Barking and Dagenham has unveiled a new overarching vision for its future, titled 'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change'. This ambitious plan, endorsed by the Health & Wellbeing Board and ICB Sub-Committee, replaces the previous Borough Manifesto and aims to guide the borough's development over the coming years.
The vision is built on the principles of People, Place and Partnerships
and outlines ten key missions that reflect the borough's priorities. These missions encompass a wide range of areas, including:
- School readiness and child obesity
- Tackling poverty
- Employment opportunities
- Supporting independent living
- Ensuring decent homes
- Preventing and managing long-term health conditions
- Addressing domestic abuse
- Enhancing community safety
- Maintaining clean streets
- Celebrating culture and heritage
Measuring Success: Key Missions and Outcome Measures
The 'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change' plan outlines specific outcome measures to track progress for each of its ten missions. These include:
- School readiness and child obesity: The percentage of children achieving a good level of development at the end of Reception, and the percentage of children in Reception who are either overweight or living with obesity. The plan aims to address rising childhood obesity rates, with data showing fluctuations in recent years.
Overweight, Very Overweight, or Severely Obese Children (% of children measured) - Poverty: The child poverty rate (after housing costs) is a key metric. The plan specifically targets lifting children out of relative poverty through policies like the removal of the two-child benefit limit and an uplift to Universal Credit. It will also leverage the Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) to support low-income households and strengthen community financial resilience.
- Employment: Economic inactivity as a percentage of the population aged 16 to 64 will be monitored. The plan aims to improve access to good work, with specific support for residents with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders, women (particularly BAME women and/or women in single-parent households), and those with long-term health conditions.
- Independent living: The proportion of people receiving reablement support and the proportion of those receiving long-term support living in their own homes are key indicators. The plan emphasizes embedding a new therapy-led reablement service and revamping programmes to tackle social isolation.
- Decent homes: The percentage of non-decent local authority dwellings will be tracked.
- Preventing and managing long-term health conditions: Healthy life expectancy at birth for both males and females is a primary measure. The plan focuses on community-led interventions and creating healthier environments.
- Domestic abuse: The percentage of repeat MARAC cases and the percentage of survivors who feel safer after receiving support are critical.
An illustration depicting a human head profile with a heart inside, symbolizing health and wellbeing. - Community safety: Police-recorded anti-social behaviour incidents per 1,000 population and victim-based crime per 1,000 population will be monitored.
- Clean streets: The percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling, and composting, and total fly-tipping fines will be tracked.
- Culture and heritage: Gross Value Added (GVA) for creative and cultural sectors per head will be measured.
Addressing Poverty and Deprivation
The 'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change' plan addresses poverty through Mission Two: 'Building financial resilience, it starts here'. This mission aims to lift children out of relative poverty by leveraging policies such as the removal of the two-child benefit limit, uplift to Universal Credit, and increases to the National Living Wage. It also plans to utilize the Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) to support low-income households, strengthen community financial resilience, increase VCFSE capacity for anti-poverty work, and combine CRF with Public Health Grant to address health and poverty. A multi-agency anti-poverty partnership group will be established to coordinate a place-based approach and oversee the delivery of interventions aimed at understanding and addressing barriers faced by vulnerable cohorts, including lone parents, care leavers, NEETs, and people with disabilities. The long-term goal is to integrate anti-poverty work into neighbourhood working approaches.
Implementing Early Intervention and Neighbourhood Approaches
The plan emphasizes early intervention, prevention, and neighbourhood-led approaches across several missions. For 'Healthy and thriving children', it highlights early years development and the 24-to-30-month developmental review, delivered through three Family Hubs with Family Navigators. A whole family approach is planned for childhood obesity, supported by a healthy weight family support offer. The mission 'Prevention and management of long-term health conditions' focuses on working with communities through neighbourhood working to promote health and prevent exposure to health harms, including pioneering community-led health and wellbeing pop-ups. For 'Independent living', the plan aims to embed a new therapy-led reablement service and enhance community resources, with new digital front doors and Community Navigators working from Neighbourhood Networks. Barking and Dagenham is also an implementation site for the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP), with plans to establish integrated neighbourhood teams. The 'It Starts Here' plan was adopted by the Assembly on 25 February 2026, and the Carers Charter Action Plan 2026-2036 will be refreshed annually. 
Funding and Budget
The 'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change' plan states that there are no direct financial implications arising from the delivery of the vision and missions themselves. Costs associated with delivering priorities will be contained within existing budgets, such as the Better Care Fund. The plan encourages partners to identify and apply for external grant funding, and emphasizes that working in partnership through joint commissioning and integrated service models can support better value for money and long-term financial sustainability.
Ensuring Universal and Inclusive Opportunities
The plan's approach is guided by the principles of 'People, Place and Partnerships' and aims to tackle complex issues through a holistic and personalized approach. It emphasizes nurturing partnerships and working with the VCFSE sector. Specific missions address vulnerable groups: Mission Two ('Building financial resilience') focuses on cohorts including lone parents, care leavers, NEETs, and people with disabilities. Mission Three ('Access to good work') specifically aims to support residents with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders, women (particularly BAME women and/or women in single-parent households), and people with long-term health conditions. The plan also mentions a commitment to building social cohesion, inclusivity, and fairness to fulfill the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010. 
Ongoing Resident and Community Involvement
The 'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change' plan emphasizes resident and community involvement throughout its development and delivery. The plan was informed by consultation with partnership boards, the VCFSE, the Barking and Dagenham Youth Forum, the Annual Residents Survey, and the 'Loud and Local' engagement project. For monitoring and delivery, detailed plans will have governance and performance management frameworks in place, with oversight from partnership boards. The accountability framework in Appendix 1 of the 'It Starts Here' report details responsible bodies and partnerships for each outcome measure. The plan emphasizes that the development of these strategies and plans will have appropriate resident and service user consultation underpinning them. 
The plan was developed through extensive consultation with residents, community groups, and partner organisations, including NHS North East London and the Metropolitan Police, who have co-signed the document to demonstrate collective ownership and commitment.
'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change' will be delivered through existing partnership boards and a suite of strategies and plans held by the council and its partners. The aim is to foster collective ownership and drive delivery through a focus on early intervention, prevention, and neighbourhood-led approaches.
This new vision aims to build on the borough's strengths and address its challenges, with a particular emphasis on creating a place where people are proud to live, work, study, and stay. The plan seeks to ensure that opportunities are universal and inclusive, tackling deprivation and inequalities across Barking and Dagenham. 
For more details, please refer to the It Starts Here Report and the Public reports pack.
