ONE NOTTINGHAM

COMMUNITY COHESION STRATEGY

October 2007

Foreword:
Community Cohesion, in its simplest form, is about how people get along together. It lies at the heart of safe and strong communities. The Government has highlighted the need to forge cohesive, self-confident and prosperous communities that are at ease with themselves and emphasises the importance of promoting community cohesion through the Local Strategic Partnership and the Sustainable Community Strategy. (1) This also formed a recommendation of the Commission on Integration and Cohesions final report. (2) A One Nottingham Community Cohesion Strategy means that leaders in the city at the highest level are signed up to it, not only from Nottingham City Council but from other organisations and bodies joining together to promote community cohesion through a co-ordinated partnership approach. This Community Cohesion Strategy and Action Plan is the result of extensive consultation with a wide range of organisations over the last two years. So it includes issues that matter to Nottingham. Community cohesion is about and includes everyone and is much broader than issues of ethnicity and faith. At the heart of the Strategy is the aim to reduce inequalities, discrimination and levels of deprivation. This Strategy draws on the wealth and expertise and experience that Nottingham has built up over the years in improving community cohesion and the Citys pride in the diversity of its population which is continually changing. Nottingham does not show the same signs of community instability as has occurred in some towns and cities in northern England back in 2001, but there are significant issues to address including the disaffection of some young people in our outer estates, inter-generational tensions, territoralism, low ambition and underachievement, inter-cultural disputes, newly arrived communities and hate crime and racial incidents. Schools, employers, leisure and culture, faith communities, the voluntary and community sectors, public bodies and the media all have a vital role to play in encouraging interaction. In summary, this Strategy sets out what more can be done to bring people together, respecting differences, but also developing a shared sense of belonging and purpose.
(1) Strong and Prosperous Communities White Paper, October 2006. (2) Commission on Integration & Cohesion, Our Shared Future Final Report June 2007

What is community cohesion?

Put simply, community cohesion is about how people get along together. But behind that simple concept is a very complex subject matter, for which there is no one solution. Its a relatively new term, which first came into use widely after disturbances in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley in 2001.1 The concept of community cohesion has helped to focus attention on and thinking about the importance of relationships in and between different communities. At the time of writing this strategy, The Commission on Integration and Cohesion2 has published its final report, Our Shared Future, which is based on a year of national research and consultation. One Nottinghams Community Cohesion Strategy has been informed by the findings of the final report, as well as by local consultation. Within the Our Shared Future report is a new definition which outlines the core elements of community cohesion. An integrated and cohesive community is one where: There is a clearly defined and widely shared sense of the contribution of different individuals and different communities to a future vision for a neighbourhood, city, region or country There is a strong sense of an individuals rights and responsibilities when living in a particular place people know what everyone expects of them, and what they can expect in turn Those from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities, access to services and treatment There is a strong sense of trust in institutions locally to act fairly in arbitrating between different interests and for their role and justifications to be subject to public scrutiny There is a strong recognition of the contribution of both those who have newly arrived and those who already have deep attachments to a particular place, with a focus on what they have in common There are strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and other institutions within neighbourhoods3.

Community Cohesion: A report from the Independent Review Team, 2001, Home Office Our Shared Future Commission on Integration and Cohesion June 2007 www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk 3 See page 42 of Our Shared Future report June 2007
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Who is community cohesion about?

Community cohesion is about and includes everyone. In Nottingham, people are very clear that they see community cohesion as much broader than issues of ethnicity or faith. Good community relations are important wherever people live and whoever they are. So, for example, community cohesion is as relevant in outer estates as it is in neighbourhoods close to the city centre; it is as relevant to older people in a neighbourhood as it is to young students. One of the many lessons learned from Bradford, Oldham and Burnley4 was the need to engage positively with all communities. If people are ignored or missed out, then there is a risk that myths and perceptions about some groups being treated more favourably will develop and that can make communities more divided. So, by its very nature, a cohesive community is one which is inclusive. Nationally we are getting better at understanding community relations and what helps to maintain and build up community cohesion. But everywhere is different and a one size fits all approach to improving community cohesion could not take into account the differences between our towns, cities and regions. This strategy aims to reflect the unique circumstances of the city and draws on the wealth of expertise and experience that Nottingham has developed over many years in improving community cohesion. Locally, there is lots of work already going on which directly helps to improve community cohesion. There is a rich variety of work going on in the voluntary and community sectors; in and between different faith groups and organisations; through schools and in the many different aspects of work the local authority and Nottinghamshire Police lead and work on. Some examples of local work are highlighted through this document. So community cohesion is not a new concept or work area for Nottingham there is a strong, historical and current base of activity, expertise, understanding and commitment to continue to build on. This strategy aims to support the work already going on and build on the range of expertise and good practice in the City. We want to improve the level community cohesion in Nottingham, using a positive, preventative approach.

The underlying principle of the Citys Youth Elections is to promote community cohesion amongst young people in the City and to develop them as ambassadors for Nottingham. 41% of the Council representatives are from the Black and Minority Ethnic communities. Members of the Youth Council govern groups, attend neighbourhood voice events and consultations etc. The governance structure of the Youth Council and the Children and Young Peoples Shadow Board feeds into the Strategic Partnership for Children, Young People and their Families Strategic Partnership Board, governed by One Nottingham, the Local Strategic Partnership.

Community Cohesion: A Report from the Independent Review Team, 2001, Home Office

Our vision for community cohesion in Nottingham

Improving community cohesion is integral to realising the One Nottingham vision for the City. The elements which make up the vision statement below are all central factors which contribute to community cohesion. One Nottingham Vision Nottingham is a City to be proud of. We are ambitious for Nottingham. We want our City to be a place of opportunity for all who live, work, learn and visit here. We want to: attract ambitious, creative people to live, work and do business in Nottingham and encourage people to stay and value being part of our City. Choose Nottingham make Nottingham a safe and clean place to live, work and visit. Respect for Nottingham create a safe, supporting and stimulating environment for children and young people to raise their aspirations, enjoy good health and achieve their ambitions. Young Nottingham tackle health inequalities and promote active lifestyles and ensure that Nottingham people are able to live their lives independently. Active and Healthy Nottingham create sustainable communities and neighbourhoods and encourage independence and self sufficiency, making us all proud members of our communities, respecting and valuing each other and our environment. Transforming Nottinghams Neighbourhoods achieve excellence through One Nottingham in partnership working across all agencies and communities. Excellence through Partnerships

Nottingham is currently developing a new Sustainable Community Strategy, building on the current Community Plan (2006 2009). Creating a far reaching, long term vision for the City is an important starting point for the new strategy. Community cohesion will be a central part of the new vision and the resulting strategy.

Why does Nottingham need a community cohesion strategy?

One Nottingham recognised that there was no partnership framework that brought together different stakeholders that are working on community cohesion. Because community cohesion cuts across so many different aspects of life in Nottingham, it also cuts across a wide range of the strategies. For example, just some of the aspects of life that cross cut with different community cohesion issues are employment; children and young people; housing; health; faith; leisure; crime and disorder. In its community leadership role, the City Council continues to play a major role in supporting communities and leading on community cohesion. But no one organisation can work on community cohesion alone. That is why this strategy is being developed through One Nottingham. Partnership working is the only way to really improve community cohesion in the City. A One Nottingham Community Cohesion Strategy also means that at the highest level, leaders in the City will be signed up to the strategy. Committed leadership, not only from the local authority, but from other organisations and bodies, is a necessary ingredient for improving community cohesion. The sharing of resources to build community cohesion is also easier if there is a partnership approach.

Supporting refugee and asylum children to settle into schools and integrate with their peers is the aim of Creative Journeys. This is a project run in primary schools with 3 11 year olds. It involves children having therapeutic art sessions after school and helps them to express some of the effects of the trauma and stress they have experienced. Another benefit of the work has been to build better understanding between the school and parents, as well as improve English language skills. Children have fun and increase in confidence, helping them to integrate more into the life of the school and their new community.

What is already happening and what do we need to do?

Although it is not always labelled as being community cohesion work, there is already a lot of work going on to improve community cohesion and this work continues to be delivered through different strategic plans and schemes. For example, there are: 6 Floor Target Action Plans, which aim to reduce deprivation and inequalities, they cover: Education; Crime; Worklessness; Health; Liveability and Housing Public sector equality action plans, such as race equality and disability equality schemes The Making the Connection employability scheme The Students and Balanced Communities Plan Nottingham Stands Together strategy addressing gun and knife crime 6

Nottingham City Council is currently leading some work on developing a tension reporting system for the City, which will identify potential or actual tensions in neighbourhoods and develop approaches to resolve tensions where they do exist. Neighbourhood Transformation Plans are being developed, which will focus on physical regeneration but also take into account the social regeneration and community cohesion aspects of each neighbourhood. Other work is happening in a wide range of places, such as schools, places of worship, in community centres, with youth groups, refugee and asylum organisations, libraries, on the streets. It is very positive that many services and organisations are already contributing to the cohesion of the City, even if this work is not recognised explicitly as such. The Interfaith Council works in Nottingham to promote understanding and respect for different religions. Bringing people together who might not always meet is a large part of the work. Examples of their work include: holding a residential event, using photography as a way of bringing young people of different faiths together advice and support to a major employer about providing prayer facilities for staff providing schools with advice, resources and help with religious education hosting a conference Engaging Faith for people of faith to meet with the public, voluntary and community sectors

But there is still more to do and like every City, Nottingham has particular challenges. These are some of the current concerns, some of which are already being addressed through the plans and schemes outlined above: discrimination and deprivation are still a reality for many people in Nottingham;5 this includes disabled people and people with mental health problems a lack of understanding and respect between older and younger people living in neighbourhoods the short and long term impact of large numbers of students on neighbourhoods misunderstandings and tensions developing between different people in communities when they dont meet or communicate openly; in some parts of the city territorialism has developed between groups of young people and knife crime is a concern there are newly arrived ethnic minority communities in Nottingham, here from all over the world, to study, work and live in the City, who are not yet engaging significantly in local decision making or accessing resources to support their communities community leadership is not always representative of local communities, so some groups of people are not being listened to or having a say
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See Appendix Four for more general baseline information about Nottingham

We also need to find out more about the people living in Nottingham and their particular needs. The last national census was in 2001. The next census is in 2011. Our profile as a City, in terms of age structure, faith, employment and ethnicity has altered considerably since 2001. Finding out more about those changes and the impact changes have on peoples lives, will help us to understand what we can do to promote community cohesion.

Making it happen: how well improve community cohesion

Because community cohesion is so cross cutting, a range of issues need to be addressed at the same time. The action plan attached to this strategy is deliberately not detailed, but it captures the top level activity needed for the first 2 years of a partnership based strategy. Over the next 2 years One Nottingham will focus on four main strategic aims, which together will improve community cohesion: 1) To reduce inequalities, discrimination and levels of deprivation. One of the underlying causes of poor community relations are inequalities in society, which mean that some groups of people have poorer life opportunities and outcomes because of, for example, their ethnicity, disability, age, faith, gender, sexual orientation or where they live. Addressing inequality and discrimination in terms of, for example, employment, education, housing and health are a central part of improving community relations. One Nottingham partners are already working on this area through, for example, the 6 Neighbourhood Renewal Floor Target Action Plans, Local Area Agreement and individual agency equality action plans. 2) To increase community engagement, sense of belonging and pride A feature of cohesive communities is that there is a feeling of pride in a local area and people have a strong sense of belonging. Some of the ways that these perceptions develop is through local people having a voice and being able to influence decision making about their neighbourhood. Developing representative and strong local leadership is crucial to this, as this helps to ensure that everyones voices are heard and different opinions are taken into account. Community action, whether its purpose is to improve quality of life in an area or to bring people together to celebrate, help to improve pride and a sense of belonging. 3) To increase and promote interaction between people Misunderstandings and mistrust develop when people from different backgrounds dont meet and communicate with each other. Myths and rumours, based on a lack of understanding can lead to tensions. Whether its within communities (for example, bringing older and young people together) or across different communities, ( for example, bringing together groups of young people from different parts of the City), encouraging honest discussion and doing activities together, such as sport or arts based events/projects, can help to break down of misperceptions, improving understanding and community cohesion.

4) To increase safety and respect for individuals and communities People feeling safe and respected, not only in their own neighbourhoods, but anywhere they visit, is important to community relations. This means continuing to reduce levels of crime in Nottingham, challenging extremist views which can lead to hatred and violence and working with communities to resolve tensions that develop within or between communities. In order to deliver against the plan, some Task and Finish groups will be established, which will establish much more detailed delivery plans, to cover the following broad and often cross cutting areas: Communications Children and Young People Building leadership capacity Tension reporting Newly arrived people We are already setting these groups up with named lead officers. We may establish more as we implement the strategy. Nottingham City Council will set up a new Community Cohesion Team in our Community and Culture Department to work across the Council, and with partners, to drive and mainstream cohesion work.

Weeks of Action focus on one area of the City at a time, and aim to improve a number of quality of life areas, such as anti-social behaviour and environmental issues within just one week of very focussed action. This involves lots of pre planning and consultation with the local community. The Crime and Drugs Partnership has led on this initiative and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, because people can see and feel a real difference in their local area.

Arts Council supported Positive Images Events in libraries and other venues and involving young people successfully took place in February and March 2007. This year raised awareness of African and Caribbean, Asian, Kurdish, Chinese and Traveller cultures. A total of 29 workshops were held during these events as many consisted of four week workshops to encourage greater development of participants learning and creative skills.

How will we know if community cohesion is improving?

Because community cohesion is cross cutting, there is not one single way of measuring how all the different aspects of community cohesion are improving. Community cohesion activity should not be measured as if it is an add on to the work of One Nottinghams partners, because by its very nature it is integral to the policy, strategy and service delivery priorities of many agencies. Therefore a range of performance indicators, most of which partners within One Nottingham are already working on through the Local Area Agreement, (LAA) have been selected, which together, will give overall information on the progress being made. All of the 12 indicators in some way support the top level aims in the Action Plan. It should be noted that in the next year we expect that the number and type of indicators overall in the Local Area Agreement will change, as a result of greater local autonomy in deciding which performance indicators are most relevant for Nottingham and a new National Indicator Set of 200 different indicators. A community cohesion indicator is likely to be part of the National Indicator Set, reflecting the importance placed on this issue nationally.

Supporting Communities works with young people mainly aged between 13 19. The overall aim of the work is to prevent young people at risk getting involved in territorialism and violent or drug related crime and is one of the delivery agents for the Nottingham Stands Together strategy. The young people that Supporting Communities works with are often on the margins of communities, not going to school and many organisations find them difficult to work with. By offering young people positive opportunities in education, employment or training and working with their families, there has been significant success in diversion from social exclusion and the associated risks for young people. A recent 5 day trip to Belfast with 24 at risk young people involved lots of planning on conflict resolution and relationship building exercises. On arrival young people linked up with young people from Belfast and took part in a range of activities, including visits to key Loyalist / Protestant and Nationalist / Catholic areas, outward bound activities and a civic reception. The feedback on this event has been very encouraging and follow up work is continuing.

The national indicator that is most commonly used now as a measure is The percentage of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together. This is still the overarching indicator but, because of the cross cutting nature of community cohesion, it does not tell the whole story.

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The table below sets out simply the 12 key performance indicators and targets for the next 2 years.6 Safer Stronger Communities (SSC); Local Area Agreements (LAA); Dept for Works and Pensions (DWP); Black & Minority Ethnic (BME); Key Stage 3 (KS3)

Description of indicator

Type of indicator

Baseline at Target 2006/07 for 2008/09 72% 73%

Responsible officer and reporting mechanism

% of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together Local people who speak positively of Nottingham (MORI survey)

Community harmony

Jo Dean Nottingham Community Network SSC LAA Block Lead Lianne Taylor Acting Director Local Communities
Director of Customer Services MORI Survey

Community harmony

54%

75%

Residents in 6 most disadvantaged wards who are satisfied with neighbourhood as a place to live
Number of racial incidents reported to the Local Authority and subsequently reported per 100,000 population Number of overall crimes as measured by the British Crime Survey % of people who state that there are problems of anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood Number of people in employment in the city Number of Incapacity Benefit claimants in the 9 DWP priority wards % of 15 year old pupils gaining 5 A*-C GCSEs % of BME boys compared to % of all pupils achieving KS3 level 5 or above in English

Community harmony

61%

69%

SSC LAA Block Lead Lianne Taylor Acting Director Local Communities
Ben Browne Common Monitoring Project

Community safety

159

180

Community safety

38,354

31,250 (-32.5%)

Alan Given CDP

Community safety

79%

72%

Alan Given CDP

Reducing inequality Reducing inequality Reducing inequality Reducing inequality

112,400 (Jul 05 Jun06) 10,430

117,503

Simon Green EDE LAA Block Lead Simon Green EDE LAA Block Lead Di Smith CYP LAA Block Lead Di Smith CYP LAA Block Lead

9,907

44.3%

51%

58%

61%

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% of residents who feel they can influence decisions affecting their local area

Community engagement

23%

27%

% of people carrying out voluntary work in an organisation 3 times in the last year

Community engagement

18%

23%

Jo Dean Nottingham Community Network SSC LAA Block Lead Lianne Taylor Acting Director Local Communities Jo Dean Nottingham Community Network SSC LAA Block Lead Lianne Taylor Acting Director Local Communities

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Who is going to make sure that the strategy is put into practice and monitor progress?
A Community Cohesion sub group is being set up, with representatives from the voluntary and community sector, the public sector and the private sector. The sub group will oversee the strategy and make sure that progress is made on all of the actions. The Steering Group will report into the Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership for One Nottingham.

Nottingham City Council is establishing a Community Cohesion Team. This team will co- ordinate the delivery of the strategy and be accountable to the Corporate Director for Community and Culture. Diagram to illustrate the accountability process

One Nottingham Board

Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership

Community Cohesion sub group

Children & young people

Communications

Newly arrived people

Tension reporting

Leadership capacity

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Summary of the strategy and its reporting structure

Outcome Partnership aspiration 4 Aims

Improved community cohesion A shared vision for community cohesion

One: Reducing inequality, discrimination & deprivation Two: Increasing community engagement, belonging & pride Three: Increasing & promoting interaction between people Four: Increasing safety & respect for individuals and communities

Working on a range of targets to..

Improve community harmony Improve community safety Aim One

Conduct action research into needs of migrant workers and any impact locally Challenge negative stereotypes of some groups, through myth busting campaigns Promote benefits of diversity in workplace

Reduce inequality Increase community engagement Aim Two

Develop and implement communications strategy for community cohesion Plan and publicise events which celebrate diversity and bring people together Develop leadership capacity for under represented groups Include cohesion actions in Local Community Plans One Elected Member to champion cohesion in each Area of the city

Objectives

Aim Three:
Develop twinning projects between communities and groups Build closer links with faith groups Develop intergenerational work within communities Improve information for newly arrived people

Aim Four
Develop tension reporting systems across partner organisations Improve hate crime reporting systems and prevention work

Monitoring progress Accountability

Community Cohesion Sub Group Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership to One Nottingham Board

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How has this strategy been developed?

Over the last 2 years the local authority has consulted extensively with over 36 different organisations about community cohesion7. From this, Nottingham City Council agreed on 4 key priorities for community cohesion. These were: gun and knife crime students outer estates inter-generational work

This strategy is based on that consultation work and has taken into account the priorities of the local authority and the achievements that have already taken place within the priorities. As outlined earlier, the Nottingham Stands Together Plan, which is addressing gun and knife crime and the Students and Balanced Communities Plan were both developed as a result of the local authority consulting and setting priorities. Some additional consultation work has taken place in 2007, to make sure that if 8 there were any new issues, these were taken into account.

Overall messages from consultation

People wanted a strategy that: was simple and easy to understand was not set in stone, but a starting point to build on in the future highlighted work already going on through other strategies and plans that help community cohesion was not too ambitious but had a short and achievable action plan for the immediate future was reviewed and refreshed in a years time

Working with children and young people should be at the heart of the strategy because they are the future of the City. People wanted them to be recognised, listened to and given more opportunity to interact with other people, across the city but also with older people in their own neighbourhoods. There is no separate theme or heading about children and young people, but work with children and young people runs through the action plan. Partnership and the need to work positively together also came up as very important. People believe there is more to do to improve relationships between organisations. Working with employers was also seen as important, to highlight the benefits that diversity in the workforce can bring.

7 8

See Appendix One See Appendix Two

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Working across geographical boundaries with Greater Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is vital, as many of the issues go beyond the city boundaries. For example, many people travel into and out of the City for work, leisure and education. Looking at the needs of and issues relating to migrant workers should happen at a sub regional level as well as within the City boundaries. Tensions and crime are not defined by political boundaries and often the solutions are not confined to one local authority area. For example, there is more far right activity in the towns and surrounding areas of Nottingham than within the City boundary, but there can be no complacency about this. Making community cohesion everyones responsibility. By slightly changing what a lot of organisations do already, people said there could be positive benefits for community relations. There is not a lot more money out there so we need to adjust what we are doing now. This is called mainstreaming stopping community cohesion being just an add on to what we do, it should be at the heart of what a lot of organisations are working on now. Taking a neighbourhood approach is important, because every neighbourhood in the city has different issues, different particular sets of issues and causes of tensions. However, this must be balanced with bringing people together from different neighbourhoods, as the strategy should not encourage a focus inward at the expense of interaction between areas.

The Race Equality Council for Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire works continually to eliminate racial discrimination, tackle inequality and promote good community relations. Recent examples of the work around community cohesion include: A day of community partnership dialogue on community cohesion in Radford and Hyson Green A seminar on Working with Conflict, focussing on community relations and ways of intervening to resolve tensions.

The Common Monitoring Project, which records incidents of racial harassment, is also based at the Race Equality Council (REC)

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The values and approach that is needed to make community cohesion improve:
Many people consulted had a view about what community cohesion meant and the values that should underpin a strategy. People said that community cohesion is about everyone feeling comfortable where they live and that they belong. Several important ingredients were highlighted as necessary for good community cohesion. These are summarised as: committed leadership - which reflects the communities that are being represented, in terms of age, ethnicity, gender, faith, disability and sexual orientation fairness and social justice equality of opportunity and similar outcomes for people positive inter-action people from different backgrounds getting along well together mutual respect for the diversity that makes up the communities of Nottingham engagement and empowerment local people having the opportunity to influence the way their communities and the city change and develop a shared sense of responsibility towards the city between different organisations working well in partnership but also between the citizens of Nottingham

The Home Front Recall arts project commemorating the end of World War 2 promoted inter-generational learning and understanding and was funded through a Heritage Lottery grant. The project began with older community members visiting five primary schools in the Meadows area of the City to talk about their war-time experiences and pupils were encouraged to ask questions. The sessions included handling 1940s objects, including gas masks, brought into the classroom. The children also visited Brewhouse Yard Museum where they experienced an air-raid shelter, learnt about food and rations and made their own gas masks. Throughout the project, film-makers recorded the childrens experiences as they interviewed Older people, handled objects, played games from that era and visited museums. The childrens experiences were then pooled together to create a short film depicting a glimpse of life as a child during the World War 2.

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How will the community cohesion strategy link to other strategies?

There are several important partnership strategies that Nottingham is working hard to put into action at the moment. Within these there is lots of work already going on to address some of the underlying causes of tensions in and between communities, many of which relate to social and economic deprivation. The intention is that this community cohesion strategy does not duplicate unnecessarily, or create extra work where another strategy is already dealing with an issue. There are a number of key strategies and plans which, as mentioned earlier in this document, are contributing to improving community cohesion. Some of the strategies that link strongly to community cohesion work are: The Community Plan Neighbourhood Renewal 6 Floor Target Action plans The Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan The City Councils Corporate Plan The Children and Young Peoples Plan Greater Nottingham Partnership strategy Nottingham Stands Together Strategy Students and Balanced Communities Plan The Housing Strategy Voluntary Sector Compact Plus The Core Strategy (a long term spatial vision and strategy) 2006 - 2009 2005 2008 2006 - 2011 2006 2009 2007 - 2010 2004 - 2008 2005-2008 2007

Reassurance and solidarity after the July bombings in 2005 was important across Muslim communities in the UK. One example of what happened in Nottingham was the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police issuing a newsletter full of information about what was happening, but more importantly, full of messages of support for the Muslim communities. The newsletter encouraged hate crimes to be reported and explained the work of the Police with communities to prevent terrorism and deal with any backlash against Muslims.

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Our 4 community cohesion aims and objectives

These are based on the consultation work that we have done over the last 2 years. When reading this it is important to note that there is a lot of work already underway, which aims to address, for example, deprivation, discrimination and the poor outcomes of individuals experience. The objectives below are outstanding gaps or issues that can be addressed in the next 2 years. Many of the objectives do not require any additional resources but are about mainstreaming actions which support community cohesion, through organisations continuing with their core business, but doing things slightly differently, so improvements to community cohesion are developed in a sustainable way. We want to progressively try to ensure that funding to community organisations and groups, where possible, supports community cohesion, through reducing inequality, building local engagement, bringing people together and helping to address tensions. 1) Reducing inequalities, discrimination and levels of deprivation Objectives: Undertake action research on the support needs of migrant workers and any impact on local services and communities Challenge negative stereotypes about groups in Nottingham through a myth busting campaign, starting with children and young people Work with employers and trade unions on promoting the benefits of diversity in the workplace 2) Increasing community engagement, sense of belonging and pride

Objectives: Develop and implement a communications plan for community cohesion, involving the local media Continue to plan and publicise a series of events over the year to celebrate diversity and the contribution made by different communities in the City Develop leadership capacity and representation opportunities to under represented groups, including young people, relatively newly arrived communities, disabled people. Ensure Local Community Plans include community cohesion related actions, based on local consultation Ask for one Elected Member in each Area9 of the City to lead on championing community cohesion

The term 'Area' is used to describe a geographical division of the City primarily for administrative purposes - whereas the term 'neighbourhood' is used to describe a smaller geographical location that a local resident could reasonably associate with.

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3) Increasing and promoting interaction between people - especially those who dont usually have contact Objectives: Establish long term, sustainable twinning projects between schools, community and youth groups, faith groups, using sport, arts and other shared interests to promote contact and understanding Build closer working relationships between faith communities and bodies and public sector agencies, to ensure that they have the opportunity to play a full role in addressing community cohesion issues Develop a range of intergenerational work between children, young people and older people in the City Improve access to information for newly arrived people to integrate within the City

The New Art Exchange in Hyson Green, is due to open in 2008. It will be the UK's only gallery outside London dedicated to black and Asian artists. Housing public galleries, workshop space, rehearsal rooms and offices, as well as a cafe and shop, it is hoped the centre will become the UK's "very best" for multicultural arts. Bringing people together through the arts is a way of promoting learning and understanding about other cultures. The New Art Exchange will play a major role in bringing people together and promoting understanding. The project has been backed by funding from Arts Council England, Nottingham City Council, The Neighbourhood Development Company, the East Midlands Development Agency, the Greater Nottinghamshire Partnership and the European Regional Development Fund. It is expected that the New Art Exchange will form a keystone in the regeneration of the area.

4) Increasing safety and respect for individuals and communities Objectives: Develop reporting systems and tension resolution strategies across partner organisations to pick up and address any concerns of tensions in communities Improve hate crime reporting systems and hate crime prevention work

Nottingham Stands Together strategy aims to eliminate gun and drug related crime in the city. Born out of the tragic death of a young girl, Danielle Beccan, in 2004, the strategy has been a partnership approach, led by Nottingham City Council Elected Members with the Police and the voluntary sector. Much of the work focuses on prevention - stopping young people getting involved in gun and drug related crime in the first place. Other aspects have been a gun amnesty and targeting of suspected offenders. There has been a significant decrease in gun related crime, so much so, that there has been national interest in the work in Nottingham. 20

Appendix One
Consultation by Nottingham City Council in 2005 and 2006 Stakeholders
Islamia Institute Government Office East Midlands Race Equality Council management, staff and General Council Connexions Local MP Community Network Team Interfaith Council Nottinghamshire CC Cohesion Board Pakistan Community Centre chair, staff and members East Midlands Community Cohesion Network Chair: Indian Community Association East Midlands Community Relations Network Clifton Cyber Caf Leicester City Council Social Cohesion Team West Midlands Racial Attacks Monitoring Group LSP consultants Asylum Seekers and Refugee Multi Agency Forum Community Cohesion Pathfinder authorities Nottingham NCVS management Peer Review staff Human Relations Network Local Authorities Inter-faith network Notting shire Police City Division Managers Community cohesion Unit at Home Office Portland College IdeA consultants Learning and Skills Council equality meeting Nottingham Black Partnership Church of England Dioceses Boots Development Trust Within the City Council Muslim Councillors Working Group Bells Lane and Aspley Partnership staff and member The Leader, Deputy Leader, Lord Mayor and Portfolio holders Performance and Strategy Group Other Elected Members Community Development staff and management Asian Youth Conference Area Focus staff and management United Peoples Union members Childrens Services Department Supporting Communities Youth Service New Deal for Communities Equality and Diversity staff Department of Community and Culture Chief Executives Office and senior management team 21

Neighbourhood wardens management Anti Social Behaviour Team Community & Culture staff and management Corporate HR staff and management Project Sangam staff and management Housing Refugee and Asylum seekers staff Marketing and Communications staff and management Respect, Students and Balanced Communities, Nottingham Stands Together, Muslim Action Plan and Outer estates co-ordinators

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Appendix Two
Consultation in 2007
Advocacy in Action Nottingham Primary Care Trust Asian Womens Network One Nottingham Base 51 Race Equality Council Broxtowe Partnership Refugee Action Crime and Drugs Partnership Refugee Forum Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham Supporting Communities Fiann Government Office East Midlands Human Relations Network Interfaith Council Learn New Deal for Communities Nottingham City Council Relevant Elected Members Equality Team Childrens and Young Peoples Services Neighbourhood Services Partnership and Strategy Housing Strategy Museums Nottingham Black Partnership Nottingham City Homes Nottingham Community Network Nottinghamshire Police

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Appendix Three What we know already about our city

A starting point in understanding community cohesion is gathering together some information to help understand what is going on, what the challenges are and what the priorities might be for the future. There is lots of information already available that gives a detailed picture of Nottingham and organisations are working hard together through One Nottingham to keep an up to date picture of what is happening in the City. Much of the information available can be broken down to ward areas or neighbourhood areas.

Population
The population of the city was 278,700 in 2005 based on the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Mid Year estimates

Age
24.8% of Nottinghams population is under the age of 20.There is a large student population - with over 30,000 full time university students estimated as living in the City, this represents 1 in 9 of the population10. However, the number of young children in the city is falling, as evidenced by the 9% decline in primary school population between 2001 2005. In terms of older children, the secondary school population rose by 11% over the same time. The prediction is of an overall decline in school age children of 5% by 201011.

Ethnicity
Nottingham is an increasingly diverse city. Some people are here temporarily. Like other cities, accurate figures are not available about the number of migrant workers and refugees living in the city. We know that at any one time there are up to 1,000 people who are seeking asylum living in the City.12 There is no current information about the numbers of people who are white, but not white British, but this figure would include some European migrant workers and some overseas students. Some caution should be given to the information taken from the 2001 census, as it is now out of date and the categories, in terms of ethnicity, do not accurately reflect the diversity of the City.

10 11

Mid year estimate, ONS 2004 Nottinghams Children and Young Peoples Plan, 2006 - 2009 12 As agreed between the East Midlands and the Borders and Immigration Agency

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In terms of ethnicity, the 2001 census found that: 81.1% of the population was white British 3.6% of the population was Pakistani 3.4% of the population was Black Caribbean 2.3% of the population was Indian 3.1 % of the population were of dual heritage Looking at age and ethnicity, the percentage of children from a minority ethnic background is much higher than the population as a whole. There are around 30% of school age children from a minority ethnic background, compared to 15% of the population as a whole who are not white.

Religion
Using the 2001 census information again, the following gives a picture of religion or faith in the city: Christian Muslim Hindu Sikh Jewish No religion Not stated 57.7% 4.6% 0.8% 1.2% 0.2% 24.8% 9.8%

Economic deprivation
Although the 3rd richest City in terms of Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) per head of population, Nottingham is still ranked the 7th most deprived district out of 354 in England13. As in all other cities, the levels of deprivation vary across the City, with the most deprived wards being St Anns, Aspley, Arboretum and Bulwell. 14 In January 2007, 4.3% of the working age population in Nottingham was unemployed. The national unemployment rate is 2.6%.15 There is a gender difference in terms of unemployment. The male unemployment rate is 6.2%, compared to the female unemployment rate of 2.1%.

13 14

2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation, Average score 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation 15 Office of National Statistics January 2007

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Unemployment figures in Nottingham have not changed significantly in the last 5 years. The 5 areas of the City with the highest rates are: St Anns Bestwood Bulwell Aspley Bilborough 7.6% 7.4% 6.8% 6.8% 5.2%

Of the people unemployed, 13.2% had been unemployed for between 1 and 2 years. 6% had been unemployed for more than 2 years.

Health
Life expectancy Life expectancy is lower than the national UK average by 3 years for men and 2 years of women. But there are marked differences within the City itself. For example, the average life expectancy of a man in Wollaton West ward is 80 years, compared to 67 years for a man living in St Anns ward. 16 Teenage pregnancy Nottingham has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the country. 72.8 of every 1000 young women aged 15 17 became pregnant in 2004. This trend has not changed significantly over the last 10 years.

Disability and work In 2005 10.1% of the working age population (aged 16 24) were claiming Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance. This equates to 17,680 people. Of these, 75% had been claiming for at least 2 years. 50% had been claiming for over 5 years17. 43.3% were claiming Incapacity Benefit on the grounds of mental health problems. In 2005, the 5 areas of the city with the highest rates of working age people claiming Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance were: St Anns Bilborough Bulwell Aspley Bridge 18% 15.7% 13.6% 13.3% 12.8%

16 17

Dept. of Health and Nottingham PCT annual report 2003/04 Department for Work and Pensions September 2005

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Education
Around 40,000 children attend school. 13% of the children have a first language which is not English. In terms of GCSE results, overall they are improving. In 2006, 45% of pupils in Year 11 got 5 or more A*-C GCSEs, compared to 41.5% on 2005. However, looking at Key Stage 3 English results, there is a marked difference in performance, in terms of gender and ethnicity. Only 49% of boys achieved Level 5, compared to 65% of girls. Only 45% of Black boys18 achieved Level 5. Black boys are about 3 times more likely to be permanently excluded from Nottingham City schools than all other boys. In 2004, 37,100 people of working age had no formal qualifications.

Crime and disorder

Overall, the crime rate in the City is falling, but Nottingham still has an above average level of crime. In particular, recorded car and burglary crime is down19. Gun crime levels continue to fall, with a reduction of 74% in 200520. Crime levels are higher in the most deprived areas of the City. There has been an increase in reported hate crimes. It may be that there is greater community confidence in reporting systems and that the actually number of actual incidents has not increased, but reporting of these has increased. Alternatively, it may be that actual numbers of hate crimes has increased over the last 3 years.
Year Reported hate crimes 04/05 793 05/06 809 06/07 843

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ONE NOTTINGHAM

Community Cohesion Action Plan

October 2007

28

Aim One: Reducing inequalities, discrimination and levels of deprivation

Ref. No.

Objective

Link to key strategies & plans Public sector equalities plans

1.1

Undertake action research to identify how migrant workers fit into existing communities; any issues arising from their presence within the local community and how the public, private and voluntary sector agencies are addressing needs Challenge negative stereotypes about a range of groups in Nottingham through a myth busting campaign, starting with children and young people

Lead Organisation & accountability Nottingham City Council reporting into the Community Cohesion Sub Group Nottinghamshire County Council to be approached to work together

Measurements used to determine improvement % of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together

Baseline

Target 08/09 73%

72%

Employment figures

112,400

117,503

Number of incapacity benefit claimants in the 9 DWP priority wards

10,430

9,907

1.2

Links to Childrens and Young Peoples Plan

Nottingham City Council reporting into the Community Cohesion Sub Group and Strategic Partnership for Children, Young People and Families.

Local people who speak positively of Nottingham

54%

75%

Residents in 6 most disadvantaged wards who are satisfied with neighbourhood as a place to live % of 15 year old pupils gaining 5 A*-C GCSEs % of BME boys compared to % of all pupils achieving KS3 level 5 or above in English

61%

69%

44.3% 58%

51% 61%

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1.3

Work with employers and trade unions on promoting the benefits of diversity in the workplace

Community Plan Public sector equalities plans NRF Employment Floor Target Action Plan

Nottingham City Council reporting into the Community Cohesion Sub Group

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Aim Two: Increasing community engagement, sense of belonging and pride

Ref. No.

Objective

Link to key strategies & plans New action

Lead Organisation & accountability Communications Task and Finish Group being set up, reporting to the Community Cohesion Sub Group

Measurements used to determine improvement

Baseline

Target 08/09

2.1

Develop and implement a communications plan for community cohesion, involving the local media

Local people who speak positively of Nottingham (MORI survey)

54%

75%

2.2

Continue to plan and publicise over the year a series of events to celebrate diversity and the contribution made by different communities in the city.

Community Plan

Part of the work of the Communications Task and Finish Group, with Nottingham City Council , Community and Culture reporting to the Community Cohesion Sub Group

% of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together

72%

73%

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Aim Two: Increasing community engagement, sense of belonging and pride

Ref. No.

Objective Develop leadership capacity and representation opportunities to under represented groups including young people and relatively newly arrived communities Ensure Local Community Plans include community cohesion related actions, based on local consultation

2.3

Link to key strategies & plans New action, but links to Children and Young Peoples Plan and Community Strategy

Lead Organisation & accountability

Measurements used to determine improvement

Baseline

Target 08/09

Leadership Capacity Task and Finish Group to be set up with accountability to Community Cohesion Sub Group

% of residents who feel they can influence decisions affecting their local area

23%

27%

% of people carrying out voluntary work in an organisation 3 times in the year Community Plan, Corporate Plan Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council and Community Network reporting to the Community Cohesion Steering Group and the Neighbourhoods and Communities Theme Group, One Nottingham Part of the work of the Leadership Task and Finish Group, reporting to the Community Cohesion Sub Group

18%

23%

2.4

Residents in 6 most disadvantaged wards who are satisfied with neighbourhood as a place to live

61%

69%

2.5

Ask for one Elected Member in each of the 9 Areas of the City to lead on championing community cohesion

New action but links to the Transforming Neighbourhoods and Respect elements of the Community Plan and Corporate Plan Nottingham City Council

% of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together

72%

73%

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Aim Three: Increase and promote interaction between people

Ref. No.

Objective

Link to key strategies & plans New action, but links to Children and Young Peoples Plan, Community Plan and Corporate Plan New action, but links to Children and Young Peoples Plan, Community Plan and Corporate Plan

Lead Organisation & accountability Part of the work of the Children and Young People Task and Finish Group. Likely to be different lead agencies/groups for different Projects. Accountability to the Community Cohesion Sub Group Part of the work of the Children and Young People Task and Finish Group. Likely to be different lead agencies/groups for different projects Accountability to the Community Cohesion Sub Group

Measurements used to determine improvement

Baseline

Target 08/09

3.1

Establish long term sustainable twinning projects between schools, community and youth groups, faith groups

% of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together

72%

73%

3.2

Develop a range of intergenerational work between children, young people and older people in local neighbourhoods

% of residents who feel they can influence decisions affecting their local area

23%

27%

% of people carrying out voluntary work in an organisation 3 times in the year

18%

23%

3.3

Improve access of information for newly arrived people to integrate into the city

New action, but links with Floor Target Action Plans, Community Strategy and Corporate Plan

Part of work of the Newly Arrived People Task and Finish group Accountability to the Community Cohesion Sub group

33

Aim Three: Increase and promote interaction between people

Ref. No.

Objective

Link to key strategies & plans Public sector equality plans

Lead Organisation & accountability Nottingham City Council

Measurements used to determine improvement % of residents who feel their area is a place where people of different backgrounds get along together

Baseline

Target 08/09 73%

3.4

Build closer working relationships between faith communities and bodies and public sector agencies, to ensure that they have the opportunity to play a full role in addressing community cohesion issues

72%

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Aim Four: Increase safety and respect for individuals and communities
Ref. No.

Objective

Link to key strategies & plans Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan

Lead Organisation & accountability Tension reporting Task and Finish Group working with Government Office East Midlands and other local authorities, accountable to the Community Cohesion Sub Group

Measurements used to determine improvement Number of overall crimes as measured by the British Crime Survey

Baseline

Target 08/09 31,250

4.1

Develop reporting systems and tension resolution strategies across partner organisations to pick up and address any concerns of tensions in communities

38,354

% of people who state that there are problems of anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood

79%

72%

4.2

Improve hate crime and racial incidents reporting systems and prevention work

Crime and Drugs Partnership Hate Crime Strategy and Public sector equality plans

Nottingham City Council with the Crime and Drugs Partnership reporting to Community Cohesion Sub Group

Number of racial incidents reported to the Local Authority and subsequently reported per 1,000 population

159

180

35