3.12 The current definition of a cohesive community is one where:
G There is a common vision and a sense of belonging for all communities
G The diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances are appreciated and positively valued
G Those from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities, and
G Strong and positive relationships are being developed between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and within neighbourhoods
3.13 This definition has value and there are some elements of what we want to capture that are addressed by the general thrust of it (if not the precise wording):
G In ‘a common vision and a sense of belonging for all communities’ and
‘strong and positive relationships’ we can see the sense of a shared purpose that has informed our thinking on ‘shared futures’.
In Barking and Dagenham, the Local Authority is preparing, with its partners, to embark on a programme of community engagement in relation to the development of a new community cohesion strategy for the borough. Part of that exercise is designed to develop a shared understanding of what a cohesive borough might look like. The following draft definition has been developed for discussion as part of that process:
G a strong community who can expect equal and fair access to customer focussed services; and
G a place where people, who through mutual respect can together enjoy safe and peaceful lives and look forward to the future
G ‘The diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances are
appreciated and positively valued’ is close to the respecting of diversity that we have emphasised – although it does not address the challenge of how to bind people together in the face of increasing difference.
G ‘Those from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities’
echoes our own strong commitment to a sense of equality of opportunity and treatment.
G And ‘relationships being developed between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and within neighbourhoods’
supports the four spheres of interaction first outlined in our interim statement, and examined in more detail below.
3.14 However, there are also some elements of what we want to capture that are not addressed by the current definition of cohesion. We believe that what is missing is the acknowledgement of:
G A sense of local specificity – and the importance of both a national sense of belonging and of the local processes that distinguish one part of the country from another.
G A recognition of how focusing on diversity and difference has the potential to divide communities – and how the element of ‘shared futures’ set out in this report helps bind people together in their common interests and shared experience of change.
G The fact that as diversity in some areas becomes more complex (experienced both as locally distinctive and globally influenced),
cohesion will depend on a trust in institutions to act fairly, to arbitrate fairly between different claims, and to allocate fairly resource across different communities. (This could be called ‘political trust’, but we are not talking exclusively of central, regional or local government. Instead we are thinking about a healthy civil society in which people feel able to call to account decision makers, institutions, politicians and – perhaps most importantly – each other for their actions, their share of resources and their role in deciding the future).
G A sense of mutual hospitality or mutual respect that recognises that even where strong relationships do not yet exist, the contributions of both those who have strong local attachments and those that are strangers locally are important. And that underlines the importance of civility to each other – including between people within the same group or community.
A NEW DEFINITION OF INTEGRATION AND COHESION 41
3.15 Consequently we believe that we should adopt a new definition as follows:
3.16 This new definition is born in part from very practical conversations with the people we have met, as well as reflecting the highlights of our research programme. To move towards it, we think that there should be two sorts of work:
G Mainstreaming activities that factor in the level of aspiration set out by our definition, and that consider new programmes, funding and developments in this light.
G Specific and practical projects that are badged as integration and cohesion, and are delivered separately by a range of partners.
An integrated and cohesive community is one where:
G There is a clearly defined and widely shared sense of the contribution of different individuals and different communities to a future vision for a neighbourhood, city, region or country
G There is a strong sense of an individual’s rights and responsibilities when living in a particular place – people know what everyone expects of them, and what they can expect in turn
G Those from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities, access to services and treatment
G There is a strong sense of trust in institutions locally to act fairly in
arbitrating between different interests and for their role and justifications to be subject to public scrutiny
G There is a strong recognition of the contribution of both those who have newly arrived and those who already have deep attachments to a particular place, with a focus on what they have in common
G There are strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and other institutions within neighbourhoods.
A NEW DEFINITION OF INTEGRATION AND COHESION 43
Having set out our analysis of the current challenges to integration and cohesion, and the proposed definition that flows from this, the remainder of our report considers how best to effect this change in both national and local policy.
We have used the four key principles that emerged from our thinking to organise our report. Chapters 4-7 therefore set out:
G the sense of ‘shared futures’ which we believe is at the heart of our model and our recommendations – an emphasis on articulating what binds communities together rather than what differences divide them, and prioritising a shared future over divided legacies
G an emphasis on a new model of responsibilities and rights that we believe will be fit for purpose in the 21st century – one that makes clear both a sense of citizenship at national and local level, and the obligations that go along with membership of a community, both for individuals or groups
G a new emphasis on civility and mutual respect, that recognises that alongside the need to strengthen the social bonds within groups, the pace of change across the country reconfigures local communities rapidly – and that means a mutual hospitality within and between groups
G a commitment to equality that sits alongside the need to make social justice visible, to prioritise transparency and fairness, and build trust in the institutions that arbitrate between groups.
Chapter 8 then considers the practical action in particular spheres of interaction that can be taken to make these principles a reality.