West Cumbria Opportunities & Challenges 2025 4 5 Contents Introduction _ __________________________________________________________________________________5 West Cumbria in Profile________________________________________________________________________6 West Cumbria in Profile: Opportunities_ ______________________________________________________8 West Cumbria in Profile: Challenges _ ________________________________________________________10 Growing Up____________________________________________________________________________________12 Employment and Skills________________________________________________________________________24 Living In West Cumbria________________________________________________________________________38 Health and Wellbeing_ ________________________________________________________________________52 Ageing Well_ __________________________________________________________________________________66 Strong and Connected Communities_ ________________________________________________________76 Call to Action _ ________________________________________________________________________________84 Introduction The first West Cumbria Opportunities and Challenges report was commissioned by Sellafield Ltd and prepared by Cumbria Community Foundation in 2019. It paved the way for the development of the successful ‘Transforming West Cumbria’ social investment programme1, which targeted resourcing and support to many communities across West Cumbria and helped local charitable organisations to plan their work and make cases for support. Vitally, it helped funders, local authorities and companies focus their investment. However, much has changed since 2019. An unprecedented pandemic alongside a major cost-of-living crisis has touched the lives of every resident and organisation across West Cumbria exacerbating existing issues and presenting new difficulties to resolve. Yet in these challenging times, communities have once again demonstrated their resilience and optimism, proactively developing solutions to alleviate and solve the problems that they collectively and individually face. This updated report for 2025 considers the impact of our collective experiences over the last five years. It has been produced independently by Cumbria Community Foundation on behalf of Sellafield Ltd and is a companion document to Sellafield Limited’s Social Impact Strategy (2024)2. The report interrogates West Cumbria’s evidence base drawing upon reputable data sources and statistics to paint a picture of the current opportunities and challenges facing our communities. Headline findings are presented under six thematic headings and interested readers are encouraged to access the original source documents for further analysis or exploration. To add deeper context, we have consulted with local stakeholders and voluntary and community sector organisations to understand how the data truly reflects the lives of people living in West Cumbria. The report also highlights, via a series of case studies, the positive and proactive work being undertaken by West Cumbria’s voluntary and community sector, to tackle challenges head-on and explore opportunities with imagination and vigour. Whilst outwardly wealthy and healthy, some communities in West Cumbria continue to face real poverty and disadvantage. This report has been produced to inform people and organisations wishing to address these needs. We can all contribute to strengthening our communities. The solutions to the issues lie within the people and organisations in our communities. Achieving transformational change takes time, commitment and relies on effective collaboration. Tracey West Senior Social Impact Manager, Sellafield Ltd Dr Jenny Benson Director of Programmes & Partnerships, Cumbria Community Foundation 1 Cumbria Community Foundation: Transforming West Cumbria – social investment programme (mid-term report 2023). 2 Sellafield Ltd: Social Impact Strategy (2024). NOTE VCSE stands for Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise. It’s a term that refers to a wide range of organisations that work for social purposes, including charities, community interest companies, and community benefit societies. Refugees and asylum seekers in the area supported to feel part of the community by Time to Change West Cumbria and the Egremont Community Partnership.
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