Newham confirmed its position as the first London borough to make the health, well-being and happiness of residents its prime measures of Covid-19 recovery and economic success, under ambitious new plans approved by Mayor Fiaz and her Cabinet at a meeting this week (November 3).
In a borough that has been disproportionately affected by Covid-19 – with a devastating death toll of more than 320, more than 27,000 additional people on benefits, and 17,000 on furlough – the Council’s ‘Towards a Better Newham’ Action Plan sets out the Council’s approach to supporting the borough to recover from Covid-19 and building a stronger Newham for the future.
With local people at the heart of plans, the action plans sets out both the scale of the challenge in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, and the scale of the council’s ambition and response.
Centred around five broad priority themes and driven by eight “pillars” of action, ‘Towards a Better Newham’ builds on the council’s Community Wealth Building and inclusive economy strategies to protect residents during the pandemic, and outlines measures to help people to lead healthier and happier lives; make Newham the best place for children and young people to grow and thrive; tackle racism and inequality; put people at the heart of decision making, and ensure local communities benefit from long-term inclusive prosperity.
The “Recovery” phase of the action plan maps how the council will respond to the devastating economic impact of Covid-19 during the coming year, which will leave the borough’s residents, families and businesses facing serious challenges at this time.
The “Reorientation” phase will follow, with a focus on making the longer-term fundamental changes necessary to create a truly inclusive economy, including tackling the inequality, poverty and deprivation faced by too many residents.
Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, said: “The scale of the challenge facing Newham has never been greater – in Covid-19, we are dealing with the impacts of the largest health and economic crisis the country and world has ever faced. Newham’s residents have been disproportionately and unjustly affected.
“But against such a devastating backdrop, I am determined that the ‘Towards a Better Newham’ Action Plan will deliver for Newham residents. The Action Plan sets out how we will work arm-in-arm with residents to lift our borough from the devastating impact of Covid-19 and play a key role in shaping its future.
“From building new homes and upgrading our existing Council homes to the best standard we can afford, to challenging inequality and tackling poverty – together with our people we will create a better Newham with opportunities for all our residents. Skills for the future, creating new jobs and establishing a green economy locally, we will give our residents the support and tools they need to pursue the healthy and happy lives they deserve.
“I look forward to working with Newham’s councillors, communities, children and young people, partners, community groups and others to deliver our bold agenda for change.”
Notes to Editors - Highlights of the ‘Towards a Better Newham’ Action Plan include:
- Measuring success by health, happiness and wellbeing, and economic success by economic inclusion and fairness, rather than traditional measures of growth, productivity and land value that have so little irrelevance to people’s lived experiences
- Ensuring every resident aged under-25 is safe, happy and cared for, with access to excellent education and opportunities
- Ensuring all residents are supported and enabled to access work and other opportunities that are rewarding and enjoyable
- Making sure residents are healthy, happy, safe and cared for, to enable them to thrive during times of recession, and in the new economy
- Enabling people to live in accessible and inclusive neighbourhoods with thriving high streets that can provide all of their social, civic and economic essentials
- Making Newham London’s greenest economy – recognising the climate emergency and developing green skills, enterprise and innovation
- Delivering high quality, genuinely affordable homes and influencing the private rented sector
- Welcoming only investment that secures a fair deal and fair economy for Newham and helps make the borough a better place to live and work
Together, the actions will help address some of the most acute challenges facing Newham, including:
- Racial and geographic imbalance – with high unemployment rates, low quality of life and low levels of participation in civic life
- Historic lack of high-quality jobs, with a lack of knowledge-based activities and high growth companies
- Recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 – with high rates of mortality, workers on furlough, and people pushed to claim benefits
- Historic low incomes – almost half (49%) of Newham households are living in poverty, 52% of children grow up in low income households, and average earnings are £6,000 below the London average
- Health inequality – babies born in Newham are expected to live in good health for fewer years than the London average and Newham has high rates of smoking, obesity and poor health
- The acute impact of Covid-19 on Black and minority ethnic communities
The full strategy can be seen here and the council will be updating residents on progress made against the action plan throughout the coming months.