Whitehall officials have vowed to work with local government on the development and implementation of their cross-government action plan to improve social cohesion.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is developing a social cohesion measurement framework, which it plans to use to track and monitor emerging tensions.
It comes after calls from experts, including Dame Sara Khan, for clearer, consistent metrics to measure local cohesion.
The Government will also introduce a ‘local cohesion risk assessment tool to help councils identify and respond to emerging tensions earlier' – ‘underpinned by consistent national metrics so risks can be assessed quickly and acted on before they escalate'.
Ian Day, director for public services at Calderdale Council, which is understood to be the first in the country to formally approve a community tension protocol, told The MJ: ‘I think the Government is open to conversations with councils. I think we've got the framework of something that will work.'
Peter Golds, a member of the Local Government Association's (LGA) safer and stronger communities committee, said: ‘Give us the tools and we will deal with it. Those tools need to be strong tools.'
Thalia Marrington, another member of the committee, added: ‘We've got so polarised now, we have to do something about community cohesion. I think if we don't deal with this, democracy is not working. Councils have a big part to play.'
Last month the UK's Core Cities said it was ‘time for us to speak up about the growing problem of racism that is emerging from the dark corners of the internet and onto our streets and in our communities'.
A Core Cities spokesperson said: ‘Threats of violence are on the rise, racist language and graffiti are becoming more commonplace and too many of our citizens are being intimidated and made to feel unwelcome in their own communities. This is simply unacceptable, and we call on our 25 million citizens – the vast majority of whom understand how different faiths and cultures enhance our cities – to join with us to call it out.'
Whitehall officials said it was too early to comment on whether councils would be assessed or judged on how they promote social cohesion or British values and whether metrics would be used to inform funding, intervention or performance discussions. They have yet to agree the indicators that will be used to measure cohesion at a local level or decide whether they would be published.
LGA vice-chair Hannah Dalton, who attended a ministerial roundtable on community integration last month, said: ‘Councils bring knowledge and expertise, but I think it's a shared responsibility. Judging any council based on metrics without a wider understanding of the context is never going to be particularly helpful.'
