The Fabian Society/NPI conference Building Partnerships for Social
Inclusion: Next Steps for the National Anti-Poverty Strategy
15th January 2002, 10-5pm, London
John Prescott, Gordon Brown with major speakers from the academic,
voluntary and business communities.

Tackling poverty and social exclusion has been central to Labour’s
programme. A series of major policy initiatives, some backed by serious
money, now comprise the national anti-poverty strategy: the New Deal, the
New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal, Sure Start, the Working Families
Tax Credit and, of course, the National Minimum Wage are all significant
steps forward towards the goal of eradicating child poverty.

For the most part, however, the strategy has been devised and delivered by
Government alone. Producing the National Action Plan on social inclusion
has involved some steps towards wider involvement by other stakeholders.
But it is now time to develop a truly broad-based coalition for the anti-
poverty strategy, actively involving all sectors of society. To do this,
Government needs to provide a clear lead to other institutions and sectors,
using its powers and resources to mobilise the commitment of others,
winning the widest possible support for the strategy.

This one-day conference will provide a platform from which that coalition
can be built. The event will bring together policy makers and practitioners
from the public, private and voluntary sectors to explore ways in which
this partnership approach might be developed in practical terms.

Conference highlights include:

 Keynote addresses from the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, setting out the Government’s plans.
 Responses to from leading figures in the different sectors.
 Workshops will consider policy and practice across a range of themes
raised by the research, each featuring two speakers and opportunity for
more active involvement on the part of participants.
 A panel discussion comprising speakers from the UK government, the Irish
government, and the European Commission to discuss lessons from the
international experience of developing anti-poverty strategies.

The conference will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in
local government, health authorities, housing associations, business, trade
unions, regeneration partnerships, and voluntary and community
organisations.

Conference content and format

The conference will begin and end with plenary sessions, featuring keynote
speakers and a panel debate. In the morning the conference will break down
into parallel sessions, each involving representatives from each of the
different sectors.

 The morning plenary sessions will comprise a ministerial keynote speech,
setting out the Government’s plans, and the presentation of key themes from
the report; there will then be responses from individuals in the different
sectors.
 The paralell sessions will consider policy and practice across a range of
themes raised by the Fabian/NPI research report, each featuring two
speakers and opportunity for more active involvement on the part of
participants.
 The afternoon closing plenary will bring together the themes of the day
and signpost ways in which the strategy develops from here.  This will
include a speaker from the UK Government, as well as from the European
Commission and from the Irish Government, to identify lessons from the
international experience of anti-poverty strategies.

Contacts

For a full programme please contact 020 7227 4911 ; events@fabian-
society.org.uk