COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

In addition to the priority Objective areas around 5% of the European Structural Fund budget funds four Community Initiatives. The UK will receive around £916 million for these in 2000- 2006.

Of the four, London benefits from two of the Initiatives:

URBAN II Community Initiative

URBAN II is the Community Initiative of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for sustainable development in 70 urban areas of the European Union for the period 2000 – 06. Building on the lessons from URBAN I (1994 – 1999), URBAN II aims to, more precisely, promote the design and implementation of innovative models of development for the economic and social regeneration of troubled urban areas.

The URBAN II Community Initiative programme covers some 2.2 million people across Europe living in 70 urban neighbourhoods in crisis. The key features of the programme include:

• An integrated approach to issues which elsewhere are often tackled in isolation: reinforcing competitiveness; tackling social exclusion; and physical and environmental regeneration.

• A high profile for EU priorities such as the integration of immigrant communities, sustainable development, equal opportunities and the information society.

• Programmes are run at the local level, close to people and their problems. Local authorities are involved in the running of two thirds of the programmes. Urban areas are being enabled to help themselves.

• Close involvement of local communities, who participated in the drafting of over 80% of the programmes. They are also well represented on the monitoring committees. The participation of the local community is a precondition for programme effectiveness, not least when it comes to tackling issues to do with social exclusion or the local environment.

• A built-in learning cycle, with extensive tools for analysing and exchanging experience. Within URBAN, the URBACT programme will structure the identification of good practices and the exchange of experience between some 200 EU cities.

There are 11 URBAN II programmes in the United Kingdom: Belfast, Bristol, Burnley, Clyde Waterfront, Halifax, Hetton & Murton, Normanton in Derby, Nottingham, Peterborough, Sheffield, Stockwell, Thames Gateway and West Wrexham.

The EQUAL Community Initiative Programme’s aim is to “test and promote new means of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in the labour market, both for those in work and for those seeking work, through trans-national co-operation”. EQUAL also includes action to help the social and vocational integration of asylum seekers. EQUAL is funded through the European Social Fund. The total UK allocation is Euro 376 million for the seven-year period 2000 - 2006

EQUAL utilises a thematic approach to testing new ways of delivering policy priorities in the framework of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and the
emphasis on trans-national co-operation. The themes are:

Employability
1. Facilitating access and return to the labour market for those who have difficulty in being integrated or re-integrated into the labour market which must be open to all.
2. Combating racism and xenophobia in relation to the labour market.

Entrepreneurship
3. Opening up the business creation process to all by providing the tools required for setting up in business and for the identification and exploitation of new possibilities for creating employment in urban and rural areas.
4. Strengthening the social economy (the third sector), in particular the services of interest to the community, with a focus on improving the quality of jobs.

Adaptability
5. Promoting lifelong learning and inclusive work practices that encourage the recruitment and retention of those suffering discrimination and inequality in connection with the labour market.
6. Supporting the adaptability of firms and employees to structural economic change and the use of information technology and other new technologies.

Equal Opportunities for women and men
7. Reconciling family and professional life, as well as the re-integration of men and women who have left the labour market, by developing more flexible and effective forms of work organisation and support services
8. Reducing gender gaps and supporting job desegregation

Asylum seekers
9. Helping the integration of asylum seekers.

The UK programme does not include theme 7, as this will be delivered through the adaptability and employability pillars.