Borough Manifesto

Barking and Dagenham Together - Borough Manifesto

This sets out our long-term vision for Barking and Dagenham:

One Borough, One Community. No-one left behind

This short video summarises the aims of the manifesto:

Over the next 20 years we will work together to deliver our vision, joining forces to make change and improvements happen which benefit everyone. We will ensure every resident has a fair opportunity to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

Almost 3,000 of you have helped develop the vision, aspirations and targets in the document, by giving your views on what you like about the borough, what you dislike, and your hopes for the borough. What you told us has formed the basis of developing a series of aspirations and targets.

The aspirations set out our hopes for the future across a number of themes. We have also set targets which will help us monitor whether we are on track to deliver the vision.

The targets are ambitious but realistic. If we achieve these targets we will see improvements in outcomes across a number of areas and the borough will be a better place to live, work, and study.

Borough Manifesto (PDF, 1.08 MB)

State of the borough: Barking and Dagenham 2019

Following on from the 2018 annual state of borough conference, we held the 2nd conference in October 2019. Over 100 partners came together to discuss the progress we had collectively made over the past year towards achieving the vision of the Borough Manifesto, and the opportunities in the year ahead. We discussed some examples of great partnership working in Barking and Dagenham, the principles of public service that we share in common in this borough, and the biggest challenges facing our community as we head into the 2020s.

The 2nd annual cut of data illustrates where we stand against our Borough Manifesto targets:

Borough Manifesto targets 2019 (PDF, 219 KB)

Infographic - State of the borough 2019 (PDF, 728 KB)

If you would like to find out more about our community and how it’s changing, please see our Borough Data Explorer and Social Progress Index.

State of the borough: Barking and Dagenham 2018

At the launch of the Borough Manifesto in July 2017, it was agreed that the Barking and Dagenham Delivery Partnership would report on progress towards targets and aspirations on an annual basis.
The State of the Borough report is the first yearly update. Because the Manifesto is a long-term 20 year vision, the report presents our latest performance in infographics, alongside case studies which give insight in to some of the work partners have been doing over the past 12 months, laying the foundations for future growth and improvement.

State of the Borough report (PDF, 6.6MB)

This short video summarises some of our key achievements since the Borough Manifesto launch:

However, the report is only a snapshot of a few organisations; there are many more doing great work in the borough and too many to highlight in one report.

Further case studies (PDF, 827KB)

Rationale for targets

The targets we have chosen have been selected after careful consideration and analysis. We have looked at current trends, performance of the rest of London and neighbouring boroughs, and the rate of improvement required to hit the target. We have set out why specific targets have been chosen and the rationale for each:

Targets rationale (PDF, 1.30 MB)

Barking and Dagenham Together - Borough Manifesto consultation

From August to October 2016, we were busy speaking to the community about the future of the borough.

We asked:

what they liked about Barking and Dagenham
what they disliked about Barking and Dagenham
what their hopes were for the borough over the next 20 years.

Paper based consultation forms were available from all leisure centres, children’s centres, libraries, the Dagenham One Stop Shop, Barking Learning Centre, and various partner organisations.

These forms were also used at the summer events programme where the council carried out face to face engagement with residents. They were also used in 15 of the borough’s primary schools and at meetings with partner and voluntary sector groups.

An online consultation was also available and communicated widely, including promotion to commuters at Barking, Dagenham Heathway and Chadwell Heath railway stations.

A separate consultation form aimed at young people was designed by the Barking and Dagenham Youth Forum. All secondary schools in the borough were invited to ask their student’s to take part.

The Technical Skills Academy also rolled this online consultation out to their students.

And we’ve had a great response! In total 2,814 people told us what they think.

We received:

1,091 paper responses
564 online responses
624 from our secondary schools and Technical Skills Academy
535 from our primary schools

The community articulated these things as their hopes for the future:

much cleaner borough - streets, parks, front gardens
more affordable housing for all life stages
greater enforcement against environmental ASB and behaviour change amongst residents
more high street shops and department stores in the borough.
places to eat, drink and socialise - good night time offer
more integrated, cohesive community with renewed sense of community spirit
an aspirational place to live and work, and for businesses to settle – a destination that people visit, not just pass through
higher standards in education and improved Ofsted ratings of the borough’s schools
more people in employment, more local job opportunities and overall a more affluent borough
less crime and greater feeling of safety on the streets
more facilities for young people to keep them off the streets and more services for older people to keep them active
people take pride in their local area and do their bit to keep it clean