"We held lunches where these women could discuss the problems they faced. Many are highly qualified but struggle to get professional work here; we can help them through the minefield of the state qualifications system."The team works so well – 377 people have been found jobs so far – because it has such strong links with local initiatives and employers. "It took months of networking before we could start getting people into work," says Macpherson. "Being known locally and understanding the area makes all the difference." What is a neighbourhood?"There is no exact definition of what makes a neighbourhood," states the Social Exclusion Unit's (SEU) National Strategy Action Plan, which itself gave birth to the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit. Indeed, for some, neighbourhoods are perceived as being defined by natural borders such as roads or rivers, while for others, they are marked by alterations in housing design ­ from council estate to private dwellings for example ­ or by where we shop, or catch the bus.Almost always, however, we experience our neighbourhood as a smaller area than the formally designated town, electoral ward or borough.

This small-scale focus was crucial when it came to targeting social deprivation. According to the action plan: "Looking at a larger scale, such as a region or a local authority, conceals the most extreme pockets of deprivation." To get an idea of what was happening at neighbourhood level, the SEU used statistics from electoral wards. They point out, however, that some wards include several neighbourhoods and some neighbourhoods cross ward boundaries.There are deprived neighbourhoods in every region but the highest concentration is to be found in the North-east, the North-west, London and Yorkshire and Humberside. Most neighbourhoods, states the plan, are in "urban areas, one-industry or no-industry towns and coal mining areas. However, at least 16 of the 88 most deprived districts contain substantial rural areas.". British businesses have long recognised the need to involve themselves in community projects. More than 70 per cent of FTSE 100 companies are members of Business in the Community, the not-for-profit organisation dedicated to channelling the energy and resources of commercial enterprise into social improvement.

In 2000 alone, 158 top UK firms invested a total of £370m in community programmes.Such commitment is laudable. However, the job of the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (NRU) is to ensure that that investment reaches the areas where it is most needed. "Remember that our task is to narrow the gap between deprived areas and the rest of the country," says the NRU's Sian Jones. "So in terms of worklessness, for example, we know that particular groups, such as people with disabilities and those from ethnic minorities, are particularly badly affected, and that a high proportion of them live in deprived neighbourhoods."Ms Jones points out that people from disadvantaged social groups may lack the confidence even to take up training because they think they won't stand a chance of getting a job even if they get to an interview. "We want businesses to help correct that image and make it clear that everybody stands an equal chance," she says.The first step is to make sure that Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) include members from the private sector. This might include a representative from the chamber of commerce but it could equally well be an independent local business person.In some areas, LSPs have been able to draw on existing public/private regeneration initiatives which are already working well.