NINO STAFFA These were to play a coordinating role in the administration of finance and resources directed at the inner city « deprived areas ». The Department of the Environment announced its own scheme with the « Six Towns Studies » which was intended as yet another « tota! approach to the urban problem ». The Department of Health and Socia! Security at about the same time set up a working party to consider « whether the cycle of transmitted deprivation would be a fruitful area of research ». For Keith Joseph (noted for his eccentric views and then Secretary of State for Health and Socia! Security) there was a need to investigate how « deprivation » is passed on through the family. On the basis of the working party's report a seven year research programme was set up costing f 500,000 but no action was ever initiated. Then in 1973 the Department of the Environment took another initiative known as 1the « Quality of Life Studies ». Their aim was to encourage ~elf-help and find new ways of improving the availability of ainenities and facilities without cost to loca! authorities. By 1973 the Treasury was becoming increasin ly worried by the number of projects and schemes under diffe~nt government Departments and it produced yet anothe unit. The Treasury ordered an Inter-Departmental Study to ·nvestigate ways of rationalising and co-ordinating the many chemes in existence. As a result, in Novembre 1973, the then ory Home Secretary Robert Carr, announced the birth of e Urban Deprivation Unit, which was followed shortly afte ards by the establishment of an inter-departmental committe on urban deprivation. In 1974 the Labour Party was returned to p wer and further schemes followed. Just before the Octobe elections ( which brought Labour back into power) the Urba Deprivation Unit had launched a series of Comprehensive C mmunity Programmes. Roy Jenkin, Labour's Home Secretary the time said that: « •.. the object of the exercise is to ultimate! produce reports on these areas which will indicate what has been clone as a result of dose cooperation between go ernment, loca! authorities and voluntary agencies and to in cate also what needs to be clone and where the gaps are in t existing programmes » ( 11). ( 11) Hansard 29-7-'74, quoted in Gilding the Ghetto, p. 1 . 16
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