The Department for Communities and Local Government leads on policy and delivery in addressing social exclusion and deprivation in deprived areas. The Department has responsibility for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund which aims to narrow the gap between the 86 most deprived local authority areas and others. It has five key ‘floor targets’, which are: education, employment, crime, health and housing and physical environment.
The new Social Exclusion Taskforce, based in the Cabinet office and formed from some previous Social Exclusion Unit staff, is currently undertaking work on an action plan looking at key priorities for the Prime Minister such as looked-after children, mental health, teenage pregnancy and tomorrow’s problem families.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster chairs the new Social Exclusion Cabinet Committee on which the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government sits as a key member, reflecting the strong synergies between the work of the Cabinet Office and that of the DCLG.