Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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Chapter 1 – Vision, aims & objectives
1.1 Introduction
This strategy sets out the vision, objectives and means for achieving a fair and inclusive society in the
East of England. In spite of this region’s considerable economic growth and improving levels of prosperity
for the majority of its population, many areas and people have been left behind. For example, there are
hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty or experiencing economic difficulty – 25% of pensioners,
22% of children and 14% of working age adults are in households with incomes below the poverty
threshold (Households Below Average Income, 1994/5-2004/5, Department for Work and Pensions –
DWP). Poverty and social exclusion have costly implications for the economy and society – in terms of
ill health, fragmented communities, wasted potential, lost income and pressure on services. Society has
a duty to ensure a decent standard of living for everyone and to prevent damaging inequalities in health
and life chances in general.
Many local people, together with the statutory and voluntary and community sectors, are already working
hard to reduce social exclusion in their communities. Local partnerships and community strategies have a
key role to play in this. This strategy is about regional priorities, policies and actions that can support local
activity and provide a regional framework for tackling social exclusion across the East of England.