Promise to create 'neighbourhood army'
Author: BBC - Mar 31, 2010
David Cameron is pledging that a Conservative government would train a 5,000-strong "neighbourhood army" to set up community groups.
In a speech the Tory leader will say this offers a "positive alternative to Labour's big government" approach.
He said: "Our aim is for every adult citizen to be an active member of an active neighbourhood group."
Meanwhile, Labour is promising communities more powers to take over the running of local services.
The parties are attempting to take control of the "localist" agenda ahead of the general election, which is likely to be held on 6 May.
'New bank'
The Conservatives are promising to fund the training of 5,000 full-time, professional community organisers "over the course of the next Parliament".
They say this is based on a movement in the United States which has "trained generations of community organisers, including President Obama".
Mr Cameron will also announce plans to create a "Big Society Bank", funded from unclaimed bank assets, which will "provide hundreds of millions of pounds of new finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, social enterprises and other non-governmental bodies".
The party says it will transform the civil service into a "civic service", by "making regular community service a key element in civil servant staff appraisals".
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