21 May 2004
Community cohesion should be given the same degree of importance as health and education in council inspections, influential MPs said last week.
The committee that monitors the work of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment should monitor social cohesion and recommended that council officers be rewarded for promoting good community relations.
Although progress has been made since 2001's race-related riots in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford, the report called for better co-ordination between agencies at national and local level.
Committee chair Andrew Bennett said: 'The government needs to tell all departments to take social cohesion more seriously and to address it in all their programmes. Short-term programmes helping one neighbourhood can prove divisive, pitting one community against another. All initiatives should be part of a wider strategy.'
PFmay2004
