'Change needed' to tackle poverty

Butetown in Cardiff is one of the areas to receive Communities First help

A flagship programme to tackle poverty is unlikely to meet its objectives without significant change, a watchdog has said.

A review by the Auditor General for Wales said Communities First must be a clearer priority for ministers and councils if it is to succeed.

Around £214m has been spent in eight years on the scheme but Jeremy Colman said it was not monitored properly.

The assembly government said there was room for improvement.

Communities First was launched in 2001 to provide funding to the most deprived areas in Wales, such as parts of Rhyl, Merthyr Tydfil and Butetown in Cardiff.

It aims to involve local people in deciding what is needed to improve their area and support them in making it happen.

Since the programme's launch in 2001, local partnerships have been set up to coordinate a wide range of activities, such as health and well-being events, community safety promotions, youth projects, training courses and environmental clean ups, in the areas they represent.

The assembly government needs to work much more closely with other public bodies, particularly councils Jeremy Colman, Auditor General for Wales

But, the report said, it was not until 2007 that the assembly government took steps to monitor whether these partnerships were being run as intended.

Following reviews of the programme, it has improved the way it manages the different projects and the auditor general said that local communities have, generally, benefited from these partnerships and the activities they are responsible for.

However, Mr Colman said the assembly government could not demonstrate how far Communities First is meeting its "very ambitious and challenging" objectives because it had not monitored the programme properly.

The report said to improve the way the programme is delivered, the assembly government should make it a "clearer priority" across its own departments.

It also recommended that the assembly government provide additional support to the community projects, while working closer with councils and other public bodies.

Parts of Rhyl are among the most deprived in Wales

Mr Colman said Communities First had "delivered local benefits".

"But eight years into the programme the assembly government is still not tracking the full extent to which the programme is tackling deprivation and improving living conditions for those in poverty," he said.

"The assembly government needs to work much more closely with other public bodies, particularly councils, so they maximise their contribution to the programme. It also needs to improve the priority given to Communities First by its own departments."

The assembly government said it would look at the findings of the report carefully.

A spokesman said: "Communities First is a long term initiative to tackle the difficult and entrenched issues faced by the most deprived areas in Wales.

"We have established nearly 160 partnerships that are helping to improve their communities through providing training, delivering youth projects or making their areas safer.

"However, we recognise that improvements have been necessary and the report acknowledges that we have made significant progress in key areas.

"For example, in the way we allocate funding, monitor and manage partnerships' progress, and encourage them to focus more on what they need to achieve."