Barking and Dagenham

Overview

Barking and Dagenham is an outer London borough bordering Newham, Redbridge and Havering. It has an estimated LGBT population of 9,874 people, with 134 same-sex households according to 2001 census information. The borough is made up of 17 wards, including Abbey, Alibon , Becontree, Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Eastbury, Gascoigne, Goresbrook, Heath, Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Parsloes, River, Thames, Valence, Village and Whalebone.

Political make-up

There are 51 councillors elected to represent residents in Barking and Dagenham; all 51 councillors are from the Labour party. The leader of the council is LA Smith, elected from the River ward. The primary decision-making body for the council is the Cabinet, and the Mayor - currently councillor Nirmal Singh Gill – is elected by the councillors each year.

There are two members of parliament serving the borough. Margaret Hodge, for the Labour party, serves the Barking constituency. Jon Cruddas, also for the Labour party, serves the Dagenham and Rainham constituency.

The London borough of Barking and Dagenham joined the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme in 2009 and were rated 50th out of 352 entries from the private and public sector in 2010, making them a Stonewall Top 100 Employers for this year.

Metropolitan Police Liaison

The Metropolitan Police Service has LGBT liaison contacts in every borough to assist London’s LGBT communities. In Barking and Dagenham the Community Safety Team can be contacted on 020 7217 5528.

Health Services and information

NHS Barking and Dagenham is the Primary Care Trust operating across the borough. Amongst the services they provide, they have commissioned the Terrence Higgins Trust to offer free Chlamydia screening to everyone under 25.

NHS Barking and Dagenham, together with Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals Trust, NHS Havering, North East London Foundation Trust, NHS Redbridge and NHS Waltham Forest work together in a group called the Equality Partnership group. Click here to find out more about the equalities agenda of the partnership.

NHS Barking and Dagenham have also launched the website ‘Health with Pride’, the first-of-its-kind online resource for LGBT patients. www.healthwithpride.nhs.uk.

Grants and community funding

Barking and Dagenham operate a corporate grant programme. Applications will open in early August for grants up to £10,000 for their 2011-2012 grants programme. Voluntary and Community Organisations interested in applying for a grant can call 020 8215 3000 to request an application form.

There is also a community funding support website for the area at Open 4 Community website.