This article was originally published in the Municipal Journal.
Oldham is, perhaps, one of the most fitting venues for the The MJ/Verdus’ debate on cohesion. The city has had more than its fair share of cohesion problems in the past – with the 2001 Oldham riots – but is now one of the most advanced authorities when it comes to solving those problems.
Around the table are experts in the field. They are keen to point out that it is not always clear what is meant when one talks about cohesion – although getting it right is critical. Says one: ‘Central government is fixated with terrorism. It is an understandable obsession, when the stakes are so high, but it is not useful on the ground, when we are trying to build communities.’
‘The fracturing of the white far right is probably more of an issue on the ground than terrorism,’ says another. ‘In some areas this has led to extreme violence.’ One delegate warns over passing the buck back to central government. ‘We shouldn’t blame the Government for what we should have been doing for the last 20 years.’
Nevertheless, one adds: ‘We are far more sophisticated at a local government level than central government.’
In fact, for most of those assembled around the table, Darra Singh’s cohesion report brings nothing new. However, most agree it is useful to bring these things to the attention of central government. What the delegates round the table want from the Government is not prescription, but a ‘narrative’. As the answer to problems will be different for different areas, it would be impossible for the Government to provide an overall solution. ‘I would plead with the Government not to give us national guidelines or policy – not on anything, but must of all not on this,’ says a delegate.
Nationally it is felt that there is a ‘policy blur’ between the very different issues of cohesion, community empowerment and terrorism. Locally, on the other hand, ‘we are getting better at having strategies rather than just having a bundle of things to do.’
And while empowerment is seen as a good thing, one delegate asks where the power is coming from. ‘No-one wants to let go of the power – least of all the Government.’ While David Miliband’s policy of double devolution was around for a while, it is no longer seen as a government policy, and it is suggested that he was ‘slapped down’ for it. But it is not all about what central government is doing. The debate is very open about the mistakes local government has made in the past about dealing with cohesion issues. Says an attendee: ‘We haven’t got it right in local government.’
Early, well-meaning attempts at tackling cohesion can sometimes be damaging to the community. Targeting the ethnic community for regeneration has, at times, created bad feelings. Says another: ‘We sometimes want to homogenise people who are not the same and there is a danger that we group people together, because it is easier to deal with them from a policy perspective than to treat them as different groups.
‘It used to be the case that we grouped all Asian people the same.’ It is also clear that councils are not always talking to the right people within the ethnic communities. ‘We colluded with the idea of self-appointed community leaders because it was easier,’ adds another. The trick now will be to get better at talking to whole communities – both ethnic and otherwise. When councils consult with ethnic groups, it is not their ethnic differences they want to tell the authority about. As one delegate explains: ‘They don’t discuss cohesion. They discuss roads. The issues for the ethnic community are the same as they are for everyone else.’
Traditionally it has been the white middle classes who have been the best at making their voices heard. Says a delegate: ‘We have to make sure all our communities have the same level of confidence. They can’t do it on their own – we have to help them.’
It is up to councils to create ‘confident, successful places, where everyone – young, old, ethnic and women – feel they have a stake’.
It is an issue as much about deprivation as it is about ethnicity. A great deal of the solution to problems of cohesion can be found, it is agreed, within economic development. ‘It is very much related to regeneration. When did you last see someone smash up a BMW in race riots.’
‘The key is about future goals.’ If the future is building confidence and skilled communities to enhance the local economy, then it goes across the board of all under-achieving groups.
There is one major issue with the debate which is apparent from the outset, but goes unmentioned for most of the discussion. The participants are all white, and almost exclusively male. Despite the best intentions of local government, the rhetoric on equality has not quite made it into reality.
However, we are told we should not berate ourselves too much. The equality policies in place are starting to come to fruition at a lower level, and it is only a matter of time before local government starts seeing more ethnic minorities in the top posts.
So, what skills do good cohesion staff have? Generally, it is felt that they are the same skills as those needed for any other post within local government. Perhaps, when the public start to see some of the equality coming through to senior posts, cohesion on the ground will become easier.