We created services there for you at every step

We helped residents save money:

  • We created the Waltham Forest Max initiative which offers library-based help and support on a range of issues including jobs, skills, health and benefits advice in the heart of each neighbourhood.

  • We funded free breakfast clubs and worked with the Mayor of London to serve free school meals for all primary school children.

  • We provided free meal support in the school holidays to help ensure no child goes hungry.

  • The Labour Government’s 30 hours of free childcare for children over 9 months old continues to save the average family at least £7,500 a year.

  • We helped 4,500 households with energy-efficiency measures in the last 4 years, lowering bills.

  • We proudly funded the TfL Freedom Pass for 30,000 older and disabled residents.

  • Our cost-of-living campaigns increased take up of Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance.

We ur record on children and young people:

  • We created exceptional early years support. We became top 5 in England, and in 2024 we had the second smallest attainment gap in England between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

  • We opened Family Hubs in every neighbourhood, giving families easy access to everything from health, housing and employment support to creative play and parenting programmes.

  • 97% of our schools were ‘exceptional or ‘strong standard’ rated. We worked with our schools to get the best outcomes for our children, regardless of whether they are council-run or academy trusts.

  • We created the Space4All programme with 26 youth clubs running every week across the borough, creating spaces for young people to hang out safely and enjoy their childhood.

  • Our continued commitment to low traffic neighbourhoods, school streets and 20mph zones protected young lungs and kept children safe.

We helped residents to be active and independent

  • We pursued innovation in social care, like Shared Lives, which supports adults with care-needs to live with carers in their own homes – a personalised, family-based alternative to traditional care homes, encouraging independence and social connections.

  • Our groundbreaking befriending scheme provided 3000 hours of contact in its first 9 months and 100 coffee mornings so far. Our programme of activities to tackle isolation in each neighbourhood across libraries, leisure centres and community spaces, reached hundreds of older and disabled adults every week.

  • Our Never in a Million Years programme broke down barriers to physical activity from disability to affordability in our Leisure Centres, community spaces and parks. This included our popular free swimming for those aged 60 and over.

We created opportunity for our residents:

  • Our Future Formed programme provided 122 employment opportunities in the creative sector. We created over 1,200 local employment opportunities giving residents real routes into work.

  • We worked with BEAM, a social enterprise that helps households in temporary accommodation find employment and a settled home, as living in TA for long periods can affect residents’ health, wellbeing and family life.

  • We brought University of Portsmouth to the borough with a London campus, offering higher education courses for local students.

  • We’ve enhanced our industrial areas to support local businesses and protect good local jobs, such as in Blackhorse Lane.

  • We have protected and delivered affordable workspaces, widening opportunities for local businesses, and strengthening a more diverse local economy.