In partnership with its facilities management partner OCS the Trust has delivered nearly £15m of local social & economic value (LSEV) across priority catchment areas.
The partnership LSEV includes increasing employment, supporting local communities and enabling voluntary sector organisations to grow and thrive.
The collaborative approach supports the Trust’s mission to improve the quality of life for all it serves and its work to become an anchor institution.
Anchor institutions are large public sector organisations which are rooted in place and connected to their communities. Anchors have significant assets and spending power and can consciously use these resources to benefit communities through commissioning of local services and in recruiting locally.
A total of £14,946,643 LSEV has been delivered since 2022 in partnership with OCS. This proxy value of £14,946,643 has been robustly audited and externally verified by the Social Value Portal, putting ELFT among the top 10 per cent of Trusts for LSEV.
“This is a phenomenal achievement for the facilities management contract, showing a true collaborative approach that evidences the real impact of building social value into relationships with their suppliers,” said David Stevens, ELFT Director of Estates, Facilities & Capital Development.
“Working with the local communities, ELFT have shown a clear commitment to improve health inequalities through partnerships that enable social value to be front and centre of their commitment, increasing opportunity for all residents and communities within their catchment areas of City & Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes.”
“OCS is proud to achieve this level of social value with our ELFT customer and its community. We’ve moved beyond just the delivery of the services to building a support system in the community we work in,” said Robert Wilkins, Account Director (South), OCS UK & Ireland
In addition to its contracted services OCS has delivered employment support to health service users through masterclasses on body language and interview skills, helping individuals gain employment on contracts in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, and Newham.
Other partnership LSEV highlights include:
- Increase in local employment. OCS employs a significant number of people within a 15‑mile radius of its 76 sites
- Commitment to reflect the diversity of communities in east London, Bedfordshire and Luton as evidenced through the mental health support, apprenticeship pathways, and career progression offered under the ELFT contract
- OCS actively contributing to the community through initiatives such as the Hackney Quest Lunch Club, where more than 60 residents were offered free meals and a safe space to connect and build support networks