Research and analysis

Ageing Well – Hackney

Published 10 April 2024

Applies to England

Partnership for People and Place

The PfPP programme has piloted a new approach to cross-government working to improve local outcomes and efficiency of policy and programmes designed and delivered in place. PfPP funded 13 local government partners to deliver pilot projects focusing on hyper-local issues that could be tackled through better central or local government coordination. The overall objective of the PfPP programme was to test whether closer working between different central government departments and local places can bring measurable benefits to people who live there.

Local background – Hackney

The Hackney pilot aimed to proactively address health disparities by adopting a neighbourhood-based approach, with a specific emphasis on promoting successful ageing. This built upon the council’s existing ‘Ageing Well’ strategy. Health inequality in older people is a particular challenge for Hackney: 40% of older residents live in income deprived households and 42% live alone. The pilot was delivered in the Hackney Marshes neighbourhood and sought to address local health inequalities by:

• Co-producing a flexible grants programme based on a “funder plus” model to engage older people not already involved in local programmes and initiatives and help older people into Good Work. Seven organisations received funding (between £7,000 and £15,000 each) to engage older people through a variety of activities promoting gardening, volunteering, exercising and wellbeing.
• Maximising the impact of local activities and helping people age well by building the capacity of the local voluntary sector (VCS), taking a behaviour change approach. This involved encouraging collaborative working between organisations and encouraging organisations to undertake more proactive outreach to older people.

Central government involvement

As described in the Ageing Well delivery plan, the Hackney team intended to build connections with central government by sharing good practice. They hoped to influence national policy and promote more joined-up responses to tackling local health inequalities. The council felt that national initiatives to support older people’s health or help older people into employment did not necessarily address the challenges that older people might face in an area like Hackney. In response, the pilot team sought to develop closer working between national government and local organisations to ensure that local knowledge and insight can inform the design of programmes in future. It was intended that central government partners would participate in local governance, provide project oversight, and feed in evidence about ‘what works.’

The Hackney team held a number of meetings with central government partners to discuss a range of opportunities for Ageing Well. This included: better understanding DWP’s approach to supporting people over 50 into employment, opportunities to advertise funding grants through the Cabinet Office grants portal and promoting Hackney’s flexible approach to meeting the needs of older people in the area. However, these meetings did not result in the creation of sustained relationships and networks, or the opportunity to influence policy as initially hoped. Key barriers to generating sustained engagement were:

• Changes in department personnel – during the programme personnel from a relevant department (DCMS) moved roles. When these changes occurred, there was no handover of the relationship and therefore the link with that team ended. This made it difficult to create lasting networks and continue conversations.
• Change in DLUHC leads – Hackney had 2 DLUHC PfPP leads during the programme. These leads were a critical link to central government officials. When leads changed, this resulted in a loss of connections into central government departments and relationships.
• Siloed departments – the challenge that Hackney was looking to address was purposely complex and multi-faceted, requiring a cross-departmental approach. Pilot leads found this challenging to navigate as there was limited communication and alignment across teams in different departments.

Delivery plans	Meetings	Visits	Involvement in delivery
DLUHC, BEIS, DCMS, DHSC (OHID), NHSE were listed in Hackney’s initial delivery plan as departments with a potential interest in health inequality, social prescribing, civil society and communities.	DHSC, DWP, OHID, DCMS, Cabinet Office and DLUHC which were involved in meetings with the project team.	20 civil servants from DLUHC, DCMS, DHSC (OHID), NHSE and DWP attended an event at Hackney School of Food which introduced the PfPP initiative in Hackney in June 2022.,br>Representatives from DLUHC and DWP attended a ‘Helping older people into good work roundtable’ in February 2023.	Cabinet Office facilitated the Hackney PfPP grants programme being advertised on a cross-governmental funding portal. However, no applications were received through this route. The Social Prescribing Lead for the London Region from DHSC sat on the Hackney multi-agency panel for grant awards.

What was delivered?

A collaborative and co-designed approach was used to develop the programme via:

• Three ‘mapping and gapping’ events with VCS, residents, clinicians and health partners to identify issues and barriers to delivery which could potentially be addressed through the PfPP programme.

• A further programme design session was held with the same group, but with the addition of government departments such as DWP, DLUHC, DHSC and DCMS.

As a result of the co-design process, Ageing Well arrived at the following core pilot objectives and outcomes:

• Getting connected: Trusted organisations and individuals work together to improve the flow of information in the area so that older people find out what is going on and benefit from it

• Improving opportunities: Older people can engage naturally with people of different ages and social backgrounds and take full advantage of the social and economic activities in Hackney Marsh Neighbourhood and beyond and create opportunities for themselves

• Understanding Ageing: There is a wide discussion and understanding of ageing and its impacts among people of all ages in the Hackney Marshes neighbourhood

• Making the most of our assets: Older people are able to access existing open spaces and buildings

Designed and delivered a grants programme that was co-designed and based on a ‘funder plus’ approach. Funding sought to add value to existing activities and support access for smaller community organisations. Seven organisations received funding (between £7,000 and £15,000 each) with the aim of delivering a variety of activities to support aging well:

• ecoActive education, Gardening Together: connected Kingsmead estate residents interested in gardening aged 50+ in one communal space. By 10 March 2023, 9 sessions had been delivered with 4 recipients supported and 2 volunteers.

• Mortar Studios, Hackney Circle in Hackney Marshes: series of arts-led workshops and organised visits within the Anchor Hanover housing estates, Plumpton Lodge and Cohen Lodge, aiming to improve peer engagement, understand barriers to participation and form active user groups. Forty-one older people were engaged in door knocking and wellbeing visits to each of the lodges, film and social events and visits to Homerton Library.

• Volunteer Centre Hackney, Our Place Hackney Marshes: supported residents to develop activities and actions or take up volunteer roles. Between 1 February and 10 March 2023, 50 beneficiaries and 3 volunteers have participated in activities of their choice including a walking group and a coffee morning.

• The Pedro Club, History - Stories of Age: young people are encouraged to identify topics of interest to discuss with older people. Participants worked with the One Drum Foundation and the Society for Storytelling to bring the stories and insights together in a series of activities and performances. Despite initial recruitment challenges, 8 young people were recruited by 10 March 2023. The Pedro Club is working with Chats Palace, a local arts venue with a view to putting on the first performance by the end of May. Thirty young people and 16 volunteers have been involved in total.

• Hackney School of Food, Older People’s Health and Wellbeing Programme: 12-week health and wellbeing programme targeted at over 65s (both men and women) identified by their GP to be at risk from type 2 diabetes. By the 10 March 2023, 3 out of the 12 sessions had been delivered to 9 attendees.

• Made Up Collective CIC: Over 50’s social trips and weekly weight training sessions to improve social and physical mobility. By mid-February 2023, 10 resistance training sessions had been run for 32 participants. Two trips were organised, one to the West End and another to a local cinema on Boxing Day for 25 participants.

• Hackney CarersCentre, Information and Relaxation Days: relaxation and wellbeing days for carers. By the end of February 2023, 3 relaxation and wellbeing days had been delivered involving 21 beneficiaries and 3 volunteers.

Approximately 200 people have been supported through these projects in the King’s Park area since November 2022. Three projects received an additional 3 months of funding to further develop the local offer for older people (Our Place Hackney Marshes, the Carers Support and Information Sessions, and the Exercise sessions and Social Trips initiative).

Links with East London Job Centre Plus (JCP) have strengthened. The JCP expressed interest in basing Work Coaches for job seekers aged 50+ and conducting job fairs in King’s Park. However, placing of a Work Coach in the area has not been possible to date due to an inability to find locations with appropriate spaces that meet DWP requirements.

Hackney commissioned Social Life to assess the long-term viability of council-owned community buildings. This was established in response to existing challenges identifying a suitable venue to base Job Coaches for those aged 50+ in community venues, and wider concerns from residents and community groups about the lack of suitable spaces to deliver services. In doing so, the pilot developed a framework for assessing the long-term viability of council-owned community buildings in King’s Park, developed proposals for designated social infrastructure assets, and established a Working Group to oversee this work.

The council held a roundtable in February 2023 on the topic of ‘Helping older workers into good work’ which was attended by 35 people including residents, elected members, local services (DWP, employment support providers, adult learning, health) and representatives from DHSC and DWP nationally. The output of this roundtable has formed the basis of further discussions with DWP locally about Hackney Council’s approach to supporting older workers into employment.

Local communities

Delivery of local activities reached approximately 200 beneficiaries from across the funded projects. So far there is no available outcomes data to indicate the impact on local communities. However, personal case studies suggest some projects may have influenced the individuals involved. For example, one resistance training participant reported:

A feeling of purpose knowing that she has a group to attend twice a week and homework. She has informed the group that she is now using her right arm for many more tasks at home as the mobility has improved significantly.

(Case study extract from Partnerships for People and Place Hackney: End of Programme Report – Resistance Training initiative)

Grantees received training from Age Concern in relation to how to find and engage older people less likely to participate in activities. Early data and feedback, particularly from the Grants Programme suggests that the most successful initiatives were those which took a more assertive, community development approach to outreach and service provision. The council reports that they were more successful in engaging and maintaining the participation of local residents than organisations who relied on traditional ‘broadcast’ methods such as leaflets and posters.

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Delivery partners & local government

Learnings from the flexible grant application process will inform future grant giving at the council. The team used a diverse, multi-agency panel who participated in training to reduce bias in their decision making. However, the grant application process raised some issues which the council will take on-board in the future. This includes the need to reduce complexity to remove barriers for smaller local organisations applying for funds and amending timeframes so that application milestones do not coincide with summer holidays.

The pilot team considered that PfPP had been an opportunity to gather local organisations around a complex issue in a way that had not been done before. The Ageing Well pilot team highlighted that PfPP has enabled the council to develop its approach to place-based working which will now be further expanded to address the Cost of Living crisis. The funding provided by PfPP, which was allocated for capacity building and the integration of Theory of Change methodologies throughout the council, was seen by pilot leads as having established the foundation for more informed and targeted place-based initiatives in King’s Park. This has also influenced the council’s strategic approach to delivering public services, emphasised the importance of developing an inclusive leadership culture and incorporating anti-discriminatory practices.

Hackney Council seeks to embed a place-based working approach to humanise understanding of resident needs and aspirations in future work. This is based on understanding lived experiences and improving trust and confidence in the state through co-production and engagement. It is hoped this will help communities become more resilient and manage long-term demand for support. To date, there is some evidence that the council has continued to use learnings captured by PfPP and promoted wider placed-based working by:

• Continuing capacity building at the Pedro Club as key community partners.
• Considering recommendations from Social Life which focus on activating Gilpin Square, Homerton Library and the Concorde Centre.
• Considering recommissioning of employment support with a place-based focus.
• Exploring opportunities within Public Health to work in placed based contexts.

Snapshot: Breakeven analysis

Breakeven analysis provides an estimate of the level of change in outcomes within each of the pilot areas that would be necessary for the pilot’s benefits to meet costs. Where there is an absence of medium- or long-term person-level outcomes data, a breakeven analysis can provide an indication of how many beneficiaries would need to achieve specific outcomes for the programme to achieve net positive economic value. Breakeven analysis was completed on outcomes identified in each pilot’s Theory of Change, for which monetisable benefits could be estimated through the Understanding Society Survey.^{[footnote 1]}

So far, there is not yet sufficient outcomes data collected from the pilot to - assess whether Ageing Well has achieved breakeven in terms of person-level outcomes. However, it should be emphasised that the Hackney team is undertaking a long-term approach to addressing complex challenges faced by communities within small and deprived areas. The pilot set out to build capabilities, networks and illicit cultural change which would enable sustained improvements to the economic wellbeing of those within King’s Park over the long-term. This breakeven does not account for intended outcomes which cannot be monetised including these outcomes which are related to changes in VCS organisational capacity, improved understanding of ageing in the community, or improved access to existing open spaces. The evaluation was also unable to capture the value of additional resources secured by local organisations in Hackney.^{[footnote 2]}

Hackney’s Ageing Well pilot funded local organisations to deliver projects to improve outcomes in older adults, particularly those at risk of becoming isolated. The project targeted individuals over 50, with an estimated 5,500 people in this age range living in the Hackney Marshes area.^{[footnote 3]} In consultation with the Ageing Well project team, the following outcomes from Understanding Society were used in the breakeven analysis.^{[footnote 4]}

Outcomes specified in Ageing Well Theory of Change	Outcomes used in breakeven analysis
Older people engage naturally with people of different ages and social backgrounds and take full advantage of the social and economic activities in Hackney Marsh Neighbourhood and beyond.	Reduced loneliness and Talks to neighbours regularly
Residents, statutory and voluntary organisations in the King’s Park area report being better connected.	Feel belonging to neighbourhood

The outcomes targeted by the Hackney programme were used in a breakeven calculator to estimate the number of beneficiaries that would need to benefit from the pilot to breakeven in cost (with a range presented between the highest and lowest number of people that would need to benefit to breakeven). The analysis accounts only for outcomes to beneficiaries/participants. The analysis does not account for wider impacts.

The breakeven analysis provides an upper and lower bound range which accounts for some of the uncertainties inherent in predicting social value improvements for these outcomes, which can be calculated without direct primary data collection (out of scope of the evaluation). The table below displays the results of this breakeven analysis for the Hackney programme.

Outcome	Reduced loneliness	Feel belonging to neighbourhood	Talks to neighbours regularly	Range
Value Per Beneficiary	£3,216	£2,109	£1,735	£1,735-£3,216
Number of Beneficiaries to Breakeven	101	153	187	101-187

The breakeven calculator estimates that between 101 and 187 residents need to benefit such that the social welfare benefits of the programme offset the cost of the programme.^{[footnote 5]} The estimated range accounts for the difference between highest and lowest values assigned to each outcome. For example, residents reporting ‘reduced loneliness’ has an associated value of £3,216. Should this outcome be realised for 101 residents, the total benefits would equal the cost of the programme. This presents the lowest number of beneficiaries required to achieve breakeven and the outcome with the highest assigned value. Likewise, to ‘talk to neighbours regularly’ has an associated value of £1,735. If 187 residents report increased welfare associated with ‘talking to neighbours regularly’, the total benefits would equal the cost of the programme. This presents the highest number of beneficiaries required to achieve breakeven and the outcome with the lowest assigned value.

There is not sufficient outcome data to assess the feasibility of breakeven estimates. While the Ageing Well pilot reached approximately 200 older adults, the extent of resident involvement in the project varied substantially, and often involved small or brief touchpoints with funded projects. Likewise, we are unable to capture data on repeated touchpoints with programmes, for example, the frequency of attendance to art-led workshops, and Gardening Together activities. 

Note that the application of the breakeven calculator to a full business case would require data to be collected that evidences the number of beneficiaries who experienced these outcomes, either through primary surveys (for example, by replicating the Understanding Society or Community Life survey question on which this analysis was based in a survey on the target population) or administrative data (for example, administrative records of the number of residents who take part in Hackney initiatives targeted at the over 55s).^{[footnote 6]}

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1. Following the methodology set out in HMTs supplementary Green Book guidance for wellbeing appraisal, changes in reported life satisfaction can be used to monetise the social welfare implications of a policy. ↩

2. Refer to full methodology note in Annex 4 ↩

3. Notably, out of all the PfPP pilot schemes, Ageing Well has the highest percentage (80%) of individuals who felt like they belong to their neighbourhood, with a ‘feeling of belonging to neighbourhood’. This is compared to the average of 66% among the pilot areas where the ‘belonging to the neighbourhood’ indicator is a relevant outcome for the intervention.  ↩

4. Baseline analysis of Understanding Society wave 12 data shows that the mean reported life satisfaction score in Hackney had a value of 8.05 (5.12 which converts to 8.05 on an 11-point scale). This is higher than the national average of 5.22. ↩

5. The total cost of the PfPP programme Ageing Well in Hackney was £323,729, which was covered by £248,000 in direct funding and saw admin costs of £75,729. ↩

6. It may also be possible to assess the wellbeing impacts of the programme through primary survey collection of life satisfaction questions. However, because this requires direct evidence through primary data collection before and after (outside of the scope of this evaluation), we do not provide breakeven analysis in the main body of this report. If it were possible to evidence how an intervention led to an improvement in life satisfaction (through direct primary survey questions compared to baseline levels of life satisfaction, recall 8.00 when converted to the 11-point scale) then a 1-point improvement in life satisfaction among 45 beneficiaries would lead to a breakeven in costs. Note the analyst should take care to ensure that the measure of life satisfaction refers to an 11-point scale, following the guidance set out in the Green Book Supplementary Guidance (2021). ↩