The Welsh Labour Party: Making our communities safer and stronger

Labour’s defining mission is social justice. Our aim is to widen opportunity and to regenerate those communities in greatest need. We are tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and making our communities stronger and safer for all.

Stronger communities

New Small Business Rate Relief scheme, wholly funded by the Assembly Government, will provide relief to nearly 49,000 small businesses across the whole of Wales, with enhanced relief for small Post Offices from April 2007.
Established a Post Office Development Fund to support post offices in rural and deprived communities. More than £4m has been awarded to 106 post offices.
The Communities First programme has been launched to help regenerate the poorest 130 communities in Wales. Since 2001 more than £125 million has been provided in funding by the Assembly Government.
463 local community and voluntary projects have been supported through the Community Facilities and Activities programme. Through this, local community facilities are being improved and modernised.
Over £33m has been invested through the Physical Regeneration Fund. Schemes benefiting from the fund include plans in Newport to improve premises for businesses and the regenerating Senghenydd town centre in Newport.
More than £25m a year is invested in Renewal Area schemes. This is helping to regenerate housing and local communities in 18 local authority areas.
Launched Communities@One programme to ensure people from the most deprived communities have access to new technology.
Increased investment in local council services.
With Labour, Wales has the lowest council tax levels in the UK.

Safer Communities

Established a £127m Crime Fighting Fund to support practical measures to cut crime and to tackle anti-social behaviour, such as support for Operation Tarian and tackling environmental crime in Cardiff.
The crimes most people experience are down by 35% in Wales since 1997. The chances of being a victim of a crime are at their lowest since 1981.
Working in partnership with the UK Labour Government, there are 1,000 more police officers in Wales.
There are nearly 300 more Community Support Officers in Wales, a figure which will rise to nearly 700 during 2007.
New powers introduced to tackle anti-social behaviour. So far in Wales, more than 300 anti-social behaviour orders have been issued.
Established Community Safety Partnerships to promote local action to tackle anti-social behaviour. They are backed by more than £16m of Labour Assembly funding.
Youth Offending and Substance Misuse Strategies launched to help cut crime and the causes of crime.
Domestic violence strategy launched. An extra £1.5m of investment has been announced in Labour’s Assembly budget for next year to provide more refuges and sexual counselling services.
Investment in alcohol and drug misuse services increased by 600% since 2002.
Established an all Wales schools programme to help educate young people on the problems of substance misuse. More than 95% of schools participate in the scheme and more than 70 police school liaison officers are in place.

Improving Housing Quality

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme set up to provide assistance for greater energy efficiency measures, such as central heating, loft insulation and cavity wall insulation for the elderly, disabled and families on low incomes. 64,000 households across Wales have been helped since the scheme was launched in 2000 - £74 million will have been made available by the end of 2006/07
A 62% increase in the Social Housing Grant between 2005 and 2008. By 2008 the annual social housing budget will be £96m.
Over the next three years the Social Housing Grant will provide an additional 3,000 homes for rent or low cost ownership.
Welsh Housing Quality Standard introduced to improve all social housing by 2012. This will mean all homes will be well insulated, have up to date kitchens and bathrooms, and will be in safe neighbourhoods.
Established the HomeBuy scheme to help first-time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder.
Launched the Affordable Housing Toolkit to help raise the level of affordable housing across Wales.
Revised planning guidance to make it easier to build affordable housing.
In the last full year, the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme completed more than 3,200 Benefit Entitlement Checks identifying over £2m of unclaimed benefits for nearly 1,200 Welsh homes.
Extra support for Care and Repair Cymru, so that can help pensioners and the disabled to remain independent and safe in their own homes.
Launched the Rapid Response Adaptations Programme in 2002. The scheme helps to make improvements in older people’s homes to allow them to return more quickly from hospital.

Tackling homelessness

There has been a ten fold increase in investment to tackle homelessness in Wales. Today £6m is being invested to support over 130 projects.
A national homelessness strategy was launched and new legislation introduced to end the use of bed and breakfasts as long term accommodation for vulnerable people.
Labour’s investment and action has seen homelessness fall by 35% since 2005. The use of temporary accommodation has fallen by 15% and the use of B&B accommodation has dropped by 30%.