Small Retailers in Deprived Areas
FAQs
Q2 Why are you helping businesses providing essential services as well as small retailers?
Q4 What about pockets of deprivation in otherwise affluent areas?
Q8 What controls are in place to ensure that the funding in spent effectively?
Q12 What is the difference between capital and current expenditure?
This project is just one part of the Government's strategy to regenerate rundown communities. Other measures include: New Deal for Communities, nearly £2bn allocated to support community partnerships; Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, £900m to help tackle the problems that plague the poorest neighbourhoods; Crime Reduction Programme – nationally over £340 million allocated to over 1450 projects in England and Wales. Under the Crime Reduction Programme, each of the 20 separate initiatives support a range of crime-fighting projects on the ground such as CCTV, reducing burglary and targeted policing.
Q2 Why are you helping businesses providing essential services as well as small retailers?
Parades of shops often contain laundrettes, fast food outlets, hairdressers, dentists etc and in order to achieve the greatest benefit of security improvements to a group of shops, these businesses need to be included in the scheme. Improvements to just half of the units in a shopping parade or precinct for example is unlikely to have a significant impact on crime reduction as some of the crime would probably be displaced to the shops which are not protected.
Q3 Why are you only looking at the 10% most deprived areas? Surely shops up and down the country suffer similar problems?
The Social Exclusion Unit's Policy Action Team on Improving Shopping Access underlined the need for action to prevent and reduce crime against shops in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We wanted to ensure that the funding has maximum impact and therefore adopted strategic approach, targeting areas with the worst problems.
Q4 What about pockets of deprivation in otherwise affluent areas?
We recognise that there may be particular problems of crimes impacting on small retailers in areas which do not fall within the 10% most deprived areas. Therefore regional Crime Reduction Directors have discretion to put forward exceptional cases. From the year one proposals, wards in both Medway and Rotherham received funding although they fall outside the 10% areas, since they do have significant problems with retail crime, and in year 2 we are helping 25 areas in this category. Also we are basing our funding provision on deprived wards which is more likely to pick up smaller pockets of deprivation than larger local administrative areas.
Q5 Some of the proposals suggest CCTV. Are these unsuccessful proposals from the main CCTV initiative, which have now succeeded?
The proposals which have been put forward for CCTV under this scheme mainly deliver very small, independent CCTV systems and are quite different from the large scale bids we have seen under the CCTV initiative. However, under the main CCTV scheme a number of bids have had to be turned down for various reasons. Provided our concerns have been addressed, it is entirely reasonable that high quality proposals which meet the eligibility criteria for this scheme should be considered.
Q6 Why are you helping public houses, when they can be considered as a contributory factor in causing drunkenness and disorder problems?
Licensed premises including pubs can suffer similar problems of crime as the local shops, especially if they are located nearby (eg broken windows, graffiti etc). It would not be right to exclude them, since it could also be argued that because of their trading hours and the products they sell, off-licences, fast food outlets and others also influence the crime problems of an area. In some of these deprived areas, pubs often provide a focal point for the local community and in terms of regenerating an area in a strategic way, it is right not to exclude them.
Q7 What commitment do retailers have to give to the scheme?
Where equipment is installed, retailers have to undertake to maintain it to an appropriate standard. Many, in fact, have gone further and offered funding, or contributions to other security measures to increase security and awareness of security issues. One significant benefit of this scheme is that it has encouraged retailers to become involved in the work of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.
Q8 What controls are in place to ensure that the funding in spent effectively?
The scheme is administered by local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, supported by regional Crime Reduction Teams. They have been responsible for identifying the areas which can most benefit from this funding; they ensure that the work is carried out correctly to the required standard; and they reclaim monies from the regional teams in arrears. All participating Partnerships agree detailed conditions of funding which are issued centrally to ensure proper controls are in place.
Q9 Has any additional funding been secured?
A small number of schemes have secured additional funding either from other Government funding streams, or from private businesses. The Kensington and Chelsea scheme for example has secured £160k from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and local businesses.
Q10 How are you going to measure the impact of the scheme?
An in-depth evaluation is considering 5 projects in the Yorkshire and Humber region from the first year of funding, and a further 3 have been selected from year two. This evaluation will gather specific information on what intervention types are effective in reducing crime against small retailers. A further sample survey of 25-30 projects will also be carried out to provide an analysis of outcomes. This combination should provide a reliable and representative indication of overall effectiveness.
Q11 When will year 3 funding be announced?
Early in the next financial year (2003-2004).
Q12 What is the difference between capital and current expenditure?
Costs directly attributable to bringing an asset into working condition for its intended use are capital expenditure, eg the purchase and installation of an alarm system. Funding can be used for security upgrades to individual businesses eg toughened glass, locks, alarms, overt/covert/mobile CCTV, security mirrors etc or to pay for measures which will help improve the crime deterrence and appearance of the immediate environment such as measures to tackle graffiti and litter, and the provision of better lighting.
Expenditure on consultancy or expert advice to help decide whether a capital acquisition should go ahead is classed as current expenditure and cannot be met from this fund. There are no funds available for running costs. Therefore the cost of a security guard for a year for example cannot qualify under this scheme. Neither can the fund be used to finance a legal process such as the granting of exclusion notices to known shop thieves. Training aids can be funded but the costs of running training and the long term resourcing of the learning process would need to be met elsewhere.
Q13 What reduction in crime are you looking to achieve?
Local crime reduction teams have to be satisfied that adequate local targets have been set, and systems put in place to measure performance against them. Outcome targets for the various projects range from a 10-50% reduction in certain types of crime.
Q14 How can I apply for funding?
Anyone interested in applying for funding should contact their local Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership. Their details are available from the local Government Office in the Regions. Government Offices in the Regions.
The Regional Crime Director considers proposals from the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and decides how to allocate the funding within his/her region. The funding is then administered through the Partnerships, as their main aim is to work with the local community to find the best solutions to tackling the most prevalent problems.
Last update: 11/09/03