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Friends of Daisy Farm Park, Billesley.
Neighbourhood Wardens Enquiry
“When regeneration minister Lord Rooker described neighbourhood warden schemes as one of the most cost effective things ever done by the government, he was greeted with an almost universal nod of approval.
‘We would be barmy and shooting ourselves in the foot not to continue with it,’ is what he told delegates at a conference in Birmingham.
Politicians agreed, civil servants agreed, the private and voluntary sectors agreed and, most important of all, communities agreed.
Why then are there still question marks over the future of this hugely successful army of men and women on the frontline of neighbourhood renewal?”
(from New Start magazine, 20 November 2003)
The Birmingham Strategic Partnership has backed an enquiry to be led by b:cen into why successful neighbourhood warden schemes in the city are at risk of folding as their initial funding runs out.
b:cen manager, Paul Slatter, explains: “There is a widespread feeling that many of the initiatives funded by neighbourhood renewal fund in Birmingham have not been ‘mainstreamed’. Initiatives like neighbourhood wardens get special funding in the short term. But when the regeneration ‘funny money’ runs out, they are dropped – even if they have been successful, as the warden schemes appear to have been, in meeting neighbourhood renewal targets.”
‘Mainstreaming’ means working out whether initiatives work and – if they do – making sure they continue to be funded through main police, council and other budgets. There is published evidence that shows warden schemes have reduced crime and fear of crime in target neighbourhoods. Wardens are helping to improve the local environment and deter anti-social behaviour. The aim of the enquiry is to find out if they are working, why aren’t they being funded long-term?
The seven person Panel conducting the Enquiry will bring together representatives of Birmingham City Council, the Police service, housing associations and voluntary groups involved in organising warden schemes and community and resident groups. The Panel will meet over the next three months to direct further research and to work out what is stopping warden schemes – and other NRF-funded initiatives – from being mainstreamed. Neighbourhood Wardens Proposal Briefing 1 for Panel Members Questionnaire for Scheme Managers