Whitehall departments are joining up to bring improvements to the most deprived areas of the UK. This drawing together of policy aims, backed by funding, will give a boost to local strategic partnerships which bring together providers and the communities they serve. The partnerships will take the lead locally in implementing neighbourhood renewal.Details of plans and funding for involving social landlords, including local authorities and housing associations in raising the standard of social housing were described in Publicnet Briefing yesterday. DTLR now plan to change the distribution of housing capital resources to ensure that a significant proportion of the money goes to deprived areas. The DfES has set targets for education authorities to have no fewer than 38 per cent of pupils achieving 5 GCSEs at A-C by 2004. The previous Target was to have at least 20% of pupils achieving this target. The Lord Chancellor’s Department in collaboration with the Law Centres Federation is working to ensure that people from vulnerable groups have access to legal services.
An increasing number of local councils are adopting electronic services and changing they way they meet the needs of their customers. Liverpool City Council has move into the position of a showcase authority demonstrating how an across the board approach to change can bring results. The Council is developing a network of 11 One-Stop shops throughout the city to deliver joined-up services under a single roof. It uses the latest technology to deliver improved services through a joint venture partnership with BT and has recently signed a 6 million pound deal with Oracle for a Customer Relationship Management application. Its status as a local government showcase was confirmed by a visit from top civil servant, Sir Richard Wilson, who wanted to see how the modernizing government agenda is being taken forward locally.Birmingham and Canterbury City Councils plan to install software from Sunrise to help customers and staff get answers to their questions. The new system will give quick answers through web self-assistance, e-mail, on-line chat, or by contacting the customer service team by phone.