Report highlights LIFT’s positive impact

AMION’s research found one of LIFT’s most important outcomes has been ‘increased access to health and social care for people in underprivileged communities’. Nearly nine in every 10 projects are in areas with ‘above average’ health needs, while 40% of LIFT investment (over £790 m) has been in the 10% of most deprived areas across England.
Among other findings are:
• There are 3.3 times as many LIFT projects in multicultural areas ‘than would have been expected given an even distribution across all area types’.
• LIFT has driven ‘significant improvements in the quality of health service accommodation’.
• The programme has directly generated employment opportunities for some 30,000 people.
• An estimated 80% of construction spend has been with local businesses, with an estimated £1.31 bn injection into the SME sector.
• Projects have often resulted in an increased market for businesses located in or near the LIFT developments, including private and third-sector health service providers, pharmacies, cafes, and other retail / lifestyle businesses.
The report’s publication coincides with the tenth anniversary of the creation of the first LIFT Company, East London LIFT Company, in May 2003; over 300 developments have since opened, or are currently under construction.