How was it developed?
In 2002, the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, which was housed within the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, recruited 24 community activists from across the UK to advise the Government on neighbourhood renewal issues.
At the end of their first 2-day meeting, all 24 members of the National Community Forum agreed that one of the biggest barriers to achieving neighbourhood renewal was the benefits system. Over the next few years the Forum worked with Ministers and Civil Servants to explore a range of possible solutions to this issue.
During this time, the Forum developed its ideas and created strong partnerships with other organisations that also recognised what a serious issue this was. Jess Steele (who now works at the DTA) developed the Community Allowance and has presented the proposal to 11 different Ministers over the past few years.
