Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2019-2024

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shared dignity happiness fairness

empowerment

Prepared by the Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Partnership Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2019-2024

Prepared by the Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Partnership

Member Foreword

Cllr Daren Pemberton The District Council is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of Portfolio Holder for our local communities, providing opportunities for the least privileged and Health, Wellbeing and most vulnerable residents. Housing, Stratford-on-Avon We have achieved this through financial support for voluntary and District Council community sector organisations delivering financial and energy advice, community transport, and many other valuable services.

The Social Inclusion Statement 2019-2024 builds upon the success of the social inclusion work delivered from the 2014 Statement, with targeted interventions to ensure that spending in this area achieved real improvements in resident’s lives.

This Statement and the research that supports it, is available to partner organisations to draw upon when making funding bids. The success of the previous statement enabled additional funding to be attracted into the district supporting the District Council and partners to deliver help to local households.

Social exclusion, what is it..?

There is no specific definition of social exclusion, however, socially excluded households are likely to be characterised by their circumstances. These include limited access to employment, education and training opportunities, poor housing or limited health services, minimal or high interest financial products and services, an un-safe neighbourhood and lower incomes. They are also likely to have lower expectations than the norm.

Socially excluded groups could be described as the least privileged and can face challenges as a result of ill health, low incomes, being in a minority or marginalised group, lower levels of educational attainment or perhaps worklessness and will typically be living in poverty.

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page One Introduction

Stratford-on-Avon District Council has always been committed to ensuring that the least privileged members of our communities are given access to as many opportunities as possible. The Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2014 enabled targeted interventions in areas of priority and attracted funding into the district to support the District Council and partners to provide assistance to local households struggling to recover from the impact of the recession.

The Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2019-2024 enables the Council to continue this targeted work.

The Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2019-2024 has been developed following a review of the existing Statement produced in 2014 and the priorities expressed at that time. The current Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data produced in 2015 was reviewed and sense checked, alongside anecdotal evidence from local partners.

In order to achieve the greatest impact, this is a partnership document developed by Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) informed by the latest data sets. Partners include Stratford on Avon DC, and:

• Citizens Advice South • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) • Orbit Heart of • Springfield Mind • Stratford Churches Together • Stratford Town Trust • Voluntary Action Stratford-on-Avon District (VASA) • Warwickshire County Council • Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA)

The findings of this research have been considered by the partners and this informed the priorities noted later in this Statement.

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2014-2017

Stratford-on-Avon District SIP developed the original Social Inclusion Statement in August 2014, designing and commissioning a research project called ‘Measuring Social Exclusion in Stratford-on-Avon District’ undertaken by Warwickshire Observatory. The Partnership interpreted this research to agree priority areas and interventions which informed the social inclusion work subsequently undertaken by the Council’s Communities Team.

The 2014 Social Inclusion Statement has been used by a number of local organisations including Citizens Advice, Orbit and the Parenting Project in successful funding applications, generating inward investment of over £660,000 from funders including Big Lottery, European Social Investment Funding and ‘Section 106’ developer contributions.

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Two Partnership and Preparation

The partnership that prepared this Statement consists of several organisations operating within and beyond Stratford-on-Avon district and each brings with them different areas of expertise. These include knowledge of the most socially and financially excluded, an understanding of the local voluntary sector, financial resources, human resources, expertise on the rural dimension, awareness on the impact of mental ill-health and a knowledge of minority communities.

The partnership played a key role on the development of this Statement by critically reviewing the previous statement, identifying successes and emerging gaps in an austere climate, interpreting recent data sets and agreeing the priority areas and interventions that will enable the members of the SIP to change lives for the better. The SIP undertook a review of the social inclusion objectives and priorities, and following analysis these were set as broadly similar to the existing priorities in both thematic and geographical contexts.

The partnership will continue to meet regularly to monitor and support the delivery of The Statement Priorities 2019-2024.

Measuring Social Exclusion in Stratford-on-Avon District

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) has been taken as a reference point for The Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement Research 2018 (Appendix 1) and considered alongside quantitative and qualitative research from partners to determine the priorities for Council interventions between 2019 and 2024.

The IMD is the principle data set produced to measure deprivation with key geographical and thematic areas of relevance. The IMD ranges across employment, income, health, crime, environment, education and skills, housing and access to services; these various domains are combined to create various indicators. Table 1 (below) details the IMD score across all themes for the least privileged Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) in Stratford-on-Avon District.

In order to provide the geographical emphasis to measurements within the IMD the district is split into over seventy LSOAs. A LSOA is statistical geography of approximately 1,500 people. LSOAs are used to determine intervention geographies for the Statement priorities between 2019 and 2024.

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Three Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Four Table 1: IMD Score for the most deprived LSOAs in Stratford-on-Avon District.

Lower Super Output Area Ward IMD IMD Decile IMD Change in Score 2015 (1 Score Ranking 2015 is most 2010 Position deprived (Low = 10% of (Low = +ve) LSOAs in +ve) England, 10 is least) • Clopton 1 Maybird 24.20 4 22.73 +1 • Avenue Stratford Mount Pleasant • Hathaway 2 23.82 4 22.50 +1 East • Bishopton • Town 3 Alcester North & Conway 22.17 4 24.47 -2 • • Alcester Town 4 Alcester East & Island 21.23 5 19.14 - • Alcester & Rural Bidford East, Waterloo & 5 • Bidford East 20.58 5 17.93 - Broom • Studley with 6 Studley South 20.05 5 16.27 +2 Henley East and 7 • Henley-in-Arden 18.73 5 15.95 +3 Beaudesert & Lighthorne • 8 17.38 6 17.84 -2 Heath • • 9 Wellesbourne West 17.35 6 17.09 -2 West • Long Itchington & 10 Long Itchington East 16.83 6 9.80 +26 Stockton Old Town & Town Centre • Guildhall 11 16.72 6 12.39 +8 South (Stratford) • Shottery • & 12 Long Compton 16.69 6 14.19 +2 Compton • Studley with 13 Studley North Mappleborough 16.37 6 15.70 -1 Green Kineton Castle, 14 • Kineton 15.83 6 13.02 +2 Little Kineton &

15 West • Southam North 15.56 6 15.72 -4

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Five Key messages on social exclusion within Stratford-on-Avon District.

• There continues to be a strong urban/rural spilt with evidence through the research to suggest that parts of Stratford-upon-Avon and the market towns have some significant challenges in terms of excluded communities. • There is significant evidence that the most socially excluded communities are geographically located in LSOAs with higher levels of social housing. • Education, employment and training are relevant in the context of Universal Credit as an indicator of low income linked to lower levels of educational attainment and zero hours contracts. • Citizens Advice interventions have increased around Universal Credit, specifically with reference to housing affordability. • There is a projected significant rise in the older population, which indicates a likely increase in the number of people living with dementia across the district. Older residents unable to access their own transport can experience a loss of independence and a reduction in self-confidence, and are consequently less likely to socialise. • Large scale new developments scheduled within Stratford-on-Avon district will create new housing settlements and new communities. It is recognised that support will be required to increase resilience within these communities alongside existing communities by identifying and mobilising existing, but often unrecognised, assets. • Poor mental health can result in a loss of employment, income and confidence and can lead to individuals becoming socially isolated.

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Six Intervention Priorities (Thematic and Geographic)

The Statement priorities 2019-2024 were determined using analysis from The Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement Research 2018 with LSOAs with higher indicators of deprivation within the IMD, as detailed in Table 1, used to identify priority areas. Table 2: The following priorities feature as a result of the report analysis.

Priority Improving education, employment and training; increasing ONE income and reducing debt within • Stratford-upon-Avon - Maybird & Bishopton • Alcester and Henley • Southam and • Studley and Bidford To include boosting the alternatives to high cost credit. Priority Combating social isolation within TWO • Stratford-upon-Avon • Alcester, Studley, Henley Combating rural isolation within • Lighthorne Heath and Kineton • Quinton • Long Itchington Priority Supporting older people through THREE • Delivery of support and information • Expansion of Dementia Friendly Communities

Priority Empowering communities to harness local resources and FOUR expertise to help themselves • Thematically across communities of interest • Geographically within priority 1 areas • Within new communities

Priority Improving mental wellbeing through FIVE • Building resilience and promoting wellbeing at all ages • Raising awareness of services and support

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Seven Consultation

As previously detailed, this Statement has been developed by a partnership of local organisations. Councillors examined the draft Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2019-2024 identifying any significant gaps and agreeing the final statement. The partnership recognises that local knowledge will be an important component in delivering the intentions and priorities. The local community and voluntary sector have also been consulted on the document.

Action Planning

An action plan is to be developed to further define work within the identified areas and across the priorities noted in Table 2 (above).

Appendix 1

• Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement 2014-2017 • Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement Research 2018

For further information please contact

Nick Cadd Housing and Communities Manager [email protected] 01789 260841

Carol Roberts Policy Officer, Social Inclusion [email protected] 01789 260112

Marie Darwen Policy Officer, Older People [email protected] 01789 260108

Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Statement - February 2019 Page Eight