Consultation purposeNewcastle City Council’s first ever strategy for social inclusion is currently at draft stage, a copy is posted below together with a summary version.
We intend that this strategy will help to shape the way in which we work with the most disadvantaged groups of people in the City. Your input is vital to ensure we get this right, that we target the right groups and that our approach in doing so is as effective as possible. Drawing on your skills and experience and your knowledge on specific issues, we aim to incorporate your views to create a practical, fully functional strategy and action plan.
We also hope that the strategy helps to explain the complexities of social inclusion and to put it into context in Newcastle. One of the things you will see from reading this strategy is that we take a broad view of social inclusion. We see it as an umbrella term which also includes equal opportunities, better and more far reaching service provision and the building of more cohesive communities. We try to explain the links between these concepts.
We also want to work effectively with community groups, voluntary agencies and other organisations in the City to tackle social exclusion. We know that much good work is going on but we want to hear about it and gather experiences and advice from other organisations and from residents. We know that we cannot tackle exclusion alone.
We would also like your initial thoughts on what you would like to see in our Community Cohesion Strategy – as mentioned in the Social Inclusion Strategy.
We welcome and look forward to receiving your thoughts on the draft strategy and ask that you consider the following questions in doing so.
• Is our definition and model of social inclusion appropriate?
• Have we identified the right priority groups?
• Does the evidence support our choice of groups?
• Is our approach correct and our proposed working methods right?
Details of the consultation outcomes and feedback on them can be found in the attached consultation summary report.