Communities First

Communities First (Welsh: Cymunedau yn Gyntaf) is a programme designed to increase participation and develop the capacity of Welsh communities to make decisions and run projects. The programme was established by the Welsh Government’s Department for Social Justice and Regeneration in 2002. It operates within 142 communities in Wales, some of which are geographical based on County Council wards or specific parts of wards. Others communities are based on disadvantaged groups such as ethnic minorities and sensory impaired communities.

History

The Welsh Assembly grew concerned that many of Wales’ communities were suffering from lack of investment, stagnation, and apathy. It embarked on research in order to identify the areas in need of most attention. In 2000, the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) was released. The WIMD measured six ways how County Council wards compared:

Income

Employment

Health

Education

Housing

Access to Services

There were a total of 865 County Council wards when the report was written and the Social Justice and Regeneration Department chose to make the 100 most deprived wards Communities First areas. The Communities First areas are spread throughout Wales with eighteen local authorities having Communities First areas within their borders. The remaining four local authorities that do not have wards within the one hundred most deprived are Ceredigion, Monmouth, and the Vale of Glamorgan, although some of these local authorities have areas of interest based on disadvantaged groups such as geographically isolated communities.

The Communities First Programme is designed as a “bottom up” approach meaning that major strategic decisions are left to the Communities First Partnership and are merely facilitated by the Communities First support teams and other stakeholders outside the community such as business and voluntary organisations.

The makeup of most Communities First Partnerships is based on one third of members being residents of the community itself, one-third as representatives of statutory bodies; the remaining third come from the voluntary and business sectors.

Key Themes

Although the partnerships are there to oversee the strategy of the programme in each individual area, the Welsh Assembly Government has given guidance in the main subjects that should be considered by the partnerships. These are based on the subject areas covered in 2000’s Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. The six Key Themes are:

Jobs and Business

Education and Training

Environment

Health and Well being

Active Community

Crime and Community Safety

The 2000 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation has undergone revisions in both 2005 and 2008 and the six Key Themes highlighted above, (also known as the Communities First Vision Framework) have been augmented by the addition of Child Poverty as a vision framework theme in its own right. The active community theme is now known as an overarching or cross cutting theme that impacts across one or more of the above themes.

The Communities First programme continues to be delivered across Wales within its targeted and identified communities, the programme remains under review by the Welsh Assembly Government and a decision on its future post 2012 is yet to be made. No decision will take place on the future of the programme until after the Welsh Assembly elections of May 2011.

Whilst Communities First is a bottom up approach to community regeneration, it is recognised across the programme that for projects and activities to be successful, communities need to engage with local service providers in order to work together to address the problems associated with poverty and disadvantage within communities. Many successful projects have been and continue to be developed within the programme however the multi dimensional nature of poverty and disadvantage makes addressing compound problems even more difficult particularly when working in isolation. Examples of activities developed by Communities First since the programme began are: -

• Support and encouragement to Credit Unions to increase their membership
• Construction industry training scheme targeted at school pupils at risk of exclusion
• Developing Young people’s clubs and youth fora
• Developing Food Cooperatives
• Providing training to increase people’s skills and job readiness
• Projects aimed at improving the local environment

Member Wards

Member wards include:

• Ely and Caerau, Cardiff Ely and Caerau Communities First Website
• Caerau, Bridgend Caerau Communities First Website
• Cwmaman in Rhondda Cynon Taff
• Peblig Ward, Caernarfon - Gwefan Ddwyieithog / Bilingual Website
• Talysarn and Nantlle
• Penywaun, Rhondda Cynon Taff
• Bettws, Newport
• Gaer, Newport
• Maesglas, Newport
• Stow Hill, Newport
• Monkton, Pembrokeshire Monkton Communities First Website
• Llanion, Pembrokeshire Lanion Communities First Website
• Llangefni, Ynys Môn, Ward Tudur
• Briton Ferry West Briton Ferry West Communities First Website
• Cymmer (Afan Valley)
• Glyncorrwg
• Gwynfi
• Neath East Neath East Communities First Website
• Onllwyn Upper Dulais Valley Communities First Website
• Pelenna Pelenna Communities First Website
• Sandfields East
• Sandfields West
• Seven Sisters, Neath Port Talbot Upper Dulais Valley Communities First Website
• Wildmill, Bridgend Wildmill Communities First Website
• Ystalyfera
• Maesgeirchen
• Nantyglo Communities First (website: http://www.nantyglocf.org.uk)
• Six Bells
• Ebbw Vale North and South, Blaenau Gwent (website: http://www.communitiesfirstevns.co.uk/index.php)

External links

• Communities First (Official site)