Newham Council

Newham is a young, vibrant and ambitious borough which has been experiencing major development and regeneration over recent years. Newham is one of the Olympic Boroughs from London 2012 and has seen tremendous change over the last 6 years. It has moved from one of the UK’s most deprived areas but there is still a long way to go. The council has managed to keep council taxes flat over ten years while providing free school meals for students and running over 1 million music lessons as part of the programme “Every Child a Musician” – where children in Newham are given access to music instruments and lessons. Newham wants to continue to offer its residents value added services. Through supporting our schools, Newham now has some of the top performing schools in the country. However, the borough faces significant financial challenges and the Council is focused on tackling deprivation and creating a more prosperous future for our residents. Amid ongoing cuts in central government funding, the Council is faced with generating additional resources to support these strategic aims. Newham already has a track record of successful investments, through its investments in local housing associations, commercial property and the establishment of wholly owned council companies. The Business and Growth team was set up to drive forward the Council’s commercial agenda and generate significant income to help support Council services. The team is made up of people from a range of backgrounds in both the public and private sectors. Business and Growth have an entrepreneurial and commercial focus but also an awareness and understanding of the Council’s political context.