Press Release, 16 June 1999 MINISTER ANNOUNCES ACTION TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION Travellers, ethnic groups and teenage parents are among the priority areas to be tackled by Government under the Promoting Social Inclusion Initiative designed to help the most disadvantaged people, Under Secretary of State, John McFall MP, announced today. PSI involves Government departments working together and with partners outside the Government to identify and tackle problems which can contribute to social exclusion and which cut across departmental boundaries. Strategies will also be developed to make sure that services are more accessible to minority groups and others at risk of social exclusion - focusing firstly on how information can be presented and distributed in ways appropriate to their needs. Mr McFall's announcement follows the launch in July 1998 by the Secretary of State of New Targeting Social Need which aims to ensure that Government's efforts and resources are targeted at those in greatest need. Mr McFall said: "New TSN was identified in the Good Friday Agreement as one of a range of measures to achieve equality of opportunity. It will play an important role in making Northern Ireland a fairer, just and more prosperous society, in which everyone has a stake and can make his or her own contribution. "Sometimes people's circumstances are such that it is difficult for them to lead what most of us would consider to be normal everyday lives. These are the people that Promoting Social Inclusion is concerned with. "We consulted widely on the initial priorities for the Promoting Social Inclusion initiative and people who responded told us that people from ethnic minorities, particularly Travellers, were subject to multiple problems. They told us that often people had difficulty accessing the services they needed." Working groups are being set up to examine each of these areas and to recommend effective ways of tackling social exclusion. They will bring forward recommendations within a year of being established.
Further information about PSI, and New TSN generally, is available from:
New TSN
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