Areas of Work
The East London CVS Network is a strategic agency. We do not deliver any services directly to voluntary and community organisations in East London [if you require support, please contact one of our member CVS]. Instead we are involved in developing policy and encouraging voluntary and community sector [VCS] involvement in a number of areas:
It has been suggested that the sense of gravity is shifting eastwards out of central London as more jobs are created in the East London boroughs. More people are living in Medway towns or in the outer boroughs and commuting into either the city or East London. This trend looks set to continue with the successful bid to hold the 2012 Olympics in East London, and with the Thames Gateway regeneration programme. The implications for the VCS in East London is that there will be more people potentially accessing their services, and that those people may not be accessing services where they live but where they work.
East London is a diverse sub-region, including both inner and outer London boroughs
- Ranking according to Indices of Deprivation vary from Tower Hamlets which is listed as 4 out of 354 local authorities to Havering which is listed 214.
- Some boroughs have established minority ethnic communities [eg: Tower Hamlets] whereas other boroughs are having to adapt rapidly to new communities [eg: Barking & Dagenham]. The size of the BME communities varies also: Newham has a BME population of almost 150,000 representing just over 60% of the total population, while Havering has a BME population of less than 12,000 [5.2% of total population].
- Unemployment rates range from 13.4% in Tower Hamlets to rates in Bexley and Havering that are too small for a reliable measure to be published.
- The number of people in rented accommodation varies from around 21% in Havering to over 70% in Tower Hamlets
- The number of people with no qualifications varies from almost 40% in Barking & Dagenham [almost 10% higher than the London average] to 25% in Redbridge.
Voluntary and Community Sector Profile
Research into the needs and expectations of voluntary organisations in East London has been undertaken at a borough level by local ChangeUp Steering Groups. There are between 10,000 and 15,000 VCOs in the sub-region, of which approximately 1500 have been directly involved in developing local ChangeUp plans.
The local Plans have identified around 130 infrastructure organisations. Most of these are borough based, although there is some cross-borough, and some pan-London organisations providing services within East London. Financial support for infrastructure support varies from borough to borough – with Hackney bringing in £1,410,942 compared to £360,505 in Havering.