Dominic Whiteman, Music, Chess and Other Sins: Segregation, integration, and Muslim schools in Britain, Civitas (020 7401 5470)
Links: Report | Civitas press release | NUT press release
Date: 2009-Mar
The government published a progress report on the commitments made in June 2008 to support local areas to manage the impact of migration on their communities. It also outlined new government support on migration issues; and it considered how the impact of migration on local communities, and the government's response to it, had changed in the context of the economic downturn.
Source: Managing the Impacts of Migration: Improvements and innovations, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Date: 2009-Mar
A report examined local authority communications, from the perspective of promoting community cohesion. The findings reinforced the need for effective communications to address the perception by some groups that they were losing out to others, and the need for local authorities to take a strategic approach to communications – involving not just the council staff and elected members but also the community itself.
Source: Hilary Kitchin et al., Communicating Cohesion: Evaluating local authority communication strategies, Institute of Local Government Studies/University of Birmingham (0121 414 5008) and Democratic Audit
Links: Report | Summary | LGA press release
Date: 2009-Feb
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on its community cohesion strategy. The strategy set out how the issue of community cohesion cut across Welsh Assembly Government policies, and underlined the importance of local analysis of cohesion issues in order to devise a local community cohesion response.
Source: All Wales Community Cohesion Strategy, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2009-Jan
A report examined sources of resentment, and perceptions of ethnic minorities, among white people in England on low incomes. It was based on qualitative research in four relatively monocultural 'white' urban areas with different migration experiences. The poor quality of information available concerning immigration and resource allocation was exacerbating people's sense of loss and frustration.
Source: Steve Garner, James Cowles, Barbara Lung and Marina Stott, Sources of Resentment, and Perceptions of Ethnic Minorities Among Poor White People in England, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report | Telegraph report | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2009-Jan
The government published guidance setting out what was known about meaningful interaction within communities, based on research findings and the views of expert practitioners.
Source: Guidance on Meaningful Interaction: How encouraging positive relationships between people can help build community cohesion, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Guidance
Date: 2009-Jan
An article examined the relationship between civic engagement, ethnic heterogeneity, and perceptions of mutual respect and social cohesion among citizens in urban local government areas across England. Statistical results suggested that associational life was positively associated with social capital, and that political participation enhanced perceptions of mutual respect in ethnically diverse areas. The evidence provided support for arguments that civic engagement could moderate negative externalities for social capital associated with ethnic heterogeneity.
Source: Rhys Andrews, 'Civic engagement, ethnic heterogeneity, and social capital in urban areas: evidence from England', Urban Affairs Review, Volume 44 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Jan