London Councils and the Mayor of London have jointly launched an Inclusive Talent Strategy for the capital, helping Londoners get the skills they need to progress their careers and break down the barriers to good work.

The strategy, formally launched last week, is a key milestone in delivering the London Growth Plan , developed jointly by the Mayor and London Councils, in partnership with London boroughs, businesses, trade unions and others.

Chair of London Councils, Cllr Claire Holland,  said: “The Inclusive Talent Strategy sets out our ambition for how partners across London will work together in new ways to create real opportunities for Londoners facing the biggest barriers to work – including young people starting out, disabled residents, and those with long-term health conditions.

“Boroughs and sub-regional partnerships play a crucial role in providing skills, careers and employment support, and we're proud to integrate this with health services in our communities. The new strategy also better aligns skills training with employer needs and supports more inclusive recruitment - ultimately boosting incomes and helping make London a fairer place to live and work.”

Download the Inclusive Talent Strategy [PDF] here.

Following recent announcements outlining measures to incentivise developers to kick start housebuilding in the capital, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, Cllr Grace Williams,  said: “The chronic shortage of affordable housing in the capital is the root cause of London’s skyrocketing rates of homelessness, with one in 50 Londoners currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation.

“If we want to end London’s homelessness emergency, we desperately need to build more affordable homes, including social homes. That will remain our priority as boroughs, supported by the £11.7bn announced for the capital through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

“The landscape for housing delivery has become increasingly challenging in recent years, with rising construction and borrowing costs posing issues for councils, housing associations, and developers. Boroughs have long called for bold action to accelerate housing delivery. In particular, we have made the case for funding and policy changes that would give councils greater financial capacity to support affordable housebuilding. The evidence shows this is the quickest and most effective way of accelerating housing delivery across all tenures.

“These announcements from the government and Mayor represent a significant change in approach. Boroughs will now be looking at the proposed changes in detail to understand the implications for housing delivery in our local areas. Ultimately, with boroughs having already granted planning permission for almost 300,000 homes in London that are yet to be built, we need to ensure housebuilders deliver on their commitments so that we can collectively tackle the housing crisis facing the capital.”

To celebrate 60 years of the London boroughs, each week, London Councils is sharing prevention case studies highlighting how preventative action by London boroughs is helping to save money and improve the lives of their residents.

This week, our case study is from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where the council's decision to provide Universal Free School Meals to secondary school students (expanding on the existing provision for primary schools) has provided over a million meals, helping provide children with access to better learning environments and relieving pressure on families. Tower Hamlets is the youngest borough in the country, with 47.5% of children living below the poverty line, the highest rate in the country.

You can read the case study in full on our LinkedIn page and all of our prevention case studies here.