Communities & the Economy
IDEAS THAT BREAK BARRIERS
Britain's Hidden Wealth
Unlocking £22 Billion for Families, Communities and the Economy
Britain is far richer than it knows. The support, skills and opportunities already exist — the challenge is helping people discover them.
Louis Blair & Ewemade Orobator · Communities First
THE BOOK
A hopeful, practical case for change
Every year, an estimated £22 billion in support — benefits, grants, social tariffs and community provision — goes unclaimed across the United Kingdom. Not because people are ineligible, but because the help is too hard to find.
Britain's Hidden Wealth argues that one of the most powerful ways to reduce hardship is not to create new support, but to help people discover the support already meant for them. Drawing on more than fifty evidence sources, Louis Blair and Ewemade Orobator set out a practical national framework — the Discovery Society — showing how better navigation of what already exists could transform economic security for families and communities across the country.
Essential reading for policymakers, funders, community leaders and anyone who believes Britain is richer than it knows.
£22bn
unclaimed support each year
Louis Blair
MSc, CIH · Co-founder, Communities First
Nearly forty years' experience in housing and resident participation, working with local authorities, registered social landlords, tenant management organisations and resident groups. An experienced project manager, he has led independent advice and consultation projects across the country and designed training for the Chartered Institute of Housing.
8m+
people potentially missing out
"Clearly a well-evidenced and thoughtfully designed initiative. Your framing of 'Economic Security Infrastructure' reflects genuine systems thinking, and the scale of the unclaimed support problem you have identified — £22 billion annually — is a compelling and important finding."
— Friends Provident Foundation
THE AUTHORS
Written by two co-founders of Communities First
£2,700
average unclaimed, per person / year
Ewemade Orobator
BA Hons · Co-founder, Communities First
A community leader, regeneration practitioner and housing professional with nearly forty years' experience. He has secured and overseen millions of pounds of investment in community infrastructure, and is author of the Croydon 2030 renewal blueprint and a Resident Involvement Strategy adopted by more than 160 local authorities and housing organisations.
FREE COMPANION
Evidence, Research Notes & References
The book's full evidence base — the research propositions and indicative sources behind every chapter — is available as a free companion document. Download it to explore the academic foundations of the Discovery Society.
GET THE BOOK
Buy Britain's Hidden Wealth
Available now as a paperback and on Kindle. Read it, share it, and help make Britain's hidden wealth visible.
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ISBN 978-1-0667633-0-6