by Our Lobby Correspondent

OLDHAM Council was last night urged to better map their communities and monitor tensions in a bid to stop any repeat of the riots in 2001.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears published new guidance encouraging local authorities to work towards more integrated communities. She wants councils to map the racial, ethnic and faith communities in their areas in order to identify potential “tension hotspots” and improve cohesion.

According to the new guidelines published yesterday early intervention can prevent conflicts which can cause problems relating to integration.

Ms Blear said: “The overwhelming majority of people in this country live successfully side by side but we cannot take this for granted.

“Challenges to cohesion do exist but things can be done to address problems at the earliest opportunity and stop things escalating.

“We have made £50 million available to local authorities to support them in responding to these challenges and placed a much greater focus on integration — including an end to automatic translation and more emphasis on English language learning.”

Councils should make better use of data from police, neighbourhood wardens and community leaders to build up a picture of any problems.

And key players in the community including faith group leaders could help keep watch on tension levels, she added.

Partnership working in Oldham features in the guidance as a example of good practice. It cited the interagency Hate Incident Management Group (HIMG) which meets weekly to assess the threat of disorder.

Bruce Penhale, Oldham Council’s assistant director (communities) said: “The council has well-established processes to map how the community in Oldham is changing to identify any potential risks that might lead to local problems. We work closely with the police and other partners on this, with the aim of identifying any issues at an early stage.”     

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