Making the Economy work for Everyone

‘Making the Economy work for Everyone’ was the topic of an event at St Vincent’s SVP Centre in Newcastle on 25 September 2021. 30 representatives of communities from across the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) area gathered with six members of the Authority’s Inclusive Economy Board and their officers to explore the barriers and pathways to participating in and benefiting from the economy. They were joined by another 30+ people from the churches, voluntary sector and communities with an interest in making the economy work for our most disadvantaged communities.

The primary aim of the event was to ensure that key people in the Inclusive Economy Board hear and take on board the voices and experience of the people they aim to include, as they develop their policies and programmes.
This was an initiative of Church Action on Poverty North East. They were taking the opportunity of Bishop Christine Hardman, of the Church of England Diocese of Newcastle, chairing the NTCA Inclusive Economy Board, to create a space where the voices of some of the people furthest from benefiting from the economy could make their voices heard. Those representing the communities on the day stood for many more who had been involved in different ways over the course of a year, which had been dominated
by Covid, and they represented the experiences of many people in their communities.