This report by the Audit Commission looks at the impact on neighbourhood renewal policy of the move away from special funding to a reliance on mainstream services to improve conditions in deprived areas. New policies on such as, health, education, police, probation and local authority services, such as street cleansing have to be cascaded throughout the organization. Experience with mainstreaming equalities and environmental sustainability shows that this is best achieved via performance management processes. One of the barriers to ‘mainstreaming’ neighbourhood renewal is a lack of awareness, skills and understanding among staff about the needs of the most deprived areas and how this should affect their work. In addition, research revealed that internal cultural issues can cause problems for organisations that are seeking to improve services in deprived neighbourhoods.Published by the Audit Commission http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk