[holding answer 13 March 2007]: The Respect taskforce is a unit that works across Government, based at the Home Office. The taskforce includes a mix of substantive civil servants from the Home Office and other Government Departments, staff with specialist backgrounds in research and communications and practitioners from local government and the voluntary sector who are experienced in front line work to tackle antisocial behaviour, deal with problematic families and establish youth and sport activities.
In addition to the Government's Co-ordinator for Respect, the Respect taskforce consists of a director with three main teams focusing on implementation, policy and communications. These teams are responsible for programme management of Respect action plan commitments across Government, working with local agencies and communities to ensure that the Respect programme is making effective progress on the ground, formulation and development of policy and communication through a range of media, campaigns and events. The Respect taskforce also has a small research function to evaluate action taken.