How we’re performing so far
A Fairer Economy is one in which everyone benefits from a financially sustainable city. We continue to ensure that we deliver this by supporting our businesses and upskilling our residents.
Our Westminster After Dark stakeholder assembly took place, our second citizens’ assembly to make sure that our night-time is well-managed and takes into consideration the interests of stakeholders in the city, including residents, visitors and businesses.
We have also taken a significant step forward towards the £90m upgrade for Oxford Street, as two thirds of respondents – including local residents, businesses and visitors – gave the scheme their approval in our consultation. This will make the area more pedestrian-friendly by providing wider footways (increasing footway space by 40%), improved seating and more trees and planting. Construction is set to begin later in 2024.
Below we have highlighted other ways we have delivered during October to December this year*. Although progress continues to be made, we know there is still work to do as we deliver our Fairer Westminster strategy.
(* based on the latest positions available at the end of December 2023)
Improving job opportunities
Our aim is to provide employment opportunities that benefit all residents...
Westminster Works is a free scheme that helps local hospitality and leisure businesses find workers and pay them fairly. To date, 230 vacancies have been filled and 345 businesses have been supported. All vacancies supported are paid at London Living Wage and training has been introduced for employers focussed on recruitment and retention.
Recent media coverage of the project has been positive, focussing on how Westminster Works is supporting recruitment challenges in the sector by helping businesses to adapt to a changing labour market by attracting new, diverse applicants and through good pay (London Living Wage).
Skills and training
Our aim is ensure our residents gain the right skills to benefit from better employment opportunities...
Between October and December, 173 residents undertook a variety of work focussed or skills development training, 75 of these were undertaken with NEET young people aged 18-24 years. The service was able to curate a number of courses funded via the Connecting Communities programme – enabling young residents to explore careers in the creative sector via bespoke courses exploring Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, the Music Business, Fashion Futures and the Ted Baker Diploma programme.
The service also partnered with Pearson to deliver an eight-day programme for young people as a stepping stone to exploring and preparing to apply for apprenticeships.
Digital inclusion
Our aim is to improve digital access and knowledge for all residents in the city...
Westminster is one of the most connected boroughs in London with 81% of its premises able to access full-fibre broadband. This compares favourably to wider London which is at 62% access (the UK as a whole is only at 57%). Access to a reliable internet connection has become a necessity for most people, especially over the last three years, which is why ensuring that residents and businesses have access to world class connectivity is so important.
Our rollout of full fibre broadband is also laying a strong foundation that will allow exploration of smart city applications such as air, traffic, and noise monitoring.
Local feeling
Our aim is to enhance the areas in which our residents live, work and shop...
Every year, independent researchers conduct a face-to-face survey of our residents to learn how you feel about your local area, the council and our services. In 2022, more than 2,400 local people were interviewed, ensuring that we collected the opinions of a broad mix and fairer representation of our diverse residents.
The data gathered showed that resident feelings about their local areas were as follows:
- 82% of residents feel that we are making their local area a better place to live, up from 72% in 2021
- 88% feel their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together
- 96% said they felt safe in the area where they live
- 82% felt safe walking alone in their area after dark
We are committed to being open and transparent and making information on our progress more accessible to everyone. This way you can always see how we're doing on delivering a Fairer Westminster. The above are just a few of the ways we're measuring how we're building a Fairer Economy. You can also find out more at our Open Data page and by reading our Fairer Westminster Delivery Plan (see below).