A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Fairness Commission

Members of the Redbridge Fairness Commission1

The Redbridge Fairness Commissioners were:

Cllr Ian Bond Cllr Paul Canal Ross Diamond, Redbridge CVS Cllr Farah Hussain Jacquie Grieve, Redbridge Faith Forum Vanessa Guthrie, Redbridge Citizens Advice Bureau Geoff Hill, Redbridge Chamber of Commerce Dr Syed Raza, Redbridge Clinical Commissioning Group Cllr Mark Santos (co-chair) Julia Slay, New Economics Foundation (co-chair) Sue Snowdon CBE, Beal Multi-Academy Trust Jason Tetley, Liberty Credit Union Two members of Redbridge Youth Council

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 3 Members of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 3 Foreword from the co-chairs 6 Executive Summary 7 Summary of Recommendations 8

Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission? 13 Redbridge – a snapshot 14 What would a fairer Redbridge look like? 15 Wellbeing 16 Co-production 17 How did the Redbridge Fairness Commission work? 19

Chapter 2: Health & Wellbeing 21 The unfairness of funding 22 Public services in an era of super-diversity 22 Independent Living and Accessibility 24 Living with long term conditions 25 Older people 27 Recommendations 28

Chapter 3: Home 31 How did we get here? 32 The local housing crisis 32 Paying the price 33 By accident or on purpose? 34 The Problems Facing Housing Associations 35 Regeneration 36 Doing the Impossible 37 Recommendations 38

4 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 4: Economy 41 For an inclusive economy 42 Building resilience 43 Making an impact 43 Recommendations 45

Chapter 5: Community 47 The voluntary sector and community assets 48 Fairness for young people 49 Community cohesion 51 Contents Domestic Abuse 51 Migrants 51 Sex work 52 Recommendations 52 Concluding remarks 54

Appendices 55 Appendix A – Acknowledgements 56 Appendix B – Measuring wellbeing 59 Appendix C – References 60

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 5 Foreword from the co-chairs Executive Summary

This last year has been a real journey for members of the Redbridge Fairness Commission. A journey that has involved trying to understand the inequality and unfairness that exists in Redbridge, in order to work out how best to tackle it. We considered hundreds of pages of written evidence, from a huge range of individuals, many of whom generously shared their own stories. We have discovered not only some grave inequalities and lack of fairness but also, more positively, inspiring examples of how individuals, organisations (including the Council) and communities are delivering services in ways that start to get to the heart of the problem. Though many of the drivers of inequality sit at a national level we have discovered some ways in which the council can tackle poverty and inequality and have made recommendations where we feel this can be tackled.

This report and its 19 recommendations are our response as a Commission to what we heard. At its heart, we believe, is the Council ​leading by example in making Redbridge a fairer place. This means the Council using the opportunity of its responsibilities in delivering and commissioning services, relationships with other significant stakeholders and as the democratically representative voice of local residents to be an agent of change creating a fairer Redbridge. We make no boast to have found the complete answer and believe our recommendations are a start of a change process addressing inequality. This is the start of an ongoing journey to make Redbridge a fairer place for all its residents.

Julia Slay, New Economics Foundation Cllr Mark Santos

6 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Foreword from the co-chairs Executive Summary

The Redbridge Fairness Commission was set up by the Council’s Cabinet in January 2015 in order to investigate how the Council uses its resources to tackle poverty and inequality as it approaches a major crossroads due to continuing cuts to its budget.

The Commission was made up of 14 members, drawn from Councillors, local third, public and private sector organisations and a think tank. Seven public work sessions were held to consider evidence from a range of local and national experts and a review of Council held data, open public meetings, community group meetings, and a peer research programme. This report makes 19 recommendations based on its findings.

The first chapter of this report argues that building a detailed picture of community wellbeing is important at a time when making the most out of every public pound matters more than ever. The Commission also suggests that the Council should make sure residents and their communities are at the heart of all of its activities by designing and delivering services closely with them.

Chapter 2 deals with a number of health related challenges including long term conditions, independent living and disability, and issues facing older people. Chapter 3 discusses the urgency of the local housing crisis and recommends a range of measures such as embracing schemes like Community Land Trusts. Chapter 4 suggests what an inclusive local economy could look like, and suggests how the Council can use its influence as a major local procurer and employer to tackle local inequalities. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the contribution of the voluntary sector and suggests how the Council could address a number of important community concerns.

The Commission hopes that this report will provide Cabinet with a range of useful ideas rooted in local priorities that will help to make Redbridge a fairer place for its residents despite the challenging times.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 7 Summary of Recommendations

Health & Wellbeing 1. Put wellbeing at the heart of the Council’s activities The Council should co-produce an outcomes framework and move towards an outcomes based approach. By ‘outcomes framework’, the Commission means a set of positive changes that the Council wants to achieve with and for local citizens and their communities. These should be developed together with local residents and their communities through wide reaching and accessible engagement. As budgets tighten, having these priorities in place would mean that the Council could justify how every project or service it commissions meets the aspirations set by local people. It would create space for innovation by opening up dialogue between different services and sectors about collaboration and shared goals. It would help the Council to understand how to get the best possible impact from across its services, and make sure that every public pound spent locally is in line with what the local authority wants to achieve for local communities.

The Commission also notes that the Welfare Reform and Work Bill will, if passed, remove the duty on local authorities to produce a joint child poverty strategy with other organisations in their areas. Given the profound impact that material deprivation in the early stages of life can have on life chances, the Commission suggests that at least one of these outcomes focuses on child poverty.

The Commission further recommends that co-production and measurement of wellbeing is built into every step of how services are commissioned, and wherever possible in the assessment of Council and contracted services. A brief outline of how wellbeing can be measured has been included in Appendix B.

2. Take action on independent living, accessibility, social isolation and long term health conditions The Council should: a) Develop a ‘Redbridge Disability Charter’: this charter would be a set of principles that sit across and inform commissioning processes across the Council in co-production with key local organisations to improve the quality of life for residents who are deaf, hard of hearing, vision impaired and/or disabled. The Charter will serve as a set of recognised competencies and ways of working which can be used to influence other local organisations and encourage wide-reaching local adoption. b) Work with local disability rights and advocacy groups to develop accessibility standards for customer service to be used in all customer-facing interaction across the Council. These should be shared with local businesses and GP practices. c) Review and ensure progress of the Redbridge Dementia Plan. The review should include a movement towards Redbridge becoming an Alzheimer’s Society accredited ‘Dementia Friendly Community’. d) Build on the groundwork established by the Redbridge First Response Service to develop a local social prescribing scheme in partnership with the CCG and local NHS. The scheme should have at its heart investment in the community and voluntary sector to provide a range of community based activities, information and advice, befriending and community transport services in order to improve the health of people with long term conditions and other groups who may benefit.

8 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Summary of Recommendations

e) Work with the CCG, local NHS and RedbridgeCVS in order to improve the provision of local specialist disability welfare advice on a wide range of issues including: housing and council tax, the new ‘personal independence payments’, disability grants, employment and support allowance and application for Blue Badges. f) Become a Living Wage Borough by extending the London Living Wage to employees of contractors who provide services for the Council. Within a year, we would expect the Chief Executive and relevant Director to have entered into discussions with the top five contractors to begin negotiations about the implementation of the London Living Wage by 2018/19, with a view to further rollout across all contracts subsequently.i

3. The Council should commission a ‘digital mentoring’ scheme as a volunteer led, peer-to-peer support network, based in community venues across the Borough which can help residents share skills and support each other to get online. 4. Establish an ‘Early Action Working Group’ bringing together teams from across the organisation to identify preventative and early intervention opportunities across Council service areas.

Home 5. Improve the quality and availability of housing advice a) The Council should work with advice providers from all sectors to produce a shared strategy for advice and information provision in the Borough. All organisations should contribute to and adopt an ‘Advice and Information Quality Standard’ to improve the provision across Redbridge. b) The Council should work with Redbridge Advice Network to review and benchmark the way it makes decisions about homelessness duty, and ensure that support is in place for people who are found to be ‘intentionally homeless’. c) The Council must adhere to clear quality criteria for the private sector housing into which it discharges it uses to discharge its homelessness duty.

6. Take decisive action to address the growing local housing crisis a) The Council should insist on an affordable housing requirement of at least 30% on all new housing development in the Borough.ii b) Learning from successful examples across London, the Council should establish its own arms-length housing development company to build new social housing, and housing for affordable rent and shared ownership to deliver a substantial proportion of the Borough’s housing target.

c) The Council should identify at least two parcels of land for large scale Community Land Trusts.

i The Commission did not achieve a full consensus about this recommendation. Cllr Paul Canal expressed caution about the feasibility of implementing the London Living Wage (estimated as an additional cost of £2m for adult social services alone) at a time when the Council faces severe financial challenges. Cllr Canal also expressed concern that the implementation of the London Living Wage in Redbridge may constrain the number of job opportunities in the local care and service sector, particularly for young and unskilled workers who need them the most. ii The Commission did not achieve a full consensus about this recommendation. Cllr Canal supported an enhanced target for the overall supply of affordable housing, but said a blanket 30% threshold was ‘unworkable’, ‘probably unenforceable’ and would ‘deter investment and lead to fewer affordable homes being built’.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 9 Summary of Recommendations

d) The Council should produce new guidelines for the viability of new housing development in the borough which yy enable the Council to better scrutinise the information private developers submit yy set out the process for requiring reviews of viability when a development is constructed to determine whether additional affordable housing can be delivered e) The Council should include provision for third and voluntary sector groups and social enterprises within redeveloped town centres and/or high streets to ensure the whole community retains a stake in regeneration. f) The Council should use participatory research and engagement methods (such as the ‘On the Ground Community Mapping’ example detailed in box 7) to make sure that area improvements and regeneration preserves and complements already existing community assets and capacities. g) The Council should produce an online resource for tenants in the private rented sector to help them understand their basic rights and how to make sure they are protected. h) When assets held in public ownership by the Council are sold, the Council should continue to use the receipts generated to improve community facilities and infrastructure.

Economy

7. As a major local employer and procurer, the Council should seek to secure the maximum benefit for the local economy through its budget and influence. The Council should:

a) Map the spend from the local authority to its top suppliers including their geography, their re-spend in the local economy, and ethos and practices regarding employment, suppliers and environmental choice in order to build an understanding of how organisations contracted to provide services for the Council are currently and could potentially deliver social value. b) Work with third sector organisations, other public bodies and local businesses to identify the specific community benefits they want to achieve through taking full advantage of the Social Value Act. c) Develop a ‘Fair Employer’ standard which sets out the employment practices it expects businesses bidding for Council contracts to comply with. This would include expectations around: yy Youth employment and apprenticeships yy Flexible working and the London Living Wage yy Meaningful training and development opportunities yy Greater opportunities and simpler processes for small firms and third sector organisations bidding to deliver services yy Opportunities for people with disabilities

10 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Summary of Recommendations

8. The Council should establish a time limited Debt Action Group that brings together Redbridge Advice Network, the Credit Union, Job Centre Plus and key Council service areas such as the Housing Service and Payments & Benefits to pool data and expertise, and develop a shared understanding of how to improve the financial resilience of families on low incomes. 9. This work should inform the production of a Financial Resilience Strategy which sets out a range of activities and interventions for key local partners to take forward which help local people who are struggling to become more financially secure. The Commission suggests that the strategy should aim to achieve the following depending on the local evidence base: yy Reduce the levels of problematic debt yy Reduce the levels of food and fuel poverty yy Help people gain access to the financial products they need yy Help people to manage their finances well/cope with an unexpected outlay yy Help more people get the benefits and credit they are entitled to by using a single financial health diagnostic check where appropriate yy Use council data to understand where the need for support is greatest 10. The Council should agree a long-term economic vision for the Borough through the development of an Economic Strategy. The strategy should: a) Include a vision for the types of business and economic activity Redbridge wants to attract. b) Ensure that adequate consideration is given to the spatial requirements of local businesses in balance with efforts to meet housing need. c) Attract universities with specialism in science and engineering to establish a local campus. d) Foster and support the growth of small businesses and businesses with a social focus. e) Strengthen the local apprenticeship offer by developing Work Redbridge into a ‘local apprenticeship hub’ which brings together opportunities from local businesses, Job Centre Plus, FE colleges and the National Apprenticeship Service into a single point of contact and best practice resource. 11. The Council should develop a ‘New Business Starter Pack’ for businesses opening in or moving to the Borough setting out key local contacts and support services.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 11 Summary of Recommendations

Community

12. Recognise the value of the third, voluntary and community sector. The Council should: a) Invest in community development programmes in areas with high levels of deprivation ensuring the involvement of volunteers across different age groups. b) Invest in community-led educational projects which address domestic violence. c) Build on the examples of local giving projects across London to establish a ‘Redbridge Giving’ body, which can support crowdsourcing for local initiatives and encourages charitable giving for local causes. d) Work with its partners to improve the range and quality of volunteering opportunities for young people. 13. The Council should establish a peer mentoring scheme which trains young volunteers who have left care to mentor and support other vulnerable young people.

14. The Council should make resource available to take advantage of funding opportunities presented by the European Social Fund and embed a strong bidding culture within the Council.

15. The Council should examine the possibility of diversifying the financial and organisation models of local youth and community centres into wider ‘Community Hubs’ providing a range of high quality and grass-roots services with the potential to develop new services in response to changing community needs.

16. The Council should pilot an asset-based approach to public health in at least two of the Borough’s most deprived wards as the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is refreshed.

17. The Council should develop a place brand to foster a stronger sense of identity, belonging and togetherness for Redbridge learning from the successes of initiatives taking place elsewhere.

18. The Council should establish a ‘Routes Out of Sex Work’ Working Group under the umbrella of the Community Safety Partnership to improve the response to prostitution and sex work locally. The group’s work should be premised on respect for the women involved in prostitution, concern for women’s safety and wellbeing and an acknowledgement of male-led demand as a key driver for the industry.

19. The Council should establish a time limited Immigration Task Group with a range of partners to assess how best to support newly arrived migrants with no recourse to public funds in the Borough, and ensure they are treated with dignity, humanity and compassion by local service providers.

12 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission?

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 13 Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission?

over the past few years in response to grant cuts – What is fair is one of the basic things we’re taught as roughly £40 million since 2010. As these continue, the children – how to treat other people and how we can Council thinks it will face a £58.1m budget gap by the expect them to treat us. Applied to society, fairness end of March 2019.7 becomes closely linked with ideas about justice, or in other words, the principle of fair treatment before This Commission follows in the wake of 22 similar the law and as subjects of state authority. But what do initiatives across the country that set out to tackle fairness and justice mean when fundamental social and poverty and inequality at a local level in a context economic inequalities between people and groups of national government spending cuts. By bringing prevent them from leading a fulfilling life or maximising together local leaders, making a wide variety of local their capabilities as individuals?2 What happens when voices heard and influencing local and national policy someone is prevented from flourishing – when poverty makers, Fairness Commissions are powerful catalysts for inhibits their freedom from illness and pain, or means change. Other commissions have directly led to policies that their ability to lead an independent life is not which raised thousands of people from minimum wage respected?3 to living wage, exposed and limited the activities of payday loan companies, improved the accessibility of One of the ways we have answered these questions as advice services and changed the practices of private a society is to set up the welfare state as a safety net to landlords to name but a few of their accomplishments.8 help citizens collectively guard against adverse social This shows that public institutions can make an impact risks, such as unemployment and poverty; but also to on poverty and inequality when they pull together with invest in the early years through education and training other organisations in their local area in the right way in for work.4 Yet in the wake of the deepest recession in spite of the financial challenges they face. living memory and faced with the challenge of spiralling public debt, debates about the affordability of public Faced with tough choices about how the Council services as they exist today has been a major topic of works, what services are provided and to whom, how public debate for the last few years. we look after our most vulnerable neighbours and how we can give people the best start in life as resources The Coalition government of 2010-15 set tackling public become scarcer, through this report the Redbridge debt as its top priority with a programme of cuts to Fairness Commission hopes to give the Council and public spending to address what it saw as imbalance in other organisations working in the Borough some the UK’s economy while ensuring that ‘fairness is at the ideas they can take forward to make Redbridge a heart of those decisions so that those most in need are fairer and more equitable place for its residents. most protected.’5 With public commitments to protect spending on health, education and pensions (the largest Redbridge – a snapshot segments of public spending), other governmental departments faced some dramatic reductions – among The Commission has reviewed over 1000 pages of them the Department for Communities and Local data and information provided by the Council, local Government, which funds councils across the country.6 organisations and members of the public through its evidence packs. These are all available for download Funding to councils across the country fell by 40% from www.redbridge.gov.uk/fairness. This section gives between 2010 and 2015. Like other local authorities, readers a quick overview of what the local community Redbridge Council has had to make significant savings looks like – its rapidly growing population, its diversity

14 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission? and some of the most obvious inequalities that exist in yy Relative child poverty was concentrated in the south the Borough. of the Borough, with the highest levels in the wards of Loxford (33.6 per cent) and Clementswood (28.4 yy Redbridge is super-diverse: Redbridge has the per cent). In contrast, Monkhams had the lowest fourth most diverse community in England and level of relative child poverty at 4.7 per cent, and Wales, according to the 2011 Census: 65.5 per cent also had the lowest number of children, less than 40 of residents are from black and minority ethnic per cent of the number living in Loxford. (BME) communities and just over one third (36.9 per cent) of our residents were born outside the UK. yy Redbridge’s population is growing fast: The Nearly a quarter (24.6 per cent) of residents aged population of Redbridge has grown significantly three and over speak a first language that is not since 2001 and is projected to continue to grow at English, while nearly one in twenty (4.6 per cent) a faster rate than the rest of London. The population cannot speak English well or at all. increased by 40,000 people between 2001 and 2011. The latest projections suggest that by 2037, the yy Redbridge has pockets of severe deprivation: population will increase by a further 123,000 people The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is an overall (with the older population predicted to grow at measure of deprivation experienced by people the fastest rate). The 2011 Census revealed that just living in an area. It was last updated in 2010, when over one in seven residents had a long term illness, Redbridge was ranked 134th most deprived out health problem or disability which limited their daily of 326 local authorities in England. Seven of the 21 activities or the work they could do. This ranged wards in Redbridge had areas ranked within the 20 from over 20 per cent in Hainault, to just over 12 per per cent most deprived in England, and all areas of cent in Church End. Clementswood and Loxford were ranked within the 40 per cent most deprived. In contrast, Barkingside, Church End, Clayhall and Monkhams did not have What would a fairer Redbridge any areas within the 40 per cent most deprived in look like? England. In his landmark study, Fair Society, Healthy Lives yy Child poverty is concentrated in the south: In Professor Michael Marmot and his team brought debates 2012, there were 13,680 (19.3 per cent) children around poverty and inequality to life by demonstrating living in low income families in Redbridge, lower how the circumstances in which people are born, grow, than the proportion for London (23.5 per cent) but live, work and age have a profound effect on their ability higher than for England (18.6 per cent). In line with to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.9 The report shows how national and regional trends, relative child poverty in unmet needs result from a range of factors in society Redbridge has declined steadily, from 28.6 per cent and our wider environments. Earlier it was suggested in 2008, mainly due to the fall in median income that a central aspect of fairness was the ability of each levels over that time. of us to successfully employ our talents and flourish as individuals. In an unequal society, however, it follows that those who have more will be better equipped to take advantage of important opportunities and meet their aspirations.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 15 Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission?

One of the cornerstones of Professor Marmot’s work, the is about how people feel and how they function, idea of ‘progressive universalism’, provides a useful way both on a personal and a social level, and how they of understanding the role of public services in helping to evaluate their lives as a whole. While how people feel make the places we live in fairer. Progressive universalism refers to emotions such as happiness or anxiety, how is about providing services to the whole population so people function refers to things such as their sense of that everyone benefits to some degree. It suggests a competence or their sense of being connected to those progressive approach to sharing out resources – that is, around them. How people evaluate their life as a whole providing services more intensely to those who need is captured in their satisfaction with their lives, or how them the most. they rate their lives in relation to their understanding of ‘the good life’.11 For sure, the most straightforward way of thinking about how to tackle poverty and inequality is to look at the We can see that wellbeing covers more than just economic and financial resources people have access ‘happiness’, and relates to the way people respond to to. Yet while this is extremely important, where we live, challenging situations and can build personal resources who we live with and how we are treated by others also and capabilities. It is not just about people being happy, 12 affects the choices that we make and the opportunities but also about creating potential for them to ‘do well’. we have access to. The influence of community – the This is a useful way of understanding the impact of local cues we take from others, how we respond to the government services on local communities, as it brings social norms of those around us and the effects of the together external things like income, housing, education social networks we belong to can all have powerful and social networks together with ‘internal’ things implications for our self-worth, how we feel valued in the like health, optimism, and self-esteem – all of which eyes of other people and ultimately, how we are able to influence how people feel and function. engage in the economy and civic life.10 It is clear that the social, economic and environmental factors that drive wellbeing are not distributed equally For an organisation like the Council whose job is to among our local communities. This is not to suggest that deploy pooled resources in a fair way, fairness has two the local authority should encourage absolute equality parts. The first is about helping local people access the (or ‘equality of outcomes’) across all communities in resources they need to succeed by using wellbeing as a Redbridge but high levels of deprivation and social guiding principle. The second is about making sure that injustice can not only pose a threat to our wellbeing individuals and their communities are able to participate and impact on our capacities to look after ourselves as equal partners in civic life, understood through the and those around us, but it also can place a strain on principles of co-production. relationships between communities by reducing trust and interaction.13 Wellbeing Progressive universalism can be used to understand Wellbeing is often confused with ‘happiness’, but while how resources can be used to address differing levels happiness can be thought of as how people are feeling of need, while wellbeing, as defined above, can from moment-to-moment, wellbeing is a broader help organisations to understand and measure the concept which takes into account satisfaction about impact those resources have on individuals and their their lives as a whole, and includes things like a sense communities (the extent to which they help people to of autonomy, purpose and self-confidence. Well-being function well and ‘flourish’).

16 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission?

Box 1: The Five Ways to Wellbeing Connect with people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, schools or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

Be active. Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy that suits your level of mobility or fitness. Take notice. Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

Keep learning. Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

Give. Do something nice for a friend or stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with other people around you.

From The New Economics Foundation. 2008. The Five Ways to Wellbeing: the Evidence.

Box 1 details the outcome of an extensive research in 2013, councils took on new explicit responsibilities project undertaken by the New Economics Foundation for increasing the health and wellbeing of their local as part the government’s Foresight programme in populations. This means that the Council is in a good 2008, known as ‘The Five Ways to Wellbeing.’ This work position to embed these ideas within its day-to-day brought together the most recent thinking in social activities and advocate for them across Redbridge. and medical science and psychology into a simple set of activities that people can do in their everyday lives Co-production to improve their wellbeing. The principles can be used Tackling poverty and inequality is a difficult and long- and interpreted in a lot of different ways, and have been term task given the range of complex social, economic, taken on widely by the NHS, schools and community environmental, cultural and political factors which projects across the country to help people incorporate proliferate in a Borough as diverse and varied as wellbeing-promoting activities into their lives. Redbridge. The challenge is made all the more difficult Through its role in increasing employment by growing demand for services, particularly children’s opportunities, regenerating the physical environment, and adults’ social care services, and shrinking budgets. providing social care and family support services, Co-production is one way public services can make local authorities play an important role in creating the sure that the way services are delivered are aligned as conditions for people to participate in these wellbeing- closely as possible to the root causes of demand while enhancing activities. When the commissioning of local making sure residents and their communities are at the public health services transferred to local authorities heart of organisational change as the Council makes

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 17 Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission? the vast amount of changes required over the coming Practically, this might mean including relevant groups years.14 Co-production means designing and delivering of citizens in the planning of services, making decisions services in an equal and reciprocal relationship together with them in the allocation of resources, between professionals, people using services and their working with communities to deliver the services or neighbours.15 Traditional top-down models of public coming together to evaluate and improve a particular services tend to conceive of people as ‘service users’ or service at regular intervals.16 In this way, co-production ‘customers’, creating a division between professional can privilege the role of people using services and providers and passive clients. This can frequently miss their expertise in making decisions about how services out what is most effective about the delivery in the are designed and delivered. It’s also timely – resources first place – the role played by those on the receiving can be misused because problems are diagnosed and end and how the services they receive might either solutions are managed by professionals who, no matter complement or diminish the networks of support, how intelligent and well-meaning, can fail to tap into reciprocity and care that already exist within their social the knowledge and insight of people who are intended networks. Co-production recognises that citizens are to benefit from their services. It can help tackle the themselves part of essential neighbourhood-level root causes of demand and reduce wasteful spending support systems – families and communities – with which is not having an impact while working with local their own sets of values, capabilities and priorities, and networks that support people in their everyday lives.17 which are the vital building blocks of economic activity and social development.

Box 2: What is co-production? While co-production can be done in a wide range of ways and looks different depending on the context it’s used in, the New Economics Foundation and NESTA have suggested that co-production is made up of six main features.

1. Recognising people as assets by making people equal partners in designing and delivering services 2. Building on people’s existing capabilities by using services to support people to put these to use with individuals and communities 3. Encouraging mutuality and reciprocity by finding the right incentives for people to engage in reciprocal relationships with professionals and with each other 4. Engaging peer support networks alongside professionals to transfer knowledge and support change 5. Blurring distinctions between professionals and recipients, and producers and consumers of services by changing the way services are developed and delivered 6. Facilitating rather than delivering change in communities

From Boyle et al. 2010. Right Here, Right Now: taking co-production into the mainstream. NEF & NESTA

18 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 1: Why is now the time for a Fairness Commission?

How did the Redbridge Fairness For each of these meetings, an evidence pack containing relevant Council data was prepared, together with Commission work? a summary of strategies and policies linked to the The Redbridge Fairness Commission brought Commission’s work. Commissioners also met six times together Councillors from across political parties in a working group environment to develop discussions and representatives from10 other local organisations further and consolidate the Commission’s work which play an important role in Redbridge life. All programme. commissioners participated on a voluntary basis and Alongside these meetings, commissioners and officers were not paid for their time. supporting the Commission met with a large number of The Council’s Cabinet asked the Commission to carry out community groups, service user groups and frontline staff five key activities. The Commission should: to gather their views and perspectives on poverty, inequality yy Harness already existing data to map poverty and public services in Redbridge. Their contributions were and inequality in Redbridge summarised and presented to the Commission as part of the evidence pack for each work session. yy Critically evaluate all Council strategies dealing with poverty and inequality In addition, RedbridgeCVS were commissioned to undertake three public meetings in community spaces yy Engage with outside bodies and residents across the Borough to support and inform its work, across the borough to examine how the together with a peer research programme aimed at Council can improve its approach to reducing gathering local insight from a wide range of different poverty and inequality communities about how their members experience yy Make specific and actionable poverty, inequality and local services. recommendations based on the outcome of Throughout the year the Commission considered over this process 1000 pages of data and information, spoke to around yy Produce a series of performance indicators that 50 different groups, heard from 33 local and national can be used to measure the impact of Council experts, received 40 online submissions, had over 100 services on poverty and inequality in Redbridge people attend its public meetings and interviewed To achieve this, the Commission met seven times in 60 people from a range of groups through the peer public work sessions to hear a wide range of evidence research programme. from senior council managers, national policy experts, All of the Commission’s minutes, presentations and and third and private sector organisations working in the evidence packs are available for download from Borough. The Commission worked by: www.redbridge.gov.uk/fairness yy Investigating and prioritising issues of local concern yy Giving a platform to local voices which often go unheard yy Sharing differing perspectives and values between local organisations and groups in a supportive and collaborative forum

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A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 21 Chapter 2: Health & Wellbeing

The unfairness of funding The peer research programme (detailed in box 3) found that there are persistent barriers preventing The Commission is particularly concerned that the certain groups from accessing services in Redbridge. public health grant received from the Department This suggests that while services may be notionally of Health falls short of the Borough’s needs. The equally available to everyone in the Borough, people Commission heard that the Council receives roughly are not all equally able to access and make the most £11.5m from central government for a range of of the services that are available. The peer research services, which works out at about £38 per head of the programme found that there are concerns about the population. Compared to other Boroughs with similar flow of effective information and communication to levels of deprivation, this is less than half of the value of minority groups and isolated individuals in the Borough. the allocation they receive. This is making it increasingly Providing information in the form of leaflets, newspapers difficult to deliver vital services to support the healthy or through the internet is helpful for some people but development of children, and has led to a shortfall is not always appropriate and may not reach those who in the number of health visitors local residents need. would benefit the most from accessing services. Considering Redbridge’s high fertility rate – 16% higher than the average for England – and an increase in the The research found that a range of social, cultural and number of live births in the Borough of 40% over the psychological barriers exist across communities which course if the last decade, this is extremely troubling. can prevent full take up of existing services and which is clearly a matter of fairness as we have defined it so Public services in an era of far in this report. One peer researcher, for instance, super-diversity reported how some in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community perceive services to According to the last census carried out in 2011, 37% of be badly appraised of their needs considering the very people in Redbridge were born outside of the United low profile of LGBT issues in Redbridge which acts as a Kingdom with 65.5% of its population consisting of black strong disincentive for people to access them. Another and minority ethnic (BME) groups. Redbridge speaks peer researcher discussed the importance of community over 90 different languages, and 26.6% of residents spaces and mutual support for members of the Albanian do not speak English as their main language. While and Romanian communities, which can be especially the cultural richness and uniqueness of the Borough important for newly arriving people. At the same time, is something to be cherished, it also poses particular however, the tight-knittedness of these communities challenges for organisations like the Council with can cause them to become remote and isolated from specific responsibilities for tackling social and economic the support services that are available in the Borough. issues. Some of the Borough’s communities are new, small and scattered. Some are of multiple-origin and are connected across national borders. Some have legal restrictions on the services they can access because of immigration issues.18 The increasingly wide variation of needs and dynamics of our local communities can lead to a situation where service providers may struggle to engage effectively and are less able to address inequalities within our communities.

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Box 3: Peer Research and the Fairness Commission The aim of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Peer Research project was to gather local insight into how different communities in the Borough experience poverty, inequality and local services. The peer researchers also sought to gain an understanding of the sorts of social networks and community assets people draw upon to get by during challenging times.

The research was guided by the following research questions: yy How do people in Redbridge experience poverty and inequality? yy What challenges do people face in their daily lives? yy How do people cope with these challenges? yy How could local services be improved to better meet the needs of people in Redbridge?

Over a period of six weeks 15 ‘community representatives’ were trained in social research methods as peer researchers. Together, they devised an interview schedule and then interviewed 60 local people. The interviews they undertook captured a range of the challenges facing people and gathered important qualitative insight into how people cope with these challenges.

Developed from bottom-up participatory forms of research practice, peer research aims to empower people to co-design and deliver research into the lived experiences of their ‘peers’ (family, friends, colleagues).

Unlike conventional approaches to social research, where an expert researcher controls the research process, with little input from the people they are researching, peer research is about people from a local community learning how to conduct research into issues that interest them in their area. As such, local people are valued as experts in their own right, with the ability to conduct research and gather valuable insight.

There are a number of benefits to adopting a peer research methodology: yy Peer research can help with the recruitment of research participants and can help overcome issues of gatekeeping, especially when peer researchers are also users of services. In this study we were able to interview 60 people in just over four weeks. This would not have been possible with conventional research approaches, led by one or two ‘expert’ researchers. yy As well as having access to potential interviewees, peer researchers also have a wealth of experience that can improve the research design and delivery. Peer researchers are experts by experience, and as such have much to contribute in terms of developing meaningful research questions, conducting sensitive and reflexive interviews, and suggesting appropriate responses to the issues that have emerged. yy Peer researchers can gain valuable knowledge and skills through the research process. Some of the people we hired as peer researchers had previous research experience, and so were able to further develop and practice what they had learned.

Full details about the peer research programme including its final outcome report can be found at www.redbridge.gov.uk/fairness

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There are a number of pockets of good work already The Care Act 2014 is the biggest shake up of the taking place to address the challenges posed by social care system seen since its inception, and aims super-diversity locally. Healthwatch, for instance, to rebalance the social care system by promoting has trained up community advocates who speak independence and wellbeing, while preventing, community languages in order to increase the number postponing and minimising people’s need for formal of GP registrations and uptake of vaccinations and care and support.21 The Commission is not in a position smear tests among the Roma community. Similarly, the to evaluate the implementation of the Act in Redbridge, Commission heard how the Council’s Public Health or the quality of local social services based on the team and Redbridge CVS had worked together to train evidence it has heard. However, what the funding 18 ‘health buddies’ to spread awareness of tuberculosis conundrum that faces the social care system in the UK and HIV treatment services in response to feedback shows is that neither government nor communities which showed that many residents find information themselves have the resources to meet current levels of in their own languages delivered through face-to-face demand alone. interaction more useful and impactful than other forms At its March meeting, ‘Living Well, Getting Older,’ the of publicity and marketing. Another example is the Commission received a report from the Redbridge ‘Fit For Fun’ programme, again run in partnership with Disability Consortium called ‘Redbridge Voices’22 – a Redbridge CVS and the Council’s Public Health team, comprehensive report that brings together the views which gives people not able to access mainstream of over 200 local deaf, hard of hearing, vision impaired exercise programmes the opportunity to participate and disabled people. The report is based on a large in 20 weeks of free exercise classes, held in local number of interviews and focus groups held with church halls, parks and other community venues. The residents during the first half of 2014 during which programme has a high uptake rate as a result of the local people were given the opportunity to talk about wide range of community support available at these their experiences of social care and NHS services in locations and the vast majority of participants continue Redbridge, as well as the quality of services such as with exercise regimes after their 20 free weeks come to housing and transport, and other issues that affect a close. people’s day-to-day lives. It documents a wide variety of inequalities that local deaf, hard of hearing, vision Independent Living and impaired and disabled people face in the Borough, Accessibility including: The Commission is deeply concerned about the yy Welfare and benefits cuts, and implications for financial pressures on adult social services across the deepening poverty country and locally in Redbridge. Rising demand (the number of people aged 65 and over who are yy Health and social care, especially the lack of in need has been projected to rise by 44% between dignified treatment by social care and health 2005 and 2020)19 coupled with steep budget cuts professionals and increasing scope of provision resulting from yy Lack of accessible expert advice and support the Care Act 2014 has led to a situation where local particularly around benefits authorities will face a £4.3bn shortfall in their adult yy Getting out and about, and transport in social care budgets by the end of the decade.20 general

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yy Not being listened to Living with long term conditions yy Crime, anti-social behaviour and safety Chronic diseases are the most common cause of death yy Lack of affordable and accessible housing and disability in England. More than 15 million people yy Limited employment opportunities and have a long-term condition such as hypertension, discrimination in the workplace depression, asthma, diabetes, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, or other health problem or The Redbridge Disability Consortium’s report should disability for which there is no cure. In fact, patients with serve as a call to action that people with disabilities long-term conditions account for more than 50 per living in Redbridge feel that their fundamental rights cent of all GP appointments, 65 per cent of outpatient are not being respected, and their concerns need to appointments and over 70 per cent of all inpatient days.25 be addressed as a matter of urgency. The case for We have all heard the saying ‘prevention is better than action is deepened by the growing body of evidence cure’, and for most of us it means that solving a problem which suggests that changes to the benefit system and early can save not only pain in the long run, but small the costs associated with living in the capital have a problems that are allowed to develop into crises tend disproportionate impact on people with disabilities. to require more resources and know-how to deal with. For instance, it has been estimated that in London in The same holds true for public services, most of which 2007/08 the poorest 10% of individuals who experience devote the vast majority of their resources and energies a limiting-longstanding illness or disability had a to problems once they have occurred, rather than weekly after housing costs income of less than £141. By dealing with them in the first place. 26 2012/13, this figure is thought to have fallen to £100. Part of that picture is making sure all of resources are used This is an apparent fall of around 29% (£41 a week) - to strengthen wellbeing and tackle the wider determinants double the equivalent figure for Londoners without of health as far as possible, and the later sections of disabilities and more pronounced than elsewhere in this report detail how this could be done in Redbridge. the UK.23 Furthermore, people with disabilities face up Another aspect involves exploring new ways of helping to £550 extra costs per month related to their disability people to mitigate the harm that has already happened, or which pushes many families below the poverty line. 24 manage problems well so they do not get worse. It is unacceptable that residents in Redbridge should One approach which both shifts the focus of care from feel like they are under attack because they have a firefighting problems and managing crises towards disability or chronic health condition. As services are promoting wellness and quality of life is what has rethought to implement the Care Act, this presents a come to be known as ‘social prescribing.’ This is the idea good opportunity to address the concerns raised by the that community based and alternative services like Disability Consortium about the growing marginalisation volunteering, befriending and physical activity can be as that local deaf, hard of hearing, vision impaired important for promoting healthy lives with high levels of and disabled people face, and the Commission has wellbeing as clinical or medical care. It starts out from suggested a number of ways that this could take place the assumption that equipping people with the skills in its recommendations below. and confidence to manage their conditions in a way that works for them is an integral part of helping people to stay well.

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As suggested above, the social context in which The strength and level of support available to us through people live their lives often determines their health our social networks are also matters of fairness and and wellbeing. If, for instance, an individual feels a lack social justice. As the Marmot Review shows, the poorest of autonomy or control over their life, they tend to feel among us tend to die sooner and spend more of their more stress and are much more likely to drink, smoke, lives with a disability, while people who live in deprived take little exercise, have a poor diet and are less inclined communities tend to have less access to advice and to take the medication they need. One of the reasons information about health and wellbeing, social support social prescribing is thought to be so successful (see box and access to services. This has tangible implications for 4) is because it taps into an individual’s motivations and our health and social care system: those with the least goals in order to foster new social interaction and build among us are more likely to realise that they have a long social ties, and encourage the development of new skills term condition late (and need more intensive support and healthy behaviours. as a result), require emergency care, experience greater co-morbidity and are less likely to attend routine GP appointments for reviews of their conditions 27

Box 4: Rotherham Social Prescribing Pilot Social prescribing was piloted in Rotherham between April 2012 and March 2014, and was closely monitored and evaluated by academics at Sheffield Hallam University. The city’s local voluntary service hosted a project manager and small team of community advisors to link patients referred to the scheme by GPs to voluntary projects taking place locally. The voluntary sector was supported by a grant programme of £603,000 which was invested in 33 separate projects to boost capacity. Over 1,200 people were referred to the services provided by the voluntary sector, the most common of which were community based activity, information and advice, befriending and community transport.

The vast majority of people who went through the pilot (78%) made progress on at least one key health outcome after six months. What’s more, during the pilot period, A&E attendances reduced by 21%, hospital admissions reduced by 9% and outpatient appointments reduced by 29%. This can’t all be attributed to the pilot, but it’s a positive sign that investment in community capacity can reduce resources in the long term.

From Dayson, Chris et al. 2013. From dependence to independence: emerging lessons from the Rotherham social prescribing pilot.

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As the NHS’ plan for the next five years (the ‘Five Year The Commission hopes that the Council, the local Forward View’) points out, services that help people Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS will take up to live healthy lives which meet their personal and the lessons from the Rotherham Social Prescribing pilot specific needs are only ever really possible when and work together to develop a fully-fledged social providers take a person’s life goals – their priorities, prescribing scheme for Redbridge. values and motivations – into account.28 People’s goals and how they interact with the support networks Older people around them are important parts of helping people to The Commission heard how isolation and loneliness change unhealthy lifestyles, and changing them would can put older people at greater risk of obesity, increase significantly reduce health inequalities. their likelihood of developing a disability and increase Redbridge already has a form of social prescribing in the their chance of developing clinical dementia by 64%. form of the Redbridge First Response Service (ReFRS). Some groups of older people are hit harder than ReFRS is an information, advice and navigator scheme others. Older lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered which brings together 49 different organisations into a people may find it harder to be out in the community, single point of contact for people with local level needs. for instance, while people with dementia can As well as helping people access Council services, ReFRS be easily excluded if venues or services are not goes a step further by referring people to organisations dementia friendly and sensitive to their needs. that run activities that help support their health and wellbeing such as befriending services, interactive The Commission also heard how older people can be craft groups or peer support groups. This extra step technologically excluded. Even though many want to is important, as it reflects a commitment to closer use the internet, they may need more support than working with the voluntary and community sector and a other groups to do so. Lacking the skills to get online, recognition that more holistic approaches to improving however, can mean that they miss out on the best health and wellbeing can be effective. consumer deals (as many companies advertise this only online), and can mean that they are not able to take part in important consultation and engagement activities.

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Box 5: Dementia Friendly Communities Based on extensive consultation with people with dementia and their carers, the Alzheimer’s Society recommends 10 areas of focus for communities aspiring to become ‘dementia friendly’. These are:

yy Involvement of people with dementia to ensure their voices are heard in key decisions yy Challenge stigma and build understanding of dementia yy Accessible community activities which people with dementia can take part in yy Acknowledge the potential and contribution that people with dementia can make yy Ensure an early diagnosis and post-diagnostic support yy Practice support to enable engagement in community life yy Community-based solutions which can help avoid people unnecessarily accessing healthcare yy Consistent and reliable transport which is responsive and respectful to people with dementia yy Easy to navigate environments Respectful and responsive businesses and services by promoting dementia awareness to all shops, businesses and services

From Green, Geraldine; Lakey, Louise. 2013. Building dementia-friendly communities: a priority for everyone. Alzheimer’s Society.

Furthermore, while not a consequence of ageing, accreditation produced by the Alzheimer’s Society the prevalence of dementia is increasing as people and briefly outlined in box 5 provides some guidance live longer and the proportion of older people in the for local authorities and other organisations aspiring population has risen. About 9% of people living in to make their local areas dementia friendly, and the Redbridge are living with dementia29, and in 2014 the Commission hopes this will build on the good work Council came together with a range of local partners already started by the Action Plan. to compile the Redbridge Dementia Plan 2014-2017 which sets out how local services that people with Recommendations dementia use can be improved. Beyond public sector 1. Put wellbeing at the heart of the agencies, communities themselves need to respond to Council’s activities the growing presence of dementia by becoming more tolerant of and welcoming towards their neighbours The Council should co-produce an outcomes framework who have dementia and those people who care for and move towards an outcomes based approach. By those with dementia. This would mean enabling people ‘outcomes framework’ what we mean here is a set of to find their way and feel safe in their locality, access positive changes that the Council wants to achieve local facilities that they are used to, and maintain their with and for local citizens and their communities. These social networks so they still feel they belong in the should be developed together with local residents community.30 The ‘Dementia Friendly Communities’ and their communities through wide reaching and

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accessible engagement. As budgets tighten, having other local organisations and encourage wide- these priorities in place would mean that the Council reaching local adoption. could justify how every project or service it commissions b) Work with local disability rights and advocacy meets the aspirations set by local people. It would groups to develop accessibility standards for help the Council better understand what it’s trying to customer service to be used in all customer- achieve for local people, create space for innovation by facing interaction across the Council. These opening up dialogue between different services and should be shared with local businesses and GP sectors about collaboration and shared goals, help the practices. Council to understand how to get the best possible impact from across its services, and make sure that every c) Review and ensure progress of the Redbridge public pound spent locally is in line with what the local Dementia Plan. The review should include authority wants to achieve for local communities. a movement towards Redbridge becoming an Alzheimer’s Society accredited ‘Dementia We also note that the Welfare Reform and Work Bill will, if Friendly Community’. passed, remove the duty on local authorities to produce a joint child poverty strategy with other organisations d) Build on the groundwork established by the in their areas. Given the profound impact that material Redbridge First Response Service to develop a deprivation in the early stages of life can have on life local social prescribing scheme in partnership chances, we would suggest that at least one of these with the CCG and local NHS. The scheme should outcomes focuses on child poverty. have at its heart, investment in the community and voluntary sector to provide a range of The Commission further recommends that community based activities, information and co-production and measurement of wellbeing is built advice, befriending and community transport into every step of how services are commissioned, and services in order to improve the health of wherever possible in the assessment of Council and people with long term conditions and other contracted services. A brief outline of how wellbeing groups who may benefit. can be measured has been included in Appendix B. e) Work with the CCG, local NHS and RedbridgeCVS 2. Take action on independent living, in order to improve the provision of local accessibility, social isolation and long term specialist disability welfare advice on a wide health conditions range of issues including: housing and council tax, the new ‘personal independence payments’, The Council should: disability grants, employment and support a) Develop a ‘Redbridge Disability Charter’: this allowance and application for Blue Badges. charter would be a set of principles that sit f) Become a Living Wage Borough by extending across and inform commissioning processes the London Living Wage to employees of across the Council in co-production with key contractors who provide services for the local organisations to improve the quality of Council. Within a year, we would expect the life for residents who are deaf, hard of hearing, Chief Executive and relevant director to have vision impaired and/or disabled. The Charter will entered into discussions with the top five serve as a set of recognised competencies and contractors to begin negotiations about the ways of working which can be used to influence implementation of the London Living Wage by

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2018/19, with a view to further rollout across all contracts subsequently.iii 3. The Council should commission a ‘digital mentoring’ scheme as a volunteer led, peer-to-peer support network based in community venues across the Borough which can help residents share skills and support each other to get online. 4. Establish an ‘Early Action Working Group’ bringing together teams from across the organisation to identify preventative and early intervention opportunities across Council service areas.

iii The Commission did not achieve a full consensus about this recommendation. Cllr Paul Canal expressed caution about the feasibility of implementing the London Living Wage (estimated as an additional cost of £2m for adult social services alone) at a time when the Council faces severe financial challenges. Cllr Canal also expressed concern that the implementation of the London Living Wage in Redbridge may constrain the number of job opportunities in the local care and service sector, particularly for young and unskilled workers who need them the most.

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Chapter 3: Home

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One of the most striking parts of the Commission’s work The local housing crisis has been seeing how safe, secure, decent housing near There are a few key issues which jump out at anyone people you know is really at the heart of so many local looking at the state of housing in Redbridge. concerns. This chapter discusses the consequences of the crisis of affordability in the local housing market for To begin with, home ownership in Redbridge is both residents and the local authority. shrinking. There are about 100,000 households in the Borough, of which 64% is owner occupied, 23% is How did we get here? privately rented and 11% are social rented (the second Nationally, it is estimated that the country needs 250,000 lowest in London and less than half of the capital’s homes a year to meet this demand, while last year average), and 2% for shared ownership. Between only 110,000 were built. This has huge repercussions 2001 and 2011 the private rented sector grew by 8 for large numbers of people in the UK – it is estimated percentage points, while the number of people owning that a quarter of adults under the age of 35 are still their own homes shrank by 11 percentage points. living in their childhood bedroom,31 while the impact of Furthermore, the Borough is becoming increasingly increasing unaffordability can be seen in the rising rates unaffordable. Local house prices are 8.4 times the average of homelessness, as a threat to social mobility32 and as a incomes in Redbridge, and the private rented sector is major driver of the ever increasing benefits bill.33 also increasingly expensive. In Ilford, for instance, the The housing crisis we see today has been a long time average rent in November 2013 was £1,150 but rose by in the making. House building has fallen significantly 12.1% to £1,290 by November 2014. Under the current over the course of the last four decades from its peak in conditions, for Redbridge to be affordable, residents the 1960s and 1970s, with a particularly steep decline in would need an income of £36,500 for a one bed property, housing completions from 2008.34 In 2004, the landmark rising to £85,000 for a four bed property. Escalating house Barker Review suggested that 260,000 new housing prices and high private rents mean that it’s more difficult starts, a similar figure to what’s required today, would be than ever to save for a deposit for a mortgage which goes needed a year in order to keep the UK’s housing market some way to explain the decline in the number of people affordable and stable in relation to average incomes.35 who own their own homes locally. A decade on, we are 1.45m houses short of where we Redbridge also seems to have trouble building. The would have been if that target had been met.36 Borough has the third biggest shortfall of new homes In London, demand for new house building is thought in London compared to the targets set out by the to be between 50-80,000 per year. This is so far away of Mayor, and the need for social housing in Redbridge far what can be realistically delivered that even the Mayor’s outstrips any other form of tenure. target for house building in London is set much lower at 42,000 competitions per year.37 To make matters worse, that level of building has not been seen for 40 years (completions in 2012/13 stood at just 21,900).38

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Paying the price The Commission heard how the Council’s small housing stock and escalating costs on the private rented sector The skyrocketing costs of living in London have serious are making it increasingly difficult to support residents implications for the people who live and work in the in need to find long-term, sustainable housing. The city, and for organisations like the Council or housing short supply of social housing in Redbridge has led to associations that have a legal and moral duty to help a situation where when the local authority has a duty those who are struggling. to house someone, it has no other resort but to give Supporting people with their housing costs is one of the them space in temporary accommodation until either most effective ways of tackling poverty. While people one of its council houses becomes available (which living in poverty generally have less good, and less is increasingly rare) or find them somewhere to stay desirable housing conditions than those with higher in the private rented sector. While the Council has incomes, they generally avoid bad housing conditions. management guidelines in place which set out the This is because of the UK’s housing system – its social standards it expects from properties it procures from housing, housing benefit and support for homeless local landlords, the Commission heard a number of people – which help to supplement low incomes and concerns from residents and witnesses in its meetings give people access to forms of housing they wouldn’t about the quality of these properties. have otherwise.39 Before housing costs are taken into Furthermore, recent changes to the way temporary account in the three years to 2012/13, for example, 16% accommodation is funded mean that councils across of Londoners were living in poverty while this figure London can no longer cover the whole cost of finding jumps to 28% (nearly a third of the city) when housing people local housing in the private rented sector as costs are taken into account.40 In a housing market rising rents have outstripped what councils can afford which is so overheated, low rents and housing benefit to pay. Many of the decisions to place homeless families are two major contributors which prop up the incomes outside of London are directly related to this, and it of low-income families and prevent deprivation. With can have some serious consequences for the ability of housing costs rising far quicker than wages, even in an families to cope. outer London Borough like Redbridge, increasingly wide sections of the community will be feeling the effects of the crisis of affordability soon if they are not already.

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Box 6: Living in Temporary Accommodation One home visit that sticks in mind was when I visited a young 20 year old single mother and her 3 year old son, whose birthday was that month. They had just been moved into temporary housing in the form of a hostel about 20 minutes walk from school. Her support network consisted of her father and brother who live in another borough. When I first got there I had to find the front door for non-residents – the sign on the door said something like “The manager is round the back.” Once I was let in by the manager, he explained that all kinds of people stay there, from people who have been made homeless recently to long-term homeless people. Each person and family is only given one room, which can be difficult for larger families or when they have young babies. There is one shared bathroom serving nine rooms.

I met mum in the communal kitchen. She said that it was quite cramped and noisy because the other residents have babies and they are up at night because the babies are crying and need feeding. They often have takeaways for dinner and don’t enjoy sharing the facilities. Mother informed me that they have been moved because the Council deemed the flat she was living in was too big for just herself and her son. Her partner was estranged. The child spent most of his time either watching TV or on the iPad. Her father and brother often helped out and they stayed with her most weekends. She was hoping to be rehoused soon but no definite date has been set.

Excerpt from a home visit conducted by a local teacher to the family of a new student

The case study above (box 6) offers a brief insight into together with new rules that only those with a ‘housing life in one of the hostels the Council uses as temporary need’ could join the register. This cut down the number accommodation until more permanent arrangements of people on the list by 50% and meant that only those can be found. While the family in this example had other with the highest and most acute needs would be family members around them to support them, families given a council house in the Borough. This also means, who find themselves homeless have little choice but to however, that the private rented sector has become the accept what they are offered which sometimes can be only option for residents who cannot afford to buy a far away from their significant relationships and support house and who do not qualify for social housing locally. networks, far away from their children’s schools and These tighter criteria to access housing in Redbridge sometimes in forms of accommodation which are not place increasing importance on the role of advocacy designed for family life. and advice for people with housing problems so that By accident or on purpose? they are able to make sure their circumstances are fully understood by officers making decisions about them. The Council currently has 7720 people on its waiting While local authorities have a statutory duty to help list for social housing, 73% of whom are either homeless people under the Housing Act 1996 and homeless home seekers who are largely in temporary Homelessness Act 2002, these duties come with strict accommodation or in overcrowded households. In legal criteria. February 2014 the Council took the decision to apply a new two-year ‘residency criteria’ to the waiting list

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To be considered homeless, you must be able to The Problems Facing Housing access public funds, be legally classed as homeless, Associations in priority need and be unintentionally homeless. If Housing associations are another important part of someone’s behaviour or actions are thought to have the fabric of the UK’s housing supply. Many have deep deliberately caused the loss of accommodation which roots in the philanthropic and charitable movements it was reasonable to continue occupying, they can be for poverty alleviation which grew in the wake of the classed as ‘intentionally homeless’ and lose the right to Industrial Revolution in the late 19th and early 20th be provided housing by the local authority.41 However, century. Housing policy in the latter part of the 20th applying these laws can be difficult. The complex legal century saw housing associations become mainstream definition of homelessness is further complicated by providers of social housing in the UK, and today nearly case law, not to mention the difficulty in building a two million people in England and Wales rent their comprehensive picture of the personal circumstances home from one of them.43 They also play a major role in of someone facing homelessness who might have a the development of new housing, last year contributing chaotic life (should they have little or no familial support, 22% of the total of new housing completions in England for instance, or lack a stable income, or suffer from a and far outstripping local authorities (who built just variety of physical or mental health issues which mean 0.1%).44 certain types of housing might be unsuitable for them). Despite these positive numbers, housing associations Many local people with housing problems do turn to face some major obstacles developing new housing the Council’s Housing Advice Centre for support, and for social rent as a result of a reduction in grant funding almost 2200 people did so last year (2014). The Council from the GLA by 60% in 2010. For example, a two accepts a duty of homelessness in only 35% of cases bedroom apartment for affordable rent costs a housing compared to the average London rate of 52%. This is a association £200,000 to build. Of this cost, around 30% concern for the Commission, as so much is at stake in is for land, 55% is for building costs and a further 15% these decisions. If people do find themselves classed as is ‘on costs’. To fund this, a housing association would intentionally homeless, for instance, they then become receive around £35,000 in grant, would borrow £135,000 de facto homeless with huge knock-on implications for in subsidy against the future rental income of the their personal relationships, and physical and mental apartment, and would find a further £30,000 in the form health, particularly if they have unmet support needs. of subsidy. The problem with this is that the definition 42 This highlights the importance for people facing of ‘affordable’ was fixed by the previous government homelessness to get high quality advice about their to mean 80% of market rents45 which in the context of entitlements and the different support routes that might today’s housing market does little to ease the financial be open to them, as well as advocacy support to help strain for many Londoners. them set out their story clearly so that an effective and fair decision about their circumstances can be made. Furthermore, because social rents are so much lower, housing associations are not able to borrow as much against the future income they will receive from tenants and they receive no extra grant money. This means that they need to find almost double the amount of subsidy (around £60,000) for every social rented home they build. This is not sustainable in the long term as

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housing associations approach the limit of the amount attract private sector developers while making sure of borrowing and subsidy that they can take on, and local needs are met. In a city with so many lucrative has meant that many have moved into development for opportunities for developers, it can be difficult for outright sale on the market. local authorities to insist that developers provide large numbers of affordable housing as doing so can dent Regeneration developers’ profit margins and act as a disincentive for investment. The Commission also heard how the arrival of Crossrail has the potential to fundamentally change the It also might mean that developers do not deliver character of the Borough, while schemes like the Ilford the type of housing that the Borough needs. This is a Housing Zone will bring in millions of pounds of public particular concern as although Redbridge has a general and private investment. While increased connectivity shortage of housing, it also has a particularly high with the rest of London and long overdue fresh demand for larger, family sized homes – a problem thinking about the role of Ilford within the east London which has contributed to the high rates of overcrowding sub-region are both welcome, the Council needs to in the south of the Borough. While the Commission ensure that change works for everyone and that it agrees with a number of witnesses who presented to the properly understands, values and grows the strengths Fairness Commission that the arrival of Crossrail should that already exist in local communities. be seen as an opportunity to change the Borough for the better, the Commission believes that this highlights Testimony from a local property developer showed the importance of having a clear understanding of what how difficult it can be for the Council to strike a balance the Borough wants to achieve from the regeneration between creating good investment opportunities to process itself so that it makes lasting positive change.

Box 7: On the ground community mapping in Barnet

Barnet Council worked with the Young Foundation to conduct street level mapping of community organisations in and around Golders Green in north London. The methodology was based on a community mapping approach. This approach allows the identification of the maximum number of both formal and ‘below-the-radar’ groups, as well as engaging with local community group leaders to understand their activities, networks and values. They also mapped the quality of those networks and relationships, and the extent to which they contributed to the Council’s desired outcomes for residents but were difficult to assess financially.

Making these relationships visible can help the Council and other public bodies to understand how regeneration and investment can impact on the already existing community relationships which support outcomes in other areas.

For more information see: http://youngfoundation.org/publications/ground-community-mapping-barnet/

36 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 3: Home

The recommendations below suggest a number of Doing the Impossible ways that the Council could open up the development The tensions in the London housing market are creating process to public scrutiny and make sure local priorities problems for residents and particularly for those on are heard. Box 7 also details one of many examples of low incomes. While the Council has a very low stock of innovative engagement and research methods that social housing compared to other London Boroughs, it councils across London have undertaken to make is by no means alone in struggling to deliver sub-market visible the strengths and assets of local communities to housing in the current climate. With no sign of supply make sure that they are supported by regeneration and catching up with demand in the short-term, however, development. unless the Council and its partners take action quickly it will not be long before ever larger sections of the Redbridge population start to feel the impact of the crisis of affordability.

Box 8: Community Land Trusts A Community Land Trust (CLT) is an organisation initiated and governed by local residents which aim to deliver affordable housing and other community facilities for the benefit for a defined geographic area. CLTs are community-controlled and adopt legal structures which are non-profit and encourage the leadership of local communities through open democratic governance structures. Their practical focus is usually on the development and retention of permanently affordable housing. The East London Community Land Trust highlights five key features that define a CLT: 1. Community-controlled and community-owned so that assets can be sold or developed in a manner that benefits the local community 2. Open democratic structures which gives people who live in the CLT and local area an opportunity to be involved in its development and operation 3. Permanently affordable housing or other assets by addressing the costs of land inflation and fixing them to local earnings 4. Not for profit so that all the CLT’s income is used in the community’s interest 5. Long-term stewardship and involvement in the management of its homes

From ‘What is a community land trust?’ by the East London Community Land Trust. http://www.eastlondonclt.co.uk/#/what-is-a-clt/4576878256

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The Council and its partners need to show resolve 6. Take decisive action to address the growing and commitment to building Redbridge as a place local housing crisis for the whole community, which means using its still a) The Council should insist on an affordable considerable influence and leverage to try out new ideas housing requirement of at least 30% on all new and adapt as quickly as possible to the needs of the housing development in the Borough.iv Borough. Without a diverse mix of options that meets b) Learning from successful examples across the wide range of local needs however, increasingly large London, the Council should establish its own parts of the Redbridge’s population could be priced out of arms-length housing development company the Borough, putting the diverse, tolerant and welcoming to build new social housing, and housing for communities Redbridge is known for under threat. One affordable rent and shared ownership to deliver such idea which was presented to the Commission over a substantial proportion of the Borough’s the course of its inquiries is that of ‘Community Land housing target. Trusts’ (detailed in box 8) which would let the Council play c) The Council should identify at least two parcels a leading role in delivering permanently and genuinely of land for large scale Community Land Trust. affordable housing for local people. d) The Council should produce new guidelines for the viability of new housing development in the Recommendations borough which 5. Improve the quality and availability of yy enable the council to better scrutinise housing advice the information private developers a) The Council should work with advice providers submit. from all sectors to produce a shared strategy yy set out the process for requiring reviews for advice and information provision in the of viability when a development is Borough. All organisations should contribute to constructed to determine whether and adopt an ‘Advice and Information Quality additional affordable housing can be Standard’ to improve the provision across delivered. Redbridge. e) The Council should include provision for b) The Council should work with Redbridge Advice third and voluntary sector groups and social Network to review and benchmark the way it enterprises within redeveloped town centres makes decisions about homelessness duty, and and/or high streets to ensure the whole ensure that support is in place for people who community retains a stake in regeneration. are found to be ‘intentionally homeless’. c) The Council must adhere to clear quality criteria for the private sector housing it uses to discharge its homelessness duty.

iv The Commission did not achieve a full consensus about this recommendation. Cllr Canal supported an enhanced target for the overall supply of affordable housing, but said a blanket 30% threshold was ‘unworkable’, ‘probably unenforceable’ and would ‘deter investment and lead to fewer affordable homes being built’.

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f) The Council should use participatory research and engagement methods (such as the ‘on the ground community mapping’ example detailed in box 7) to make sure that area improvements and regeneration preserves and complements already existing community assets and capacities. g) The Council should produce an online resource for tenants in the private rented sector to help them understand their basic rights and how to make sure they are protected. h) When assets held in public ownership by the Council are sold, the Council should continue to use the receipts generated to improve community facilities and infrastructure.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 39 Chapter 4: Economy

40 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 4: Economy

Chapter 4: Economy

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 41 Chapter 4: Economy

Fostering a high quality local job market is one of the and multifaceted, and the Commission does hope to most effective ways of raising living standards and lifting do them justice in the amount of space available in this people out of poverty. For most people, the earnings they report. When we think about what a fair local economy receive from paid work are their largest sources of income looks like though, it should both widen and deepen and have the biggest bearing on the material conditions opportunities for people with disabilities and ensure that in which they live. Yet employment can also cause poverty no-one is written off. if people do not have access to the hours they need or if Economically, Redbridge is a borough of contrasts. It the only jobs they can get do not pay enough for them to is highly entrepreneurial and had one of the highest maintain a decent standard of living.46 numbers of new business start-ups last year. 93% of Since the recession, London’s economy has displayed its local businesses are micro-businesses employing some worrying characteristics: the weekly earnings and between one and nine people. It also has a high rate of hourly wages of many Londoners has fallen, particularly business failure, and less than half of all business start- for those at the bottom end of the pay scale who lost ups survive longer than three years. 93% of the total an average of nearly 8% from their pay packets between employment within the Borough is within the service 2007/8 and 2012/13.47 Although the number of workless industries, of which 55% is in the private sector. In families has decreased significantly since the start of comparison to other London boroughs, Redbridge has the 2000s, the number of families in poverty and work a larger than average reliance on public sector jobs with has increased significantly.48 Locally, the average weekly the Council and the local NHS still by far the biggest wage is £551.50 – over £100 lower than the London local employers. average (£660.50), and roughly 27% of its population Redbridge is well known for its high standards of was low paid in 2014.49 educational provision and is home to many excellent For an inclusive economy schools. Yet while it has some of the largest numbers of young people who go on to university in the country, the One conclusion it is possible to draw from this is that Commission is concerned about the level of support and policies which aim to build an inclusive economy should availability of high quality local apprenticeships for young address the quality as well as the quantity of local jobs people who would prefer to pursue more vocational on offer, and the ability of poorer and more marginalised careers. From discussions with local business associations, households to reach them. This is particularly important it was found that there is a strong appetite to take on within a context of retrenchment in public services and young people as apprentices but little understanding the knock-on impact this may have on family incomes about how this can be done in practice. The Council has across the spectrum. significant experience in working with young people Furthermore, some of the most unsettling inequalities to develop their skills and help them get recognised in the local economy relate to the employment of qualifications through its in-house apprenticeship people with disabilities and special educational needs scheme, and the Commission believes there is scope to and this was one of the issues brought to our attention share this expertise with local businesses. most frequently in our inquiries. Only 46% of people with disabilities are in employment compared to 76% of people without disabilities, and only 7% of people with learning disabilities are employed. The barriers facing people with disabilities to get jobs are complex

42 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 4: Economy

Building resilience resilience.52 An economic strategy for Redbridge would be one that recognises the symbiotic relationship Encouraging people and places to be resilient – to between the private and public sectors to achieve respond to challenges they face and recover from inclusive local growth. 53 economic, social, political and environmental shocks – is an important part of building a thriving local economy. While the programme of welfare reform aims to remove At an individual level, the description of wellbeing given barriers to the labour market and encourage people to above emphasises the connection between positive find work, the Commission heard how some families feelings, good functioning, psychological resources may not be able to adapt to the reduction of income and the circumstances of individuals, all of which are they face through benefit sanctions or the capping of important if individuals are to cope with adversity housing benefit. In many cases, by carefully balancing 50 and reach their full potential. At a community level, their household budgets or relying on support from this might mean fostering supportive relations that family or friends some are able to muddle through, but link to wider groups of people with different talents, an increasingly large cohort of people find themselves knowledge and resources at their disposal. At a Borough trapped in unsustainable financial situations with level, it might mean producing goods and services challenges they cannot resolve. These problems can be at an appropriate scale to support a balanced and exacerbated by the additional charges that people on diverse local and regional economy, providing support low incomes frequently have to pay for essential goods for individual groups and institutions to innovate in and services, like energy costs, car insurance or personal response to changing circumstances, and supporting loans (otherwise known as ‘the poverty premium’).54 investment in social as well as financial capital to address For people with poor credit ratings, or who have 51 poverty and inequalities. limited payment options because they cannot access To do this, the Council should have in place a range conventional bank accounts, this might also mean they of policies and strategies that understand local resort to expensive hire purchase schemes to access communities themselves as intrinsic and a fundamental basic goods through credit shops or using high cost mail part of economic success. While initiatives like Crossrail order catalogues. It might also mean relying on payday or the Ilford Housing Zone can generate an intense lenders to make up the difference between household amount of economic activity, it should not be assumed costs and income. that chasing investment and waiting for ‘trickle down’ to bring local benefits will be enough to tackle poverty and Making an impact inequality alone. Building an inclusive and resilient local Local authorities and other public bodies play an economy will also require long-term thinking which important role in local economic development both brings together the contributions of the public, social through the millions of pounds they spend each year and commercial sectors and sets out a clear vision for on the people they employ and the goods and services Redbridge within a wider London sub-region. they buy from local businesses. In the Council’s case, this comes to about £240m. Local government and other ‘anchor institutions’ like the CCG, NHS, local schools, Further Education colleges The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 gave public and housing organisations to name but a few, all play an sector bodies the opportunity to take into account how important part in enabling and shaping the local market the services they commission might also improve the and fostering individual, community and economic well-being of their local area, and take these benefits

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into account beyond the financial bottom line. Social local apprentices, by requiring local companies to work value means understanding how to use scarce resources with people from deprived communities where there to secure the maximum possible collective benefit is high unemployment or making sure local companies for the local community when a public body like the make the necessary arrangement to support people Council chooses to award a contract.55 In practice, this with additional needs into work. might mean requiring contractors to take on and train

Box 9: Using the Social suppliers to produce innovative ideas that added extra value to the service they would provide. Value Act The process produced a significant response from providers, who proposed a range of outcomes May 2013, Gateshead Council tendered for a including: new framework agreement that provides support for troubled families. The council worked closely yy Providing energy efficiency advice for residents with the local voluntary and community sector to yy Initiatives that target fuel savings for customers co-design the service and ran an event to engage with prospective suppliers, before going to market. yy DIY skills workshops for residents The contract was divided into a number of lots yy Neighbourhood improvement projects and awarded to several charities, using assessment criteria that looked not only at delivering better yy Early-stage incubation for social enterprises outcomes for families, but also at generating yy Curriculum and literacy support in schools additional social value. This social value took the The final contract award encompassed a number form of activity to build the capacity of the local of firm social value commitments. For instance, the voluntary and community sector. The successful provider will support local employment outcomes, providers committed to increasing the number of by providing apprenticeship opportunities, VCSE organisations involved in service delivery. The delivering careers advice in schools and offering contract also included a commitment to establish a work experience to NEETs and the long-term sustainable family mentor volunteering programme, unemployed. The contractor also delivers additional which includes opportunities for volunteers to economic growth, offering mentoring and business progress into paid employment. support to SMEs in the provider’s supply chain, Croydon Council recently went out to tender for as well as collaboration with social enterprises. a £150 million housing repairs contract. The council Finally, the winning bidder committed to provide used a consultation process to fully develop social volunteering opportunities for staff, allowing them value considerations. This allowed prospective to contribute to local community projects.

44 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 4: Economy

The Commission suggests that developing a better yy Youth employment and apprenticeships understanding of the wider social value implications of yy Flexible working and the London Council services could also encourage smarter thinking Living Wage and innovation in the way that services are provided more widely. It could help staff to understand how yy Meaningful training and development spending across the Council from different services areas opportunities may be linked, and how reducing or increasing pressures yy Greater opportunities and simpler in one area can affect another. When taken together processes for small firms and third with the outcomes framework recommended in the first sector organisations bidding to deliver chapter, this could be a powerful tool to help increase services the Council’s impact in the community at a time when yy Opportunities for people with its budget is under severe pressure. disabilities

Recommendations 8. The Council should establish a time 7. As a major local employer and procurer, limited Debt Action Group which brings the Council should seek to secure the together Redbridge Advice Network, the maximum benefit for the local economy Credit Union, Job Centre Plus and key through its budget and influence Council service areas such as the Housing Service and Payments & Benefits to pool data and expertise, and develop a shared The Council should: understanding of how to improve the a) Map the spend from the local authority to its financial resilience of families on low top suppliers including their geography, their incomes. re-spend in the local economy, and ethos and 9. This work should inform the production of practices regarding employment, suppliers a Financial Resilience Strategy which sets and environmental choice in order to build an out a range of activities and interventions understanding of how organisations contracted for key local partners to take forward to provide services for the Council are currently which help local people who are struggling and could potentially deliver social value. to become more financially secure. The b) Based on the above, work with third sector Commission suggests that the strategy organisations, other public bodies and local should aim to achieve the following businesses to identify the specific community depending on the local evidence base: benefits they want to achieve through taking yy Reduce the levels of problematic debt full advantage of the Social Value Act. yy Reduce the levels of food and fuel c) Develop a ‘Fair Employer’ standard which poverty sets out the employment practices it expects y businesses bidding for Council contracts to y Help people gain access to the financial comply with. This would include expectations products they need around:

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 45 yy Help people to manage their finances c) Attract universities with specialism in well/cope with an unexpected outlay science and engineering to establish a local campus. yy Help more people get the benefits and credit they are entitled to by using a d) Foster and support the growth of small single financial health diagnostic check businesses and businesses with a social where appropriate focus. yy Use council data to understand where e) Strengthens the local apprenticeship the need for support is greatest offer by developing Work Redbridge 10. The Council should agree a long-term into a ‘local apprenticeship hub’ which economic vision for the Borough through brings together opportunities from local the development of an Economic Strategy. businesses, Job Centre Plus, FE colleges and the National Apprenticeship Service The strategy should: into a single point of contact and best a) Include a vision for the types of business practice resource. and economic activity Redbridge wants 11. The Council should develop a ‘New Business to attract. Starter Pack’ for businesses opening in or b) Ensure that adequate consideration moving to the Borough setting out key is given to the spatial requirements of local contacts and support services. local businesses in balance with efforts to meet housing need.

46 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 5: Community

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 47 Chapter 5: Community

The voluntary sector and What drives many community groups are concerns and passions about deep-rooted social issues where they community assets live, and as such they are frequently tailored to meet While this report has so far dealt with the role of local the specific needs of the local people who form their government in tackling poverty and inequality, but it membership.58 Many groups are close partners with the should be emphasised that voluntary, community and faith Council in providing essential services and many others sector organisations have long played an essential role. complement the work of statutory providers like the Council, and help to prevent problems from developing Voluntary sector groups are often set up by local people into serious issues that require more drastic (and in response to a set of local interests or needs, and as expensive) interventions further down the line. such have a reputation for being up-to-date with local priorities. They often carry out a wide range of activities – As small and responsive organisations, they are also from promoting local arts and creative activities, or able to try out new ideas and innovate to solve newly exercise and leisure activities, to offering advice and emerging social problems.59 Yet we need to recognise advocacy on difficult topics like personal finance or that community activity does not just happen on its own, support for new entrants to the country.56 and many groups will require some kind of support either in kind (perhaps through the free use of community Although well-run voluntary sector organisations also facilities, for example) or financially (perhaps in the form of deliver a tremendous amount of value for money small grants to help them get off the ground) in order to through the use of volunteers to carry out their help them resource their day-to-day activities. activities, they should not be thought of as ‘free’ or cost neutral. Volunteers need to be properly supported with The Commission heard an energising example of supervision, management and training, not to mention the power of the voluntary sector from the Shpresa the other overheads for voluntary organisations like programme, a user-led organisation that promotes the insurance, safeguarding checks and office costs. participation and contribution of the local Albanian While grants in Redbridge for the voluntary sector have speaking community in community and civic life. largely been maintained in recent years, the Commission Founded in 2003, Shpresa was initially set up by a spoke to a number of voluntary and community group of local mothers from Albanian, Kosovan and organisations over the course of its enquiries who Macedonian communities to help support each other expressed concern about the future of funding for the to access local services, cope with difficult cultural sector in the next few years. With the perfect storm differences and to create positive role models for their of rising demand for services and dramatic financial communities. Based on the strength of community ties, challenges, the contribution of community groups can Shpresa are able to mobilise a reliable base of volunteers often be seen as secondary to the delivery of core public to run an array of different projects, from dance and services. Indeed, across the country the sector as a drama clubs for young people, and a volunteer-led whole has lost more than £1.9bn of funding since 2010.57 crèche offering free childcare, to community education projects around mental health and domestic violence.

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Box 10: An assets-based approach to health and wellbeing In Redbridge, the Health and Wellbeing Board is responsible for leading the development of the Joint Strategy Needs Assessment (JSNA) which sets out key information about local health inequalities for action by local public sector organisations. Traditionally JSNAs have been developed using a deficit approach where local communities are understood by their problems, needs or deficiencies such as deprivation or illness. The information provided meant that commissioners were likely to design services to fill the gaps and fix the problems.

An asset-based approach is a new way of challenging health inequalities by working with local communities to understand the skills, knowledge, connections and capacity that maintain or sustain health and wellbeing.

This might mean working with older people and their carers to build and support their social networks and relationships (as with NHS Fife’s ‘Shine’ project), or working with mental health service users to map and understand their strengths, skills and identify external sources of support (as with the East Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership’s ‘Iriss’ project).

Asset-based approaches to health can help to build stronger intelligence about local communities for commissioners to understand how to ensure the maximum impact of the funds that they have for use locally. From Hopkins, Trevor; Rippon, Simon. 2015. Heads, hands and heart: asset-based approaches in health care. http://info.wirral.nhs.uk/document_uploads/Downloads/HeadHandsAndHeartAssetBasedApproachesInHealthCare.pdf_ realName=BKFP4y.pdf The Health Foundation

Shpresa show what can be achieved with little money across the country who have experimented with or resource when groups mobilise community capacity asset-based approaches to health and wellbeing as a in the right way. There will be many other fantastic way of understanding how best to tackle local health examples of community groups doing similarly excellent inequalities. This approach shows how public sector work in Redbridge by using community spaces like organisations can use their resources intelligently to school halls, church rooms or community and youth strengthen wellbeing by starting out from the lived centres to run a vast array of different activities for their experiences, capabilities and relationships that already members, either explicitly or incidentally promoting exist within local communities. healthy behaviours and wellbeing. The Commission believes that building a picture of how physical assets Fairness for young people like community centres or youth centres support Over the course of our enquiries, we spoke to the Youth important community health assets is important at a Council, the Don’t Whisper Children in Care Council time when we need to squeeze the maximum impact and brought 80 young people from across eight local from every pound of public money spent locally. This schools together for the Schools Fairness Conference is why we think the Council and its partners on the (see box 11) to hear their views about how Redbridge Health and Wellbeing Board should learn from lessons could be made a fairer place to live. emerging from other public sector organisations

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yy Lack of local volunteering opportunities Box 11 : The Schools’ and vocational courses for young people Fairness Conference yy Lack of community cohesion The Redbridge Schools’ Fairness Conference took between groups and generations place on 10 July 2015. The Conference brought yy Concern at perceived racial profiling used in together 80 young people from 6 different schools stop and search by the Police in the Borough including Beal High School, Hainault yy Perception of highly divided Borough and Forest High School, Ilford County High School strong role of social class divisions between Mayfield School, Valentines High School and the north and the south Woodbridge High School. yy Cuts to college and university maintenance The purpose of the session was to provide a fun, grants and high tuition fees were particular interactive and inspirational session that taught concerns young people about social justice, and to gather insight from the Borough’s young people about The young people also raised a number of solutions inequalities in the local youth experience to build the to tackle these issues: Commission’s evidence base. yy A ‘Redbridge Games Day’ of sporting and The session was facilitated by the global justice NGO academic competitions could be set up ‘People & Planet’ who specialise in youth engagement, to bring young people from different and included a number of interactive workshops backgrounds and abilities together about social justice themes and two segments in yy A ‘Pay It Forward’ campaign could be set up which the young people were asked to think about to help members of different communities their experiences locally. The outcome of the session get to know each other and volunteer to has been summarised below for consideration as part help each other of the Commission’s evidence base. yy Improve the reach of the Borough’s youth Key issues raised included: centres and publicise activities to a wider audience yy Negative stereotypes towards young people painting them as trouble for the community, yy Encourage youth social entrepreneurialism – or too ignorant to take seriously help young people run their own campaigns using online platforms like Kickstarter

For the full report of the Schools Fairness Conference see www.redbridge.gov.uk/fairness

The Don’t Whisper Children in Care Council are a of frustration but for quite different reasons. They group of young people aged 16 years and older. Like described the ‘struggle and battle for understanding’ the young people in the Schools’ Fairness Conference, from adults and the wider world about their personal they also discussed negative stereotyping as a source histories and the psychological and social challenges

50 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 5: Community

they face. They felt young people in care are more likely locally is difficult to obtain because they tend to be to suffer from poor mental health, live in poverty and underreported to the police and other support services. frequently fail to build a strong identity or attachment Nonetheless, the number of recorded offences of to a place because they have moved so often. They domestic violence with injury rose by 26% in the year emphasised the importance of counselling and mental to July 2014. Furthermore, domestic violence is now health support for young people in their positions, and the most common single risk factor in child protection called for more work to smooth the transition in and out assessments carried out by the Council’s Children’s of the care system. Services, with costs to children’s social care of £1.9m last year alone.

Community cohesion We heard from Aanchal Women’s Aid about the severe Community cohesion is difficult to see or measure impact that domestic abuse can have on its victims, when it is working well but very apparent when it particularly since many face social stigma if they speak breaks down. Inequalities between different community out against their perpetrators. We also heard how honour groups, the perceived inequity of public funding, based violence, forced marriage, female genital mutilation tensions between communities and specific events or and faith based abuse are taboo and can be ‘hidden from incidents can all cause community tension. sight’ making their prevalence difficult to gauge.

Worryingly, racist hate crime and religious hate crime is Gender-based inequalities, community attitudes on the rise in Redbridge, as is homophobic, anti-Semitic and responses, as well as individual psychological and Islamophobic hate crime, while Redbridge has the experiences and substance abuse can all be parts of the fourth lowest public confidence rating in the police out picture. It’s clear that if we want to tackle the roots of of all London Boroughs. This is a particular problem, as domestic abuse, then it means asking ourselves some it may mean people are disinclined to report crime, if very difficult questions as a community, and we have they do not feel that the local police will follow their suggested one possible avenue for exploration below. problems up. Tackling prejudice and discrimination is clearly Migrants important if we want to build a fairer Borough where We also heard about some of the difficulties facing everyone is able to participate fully in social and civic newly arrived migrants in Redbridge. Testimony from life. As the Redbridge Equalities and Community the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London Council passionately put it in their presentation to the (RAMFEL) suggested that little is understood about Commission, victims of hate crime by definition are the difficult legal position that many migrants who are victims of injustice, and need to be supported through seeking asylum in the UK and who live in Redbridge advocacy and engagement to challenge the prejudice find themselves in. Contrary to popular belief, asylum and discrimination within our communities. seekers are not eligible for mainstream welfare benefits, and are generally not allowed to work while they Domestic Abuse are waiting for a decision to be made about their Feedback from our public meetings and engagement application for asylum. Instead, many rely on the activities suggested that there is concern for the level support they are provided under the Immigration and th of support available for victims of domestic abuse. Asylum Act 1999, which as of 10 August this year was Accurate data about the prevalence of domestic abuse reduced to a single weekly standard rate of £36.95 per

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 51 Chapter 5: Community

adult or child (a £13 reduction for single parent asylum violence against sex workers and helping them to exit the seeker families). If they pass a ‘destitution test’,60 they industry safely. The Commission agrees with an approach are offered accommodation on a ‘no-choice’ basis to addressing sex work which involves tackling demand, generally outside of London and the south-east in and has provided a recommendation below which it keeping with the longstanding ‘Dispersal of Asylum hopes will strengthen the mandate for this approach. Seekers’ policy which forms part of the Asylum Support Regulations 2000.61 This puts asylum seekers in London Recommendations and Redbridge in a difficult position – either they must 12. Recognise and support the value of the accept the offer of accommodation which frequently third, voluntary and community sector. means moving away from important support networks, The Council should: or they face homelessness and destitution in one of the most expensive cities in the world. If their case is a) Invest in community development programmes refused and they have exhausted their right of appeal, in areas with high levels of deprivation ensuring support is terminated and they have to leave their the involvement of volunteers across different accommodation. If they are unwilling or unable to return age groups. to their country of origin they face life on the margins b) Invest in community-led educational projects with no income and no legal right to work. which address domestic violence. The Immigration Act 2014 and Immigration Bill 2015 c) Build on the examples of local giving projects both further limit migrants’ access to housing, driving across London to establish a ‘Redbridge Giving’ licences, bank accounts and healthcare, and will mean body, which can support crowdsourcing for that appeals against asylum decisions can only be made local initiatives and encourages charitable giving from outside the country. In the wake of the biggest for local causes. refugee crisis facing Europe since the end of the Second d) Work with its partners to improve the range World War, the Commission believes that the Council and quality of volunteering opportunities for needs to show strong local leadership in order to create young people. an atmosphere of welcome and sanctuary in Redbridge. 13. The Council should establish a peer Sex work mentoring scheme which trains young The Commission also heard about the excellent work volunteers who have left care to mentor being carried out by the Sex Worker Outreach Project and support other vulnerable young who are contracted by the Council to make contact with people. the men and women involved with sex work (often a 14. The Council should make resource available hidden population) and who do not necessarily access to take advantage of funding opportunities mainstream specialist services for a range of factors presented by the European Social Fund and including stigma and fear of criminalisation. The project embed a strong bidding culture within the engages with sex workers to deliver harm reduction, Council. information, health and other initiatives like addressing

52 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Chapter 5: Community

15. The Council should examine the 18. The Council should establish a ‘Routes possibility of diversifying the financial and Out of Sex Work’ Working Group under organisation models of local youth and the umbrella of the Community Safety community centres into wider ‘Community Partnership to improve the response to Hubs’ providing a range of high quality prostitution and sex work locally. The and grass-roots services with the potential group’s work should be premised on respect to develop new services in response to for the women involved in prostitution, changing community needs. concern for women’s safety and wellbeing and an acknowledgement of male-led 16. The Council should pilot an asset-based demand as a key driver for the industry. approach to public health in at least two of the Borough’s most deprived wards as 19. The Council should establish a time limited the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is Immigration Task Group with a range of refreshed partners to assess how best to support newly arrived migrants with no recourse 17. The Council should develop a place brand to public funds in the Borough, and ensure to foster a stronger sense of identity, they are treated with dignity, humanity and belonging and togetherness for Redbridge compassion by local service providers. learning from the successes of initiatives taking place elsewhere.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 53 Concluding remarks

The Commission has seen over the last year that Redbridge is teeming with inspiring organisations working hard to make life better for the people who live here, and has learned a lot by listening to a diverse range of voices about how to make the Borough fairer. Clearly, collaboration, sharing knowledge and respect for different values are essential for individuals and organisations that set out to tackle the inequalities that exist in local communities.

This report sets out how the Commission thinks the Council and its partners can work together to make Redbridge a fairer place. The 19 recommendations set out in this report are intended to suggest ways to build the wellbeing of individual residents, their communities and the local economy by breaking down the barriers between professionals and service users, and rebalancing the power between these groups. This is particularly important at a time when public sector organisations need to be sure that every pound they spend is making the maximum possible impact for local people.

54 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Appendices

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 55 Appendices

Appendix A – Acknowledgements

The Redbridge Fairness Commission would like to thank all the following people and organisations for sharing their experiences and expertise:

Jon Abrams, Redbridge Concern for Mental Health Matilda Allen, UCL Institute of Health Equity Nnenna Anyanwu, Redbridge Advice Network Yvonne Arrowsmith, East Thames Housing Group Fen Beckman, London Borough of Lewisham Sudarshan Bhuhi, Aanchal Women’s Aid Alice Browne, Redbridge Advice Network Martyne Callender, RedbridgeCVS Rita Chadha, RAMFEL Anna Gerrard, Redbridge Children and Young People’s Network Phil Herbert, Redbridge Welcome Centre David Landau, Redbridge Equalities and Communities Council Lizette Lungiambudi, Salvation Army Sarah Lyall, New Economics Foundation Sonya Lynch, Redbridge Welcome Centre Rachel Macfarlane, Isaac Newton Academy James Monger, Age UK Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham Luljeta Nuzi, Shpresa Programme Ben Robinson, Community Links Clive Sheldon, Sophia Hubs Ros Southern, Sophia Hubs Panna Simon, Salvation Army Cathy Turland, Healthwatch Redbridge Chief Inspector Rick Tyson, Metropolitan Police Swati Vyas, RedbridgeCVS Steve Worrall, Positive East Redbridge Youth Council Redbridge Citizens

56 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Appendices

The Commission also wishes to thank the following Councillors and Council officers for contributing evidence to its meetings:

John Anthony, Head of Safer Communities Bushra Baig-Daykin, ReFRS Information, Advice and Development Manager Mark Green, Chief Financial Services Officer Vicky Hobart, Director of Public Health Marj Keddy, Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Marston, Chief Housing Officer Cllr Elaine Norman, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People John Powell, Director of Adult Social Services, Health & Wellbeing Pat Reynolds, Director of Children’s Service Dudu Sher-Arami, Consultant in Public Health Richard Szedziewski, Director of Finance Gladys Xavier, Deputy Director of Public Health Alison Young, Chief Planning and Regeneration Officer

The Commission would also like to the local community groups, service user groups and frontline staff who took the time contribute to the process:

ActivEyes Redbridge Aldborough Hatch Defence Association Barkingside 21 Centre for Independent and Inclusive Living Concessionary Transport Team Daffodil Advocacy Project Dementia Awareness Disability Employment Network Don’t Whisper Children in Care Council Friends of the Earth King George Patient Engagement Groups

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 57 Appendices

Link Place Service Users Roma Support Group PeerPoint Seven Kings Business Association Pensioners’ Forum Shine Punjabi Centre Shopmobility Ilford Redbridge Adult Institute South Ilford Business Association Redbridge Carers Support STAAR Redbridge Community Care and Advice Centre Stroke Association Redbridge Community Meals Sycamore Trust Redbridge Education, Health and Welfare Telecare and Lifeline Services for Children and Families Uniting Friends Redbridge Elderberries Day Care Centre Voices of Experience – Age UK Redbridge Environmental Health Team Welcome Centre Redbridge Food Health and Safety Team Work Redbridge Redbridge Forum Redbridge Oakfield Lodge Sheltered Accommodation Redbridge Open Access Drugs Service (Foundation 66) Redbridge Planning and Regeneration Service Redbridge Prevent Team Redbridge Rainbow Redbridge Residents’ Housing Panel Redbridge School Admissions Team Redbridge Sensory Services Redbridge Special Educational Needs Team Redbridge Street Cleansing Teams Redbridge Street Pastors Redbridge Street Scene Team Redbridge Victim Support Redbridge Youth Offending Team

58 A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission Appendices

Appendix B – Measuring wellbeing

The newly established What Works for Wellbeing Centre suggests six steps to evaluating wellbeing impact.62

1. Know what you want to achieve, why you do it and why it matters Identify a theory of change, which explains how a project or programme will have an impact on the people who stand to benefit from it.

Draw on existing wellbeing data and research about best practice for supporting wellbeing, like the OECD better life index63 or ONS data for local authority districts64 2. Capture the data about wellbeing during the project Add subjective wellbeing into evaluations to help compare the effectiveness of different interventions against each other. These could take the form of research interviews, discussion groups and focus groups, community consultation events or research diaries from people participating in the interventions being evaluated.65 At their most basic, evaluations that measure wellbeing look at a particular intervention might impact on people’s life satisfaction, level of anxiety, how worthwhile they feel and their happiness.66 These can be extended to capture more information about individuals and communities by using instruments like the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale67 and the ONS personal well-being questions which ask people whether they feel they have meaning and purpose in their lives, and ask about their emotions during a particular period.68

3. Understand if your project is causing change by using a control or comparison group Control trials can be used to find out if a policy or intervention is having an effect. They involve introducing a ‘control group’ to a project which lets you monitor the effectiveness of a new intervention against what would have happened if nothing had been done in the first place.69

4. Understand if the impact can be shown repeatedly by using independent replication evaluations to confirm the impact you measured. 5. Show that your project or approach can be scaled up and used by others with the same outcome by producing manuals, systems and procedures to consistently apply the project elsewhere while maintaining the same positive impact. 6. Continuously learn from practice by sharing knowledge about improvements across the organisation and studying what else others are doing.

A Fairer Redbridge The Final Report of the Redbridge Fairness Commission 59 Appendices

13 Friedli, Lynne. 2009. Mental health, resilience and inequalities. http:// Appendix C – References www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/100821/E92227. 1 The membership of the Redbridge Fairness Commission also pdf World Health Organisation included a trade union representative who withdrew from the 14 process citing conflicting personal commitments. Unfortunately a Randle, Anna; Kippin, Henry. Managing Demand: Building Future replacement could not be found at such a late stage. Public Services. https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications- and-articles/reports/managing-demand-building-future-public- 2 Rawls, John; Kelly, Erin (ed.) 2001. Justice as Fairness; A Restatement. services/ RSA London: Harvard University Press 15 Stephens, Lucie; Ryan-Collins, Josh; Boyle, David. 2008. Co- 3 Doorling, Danny; Brooks, Richard. 2015. What do we mean by fairness production: a manifesto for growing the core economy. in cities? http://b.3cdn.net/nefoundation/5abec531b2a775dc8d_ http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jul/13/what-do-we- qjm6bqzpt.pdf New Economics Foundation mean-fairness-cities-london The Guardian 16 Social Care Institute for Excellence. 2010. Co-production in social 4 Heins, Elke; Deeming, Chris. 2015. ‘Welfare & Wellbeing – Inextricably care: what it is and how to do it. Linked’ in Foster, Liam et al. (eds) In Defence of Welfare 2. http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide51/what-is-Co- http://www.social-policy.org.uk/what-we-do/publications/in- production/defining-Co-production.asp defence-of-welfare-2/ Social Policy Association 17 Slay, Julia and Penny, Joe. 2014. Commissioning for Outcomes and 5 Cabinet Office. 2010. The Coalition: Our Programme for Government. Co-production. London: Cabinet Office http://b.3cdn.net/nefoundation/974bfd0fd635a9ffcd_j2m6b04bs. pdf New Economics Foundation 6 Burchardt, Tania; Fitzgerald, Amanda; Hills, John; McKnight, Abigail; Obolenskaya, Polina; Stewart, Kitty; Thomson, Stephanie; Tunstall, 18 Vertovec, Stephen. 2007. New Complexities of Cohesion in Britain: Rebecca; Vizard, Polly. 2015. Social Policy in a Cold Climate: The Super-Diversity, Transnationalism and Civil-Integration. Coalition’s Social Policy Record: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015. https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/files/Publications/ http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/spcc/RR04.pdf Reports/Vertovec%20-%20new_complexities_of_cohesion_in_ London School of Economics britain.pdf Commission on Integration & Cohesion 7 For more information, see the evidence pack to the Redbridge 19 National Audit Office. 2015. Care Act first-phase reforms. Fairness Commission’s ‘Serving Redbridge’ meeting at http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Care-Act- www.redbridge.gov.uk/fairness first-phase-reforms.pdf 8 Lyall, Sarah. 2015. Fairness Commissions: Understanding how local 20 LGA & ADASS. 2014. Adult social care funding: 2014 state of the nation authorities can have an impact on poverty and inequality. report. http://b.3cdn.net/nefoundation/ http://www.local.gov.uk/documents/10180/5854661/ b9ee98970cb7f3065d_0hm6b0x2y.pdf New Economics Adult+social+care+funding+2014+state+of+the+nation+report/ Foundation e32866fa-d512-4e77-9961-8861d2d93238 9 Marmot, Micheal et al. 2010. Fair Society, Healthy Lives. 21 HM Government. 2012. Care for our future: reforming care and https://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/projects/fair-society- support. healthy-lives-the-marmot-review UCL Institute of Health Equity https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/

10 attachment_data/file/136422/White-Paper-Caring-for-our-future- Buck, David; Maguire, David. 2015. Inequalities in Life Expectancy: reforming-care-and-support-PDF-1580K.pdf Changes over time and implications for policy. http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/inequalities-life- 22 The report is available on Redbridge Disability Consortium’s website expectancy King’s Fund at: http://www.rcmh.org.uk/documents/reports/Redbridge%20 Voices_Final_april15_emailversion.pdf 11 Michaelson, Juliet. Sorcha Mahony. 2012. Measuring Wellbeing. http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/entry/measuring- 23 Vizard, Polly; Karagiannaki, Eleni; Cunliffe, Jack; Fitzgerald, Amanda; well-being New Economics Foundation Obolenskaya, Polina; Thompson, Stephanie; Grollman, Chris; Lupton,

12 Ruth. 2015. The Changing Anatomy of Economic Inequality in London Ibid., p. 7 (2007-2013). http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ RR06.pdf LSE & Trust for London

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24 Scope. 2014. Priced Out: ending the financial penalty of disability by 2020. 35 Barker, Kate. 2004. Review of Housing Supply. Delivering Stability, http://www.scope.org.uk/Scope/media/Documents/ securing our future housing needs. Publication%20Directory/Extra-Costs-Report.pdf?ext=.pdf http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_03_04_barker_ review.pdf 25 Carter, Angela; Roberts, Sue; Dixon, Anna. 2013. Delivering better services for people with long-term conditions. 36 Home Builders Federation. 2014. The Barker Review a decade on. http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/delivering-better- http://www.hbf.co.uk/fileadmin/documents/research/Barker_ services-people-long-term-conditions King’s Fund Review_10_years_on_-_24_March.pdf

26 Langford, Katherine; Baeck, Peter; Hampson, Martha. 2013. 37 Wilson, Wendy; Bate, Alex. 2015. Meeting London’s Housing Need. More Than Medicine: New Services for People Powered Health. http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/ http://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/more-medicine NESTA Summary/CBP-7287 House of Commons Library

27 Dayson, Chris; Bashir, Nadia; Pearson, Sarah. 2013. From dependence 38 London First. 2014. Home Truths: 12 steps towards solving London’s to independence: emerging lessons from the Rotherham social prescribing housing crisis. pilot. https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/cresr/dependence- http://londonfirst.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/LF_ independence-emerging-lessons-rotherham-social-prescribing- HOUSING_REPORT.pdf pilot-pdf-726-kb Sheffield Hallam University 39 Tunstall et al. 2013. The Links Between Housing and Poverty: An 28 NHS Five Year Forward View. 2014. https://www.england.nhs.uk/ Evidence Review. Joseph Rowntree Foundation wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf NHS England 40 Trust for London. 2014. Poverty ‘before’ and ‘after’ housing costs. 29 See Redbridge Dementia Action Plan 2014-2017. https:// http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/topics/ www2.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/care_and_health/adult_ income-poverty/poverty-before-and-after-housing-costs/ social_services/idoc.ashx?docid=9c52231c-895e-4f09-8b33- d183d4ef1e3f&version=-1. 41 Campbell, Jacqueline. 2011. The Impact of Intentional Homelessness Decisions on Welsh Households’ Lives. 30 Crampton, Jane; Dean, Janet; Eley, Ruth. 2012. Creating a dementia- http://sheltercymru.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Impact- friendly York. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/creating-dementia- of-Intentional-Homelessness-Decisions.pdf Shelter friendly-york 42 Ibid. 31 Office for National Statistics. 2014. Young Adults Living with Parents 2013. 43 Office for National Statistics. 2013. Home Ownership and Renting in http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/family-demography/young- England and Wales – Detailed Characteristics. adults-living-with-parents/2013/index.html ONS http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/detailed- characteristics-on-housing-for-local-authorities-in-england-and- 32 Tunstall, Rebecca; Bevan, Mark; Bradshaw, Jonathan; Croucher, wales/short-story-on-detailed-characteristics.html ONS Karen; Duffy, Stephen; Hunter, Caroline; Jones, Anwen; Rugg, Julie; Wallance, Alison; Wilcox, Steve. 2013. The Links Between Housing and 44 Department for Communities and Local Government. 2015. Poverty: An Evidence Review. Housing Building: June Quarter 2015, England. http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/poverty-housing-options-full. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ pdf Joseph Rowntree Foundation attachment_data/file/454659/House_Building_Release_-_Jun_ Qtr_2015.pdf DCLG 33 The Independent. 2015. Housing benefit fill rose by £2.4bn under coalition as Labour claim new homes needed 45 HM Treasury. 2010. Spending Review 2010. https://www.gov.uk/ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/ government/publications/spending-review-2010 p. 8 housing-benefit-bill-rose-by-24billion-under-coalition-as-labour- claim-new-homes-needed-10108977.html 46 Ray, Katheryn; Sissons, Paul; Jones, Katy; Vegeris. 2014. Employment, Pay and Poverty. 34 Office for National Statistics. 2015. Live Tables on House Building. http://www.theworkfoundation.com/DownloadPublication/ https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables- Report/364_Employment%20pay%20and%20poverty%20.pdf on-house-building ONS The Work Foundation

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47 Vizard et al. 2015. The Changing Anatomy of Economic Inequality in 59 NESTA. 2008. Social Innovation: New approaches to transforming London (2007-2013). public services. http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/social_innovation.pdf RR06.pdf p.38 60 See Gower, Melanie. 2015. ‘Asylum support’: accommodation and 48 Trust for London. 2014. Poverty and Work. financial support for asylum seekers. http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/topics/ http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01909/ income-poverty/child-and-adult-poverty-and-work/ SN01909.pdf

49 Trust for London. 2014. Low Pay by Borough. http://www. 61 See Asylum Support Regulations 2000. http://www.legislation. londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/topics/low-pay/low- gov.uk/uksi/2000/704/contents/made for further details paid-jobs/ 62 Excerpt from: http://whatworkswellbeing.org/what-works/ 50 Friedli, Lynne & Carlin, Margaret. 2009. Resilient Relationships in the evaluation-wellbeing-impact/ North West: what can the public sector contribute? http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/uploads/ 63 OECD. 2015. Better Life Index. attachment/338/resilient-relationships-in-the-north-west.pdf NHS http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#/11111111111

51 Greenham, Tony; Cox, Elizabeth; Ryan-Collins, Josh. 2013. Mapping 64 ONS. 2015. Measuring National Wellbeing, Personal Wellbeing in the Economic Resilience. http://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/ UK, Three Year Data 2011/14. wp-content/uploads/2013/12/nef-Mapping-Economic-Resilience- http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well- 1-report.pdf NEF/Friends Provident Foundation being/personal-well-being-in-the-uk--three-year-data-2011-2014/ index.html 52 Centre for Local Economic Strategies. Creating a good local economy: the role of anchor institutions. 65 Michaelson, Juliet. Sorcha Mahony. 2012. Measuring Wellbeing. New http://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/wp-content/ Economics Foundation uploads/2013/12/nef-Mapping-Economic-Resilience-1-report.pdf 66 Social Impacts Task Force. 2011. Adding Subjective Wellbeing to 53 Mazzucato, Mariana. 2014. The Entrepreneurial State. London: Evaluations – Why and How? Anthem Press https://whatworkswellbeing.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/revised- adding-subjective-wellbeing-to-evaluations_final.pdf 54 Save the Children. 2007. The Poverty Premium: How Poor Households Pay More for Essential Goods and Services. 67 See NHS Health Scotland. 2015. Measuring Mental Wellbeing. http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/docs/ http://www.healthscotland.com/scotlands-health/population/ poverty_briefing_1.pdf Measuring-positive-mental-health.aspx

55 Social Enterprise UK. 2012. Public Services (Social 68 See Chanfreau et al. 2008. Predicting Wellbeing. http://www.natcen. Value) Act 2012: a brief guide. http://socialvaluehub.org. ac.uk/media/205352/predictors-of-wellbeinwg.pdf NatCen uk/?id=103&view=oneresource 69 Haynes et al. 2011. Test, Learn, Adapt: Developing Public Policy with 56 Community Development Foundation. 2014. Tailor-made: how Randomised Controlled Trials. community groups improve people’s lives. http://38r8om2xjhhl25mw24492dir.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/ http://www.cdf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Tailor-made- wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TLA-1906126.pdf Cabinet Office How-Community-Groups-Improve-Peoples-Lives.pdf

57 National Council of Voluntary Organisations. 2015. UK Civil Society Almanac 2015: Income from Government. http://data.ncvo.org.uk/a/almanac15/government/

58 Angel, James. 2014. Moving beyond the market: a new agenda for public services http://b.3cdn.net/nefoundation/d2675fe54cb1ce0203_ldm6bkjoz. pdf New Economics Foundation

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