Communities secretary, Hazel Blears, has warned she expected swift progress on the latest multi-area agreements (MAAs), now they had been linked to the Government's recession-tackling programme. Ms Blears told The MJ there would be ‘no excuses' for failure to deliver against new targets to boost jobs, skills and training across some of the UK's most deprived communities – despite the UK's deepening economic gloom. The communities secretary spoke after she joined prime minister, Gordon Brown, to launch three new MAAs on 12 January, covering the Liverpool city-region, Leicester and Leicestershire, and Pennine Lancashire. The MAAs devolve additional economic autonomy and include strict targets for job creation and skills programmes. Ms Blears acknowledged that while MAAs pre-dated the downturn – half of England's major cities will be covered by an agreement by 2010 – new arrangements would include recession-busting targets. She said: ‘It is part of the short-term [plan] – getting us through difficulties with skills and training. But it is also about getting the right framework in place for when the economy turns up so those parts of the country [with MAAs] can take advantage and don't get left behind. ‘In previous recessions… places such as Liverpool got left behind. They lost their skills base and the result was long-term unemployment. We then spend years – a generation – trying to recover.' Cllr Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council's leader, enthused about the city-region's new autonomy. But he warned tackling embedded unemployment would take time. ‘In parts of north Liverpool, 40% of the population are economically inactive. We've got an opportunity to tackle this, but these are… challenges for the longer-term.' Ms Blears responded: ‘I think Mr Bradley is being slightly unambitious. Liverpool's [total employment] figure is close to 70%, which is only five points behind the national average. I will say to him "you can do it – no excuses."'
