Working Neighbourhood Fund

The Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) is a dedicated fund for local partnerships to develop more concentrated, concerted, community-led approaches to getting people in the most deprived areas of England back to work.

Part of the central government's plan to regenerate some of the country's most deprived areas, this approach is aimed at breaking the cycle between worklessness and the lack of economic growth in certain parts of the country.

Our WNF

WNF is a three-year grant.  Lambeth First received £3,359,165 WNF funding in 2008/09, £3,782,499 in 2009/10 and will receive £3,891,058 in 2010/11.

The grant is managed by our Executive Delivery Group, which is responsible for commissioning the most appropriate activities, aligned to the Sustainable Community Strategy and the Local Area Agreement. 

Some of the activities that Lambeth First has allocated WNF funding to include:

• Extension of skills and job readiness programmes – increasing the availability of local employment opportunities and providing the appropriate routes for local people to access them. 
• Supporting education, training and employment focus initiatives within the Young and Safe Action Plan - focussing on addressing the problems of young people’s involvement in gangs and serious crime.
• Partnership focus on Coldharbour Ward - providing a response to the need for localised services and a tangible demonstration of our commitment to work with neighbourhoods in the design and delivery of services. 
• Sustainable Community Fund development  - supporting the development of a sustainable, permanently endowed fund to support voluntary and community activity in Lambeth.
• Teenage parenting - focussing on preventative action as well as providing support to young parents to ensure young people have the best possible opportunities around employment, training and education and are able to make choices that improve their life chances.
• Tackling health related barriers to employment - focussing around a needs assessment on the health issues for Incapacity Benefit claimants and activities that will support adults with learning disabilities and those in contact with secondary mental health services into employment.
• Neighbourhood Working - giving Lambeth residents more influence over public service delivery in their own neighbourhoods – where they can get local problems resolved, enjoy better facilities and opportunities and experience better outcomes for themselves/their families/their communities.
• Active Citizen’s Hub - providing a mechanism, through the new Volunteer Centre in Brixton, by which people can play active roles in their community, contributing to their overall wellbeing, and a potential route to employment, by providing vital skills and experience. 
• Partnership Support  - development of a central team offering support to all members of the partnership, to improve efficiency and ensure consistency.