26 January 2001
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has pledged an extra £100m for the government's neighbourhood renewal fund, doubling the amount of money being given to deprived areas next year.
The money is in addition to the £800m announced in last summer's Spending Review and means that each of the 88 most disadvantaged local authorities in England, identified using the index of deprivation, will now receive twice their original allocation for the 2001/02 financial year. A total of £200m will be handed out in 2001/02, £300m in 02/03 and £400m in 03/04.
Making the announcement on January 24, Prescott said the government had decided to make more money available in the first year to kick-start local initiatives tackling poverty. 'We want to see fast and effective progress on this,' he said.
The announcement comes a week after Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the government's neighbourhood renewal action plan, which sets ambitious targets for health, education and housing to raise standards in deprived areas up to national levels. All authorities receiving money will have to set up local strategic partnerships.
Sir Jeremy Beecham, chair of the Local Government Association, said the extra money was 'good news for local authorities'. But Conservative environment spokesman Archie Norman accused the government of bolstering town hall finances in Labour heartlands to limit increases in council tax rates. 'This is a clear sign of Labour panic,' he said.
PFjan2001
