Two thousand delegates are expected to attend the Delivering Sustainable Communities Summit in January, which will be the largest event of its kind to be staged in this country. The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, has announced that three senior Cabinet colleagues – Gordon Brown, David Blunkett and Charles Clarke – have joined the list of speakers for the summit.In addition to listening to speakers and taking part in the 24 planned workshop sessions, delegates will have the opportunity to see for themselves successful projects in and around Manchester, Salford and Trafford. There will be a walking tour of Manchester City Centre looking at the regeneration that has taken place since the 1996 bomb as well as a chance to see the legacy left to East Manchester by the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the innovative Partington Heath Park.

Other speakers already lined up for the summit include Danuta Hubner, the nominee for the post of European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning Harvard University Professor. Workshops will cover issues such as creating successful partnerships, private sector involvement, local leadership, improving local services, reaching the most disadvantaged people, community engagement, transport, health, learning and skills.

John Prescott said the event would tackle issues about how communities live today and he was delighted to be able to bring together such a cast of experts. Welcoming the contribution of other Cabinet members he said, “It’s about improving local services, economic prosperity, the environment and the quality of people’s lives. These issues can only be tackled by Government as a whole.