Welsh Conservative Shadow Secretary for Communities, Mark Isherwood AM, has urged the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children to engage with communities in the phasing out of Communities First.
Three weeks ago, Mr Isherwood expressed concern that a Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children on ‘Resilient Communities – Next Steps’ ignored key report findings that programmes should not be directed top down.
Raising the matter again in the Assembly Chamber this week, he said:
“When you announced that you were phasing out Communities First, my response referred to the ‘Valuing Place’ report commissioned by the Welsh Government, based on research in three communities, including Connah’s Quay, somewhere I think you’re very familiar with. They found that establishing local networks to connect people together who want to take local action should be of priority.
“In the answer you’ve just given, you referred to the delivery boards and local authorities, but how do you respond to the article from the Bevan Foundation in their spring 2017 publication exploring what the idea of resilient communities is, stating that community buy-in is essential and there’s a consensus that, if people feel that policies are imposed on them, the policies don’t work?”
The Cabinet Secretary said he intends to make sure that Public Services Boards and Local Authorities are very close to their communities.
He said: “We legislated on this, about engagement being a critical part of involvement in decision making.”