Our Borough
Newham is a vibrant and developing part of east London with a flourishing youth population – almost a quarter (86,000) of our residents are under-18.
We are proud to be the most diverse local authority area in the UK, with more than 100 languages spoken in our borough.
Newham has benefited from the Olympic Legacy following the London 2012 Games, with regeneration continuing in the shape of new homes, high streets, businesses and public spaces continuing long after the Olympic flame has departed.
As well as the London Stadium (now home to West Ham United) and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (boasting the London Aquatic Centre, the AccelorMittal Orbit and award-winning parkland), Newham is also home to the ExCel Centre, London City Airport, Westfield Stratford City, and the northern bank of the Thames barrier.
Newham enjoys excellent transport links, with the bustling hub at Stratford serving Tube and rail links in to central London and out to the east of England. Just 15 minutes from the heart of London on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Central Line, and served by the Jubilee; Hammersmith and City; District and Overground lines. The Emirates Airline cable cars cross the borough, while Crossrail will boost links even further with an Elizabeth Line stop coming to Custom House.
Housing is more affordable than in much of inner London and our bold housing ambitions are seeing new homes being built at pace across the borough – with the council on-track to deliver more than 1,000 new homes for genuinely affordable social rent by 2022.
Community Wealth Building is at the heart of the Mayor of Newham’s ambitions – with a commitment to improvements and development that benefit all the borough’s residents.
The Mayor’s Towards a Better Newham plan shows how our success will be measured by the health, happiness and wellbeing of the people who live and work in our borough.
Our dedicated Children and Young People’s Commissioner is leading the council’s commitment to embedding the needs and rights of children are embedded in all the work we do, and to ensuring that young people in Newham enjoy the same opportunities as their peers in other boroughs.
Newham Key Facts
Newham is a young borough: our average age is almost four years below London’s and nine years below England. Children make up a quarter of our population, compared to just over a fifth in the UK.
Despite our rich and diverse culture, our residents face high levels of deprivation. More than half of children in Newham live in poverty; almost one-third of working-age residents are unemployed (pre-Covid numbers), and economic indicators of need are greater than the London average.
The last five years have seen signs of improvement that we are determined to build on, with children's social care playing an essential role in safeguarding children and ensuring they have the support, education and opportunities to fulfil their potential.
We offer a relocation package for those moving to the area. Please contact our recruitment support for further information
Our Towards a Better Newham recovery and reorientation plan shows how we will build back better following the Coid-19 pandemic, and ensure that our residents are not left behind.
Our population is highly diverse, with more than 70% of residents in Newham from an Asian, Black or Mixed heritage, compared with 55% in Greater London and 20% of the wider UK. Many different faiths, languages and cultures are represented in our community.
Children's Social Care mirrors Newham, with 68% of our permanent workforce identifying as having a non-white background in the recent 2020 social work census.
Social Workers are aware that there is a strong link between poverty and health. This graphic shows that Newham residents' health is impacted by their economic circumstances, starting from when children are in primary school. The average life expectancy is lower than average and premature deaths are higher.
Newham’s children deserve skilled and dedicated Social Workers. We want to transform children’s life chances, and improve family relationships to achieve better outcomes for children and young people. If you share our belief that social workers can be agents of change for the better, we’d love to hear from you.
