Charities

BetterforUs Campaign Earns King’s Award for Tackling Low-Paid Work in London

Good News Post

May 8, 2026 — 2 min read

Aspire - greening London's communities

By Charities Correspondent

Aspire Community Works has been awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity, recognising its work to improve pay, conditions and access to employment across London’s everyday economy through its BetterforUscampaign.

The organisation, which holds the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard at Excellence level, has focused on promoting Real Living Wage jobs, flexible working and progression opportunities.

Since 2015, it has created more than 140,000 hours of Real Living Wage employment, with over 90% of its workforce recruited from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The BetterforUs campaign aims to challenge the use of low-paid and insecure work in publicly funded services, arguing that public procurement can be used to drive both better jobs and better services.

Its wider work includes Growing Green Circles, which helps open up routes into green skills and community environmental projects, and Frameshifters, which supports organisations to redesign working practices and improve access to employment.

Dr Katharine Sutton, Managing Director of Aspire Community Works, said:

“Too many people are stuck in low-paid, insecure work with no progression. At the same time, many are locked out of employment altogether. BetterforUs is about changing that through better commissioning and better jobs.”

Luke Kavanagh, from Trust for London, said:

“Many people in London are trapped in low-paid, insecure work. Aspire is showing this can be different, creating better pay, stability and access to opportunity.”

Just email us at news@goodnewspost.co.uk.

Whether it's a local hero, an act of kindness, or a personal win, your story could help spread joy and improve someone’s mental health.

Let’s make the world a little brighter, one good news story at a time.

Counsellor Powers Through Illness and Hills on 500-mile Charity Ride for Young People

By Mental Health Correspondent A counsellor and trustee at Wellspring Counselling is one week into her 500-mile solo cycling challenge — and despite a cough, cold and some punishing hills, she’s still pushing on to raise money for young people in crisis. Sue Jenner set off on April 30 from

Paramedic Who Responded to Hainault Sword Attack Invited to Royal Garden Party

By Community Correspondent A London Ambulance Service paramedic who faced a sword-wielding attacker while responding to the Hainault tragedy has been invited to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace today. Lachlan Allan was just 21-years-old when he and his crewmate responded to the first 999 call. It was their

New Research Shows Guessing Helps People Learn Languages Faster

By Education Correspondent Learning a second language through apps is now a global trend, but new research suggests the most effective tools may share a surprisingly simple feature: they make users guess first, then reveal the answer. A study from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that word–

Chilean Wasp Named in Honour of Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday

By Conservation Correspondent Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London have identified a new genus and species of parasitic wasp in its collections — and named it in honour of broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough to mark his 100th birthday. The discovery was led by Dr Gavin R.