Public Document Pack
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Thursday, 27 March 2014 5.30 pm Committee Room 1, City Hall
Membership: Councillors Karen Lee (Chair), Bob Bushell (Vice-Chair), Sue Burke, Adrianna Ellis, Rosanne Kirk, Hilton Spratt, Edmund Strengiel and Katie Vause
Substitute member(s): Councillors Gill Clayton-Hewson, Kathleen Brothwell and Ronald Hills
Officers attending: Democratic Services, Andrew Taylor, Simon Walters and James Wilkinson
A G E N D A
SECTION A Page(s) 1. Confirmation of Minutes - 23 January 2014 3 - 12
2. Declarations of Interest
Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.
3. Poverty Conference - Key Results from Feedback Forms 13 - 24
4. Poverty in Lincoln: A Journal of the Community Leadership Scrutiny 25 - 106 Committee Review into Poverty in Lincoln
5. The Lincoln Anti-Poverty Strategy - 2014- 2016 107 - 132
6. The Lincoln Anti Poverty Action Plan 2014/15 133 - 144
7. Good Scrutiny Awards 2014 145 - 154
8. Draft Community Leadership Scrutiny Work Programme 2014/15 155 - 160
This page is intentionally blank. Item No. 1 Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee 23 January 2014
Present : Councillor Karen Lee (in the Chair)
Councillors: Sue Burke, Bob Bushell, Adrianna Ellis, Rosanne Kirk, Edmund Strengiel and Katie Vause
Also in Attendance : Dave Bowskill, Simon Colburn, Kate Ellis, Alex Ray and Tim Whitworth
Apologies for Absence: Councillor Hilton Spratt
78. Confirmation of Minutes 19 December 2013
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 December 2013 be confirmed.
79. Welcome and Introduction
The Chair opened the Committee meeting by providing a short introduction; She:
• Welcomed key guests, Scrutiny Committee Members and Officers.
• Summarised that the purpose of the meeting was to gather information to assist in developing a policy/strategy to tackle the immediate effects of poverty in the City. The theme of this meeting was to look at Housing, focussing on Housing standards in the public and private sector, fuel poverty and availability of affordable housing.
• Presented the suggested order of business and the time allocated to each speaker
80. Declarations of Interest
No declarations of interest were received.
81. Introd uctory Presentation by James Wilkinson, Policy and Strategic Information Officer
James Wilkinson, Policy Strategic Information Officer gave a short presentation to set the scene on the research gathered on Housing and Poverty and raised the following main points:
a. Number of Households in Lincoln by Tenure • 40,000 properties in Lincoln of which half were owned or mortgaged, 7,700 were rented privately, 7,400 were council rented
b. House Price Affordability • Statistics showed that housing in Lincolnshire was more affordable than in other areas but costs were still 5 times higher than income.
c. Proportion of Households in Fuel Poverty
3 • 1/5 of households in the city were in fuel poverty which was higher than the national average. Proportion and number of households in fuel poverty was higher in Abbey, Park and Carholme wards.
d. Mortgage and Landlord Possessions • The number of possessions in Lincoln were 60 mortgage possessions and 30 landlord possessions
e. Affordable Housing Waiting List • There was 2,366 households on the waiting list for affordable housing. 2/5 of the list were single people and 2/5 was families.
RESOLVED that the presentation be noted with thanks.
82. Questions for Representatives
The Chair advised that the list of questions had been distributed for the committees information and had been sent to key partners in advance of the meeting and used as a guide for their presentations.
83. Verbal Overview from Alex Ray - Longhurst Group
Alex Ray of Longhurst Homes circulated to the Committee a copy of the responses to the questions posed by the committee and gave a brief overview:
a. gave an overview of how poverty manifested itself for service users.
• Affordability issues - since April when the ‘bedroom tax’ came in some tenants were unable to pay rent or fell into arrears due to the shortfall in housing benefit. Ultimately led to an increase in evictions. • Fuel Poverty – residents unable to heat the home which led to poorer living conditions which then affected health. • Due to debt problems there was a requirement to look at more viable and economical methods of heating. Pre-payment meters were expensive but often the only solution • Debt problems – pay day lenders and loan sharks were an issue.
b. outlined the key causes of poverty:
• Reliance on benefits exacerbated by changes in Welfare Reform in particular the recent ‘bedroom tax’. • Low income – low wages, zero hours contracts and part time employment • Lack of budgeting skills • Exclusion from using internet by not being able to afford computers, broadband etc. and where better offers could be obtained.
c. advised how the organisation integrated anti-poverty into housing management: 4
• Pre-tenancy service – each prospective tenant was helped to understand the implications and responsibilities involved in taking on a tenancy. • The organisation worked hard to drive down rent arrears using a clear policy and working with the tenant by helping with budgeting, making agreements to pay and sign posting to debt advice. A dedicated team had been set up to provide a specialist support service and this was accessed by a call centre. • Rent was set and increased in line within HCA regulatory requirements • Service charges have been reviewed to ensure that value for money for tenants
d. advised on the joined up service delivery with partners:
• Worked with LincUP (Lincolnshire Credit Union) - could sign tenants as members or refer them to the credit union for budgeting advice, savings and low cost loans • CABx – make referrals and signpost tenants for debt advice • Christians Against Poverty – referred many tenants for budgeting advice and support
e. gave an overview of the debt management support for tenants to help them pay their rent highlighting the East Midlands Credit Union Programme and explained that once Universal Credit was implemented people could have their benefits paid into the account and their rent was paid before the balance was made available on a pre-paid card to the tenant
f. highlighted the gaps in provision: • No single point of contact for referral/ assessment and a lack of coordination of services • Need for more debt advice – it was difficult to get appointments with CAB
g. commented that there was a number of different organisations providing financial education, budgeting and/or debt advice, there was a need for more co-ordination and a single point of access for referral/ assessment
h. explained how organisations could work together: • Local Support Services Framework had been developed in preparation for Universal Credit • Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Partnership • Work together to try and influence energy suppliers regarding the hiked up costs for tenants using pre-payment meters
RESOLVED that the presentation be noted with thanks.
84. Verbal Overview from Tim Whitworth - City of Lincol n Council (Council Tenancy)
Tim Whitworth, Assistant Director Housing
a. gave a brief overview of the impact of the Welfare Reform on Social Housing
5 b. advised on the systems put in place to help with Bedroom Tax by working with colleagues from Revenues and Benefits to identify and visit individual cases
c. advised that new tenancies were now tracked throughout the first year, a new tenant visit was completed at 3 weeks, this enabled Housing Officers to spot issues and provide early intervention to keep tenants in their homes
d. advised that the Council worked closely with other organisations:
• Links with the Credit Union to provide jam jar accounts • At the allocations stage people were signposted to other organisations
e. advised that fuel poverty was addressed in Council housing through the Decent Homes programme where boilers were being replaced with energy efficient boilers
f. stated that an energy efficiency scheme had been proposed at Shuttleworth House the work was to replace the central heating system
g. advised on a furniture store located at Trent View where second hand furniture was available to help those in need, the service was being expanded to the other 3 tower blocks
h. advised that mutual exchanges were being promoted to assist people in moving house, there had been 72 mutual exchanges this year.
RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.
85. Verbal Overview by Dave Bowskill/ Kate Ellis - City of Lincoln Council (Fuel Poverty)
Dave Bowskill, Regeneration Officer circulated to the Committee a copy of the responses to the questions posed by the committee and gave a brief overview:
1. gave an overview of the background to fuel poverty advising that the first energy forum was held in 1977 and had now evolved to the Home Energy Links Partnership, third parties such as the Citizens Advice Bureau were invited to attend the group
2. advised that the biggest hit to people in fuel poverty was in 2003/04 when the price in fuel poverty escalated
3. highlighted that the average debt for gas was £110 in 2010 and had risen to £377
4. outlined the Green Deal and advised that the government were re-dressing the issues
5. advised on the causes of fuel poverty:
• Unemployment – more income needed 6 • Underemployment – more hours needed • Stigma with claiming benefits
RESOLVED that the report be received with thanks.
86. Verbal Overview by Simon Colburn/ Alan Jones - City of Lincoln Council (Private Housing)
Simon Colburn, Assistant Director Health and Environment Services circulated to the committee a copy of the responses to the questions posed by the Committee and gave a brief overview:
a. outlined the work undertaken with Private Sector Housing and highlighted:
• Housing Assistance – including the grants scheme • Housing Enforcement of Private Sector standard • Licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation
b. advised that non-decent housing in the private sector survey was completed every 4-5 years, the last survey was done in 2009 and another survey was due to commence soon
c. advised on the 2009 Lincoln Private Sector Housing Condition Survey:
• Lincoln was below the national average • The housing stock in Lincoln was old and often less energy efficient • Hotspot areas were: i. Monks Road ii. Bracebridge Area iii. Canwick Road/ Sincil bank area
d. advised that there was little information available on people most likely to live in non-decent homes however anecdotal evidence suggested that a number of migrant workers and some students lived in poor quality housing to save money
e. advised on the typically poor standards that were encountered and highlighted the category 1 hazards that the council were legally obliged to restore once aware and highlighted excess cold as the biggest hazard
f. advised that poor housing standard was addressed through: • Housing Assistance Scheme – Allocate £750k each year to spend on grants • Housing enforcement – to work reactively to complaints to bring private owner/ occupier houses up to a decent standard • Licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation – there were approximately 2,100 HMOS of these the high risk properties (3 storey and 5 or more persons) should be licensed. 175 were licensed, permission was needed from the secretary of state to increase the HMOS that were licensed • Housing Renewal – there had been no areas declared by the City Council since the Abbey Renewal which was completed in 2008,
7 however, there was an emerging piece of work to look into tying together health and social inclusion
g. gave an overview of the Empty Homes Strategy and advised that the Council were working with Waterloo Housing Association through a pilot Social Letting Agency
h. stated that the approach of the section was to react to complaints resulting in a gap of service provision as there was a lack of proactive visits to all private rented accommodation
i. highlighted areas of duplication within the service with both internal staff and external agencies and advised that they were looking for ways to co-ordinate their work better
j. advised that the Council were looking at working closely with the fire service to identify any issues at properties when they were fitting fire alarms.
k. advised that barriers had been looked at through the Lean Review of the service and the section would be taking a more holistic approach.
RESOLVED that the report be noted with thanks.
87. Members of the Committee
Members asked questions which were recorded along with the responses as follows:
Question 1: The Government provided funds for each council for people affected by loss of benefit for spare rooms. How much of this was spent? Response from Tim Whitworth: That information was not currently available however the officer would make further investigations and get back to the member in due course.
Question 2 : Waterloo Housing Association have worked alongside the Council within Private Sector Housing, have any other housing associations been identified to work with. Response from Simon Colburn: Private Sector Housing work alongside Social Housing Landlords for empty properties. Waterloo Housing were a private company, as Lincoln was a small area there was a small turnover of properties
Question 3: Asked for clarification if an owner occupier could ask for help to repair their homes? Response from Simon Colburn : Clarified that the Housing Assistance Scheme provided help to the people most in need, the process involved means testing the owner occupier.
Question 4: Where were tenants going when they were evicted? Response from Alex Ray : Four people were evicted last year and nine people were evicted this year, it was not always known where people went too after they were evicted. Extensive work was done with the individual before they were evicted. Evictions would usually happen if the tenant would not engage. In a lot of cases 8 people were not bothered if they were evicted as they could walk away from their debt.
Question 5: The role of a Housing Officer had changed over the years and now included a lot of debt recovery, was this taking over the work that they should be doing? Response by Tim Whitworth: The Housing Officer work was not detriment to any other work that they should be doing. The role of a Housing Officer was to manage cases on their patch from start to conclusion with the emphasis on prevention being better than the cure.
Question 6: Are there any pockets of deprivation in the City? Response by Tim Whitworth : There were pockets of vulnerability in the City.
Question 7 : Was there budgetary advice and assistance available from the Housing Officer? Response by Tim Whitworth : There had been a lot of consultation with staff about the recovery of debt. Some vulnerable tenants could not budget themselves. There were changes in the Wellbeing Service where some staff could be released to assist patch managers.
Question 8: There were a shortage of suitable properties, what was the long term plan for the effects of the bedroom tax? Response by Tim Whitworth : There were no hard to let properties in the City, across the stock all properties could be re let once they became available with the exception of St Botolphs Court. There was a new build scheme which would include 1 and 2 bed properties. The Council were currently looking into implementing a buy back policy.
Question 9 : When Universal Credit was implemented, payments of benefits would move from the current 2 week system to a 4 week system, within the first month after implementation people would have to go without a benefit payment for 3 weeks. Do you feel that your organisation could absorb the short fall or would you chase for the money? Response by Alex Ray: With the implementation of Bedroom Tax, the organisation provided budgetary advice, face to face contact and support to tenants and options for mutual exchanges. Universal Credit may not be implemented for 2 to 3 years so at the moment it had not been discussed with tenants. In the future the organisation would gear up for Universal Credit in the same way as the Bedroom Tax. Vulnerable people were being identified and were signposted to the Credit Union. We would encourage people to pay a little bit extra in advance.
Question 10 : There was not enough money from benefits to expect people to pay extra in advance Response by Alex Ray : We would not insist but encourage people to make an affordable payment arrangement in preparation for the implementation of Universal Credit. Response by Dave Bowskill : Universal Credit would have a big impact on fuel poverty, if people could not afford to pay the rent they would have to make a choice between eating or heating.
Question 11: Pensioners were exempt from paying bedroom tax and were occupying 2 or 3 bedroom properties, could they be notified of sheltered accommodation to free up properties?
9 Response by Tim Whitworth : This was a good point, however changes would have to be made to the allocations policy. There were socio economic issues and it was expensive for people to move house. There was currently no incentive for people to move. Response by Simon Colburn : There was the same issues in the private sector where elderly people lived in 4 or 5 bedroom properties that they could not afford to heat. This continued to impact on the whole of the housing chain.
Question 12: Asked for details on the impact of pre paid meters. Response by Dave Bowskill : The Energy Act 2011 was currently going through to make changes to the rules of what energy suppliers could and could not do. The energy companies would be forced to release people on pre payment meters and/or debt. If the debt was under £500 it would move with the person. Pre-payment meters did still work for some people, it allowed them to budget.
Question 13: How well was the Bulk Purchase Energy Switching Scheme advertised? Response by Dave Bowskill : The funding and advertising of the scheme was done by the County Council. Posters of the scheme were being placed in all public buildings including neighbourhood management offices.
Question 14: How many people were there in rent arrears and what was the average debt? Response by Tim Whitworth : The figures from mid December 2013 showed that out of 8000 tenancies 3706 tenants were in arrears, 727 of there were from under occupying. The collective debt was £1,58297, the average debt was not recorded.
Question 15: There had been a lot of money invested in the HELP partnership. How much money was there moving forward? Response by Dave Bowskill: There was no funding available for energy efficiency advice. The Health and Wellbeing Board were superseded by ECO and they had a different fund structure.
Question 16: What was the take up of the Green Deal? Response by Dave Bowskill: There were procedures in place for people to take loans upfront, they could then pay them back on their electric bill for up to 25 years. The expected savings should equal the amount paid extra on the bill, the debt would stay with the property and not the householder. There had been 12900 Green Deal assessments, of this 9000 households had taken it up.
Question 17 : How many people worked in your dedicated income team in Lincoln? Response by Alex Ray: There was a call centre where a specialist income team had been developed. Budgetary advice could be done over the phone or they could arrange for officers to visit them at home.
RESOLVED that the discussion be noted.
88. Summary
Simon Walters, Assistant Director (Corporate Review and Development) summarised the key findings from the discussions that had taken place and highlighted the following main points: 10
Introductory Presentation – James Wilkinson, Policy and Strategic Information Officer
• Showed the overall tenure mix in Lincoln • Housing had become more affordable in Lincoln • 7000 households in Lincoln in fuel poverty, with half in Abbey Ward • Highlighted the repossession rates • 2300 people on the housing waiting list
Longhurst Group – Alex Ray
• Budgetary advice was provided to tenants when they entered a tenancy • Highlighted the reliance on benefits • Recent benefits shortfalls and eviction rates • The effects of underemployment and low wages including zero hour contracts • Difficulties with debt with utility companies • Tenants have multiple debts • The positive – o Working closely with tenants to help them budget o Reducing Service charges o Signposting to other agencies such as CAB and Christians Against Poverty o Jam jar accounts – pay transaction fees o There were long waiting lists for the debt advice services
City of Lincoln Council (Social Housing) – Tim Whitworth
• The impact of the Welfare Reform on the arrears figure • Identifying tenants that are at risk and how to reduce and mitigate arrears • New tenants were visited at 3 weeks and tracked throughout their first year • Use of credit union jam jar accounts • The decent homes programme • The Bio-mass system being introduced at Shuttleworth House • Furniture recycling scheme in the Tower Blocks • Mutual Exchanges and cash incentives that had been introduced at other authorities • The new build scheme • The Buy Back Scheme
City of Lincoln Council (Fuel Poverty) – Dave Bowskill
• Explained how the Council tried to tackle poverty for affected households • The effect of fuel prices and debt • Advised on the national schemes such as the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and raised the issues with these schemes • People needed more income to get out of fuel poverty by claiming benefits that they are entitled to, which would also entitle them to energy efficiency schemes.
City of Lincoln Council (Private Sector Housing) – Simon Colburn
• Advised on non –decent homes and the fact that tenants were usually students, migrants and short stay communities 11 • 41.2% of households were in fuel poverty with hotspots in Monks Road and Sincil Bank • Housing Assistance including grants • Housing Enforcement • Introduce local licensing scheme to raise housing standards • Renewal areas in the City • Join up officers from a range of agencies • Review of the Housing Assistance Policy
RESOLVED that the key findings be noted and be fed into the Anti-Poverty Policy.
89. The Way Forward
The Chair:
a. presented the amended scope for the Poverty review which set out the structure of meetings until February 2014.
b. presented the updated action plan which set out the following information
• Dates of Meetings • Theme of each meeting • Purpose of each meeting • Possible guests to attend • Any outcomes, actions or comments
c. invited all partners in attendance at the meeting to the Anti-Poverty conference being held on 26 February 2014.
RESOLVED that the contents of the action plan be noted.
12 Item No. 3 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 27 MARCH 2014
SUBJECT: POVERTY CONFERENCE - KEY RESULTS FROM FEEDBACK FORMS
DIRECTOR : CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND TOWN CLERK
REPORT SIMON WALTERS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CORPORATE AUTHOR: REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To present to Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee the key highlights from the feedback forms received following the Lincoln Poverty Conference held on the 26 February 2014.
1.2 Delegates were asked to answer a series of feedback questions following the conference - this feedback has been analysed to help gain a clear understanding of the overall success of the day and how additional suggestions can be used when creating the anti-poverty action plan.
2. Executive Summary
2.1 Following the Lincoln Poverty Conference, 58 delegates completed and returned a feedback form.
2.2 Of the 58 delegates who responded, 96.4% found the conference very useful in focussing on the subject.
Positive feedback suggested that delegates thought the conference was a great networking event and one which should be considered annually.
3. Background
3.1 Since June 2013, the city council's Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has been undertaking a review of poverty and its impact on residents in Lincoln.
The review covered a range of strands including benefits payments, accessing work, child poverty, education, health, and housing with the aim of exploring with partners the key poverty related issues for Lincoln.
3.2 The Lincoln poverty conference was held to consider how we can further work together, and what actions we can take, to mitigate some of the short to medium term effects of poverty for local people. This report looks at whether attendees considered the event to be useful in this respect.
4. Key Findings
4.1 116 people attended the Lincoln Poverty conference, although this does include two support staff.
13
4.2 Attendees were asked to rate various aspects of the conference on a scale of 1-5, where 1 was low and 5 was high. For the purpose of this report, score of 4 and 5 have been combined as positive feedback, and scores of 1 and 2 have been combined as negative feedback to summarise the results.
4.3 90.5% of the 58 delegates who completed a feedback form also provided their name or organisation. This will help to gain a good understanding how useful each organisation found the information presented and discussed at the conference.
4.4 Of those who responded to the feedback form, an impressive 96.4% of delegates found the Lincoln Poverty Conference very useful.
4.5 Delegates were asked to provide their written views on the conference. Of those who responded, the key positive and negative comments are included below:
Key positive comments made by delegates included: a great networking event and an excellent opportunity to listen to other agencies and find out what they do an excellent event which should be considered for holding annually
Some slightly less positive comments included: that group sizes were too large which restricted the level of networking which could be undertaken some opening remarks were not entirely helpful, when the aim of the project was to help work together
4.6 Delegates were asked their views on a number of other aspects of the conference. These included: information received in advance of the conference, the morning presentations, morning breakout session and the afternoon breakout session. The key results can be seen below:
Information was provided to delegates in advance of the conference, with the aim of helping to outline the structure and objectives of the day. Of those who responded, 79.3% found this information very useful.
The morning started with a series of introductions and informative presentations. These were delivered by Leader Cllr Ric Metcalfe, Andrew Taylor, Cllr Karen Lee and Simon Walters. 91.4% of respondents found these very useful.
The agenda for the day included both a morning and an afternoon breakout session. Following the morning breakout session, 89.6% of respondents found this very useful. This high percentage was carried across into the afternoon, with 80.7% also finding the afternoon breakout session very useful.
4.7 Subsequently following the feedback received on the day, a number of encouraging comments were also received via e-mail following the poverty conference. These comments are included below:
“Very well done for organising yesterday – I thought it was a great success with some real positive comments coming from the various stakeholders.”
14 “May I pass on my thanks to you all for hosting such a worthwhile event, every step is one in the right direction. I look forward to seeing many positive steps to achieve better daily life for those in great need. We all have a 'social' conscience that should drive this agenda in true partnership.”
“Many thanks for inviting me to the conference yesterday. I thought it was a really good event with lots of networking going on and some long term but also some really practical ideas coming out of it.”
“Was pleased to attend and be involved yesterday, you all did a great job.”
“An excellent day yesterday - well done to all involved.”
4.8 Delegates were asked for any additional ideas, projects or solutions that they would like to recommend, but did not get chance to raise at the conference. These suggestions will be fed alongside the workshop information to help develop the action plan.
The full delegate feedback results, together with the relevant written responses by question, can be found in Appendix A.
5. Strategic Priorities
5.1 Protecting the poorest people in Lincoln & Increasing the supply of affordable housing
This review covers a range of strands including benefits payments, accessing work, child poverty, education, health, and housing. The purpose of this review is to explore with partners the key poverty related issues for Lincoln, covering these strands .
6. Organisational Impacts
6.1 Finance (including whole life costs where applicable) Not applicable
6.2 Legal Implications including Procurement Rules Not applicable
6.3 Land, property and accommodation Not applicable
6.4 Human Resources Not applicable
6.5 Equality, Diversity & Human Rights (including the outcome of the EA attached, if required) Not applicable (for this report)
6.6 Significant Community Impact Not applicable
15 7. Risk Implications Not applicable
8. Recommendation
8.1 Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:
a) Note and comment on the feedback from the first Lincoln Poverty Conference
Is this a k ey decision ? No
Do the exempt information No categories apply?
Does Rule 15 of the Scrutiny No Procedure Rules (call-in and urgency) apply?
How man y appendices does 1 the report contain?
List of Background Papers : None
Lead Officer: Simon Walters Assistant Director Corporate Review & Development Telephone (01522) 873866
16 APPENDIX A LINCOLN POVERTY CONFERENCE
- EVALUATION FORM RESULTS
The City of Lincoln Council aims to monitor satisfaction with all our events. In order to assist us we would like your views on today's conference.
Q1 Event Title and Date
Lincoln Poverty Conference 26 th February 2014
Q2 Your Name / Organisatio n
90.5%
On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is very useful and 1 is not useful at all)...
Q3 How useful did you find the P overty Conference overall (circle one)? NOT USEFUL (1-2) 0.0%
USEFUL (3) 3.6%
VERY USEFUL (4-5) 96.4%
Q4 How useful did you f ind the advance information provided?
NOT USEFUL (1-2) 1.7%
USEFUL (3) 19.0%
VERY USEFUL (4-5) 79.3%
Q5 How useful did you find the mornings presentations?
NOT USEFUL (1-2) 0.0%
USEFUL (3) 8.6%
VERY USEFUL (4-5) 91.4%
Q6 How useful did yo u find the mornings breakout session?
NOT USEFUL (1-2) 0.0%
USEFUL (3) 10.3%
VERY USEFUL (4-5) 89.6%
1 of 8 17
Q7 How useful did you find the afternoon breakout session?
NOT USEFUL (1-2) 0.0%
USEFUL (3) 19.3%
VERY USEFUL (4-5) 80.7%
Q8 If there was any part of the event you did not find useful, could you say why?
28.6%
Q9 How effective were the speakers?
NOT EFFECTIVE (1-2) 0.0%
EFFECTIVE (3) 7.0%
VERY EFFECTIVE (4-5) 93.0%
Q10 How effective were the visual aids/presentations?
NOT EFFECTIVE (1-2) 1.8%
EFFECTIVE (3) 24.6%
VERY EFFECTIVE (4-5) 73.7%
Q11 How good was the venue / room?
NOT VERY GOOD (1-2) 3.5%
GOOD (3) 3.5%
VERY GOOD (4-5) 93.0%
Q12 How good were the refreshments?
NOT VERY GOOD (1-2) 3.5%
GOOD (3) 8.8%
VERY GOOD (4-5) 86.8%
2 of 8 18
Q13 If you had any specific requirements were these met?
YES 88.9% NO 11.1%
Q1 4 We welcome any suggestions as to how we can improve the event and what else (if anything) would you have liked the event to cover? 46.0%
Q1 5 Are there any other ideas, projects or solutions you would recommend, but have not had the chance to raise in the conference? 50.8%
Q1 6 POST EVALUATION FORM COMMENTS 7.8 %
3 of 8 19 Q8 - If there was any part of the event you did not find useful, could you say why?
Comment Number Q8 - If there was any part of the event you did not find useful, could you say why? 1 None 2 All was useful 3 PM Breakout - housing focus & I felt less helpful on this subject. 4 In the time provided, there was too much to cover Some presentations a bit repetitive - could have allowed more workshop time, BUT great organisation. As Cllr felt some what 5 excluded as not my profession. This is in no way a criticism - thoroughly enjoyed the day. 6 Political waffle from the head councillor - we know the current view point of the government. Did not need this. 7 Found all parts of the event helpful 8 Excellent networking. Have found new contacts to work with who are also passionate in this area. 9 Excellent to listen to other agencies - to network / share ideas. 10 Afternoon should have been more focused! 11 Morning session - too much to discuss more time needed to properly address the issues. 12 All was great thank you. 20 13 Plenary sessions were too lengthy - just a quick summary would have sufficed. 14 A very positive event. I would like the next conference to look at what did we do differently. Thank you 15 Networking with other providers to look at closer working. 16 The event has raised more questions than answers - which it would! Well done Council Leader's simplistic view of benefit reform was politically driven not conceded or evidenced based. Weakened credibility 17 of DWP input at focus groups. 18 Some opening remarks not helpful when all here to work together. 19 Opportunity to network.
4 of 8 Q14 - We welcome any suggestions as to how we can improve the event and what else (if anything) would you have liked the event to cover?
Comment Q14 - We welcome any suggestio ns as to how we can improve the event and what else (if anything) would you have Number liked the event to cover? The food bank conversation was spread across two groups: it would have been useful to have all the voices in one discussion - 1 however I appreciate that you can't please everyone! 2 All Lincolnshire strategies need to be joined up i.e. Lincoln, Lincolnshire and Districts 3 Smaller groups for afternoon discussions I didn't hear anything about dealing with landlords who rent property that leave people living without decent electrics, damp 4 conditions etc. 5 PM Session - 5 questions. Question less, more focused questions with right people involved. 6 Awareness of ill health and impact on poverty and vice versa. 7 More groups of a smaller size. More talk about fuel poverty 8 Maybe shorter times in each session instead of one with verbal plenary. Written plenary is essential. Maybe a case study? 9 Leave individual tweets for council. 10 I thought the event was excellent and should be considered annually.
21 Having media involved in breakout sessions so when we talk about raising profiles of things placing some responsibility on 11 them. 12 Follow-up is vital. Further conference within 12 months (possibly sooner). 13 I'm happy to bring my own lunch is a future event to reduce costs. 14 Focus on Homelessness - Insight into priority list for council property - Info on risk of eviction and support to stop eviction. 15 Case Study's - Different angles not just the benefit sector poverty. Address the higher end poverty trap?!! 16 The room was too noisy and too hot. 17 Many in our community suffer from information overload. 18 Keep to timings! 19 Very interesting day - maybe smaller workshops. The event as a first session needed to cover the wide spectrum, but for future events may be useful to focus more in-depth on certain areas - eg if groups are set up to develop the ideas and implement, next conference could focus where needed on more 20 specific projects and issues. 21 Presentation of successful collaboration projects. As a volunteer at the larder, the discussions were of great interest and gave ideas of where we could improve and develop our 22 service. 23 Main room noisy during breakouts. Having twitter during speakers was distracting. 24 Have list of contacts in the conference packs. Bring in more of big local employers. 25 More information. 5 of 8 Q15 - Are there any other ideas, projects or solutions you would recommend, but have not had the chance to raise in the conference?
Comment Q15 - Are there any other ideas, projects or solutions you would recommend, but have not had the chance to raise in the Number conference? Normalising people's experiences - not food banks. LA working with universal services perhaps through rate reduction to employ or 1 to enable access i.e. the Odeon free entry to those in poverty. The County Council are also running Child Poverty work sessions and a reduction in duplication (expense) could be had if this was 2 a joint venture How we think we can help - 1) Barclays money skills / life skills - education from age 7 to 25 (including groups such as NEETS) 2) Access to Digital / free wifi - all branches have free customer wifi. This could also help around job applications etc. 3) Digital education - already started with groups such as Age UK - Inviting groups in to help with how to send e-mails / internet use etc. * We would very much welcome a meeting with Education Business Partners to move this forward for you. All resources can be 3 downloaded for free - barclaysmoneyskills.com / barclayslifeskill.com Smaller groups to cover these areas going forward so we can network better together. (Same like people together). Also refer to 4 colleagues Liz Simms sheet to what Barclays can cover and offer people.
22 5 Partnerships and Networking invaluable and should be encouraged to effect changes. 'Small' changes can make a 'big' difference. 6 No, I have put forward some ideas and exchanged contact details with the relevant people. 7 Take these conferences out into the wider communities - i.e. community centres and church halls More school interaction. Start young!! Cllr training to know where we can fully sign post our constituents to the right place (especially 8 as a young and fairly new Cllr). Looking forward to doing and not talking about. Peer monitoring schemes were raised often today. Apparently Lincs County Council website has a link to 'My Choice My Care' 9 where many of the existing scheme details are held. Perhaps we can look at how we can utilise services that are already available. 10 Engaging local businesses to develop / support community assets. Furniture recycling / Community Hubs etc 11 Circulate contact details of all / at least break out groups 12 None specifically, although universal credit project being developed within COLC. Ask delegates to provide a brief description of their organisation - max 100 words with how they can be contacted - phone / e-mail - which could be collated into a leaflet to give to all delegates. There were a number of organisations in attendance who I didn't manage to get to talk to about what they did - a leaflet would have filled this information gap for me. Just thought of something else - didn't appear to be any representatives here from any community groups from non UK citizens. eg) Lincoln now has a significant 13 Eastern European population - do they have a community group that could be communicated with. To tackle work experience build a match system to match people to employers who offer work experience so agencies can feed into 14 these and then support people following work experience to update CV and apply for work. 15 We must stop talking about joining up services and make it happen. Build up a contact directory of services.
6 of 8 Comment Q15 - Are there any other ideas, projects or solutions you would recommend, but have not had the chance to raise in the Number conference? In terms of volunteering, schools need to be involved as this is where young people will hear about the possible opportunities and 16 the importance of volunteering. Connextions and the youth service is massively missed - especially on St Giles / Birchwood - we need more support for our young 17 people run by professionals - a positive place for young people to go for support. Just to reiterate the need for youth services - the loss of St Giles Youth Centre and the group work that took place there is a massive disability. Our school worked closely - referring groups of boys and girls to access specialised areas to help and support 18 our young people. Somewhere for them to go other than school. Keeping them off the streets to help keep them out of trouble. 19 Smaller groups 20 Hot food community feeding? Valuing volunteering! Home-start is based on volunteer support, this enables more people to access the service whilst keeping 21 costs down. Although volunteers aren't 'free'. The city could utilise a service like this better. 22 More networking events please. More info about those attending and what they do - who's who 2 minute activity. No, I think there was time and opportunity to discuss issues / ideas - it's now about developing some of these into actual outcomes 23 and this will need further discussion. 23 24 City Council to co-ordinate and house a coming together of resources so that we have the ability to talk. Council to donate staff hours to assist with job clubs, interview skills and mentoring etc. Facilitate community groups by donating free hours or giving space free of charge permanently. Credit union loan schemes for fitting central heating insulation etc. Better promotion of Credit Union. COLC buy empty properties and rent out (below market value). COLC / Public Health / Energy 25 Companies fund a scheme to fit central heating in all 1000 homes without it. 26 Resource mapping would be useful. 27 More fuller information of the JCP to 18-24 year olds. Virtual websites for attendees, may address this? Myriad of funding streams and criteria required seems to lend to duplication of provision. Needs coordination to make better use of 28 scarce resource. 29 No, really excellent day! A bit disappointed that the conference dealing with "the poor" rather than actual poverty, immediate problems rather than the 30 medium to longer term . A good day none the less. Big building to rear of Sure Start on Westwick Drive (off Tritton Road) - Could it be used as a storage space for the food banks HRA building - in Moorland - Guidance for referrals for community larders - Guidance leaflet - Guidance for referrals that is consistent across all providers. Jose would be happy to help on this group. - Putting the Credit Union on a par with High Street banks on the 31 High Street.
7 of 8
Q16 - POST EVALUATION FORM COMMENTS
Comment Number Q16 - POST EVALUATION FORM COMMENTS 1 Was pleased to attend and be involved yesterday, you all did a great job. Many thanks for inviting me to the conference yesterday. I thought it was a really good event with lots of networking going on and 2 some long term but also some really practical ideas coming out of it. Very well done for organising yesterday – I thought it was a great success with some real positive comments coming from the various 3 stakeholders. 4 An excellent day yesterday - well done to all involved. May I pass on my thanks to you all for hosting such a worthwhile event, every step is one in the right direction I look forward to seeing many positive steps to achieve better daily life for those in great need. 5 We all have a 'social' conscience that should drive this agenda in true partnership.
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8 of 8 Item No. 4 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 27 MARCH 2014
SUBJECT: POVERTY IN LINCOLN: A JOURNAL OF THE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE REVIEW INTO POVERTY IN LINCOLN
DIRECTOR : CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND TOWN CLERK
REPORT AUTHOR : JAMES WILKINSON , POLICY AND STRATEGIC INFORMATION OFFICER
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To present to Members the ‘Poverty in Lincoln’ report. This report is a record of the journey Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has taken to review poverty in Lincoln. It provides a basis for the review, and supporting evidence to the Lincoln Anti-Poverty Strategy 2014-2016, Lincoln Anti-Poverty Action Plan 2014/15, and the submission for the Centre for Public Scrutiny Award.
2. Executive Summary
2.1 Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee led a substantial piece of work, in conjunction with partners, to review the issue of poverty in Lincoln. The review of poverty involved: • a review of statistical evidence • a literary review • a survey of key frontline managers • a survey of key external partners • officer attendance at local and national conferences • scrutiny reviews of poverty in relation to benefits, accessing work, child poverty and education, health, and housing
This information-gathering phase culminated in the Lincoln Poverty Conference, which had well in excess of 100 delegates from a range of partners operating in the city.
3. The Stages of the Review
3.1 Statistical review A broad range of data was analysed to build an evidence base of poverty in Lincoln. Some of the key elements of this evidence base covered analysis of child poverty, fuel poverty, educational attainment, income, health, deprivation and worklessness.
3.2 Literary review A large number of recently published academic, governmental and think-tank journals exploring the causes and effects of poverty were explored. These included timely articles by the British Medical Association, the Child Poverty Action Group, the End Child Poverty Campaign, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, governmental departments, church organisations, and other think-tanks.
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3.3 Local and national conferences There was officer attendance at the Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Conference, and the national Personal Debt Summit. These both explored the impact of financial exclusion and debt, and enabled the city council to engage in the debate surrounding poverty at both a local and national level. The key transferrable ideas and information were also fed back into the review of poverty in Lincoln.
3.4 Survey of external partners There were a number of partners who were not allocated to attend the evening committee meetings. To ensure their views could also be included in the review from an early stage, a survey was sent out to these partners to capture their views and experiences of poverty, from the perspective of their clients.
3.5 Survey of key frontline managers In the early stages of the review, a range of key frontline managers based within the city council were asked to complete a survey, highlighting the key poverty related issues experienced by the council’s clients.
3.6 Benefits review This review included a range of partners from the University of Lincoln, DWP, CAB, Credit Union, Community Larder, Food Bank, Age UK, and the City Council. Some of the key discussions focused on issues relating to financial inclusion, the psychological impact of poverty, lack of awareness amongst clients of what support is available, emergency food provision, and the need for more partnership working in the city.
3.7 Accessing work review This review included partners from the DWP, Abbey Access Centre, Lincoln College, the Employment and Skills Board, Learning Communities, and the City Council. Some of the key issues explored were debt, basic skills for people, the cost and ease of transportation to work and training, building the capacity of voluntary training agencies, and the need for increasing access to work- experience opportunities.
3.8 Child poverty and education review Attending this review were partners from the University of Lincoln, Children’s Services (LCC), Children’s Centres (LCC), Chad Varah Primary School, and the City Council. Committee explored the cost of school uniforms, as well as the need for child-focused organisations to meet together for shared learning and support. Additionally, challenges such as access to emergency food parcels, funding, the take-up of free school meals, and the need for holistic partner led support for the whole family, were discussed.
3.9 Health review This review included a range of partners from Healthy Lifestyles (COLC), Healthy Eating (LCC), Lincoln Health and Wellbeing Partnership, Lincolnshire Carers and Young Carers, Public Health (LCC), Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board, and the City Council. The complex and intertwined nature of health and poverty was explored, with discussions focusing on signposting to and from health services, child-carers, healthy cooking (including the Market Kitchen), and mental health.
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3.10 Housing review This review included partners from Longhurst Group, Energy Efficiency (COLC), Private Housing (COLC) and Housing Services (COLC). A range of issues were explored, with key issues identified focusing on the prevalence of loan-sharks, the challenge of energy efficiency, unclaimed benefits, pre-payment meters, and the condition of some private sector rented accommodation.
3.11 Lincoln Poverty Conference All of the issues identified by Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee during the research phase of this review were collated and reviewed. Those key issues were then presented to the conference, where partners worked in smaller, more focused groups, to develop potential options for consideration in an Anti-Poverty Action Plan.
4. Next Steps
4.1 Consultation with key partners has taken place throughout the development of the Lincoln Anti-Poverty Action Plan 2014/15. This now marks the transition into delivery, and the development of a method for monitoring the Action Plan.
Partnership working will be a core component of delivering this. As explored in the conference feedback, consideration will be given as to whether an annual Poverty Conference will be of benefit to partners and us.
5. Strategic Priorities
5.1 Growing the local economy One of the outcomes of the overall review into poverty in Lincoln is the Anti- Poverty Strategy, which is very much nestled within the longer-term Growth Strategy. The opportunity to link into, and inform, the Growth Strategy is evident.
5.2 Protecting the poorest people in Lincoln The Journal is the route to developing the Anti-Poverty Strategy, which is an articulation of how the council is exercising its Community Leadership role, to bring partners together, to examine and implement ways to further help those residents in the city, who are financially vulnerable.
6. Organisational Impacts
6.1 Finance There are no direct impacts arising from the Journal itself as it simply evidences activity taken by both the City Council and its partners. However, the resulting Action Plan will have financial implications and is the subject of a separate report.
7. Recommendation
7.1 • Note the Journal • Approve the Journal for publication alongside the Strategy and Action Plan
Is this a k ey decision ? No
27 Do the exempt information No categories apply?
Does Rule 15 of the Scrutiny No Procedure Rules (call-in and urgency) apply?
How many appendices does One ‘Poverty in Lincoln: A Journal of the Community the report contain? Leadership Scrutiny Committee review into poverty in Lincoln’
List of Background Papers : No
Le ad Officer: Simon Walters AD – Corporate Review and Development Telephone (01522) 873866
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Poverty in Lincoln
A Journal of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee review into poverty in Lincoln
July 2013 – March 2014
29
For more information on this report, please contact
Simon Walters James Wilkinson AD – Corporate Review and Policy and Strategic Information Development Officer
City of Lincoln Council City of Lincoln Council City Hall City Hall Beaumont Fee Beaumont Fee Lincoln Lincoln LN1 1DD LN1 1DD
01522 873325 01522 873325 [email protected] [email protected]
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Table of Contents
1. Background Information ...... 4 1.1 The Context of poverty ...... 4 1.2 Definition of poverty...... 5 1.3 Work we are already doing to tackle poverty in Lincoln...... 6 1.4 Objectives of the review ...... 7 1.5 Scope of the review...... 8 1.6 The process...... 10
2. Information Gathering Phase...... 11 2.1 Statistical review...... 11 2.2 Literature review...... 13
3. Scrutiny Phase...... 20 3.1 Survey of key frontline service managers...... 20 Issues identified...... 20 3.2 Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Conference ...... 22 Issues identified...... 22 3.3 The Personal Debt Summit ...... 23 Issues identified...... 23 3.4 Survey of external partners not involved in the initial scrutiny review...24 Issues identified...... 24 3.5 Benefits review...... 25 Issues identified...... 27 3.6 Accessing work review ...... 29 Issues identified...... 34 3.7 Child poverty and education review...... 36 Issues identified...... 41 3.8 Health review...... 43 Issues identified...... 46 3.9 Housing review...... 47 Issues identified...... 50
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4. Issues for exploration at the Lincoln Poverty Conference...... 51 4.1 Morning workshop topics ...... 51 4.2 Afternoon workshop topics...... 54
5. Lincoln Poverty Conference ...... 59 1.1 Morning Workshop: Child Poverty ...... 59 1.2 Morning Workshop: Older Persons...... 60 1.3 Morning Workshop: Accessing Work ...... 61 1.4 Morning Workshop: Low Income ...... 62 1.5 Morning Workshop: Housing...... 63 1.6 Morning Workshop: Health ...... 64 1.7 Afternoon Workshop: A...... 65 1.8 Afternoon Workshop: B...... 65 1.9 Afternoon Workshop: C...... 67 1.10 Afternoon Workshop: D...... 67 1.11 Afternoon Workshop: E...... 68 1.12 Afternoon Workshop: F...... 69 1.13 General recommendations...... 69
7. Conclusion ...... 70
Appendices ...... 71 Appendix A: Lincoln Case Studies...... 71 Appendix B: Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Conference ...... 76
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1. Background Information
1.1 The Context of poverty
The impact of poverty is significant in the city. The statistics collected as part of this review reveal a very stark picture of what it is like to live on very limited income in the city today. Lincoln is no different to many cities up and down the country, in that deprivation exists - but for Lincoln, in various areas around the city, the depth of deprivation is that much more acute.
This journal is supported by a comprehensive database that provides a range of hard-hitting facts about both the prevalence and impact of poverty locally. Whilst this in itself has an impact due to the figures involved, the scrutiny committee has built on this evidence base to hear real life stories about what life is like living in poverty in the city. The committee heard from practitioners and were presented with case studies from people struggling each day to ‘make ends meet’. The impact on people is very real in terms of increased stress, poor health, high debt and reduced income, especially following changes to benefits payments. In addition, this does not just affect adults - the committee learnt of the high incidence of child poverty and the limiting life chances this can bring. Life really is a struggle for many.
Whilst the above was paramount in the committee’s focus, it was acknowledged that there has been an impact on the organisation itself. We have seen increases in Council Tax arrears, levels of outstanding rent arrears amongst our council tenants, huge increases in the demand for financial advice (particularly centred on Benefits available) and huge increases in homelessness cases. Partner organisations are reporting similar escalating demand for the services they offer.
One of the starkest challenges relates to our administration of Housing Benefits, as well as our role as a social landlord. As of January 2014, there were 808 households affected by the Spare Room Subsidy. Of these, 672 households had one spare room (resulting in a total weekly loss of £6,968 / annual loss of £339,410), and 136 households had two or more spare bedrooms (resulting in a total weekly loss of £2,496 / annual loss of £121,259). In total, rent arrears amongst under-occupiers because of the Spare Room Subsidy stood at 5.22% (£196,753). Overall, as of October 2013, city council rent arrears increased, and of those tenants affected by the Spare Room Subsidy, 80% had rent arrears (only 37% were already in arrears). This created a reduction in income for the city council that was matched with a need to expend more resource in helping those affected. Housing Officers engage with those in arrears to ensure we treat them responsibly, and where possible, work with them to help provide the support they need.
Although the impact of the Benefits Cap has been more limited than the Spare Room Subsidy, there are still 19 households affected by it. The total weekly loss of Housing Benefit for these households has been £788 (equating to an estimated annual loss of £39,200). The city council continues to work with
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those households, helping them to meet the challenges this has brought. As of January 2014, £8,206 in discretionary housing payments had been awarded.
And of course staff have also seen a squeeze on their income, with more recent very small increases in pay after a long period of no pay rise at all. For this reason, we have taken the step of moving all our staff onto the Living wage to help eliminate low pay as a cause of poverty.
1.2 Definition of poverty
Our understanding of poverty is based on a set of core beliefs:
• Poverty is caused by structural inequalities at both the local and national level. • We disagree with the common myth that people in poverty have a high degree of control over their individual circumstances. • We understand the financial struggle for many people living in poverty and on benefits. • We appreciate low pay is a cause of poverty, and many of those in poverty are from working households. Combined with low pay, many people must work irregular hours and late nights, whilst enjoying very little job security and employment rights 1.
Poverty cuts across all aspects of a person’s life, and can be defined when someone lacks the resources, be it material or other, to be excluded from the society in which they belong. The definition of poverty, shown below, has been accepted by Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee:
“Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary patterns, customs and activities 2.”
The impact of inequality on the poorest in society can be shown through worse infant mortality rates, lower participation in further education, higher likelihood of overweight children, higher likelihood of mental health problems amongst adults, and lower social mobility 3. Poverty is a cyclical issue, with the life chances of many children in poor families being impacted 4.
1 Methodist Church et al. (2013) The lies we tell ourselves: ending comfortable myths about poverty, Methodist Publishing 2 Townsend, P. (1979) cited by PSE UK (2013) Deprivation and Poverty 3 Wilkinson, R. (2010) The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality makes Societies Stronger 4 Methodist Church et al. (2013) The lies we tell ourselves: ending comfortable myths about poverty, Methodist Publishing
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Whilst acknowledging this definition of poverty shows the broad and complex nature of poverty, the work of this committee focuses on those short to medium-term issues that can start to be addressed in advance of the wider emerging Growth Strategy.
1.3 Work we are already doing to tackle poverty in Lincoln
Prior to this review taking place, the City of Lincoln Council, through its strategic priority of ‘reducing poverty and disadvantage’, was already doing a significant amount to tackle poverty in Lincoln.
Recognising the impact changes to the benefits system are having on people in poverty, we continue to:
• Helping those eligible apply for disability benefits • Holding benefit advice outreach sessions at nine locations citywide • Contacting individuals affected by the cap in benefits to offer advice and assistance • Contacting all council tenants affected by the housing benefits spare room reduction to advise them of their options
We also appreciate that rising living costs are putting increasing financial pressure on many households. In response to this, we:
• Offering a comprehensive benefits advice service • Helping those eligible to apply for discretionary housing payments • Award discretionary housing payments where hardship is demonstrated, up to our budget • Helping people in debt with money advice and negotiate with their creditors • Supporting and encouraging new council tenants to sign up to the Credit Union, and provide a small financial incentive to do so • Campaigning against loan sharks and payday loans • The impending review of the Fair Debt Collection Policy in 2014 (something that Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has played an active role in instigating)
Homelessness, although not necessarily a consequence of poverty itself, can act as a catalyst to poverty, and create an additional strain for people. The City of Lincoln Council undertakes a wide range of preventative work as a ‘first line of defence’ against homelessness. This includes:
• Negotiating with family, friends or landlords to understand the cause of homelessness and support them in finding a solution • Offering mediation services to resolve disputes through one of our trained partner organisations
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• Signposting to our own Money Advice Service to provide support in dealing with debt problems and rent arrears • Signposting to our Housing Benefits Team • Providing financial support through Discretionary Housing Payments to help when people’s housing payments exceed their income • Signposting to the ‘Court Desk’ – a free service run by a local firm of solicitors who provide representation for people taken to court for rent and mortgage arrears, who refer the client to debt advice services after the court case • The ‘Mortgage Rescue Scheme’ which can provide some financial assistance for people in mortgage arrears and at risk of homelessness • The ‘Sanctuary Scheme’ which provides support with improving home security for people at risk of violence, reducing the need for them to leave their home
In addition, if someone is made homeless, we work to support them in finding somewhere to live. This includes:
• Signposting to landlords and letting agencies in the local area • Providing a ‘Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme’ for when people cannot afford a deposit • Signposting to our own Money Advice Service • Signposting to our Housing Benefits team • Signposting to a relevant partner that can support them into sheltered accommodation if they have needs that make them at risk of becoming homeless again (e.g. drug and alcohol support or general support with maintaining a tenancy) • Providing lettings in our own council housing stock dependent on need • In extreme cases, providing temporary accommodation to avoid homelessness, when a case is being assessed and a more permanent solution found
1.4 Objectives of the review
The council has a fundamental responsibility to challenge poverty in all its forms. Although it is recognised we are already doing a lot to challenge poverty, it must also be considered that the landscape affecting the council’s strategic priority of ‘protecting the poorest people in Lincoln’ has changed dramatically at a national and local level.
The key aspirational outcomes of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee review were agreed as:
• Those residents in most need “see and feel” the outcome of the review • Raising public awareness of the scale of the problem of poverty in Lincoln • Identifying the key factors contributing to / causing low income in the city, including low pay, under-employment and the impacts of Welfare Reform
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• Identifying the distribution of poverty in the city, and where the acutest issues are located • A description of the major impacts / effects of low income, with particular regard to educational under-attainment, health outcomes, and access to affordable housing • Collating information about the work being done by organisations in the city to relieve poverty • Identifying the gaps in provision and / or areas of duplication of effort • Providing the council with a written report, which includes recommendations, based on the evidence gathered, to mitigate the short to medium-term effects of poverty on residents in the city, through the development of a multi-agency strategy and action plan • Opportunity to link into, and inform, the emerging Growth Strategy for the city in terms of tackling the longer term structural issues
1.5 Scope of the review
Tackling the structural causes and effects of poverty is a key driver of the work being progressed to establish and deliver the council’s Growth Strategy, but there is much that is already being done and more than can be done to help deal with the effects being felt today.
We all have the opportunity to tackle poverty on two basic levels:
1. Structural longer term causes of poverty – delivered via a Growth Strategy being developed by the Growth Board 2. Mitigating the short to medium-term effect of poverty – delivered via this scrutiny review
The structural issues to be delivered by the Growth Strategy cover key aspects such as driving the availability of employment opportunities, improving the city’s infrastructure, maximising growth in housing, and tackling inequality and low pay levels through the distribution of wealth. It will focus on developing an understanding of, and subsequently tackling, the causes of poverty in the longer term.
This review of poverty was based on the belief that people do want to move themselves out of poverty, and that there are actions that can be taken to alleviate the effects of poverty on the most vulnerable. The resulting strategy will focus on short to medium-term opportunities for direct intervention that we can all make.
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By adopting this two strand approach, this review of poverty has been very much nestled within the over-arching Growth Strategy.
Dealing with the short Review of Poverty: to medium-term immediate action effects of poverty
Dealing with the Growth Strategy: long-term investment for the future structural causes of poverty
Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has agreed to define the scope as focussing on poverty and how it relates to low income, worklessness, child poverty and education, health and housing. This is shown in the process of the review as outlined in section 1.6 (on next page), and the focus and outcomes of each discussion are show in sections 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9.
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1.6 The process
Review of statistical data to Review of academic Survey key frontline service identify issues relating to literature to understand the managers at the City of poverty in Lincoln to inform issues relating to poverty to Lincoln Council to identify Community Leadership inform Community poverty related issues from Committee reviews Leadership Committee their service areas’ reviews perspective
Community Leadership Community Leadership Survey key external Scrutiny Committee review Scrutiny Committee review partners not involved in of worklessness and of claiming benefits and initial scrutiny the review to poverty to identify key poverty to identify key identify poverty related issues issues issues from their organisations’ perspective
Community Leadership Community Leadership Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee review Scrutiny Committee review Scrutiny Committee review of child poverty and of health and poverty to of housing and poverty to education to identify key identify key issues identify key issues issues
Community Leadership Development of a Lincoln Poverty
Scrutiny Committee to refer proposed Anti-Poverty Conference with
proposed Strategy and Strategy and Action Plan Community Leadership
Action Plan to Executive for for Lincoln Scrutiny Committee and
approval key partners to identify
actions to address the
poverty related issues
identified
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2. Information Gathering Phase
2.1 Statistical review
The proportion of children living in poverty in Lincoln in 2010 (24.1%) was higher than the national (20.6%) and regional (18.7%) rates. Child poverty is even higher in some areas of the city such as Glebe (33.3%), Moorland (30.9%) and Birchwood (30.4%) 5. The estimated annual cost of child poverty in Lincoln is £44 million 6.
Lincoln also has a higher proportion of households estimated to be in fuel poverty than both the region and country, with 19.2% of households in the city estimated to be in fuel poverty, compared to 18.2% in the East Midlands, and 16.4% in England. Fuel poverty is even higher in some areas of the city such as Abbey (24.7%), Park (23.7%) and Carholme (23.1%)7.
Income has increased by 3.2% in Lincoln in 2012, compared to an increase of 1.7% in the East Midlands, and an increase of 1.6% in England. Despite this, over a longer period, Lincoln has seen a lower increase in salary than the region and country. Average pay in Lincoln is only 4.3% higher in 2012 than it was in 2006, compared to 10.1% higher in the East Midlands, and 10.5% in England 8. Additionally, 2011 data suggests there is a significant disparity between what the highest and lowest employees earn. Estimates show the lowest 20% of earners may be earning below £10,016 per annum in Lincoln, compared to the highest 20% of earners, earning above £30,112 per annum 9.
This is against a backdrop of a low skilled and low wage economy. The census estimates 33.4% of Lincoln’s population belong to the lowest social grade grouping of semi-skilled occupations, unskilled occupations, or unemployed, compared to 27.9% in the East Midlands, and 25.5% in England 10 .
5 HMRC (2012) 2010 Child Poverty 6 Child Poverty Action Group (July 2013) ‘Local authorities and child poverty’ 7 DECC (2011) 2010 Fuel Poverty cited by LRO (2012) Fuel Poverty 8 ONS (2012) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 9 ONS (2011) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 10 ONS (2012) 2011 Census: Social Grade
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The graph below shows a snapshot of some key indicators relating to the extent of poverty related issues in Lincoln:
Setting the scene in Lincoln
25,000
22,149
20,000
15,000
10,427 10,000 8,760 7,756
4,500 5,000 3,201
0 Number of people living Number of households Number of children Number of people Number of people Number of meals in deprived areas in fuel poverty living in poverty claiming Jobseekers claiming all key out of provided by Lincoln (2010) (2010) (2010) Allowance work benefits inc. Community Larder (April 2013) jobseekers, ESA etc. (2011) (November 2012)
11 ,12 ,13 ,14 ,15 ,16
This overview of information is drawn from the much larger evidence base that underpins the Anti-Poverty work of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee. This wider evidence base can be accessed on the City of Lincoln Council website via: www.lincoln.gov.uk > ‘Your Council’ >> ‘Information, Policies and Publications’ >>> ‘Corporate Publications’.
11 Department for Communities and Local Government (2011) Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010 12 Department for Energy and Climate Change (2011) Number of households in fuel poverty 2010 13 HM Revenue and Customs (2012) Child Poverty 2010 14 Office for National Statistics (2013) Jobseekers Alowance Claimants April 2013 15 Office for National Statistics (2013) Key Out of Work Benefits November 2012 16 Lincoln Community Larder (2012) Number of meals provided in 2011
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2.2 Literature review
Poverty is not a new phenomenon, and myths regarding ‘the poor’ have developed over time, with some blaming issues such as laziness, addiction to drink and drugs, and poor money management as key causal factors 17 . There is evidence to suggest that negative perceptions of ‘the poor’ even exist amongst those who are experiencing poverty themselves 18 .
Housing and fuel poverty
The cost of housing can have a large impact on poverty, and whereas poverty exists in both social housing and private housing, private sector rent levels are becoming an increasing issue. The provision of housing benefit makes a significant impact on this type of poverty; although many people on low- incomes are unaware that they are entitle to claim benefit. The retention of social housing can help to provide more low cost options of renters 19 .
Adding to this is the issue of rises in the cost of fuel, combined with flat incomes. In 2010, 3.5 million households were in fuel poverty, compared to 1 million in 2004. It is recognised that council can do little to influence energy suppliers to change their prices, and therefore emphasis needs to be on supporting people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, and to find cheaper alternative tariffs 20 . Lack of bank accounts to pay by direct debit can also increase utility (and other) bills. The higher costs associated with lack of internet access and bank accounts (and the existence of pre-payment meters) is referred to as the ‘poverty premium’, which leads to some people on low income paying over £1,280 more per year for goods and services 21 .
Health
Very much linked to the issue of fuel poverty is health, with one in five instances of excess winter deaths being attributable to living in the coldest quarter of housing. In addition, children that are living in cold homes are more likely to suffer from respiratory and mental health problems, than their peers living in warm homes are. Additionally, evidence suggests that many older people have to make difficult choices between having enough food, being warm, or having sufficient personal care, with one in three older people struggling financially.
The stark reality is, however, that many people on the brink of fuel poverty have to face difficult decisions between spending their money on fuel bills, or on other essential items such as food, and spending to repay debts. All of these can exacerbate physical and mental problems 22 .
17 Baptist Union of Great Britain et al. (2013) ‘The lies we tell ourselves’ 18 Shildrick, T. and MacDonald, R. (2013) ‘Poverty talk: how people experiencing povrty deny their poverty and why they blame ‘the poor’’, in The Sociological Review , Vol.61, pp.285-303 19 Joseph Rowntree Foudnation (June 2013) ‘Poverty and problematic debt’ 20 Local Government Association (July 2013) ‘Tackling fuel poverty through local leadership’ 21 Sheffield Fairness Commission (ND) ‘Making Sheffield Fairer 22 Local Government Association (July 2013)’Tackling fuel poverty through local leadership’
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Inequality can also have a serious health impact on the poor, and those living in the most deprived areas of society, with children in particular having worse infant mortality rates, through to lower levels of participation in further education. In less equal societies, children are more likely to be overweight, be victims of bullying, and to become teenage mothers. Adults in less equal societies are more likely to have mental health problems, to have problems with drugs and alcohol, to work longer hours, and have more debt pressures on family life. It is also suggested that social mobility is lower in less equal societies, so it is more difficult for children to escape from intergenerational cycles of poverty and deprivation 23 .
Income, finances and welfare reform
In the UK, living standards for those with lower than average incomes have been squeezed since 2004 24 . In a study, the Money Advice Service found that many people were managing their money well. The number of people checking their bank statements has increased since 2006, with 84% keeping track of their money. The majority of people with a budget are also sticking to it, and the majority of the population save something each month.
Despite this motivation to manage their money well, the proportion of people struggling with their finances has increased from one third in 2006, to more than half in 2013. Parents in particular are struggling, with 44% having to make cutbacks. This proportion is even higher for the parents in receipt of benefits. However, when shown a bank balance, 16% of respondents failed identify the ‘available balance’, with this rising to over a quarter of those aged over 55. In addition, 14% of under 35s thought it was better to start paying into a pension in their fifties rather than their twenties. This shows a potential financial education issue. Evidence also suggests that young children should be encouraged to save money, as money habits are often established by the age of seven 25 .
Welfare reforms, the biggest in 60 years 26 , are putting additional strain on the incomes of the most disadvantaged (tax credit reductions, child benefit freeze, benefit cuts, bedroom tax) 27 , and may increase likelihood of households getting into debt and poverty 28 . Research suggests a significant number of people are unprepared for online applications for Universal Credit, with some people not having access to banking services to handle support payments and any income, which they receive 29 .
23 Wilkinson, R. et al. (August 2010) ‘The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality makes Societies Stronger’ 24 The Smith Institute (July 2013) ‘Just Deserts? Poverty and income inequality’ 25 Money Advice Service (August 2013) ‘The financial capability of the UK’ 26 Sheffield City Council (July 2013) ‘Report to Safer and Stronger Communities Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee’ 27 The Smith Institute (July 2013) ‘Just Deserts? Poverty and income inequality’ 28 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (June 2013) ‘Poverty and problematic debt’ 29 Citizens Advice Bureau (6 November 2013) ‘22% don’t have basic banking services need to deal with Universal Credit’, www.citizensadvice.org.uk
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A topic that has received attention in the media lately is that of zero-hour contacts 30 ,31 ,32 . A survey showed 34% of voluntary sector employers, 24% of public sector employers, and 17% of private sector employers used zero-hour contacts. Evidence suggests it tends to be the larger employers than the smaller ones. Some argue that zero-hour contracts can provide flexibility to employees who might need it, e.g. parents of young children, carers, students, and others who need to fit work flexibly around their home / study lives 33 . However, there others that argue zero-hours contracts create insecurity for, and exploitation of, affected employees. It is argued that zero- hour contracts exacerbate the issue of underemployment, and are related to lower pay and reduced benefits (such as holiday pay, pensions etc.) 34 .
According to Resolution Foundation think-tank, 27% of workers on low pay in 2002 remained in the bottom bracket for the next 10 years. A further 46% move in and out of low wages, but failed to break free of them for good by the end of the decade. Only 18% move up the ladder for a sustained period without slipping back into low pay. A further 9% retired or left the labour market. The north-east of the country was where workers were most likely to be trapped on low earnings, followed by the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Humberside and Wales. Half of all workers trapped for the decade were aged between 41 and 60, and women were much more likely to be stuck on low pay then men. The sectors where people were most likely to be stuck included retail, hospitality, sales, customer services, manufacturing and care 35 .
Debt
There are a number of reasons why people might fall into problem debt, with key causes being stuck in a ‘low-pay-no-pay cycle’, as well as delays and errors with regard to benefits, and lack of synchronisation with rent payments and housing benefit payments. Debt can also occur at certain times in a person’s life, for example in early adulthood when leaving home with little financial experience. It can also accumulate over many years when dealing with normal life events like setting up a home, paying for a car repair, buying new clothes etc 36 .
Payday loans can also represent a problem, with 45% of people frequently struggling to make it to payday. In addition to payday loans, reliance on credit
30 Reed, J. and Butterly, A. (2013) ‘People on zero-hour contracts paid less than others’, BBC Newsbeat: 20 August 2013 31 McTague, T. (2013) ‘Ed Miliband to abolish zero-hour contracts for 5.5 million workers’, Mirror: 9 September 2013 32 McSmith, A. (2013) ‘Zero-hour contracts not only affecting low-paid workers, reveals report’, The Independent: 28 August 2013 33 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (August 2013) ‘Zero hours contracts more widespread than thought – but only minority of zero hours workers want to work more hours’ 34 Unite the Union (2013) ‘Brief on zero-hour contracts – August 2013’ 35 Grive, A. (2013) ‘Millions of workers in Britain snared by low-pay trap’, The Guardian: Wednesday 27 November 2013 36 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (June 2013) ‘Poverty and problematic debt’
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more generally is high, with millions of homeowners relying on credit to pay for their mortgages. Around three million people in Britain now use home credit (e.g. doorstep lenders), and a further two million people take out payday loans. Although credit unions can provide an affordable alternative, it would take at least a decade for them to fill the demand for affordable credit 37 .
Education
Literature suggests that children from poorer families tend to have lower educational attainment, and participation in post-compulsory education, than their more affluent peers do. The attainment gap emerges early in a child’s life, even before entry into school. It continues through the school life in the child, resulting in a considerable attainment gap at age 16 and beyond 38 .
This is referred to again in another Joseph Rowntree Foundation report that argues the gap between children from poorer and richer backgrounds widens particularly quickly during primary school (with parents having a considerable impact on their child’s attainment potential).
The report suggests intervening earlier in childhood is likely to be most effective, along with the provision of books and reading for pre-school, and computers for teenagers in the home. Encouraging children and their parents to have belief in their own actions and efforts can also lead to higher educational attainment 39 .
The important role parents play in children’s education was highlighted by Dr. Kevan Collins, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation. Dr. Collins said, “parents are a child’s first educators, and their ability to support their children’s learning can have a big impact on whether or not their child succeeds at school and in later life. Where parents themselves don’t know enough about basic maths or literacy, they can’t help with homework and support teachers 40 .”
Child poverty
National evidence suggests that 61% of parents in poverty have had to cut back on food, and just over one quarter have had to skip meals in the past year. Additionally, almost 1 in 5 responding parents in poverty said their children had to go without new shoes when they needed them, and 1 in 5 children in poverty missed going on school trips. Additionally, more than 1 in 10 children in poverty are estimated not to have a warm coat 41 .
37 Creasy, S. (2013) ‘Ending legal loan sharking: Local campaign pack 2013’ 38 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (April 2012) ‘The roles of aspirations, attitudes and behaviour in closing the educational attainment gap’ 39 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (March 2010) ‘The importance of attitudes and behaviour for poorer children’s educational attainment’ 40 Collins, K. cited by Burns, J. (15 November 2013) ‘BBC News: Education and Family’, www.bbc.co.uk/news 41 End Child Poverty Campaign (February 2013) ‘Child Poverty Map of the UK’
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The quality of housing a child grows up in is also thought to affect the wellbeing of that child. Poor quality housing, together with homelessness and living in temporary accommodation, all pose risks to health, especially the health of children. Children who live in overcrowded, poor quality housing are more likely to experience health issues such as respiratory difficulties, and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
There is also a relationship between the make-up of a family and their affluence, with 31% of children in lone-parent families living in ‘low-income and materially deprived households’, compared to a lower 11% of children in families with two adults. In addition, teenage mothers have three times the rate of postnatal depression, and are at a higher risk of poor mental health for three years after birth. They are also less likely to finish their schooling, which has a consequential impact on unemployment. Additionally, it is suggested that mothers living in poverty are more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies; a factor associated with poorer long-term health and educational outcomes.
Children living in poverty can face additional risks if they live in households where there are mental health problems, drug and alcohol misuse, intimate partner violence, and serious health problems 42 .
Additional financial pressures such as school uniforms, stationary and bags can also place strain on a low-income family. It was reported in The Independent (Thursday 15 August 2013) that the average cost for kitting out a primary school pupil is £156, and for a secondary school pupil it is £285. The article suggested parents in poverty have to spend up to two-fifths of their income in August on back-to-school costs. In addition, it referred to a Family Action survey of 13 state schools, and found one example of an academy where 70% of parents had to take out loans to pay for the new £225 uniform. The previous uniform for the old school had cost £9943 .
Work and worklessness
Some have argued links between health and unemployment, with people with disabilities tending to have lower rates of employment, lower incomes, and a higher likelihood of living in poverty. Additionally, statistics show 87% of people out of work due to mental health conditions have been our of work for more than two years, most for five 44 .
Worklessness and poverty have a strong association. In 2009/10, two-thirds of working-age adults living in workless households were in poverty, compared to 15% of families where someone worked. While traditionally policies have focused on the unemployed, inactivity (e.g. due to ill-health or other) is the main cause of worklessness.
42 British Medical Association Board of Science (May 2013) ‘Growing up in the UK’ 43 Gardern, R. (2013) ‘Parents forced into debt to pay for school uniforms’, The Independent: Thursday 15 August 2013 44 Sheffield Fairness Commission (ND) ‘Making Sheffield Fairer’
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However, in-work poverty has grown 45 , and around half of those who are in poverty and of working age live in a household where at least one person works. At most risk are those families with a single earner in low-wage or part- time jobs, with families headed by one female earner (whether single or partnered) particularly likely to be in poverty 46 .
The length of unemployment can create additional challenges, with people out of work for a year or more starting to de-skill 47 .
Many families where only one adult works are facing increasing strain. Getting both parents into employment is seen as one way to increase household income and tackle poverty.
Addiction
Addictions are often blamed as a causal factor for poverty 48 , and indeed, addiction to alcohol and drugs can be both a cause and consequence of poverty. However, whilst poverty affects more than 1 in 5 of the population, serious problems of drug and alcohol addiction (e.g. crack cocaine and opiates) affects an estimated 0.9% of the adult population. Additionally, 3.8% of the adult population are estimated to be dependent on alcohol. This shows us that, despite the severe consequences of addiction in poverty, addictions are not common amongst people in poverty – only a small fraction is affected 49 .
Joseph Rowntree Procurement Recommendations
• Train staff to ensure all service commissioning activities, procurements, and service delivery activities reflects poverty considerations. • When planning new services, engage with the voluntary sector to consider co-production, and road-test with them to identify the expected poverty- related outcomes. • Use targeted recruitment and training clauses in procurement to create jobs and enable apprenticeships and training. • Simplify the procurement process to enable local and small businesses and the voluntary and community sector to become more aware of procurement opportunities. • Continue to monitor contribution towards poverty outcomes - for many LAs, a procurement exercise ends when a contract is let and the appointed supplier goes out and delivers the service. This should not be the case: monitoring the benefit a supplier is bringing to a locality in
45 The Smith Institute (July 2013) ‘Just Deserts? Poverty and income inequality’ 46 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (June 2012) ‘Poverty: The role of institutions, behaviours and culture’ 47 Sheffield Fairness Commission (ND) ‘Making Sheffield Fairer’ 48 Baptist Union of Great Britain et al. (2013) ‘The lies we tell ourselves’ 49 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (June 2012) ‘Poverty: The role of institutions, behavious and cultures’
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economic, social, environmental, and poverty terms should be a key part of a cyclical approach 50 .
50 Joseph Rowntree Foundation (October 2013) ‘Addressing Poverty Through Local Governance’
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3. Scrutiny Phase
3.1 Survey of key frontline service managers
The following service areas responded to this survey:
• Customer Services • Shared Revenues and Benefits • Housing Strategy • Tenancy Services • Neighbourhood Working
NB. Many more service areas have been engaged with throughout the Scrutiny Review process through the attendance of ‘expert officers’ (sections 3.3 to 3.8)
Issues identified
A number of key issues were identified by frontline service managers and officers (where noted):
• Low pay – no pay cycle (including zero hour contracts) • Lack of ICT skills amongst some customers • Lack of affordable childcare enabling parents to train / work • Debt issues and pay day loans / loan sharks • Retraction of external services for those with mental health problems has meant less support is available to these groups • Lack of clear knowledge amongst officers over remit of partner organisations, client hand-over points, and named liaison officers • Fuel costs are high for many residents • Provision of services for14-19 year olds is confusing, and lacks people to sign-post and co-ordinate • Some people have difficulties in accessing information in regard to affordable housing (e.g. which landlords accept Housing Benefit) • The move to online and telephone based service provision may cause problems with vulnerable clients who often need face to face support • Keep the council tax support scheme to protect low-income non-working, and working, households • Look at energy efficiency measures and renewing the Fuel Poverty Strategy • Consider collective switching • Renew the Fair Collection Policy • Amend discretionary housing payment procedures to react to changes in demands or circumstances • Build relationships with schools who are the most effective partner to engage with young people and families
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• Set up a Social Lettings Agency in the city to provide people with help and support in accessing social housing • Policies and procedures need to be explored from the perspective of the most vulnerable (as opposed to the average) client
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3.2 Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Conference 27 September 2013
On Friday 27 September 2013, Lincolnshire County Council hosted the Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Conference. Key notes from the meeting, applicable to the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee review of poverty, are shown below.
It was noted at the conference that financial exclusion could affect anybody. One of the key reasons for financial exclusion, and subsequent financial strain, was complicated language used for financial products. This meant people got involved in products they may not understand, or felt they should not take advantage of available products. This could lead them to getting involved in alternative, and more costly, options.
It was also noted that, although there were many agencies that provided advice once a client got into poverty or financial difficulty, there was not much advice available to people not currently in poverty, but at risk of poverty in the future. It was felt that this preventative support was lacking. Although Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee acknowledges those ‘at risk’ are less visible and hence find services less accessible.
Under the Local Support Services Framework (LSSF), organisations are coming together to discuss the welfare reform changes, how this will impact on local residents in the city, and what can be done through partnership working to mitigate the consequences of this. There is some funding for the local partnership to ‘buy in’ some additional support, and the plan will be specific to Lincoln District. The Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee remained abreast of, and fed in to, the LSSF discussions, to avoid duplication, and identify the gaps.
Issues identified
• Are financial products on offer simple, or are confusing terms / acronyms used? • Are mental health services signposting to debt advice? • Are our money advice services, and are partner services regarding debt, available to provide preventative advice?
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3.3 The Personal Debt Summit 21 January 2014
Key contextual information
• There are four early signs of debt: o Using credit to pay off credit o Falling behind with household bills o Paying minimum payments on credit cards consecutively o Relying on loan companies to get to pay day • 20% of people approaching CAB with pay day debts are spending their pay day loans on other debts
Issues identified
• Ban payday lenders from advertising over our wifi (and ‘on Lincolnshire’ wifi?). Ban payday lenders from using our premises or any advertising spaces we may have. • Explore with ‘Step Change’ how we can work together to combat debt in our local area. • UK Debt Advice Programme of the Money Advice Service has created a quality standard that providers must abide by. Explore the extent to which this is adhered to locally. • Bring LCC on board with supporting people on their schemes and programmes (e.g. troubled families) to get a credit union account.
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3.4 Survey of external partners not involved in the initial scrutiny review
The following organisations responded to this survey:
• Workers’ Educational Association Lincolnshire • Green Synergy • Framework Housing Association • Aaron Services Ltd. • Lincolnshire County Council • Pelican Trust Ltd.
Issues identified
• Poor budgeting skills • There is a need to tackle issues related to youth / child poverty in Abbey ward (particularly around Monks Road and Tower Estate). • Welfare reforms / benefit cuts are creating a challenge for many people • Increases to the cost of living are placing a strain on many individual and household finances • There is a lack of social housing in Lincoln, and private sector rents are high • There are gaps in support provided to people with mental health problems • Fuel poverty is a typical issue – often linked to the presence of pre- payment meters • Not enough benefits and pension advice • Holistic service provision that deals with all complex issues people face • Confusion over what support there is for people in poverty in the city • There is a need for telephone advice, as agency waiting times can be very long
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3.5 Benefits review 9 September 2013
The Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee invited a number of key external partners to the review of benefits and poverty:
• Stephen McKay (Professor of Social Research at University of Lincoln) • Derrick Brown (Department for Work and Pensions) • Neil Clurow (Citizens Advice Bureau) • John Eames (Lincoln Credit Union) • Tina James (Lincoln Community Larder) • Joy Blundell (Acts Trust) • Michelle Seddon (Age UK) • Martin Walmsley (Benefits, City of Lincoln Council)
Officers also met with each external partner after scrutiny to explore some of the issues raised in more detail. The key points from these follow-up discussions are included in the text below.
Professor Stephen McKay, Distinguished Professor of Social Research, The University of Lincoln
There has been a slow down in companies hiring which has had an impact on young people and the long-term unemployed, and static or falling wages are causing strain against a backdrop of inflation.
There is an issue concerning the number of ‘working poor’; poverty is not just confined to those who are out of work. This is partly caused by ‘under employment’, with many people not working as many hours as they need or want to.
Benefits changes are expected to particularly affect families with children and single people. There is also a problem of increasing debt amongst many people, a problem that is exacerbated given the limited amount of savings held by many.
Derrick Brown, Partnership Manager, Jobcentre Plus Lincoln
There is an issue with unemployment, particularly amongst the 25-49 age bracket, with Lincoln seeing higher rates of unemployment amongst this age group than both the region and country.
Lack of work experience, and employers perceptions of young people, may be affecting young peoples’ opportunities. Despite this, Lincoln has a better than average young adult unemployment rate.
Benefit claimants are becoming increasingly encouraged to claim online, and most claims for Universal Credit will need to be made online. The provision of facilities to enable people with no access to a computer, and support for
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people will a low level of computer literacy, will need to be considered. Additionally, In terms of gaining a job, people need support in order to market themselves online. If a scheduled pilot project is rolled out in Lincoln, it will see a change to the Jobcentre Plus offices, where computer terminals will be provided for people to use, and support will be available where people have a low level of computer literacy.
The benefits system moving forward will focus on personal responsibility (e.g. people will receive the benefit payments to their bank account, and then be responsible for paying their bills).
Neil Clurow, Chief Officer, Lincoln and District Citizens Advice Bureau Ltd.
There are increasing numbers of people more complex needs than in the past. There has been a shift to helping people in work on low income, with under-employment being an issue. To put this is context, 43% of all clients are in part-time work, and this represents the largest client group.
A significant proportion of client enquiries to the CAB concerns debt (particularly credit / store card debt, and unsecured debt). These are often mixed with other types of debts (e.g. household and utilities). The most common tenancy of clients with debt problems is social renters, followed shortly by people in the private sector. Advice cases tend to be more prevalent in Abbey ward and in Park ward, where the Big Lottery Fund is funding CAB outreach work – this funding is coming to an end in 2015.
The promotion of the Lincoln Credit Union was seen as a positive thing to help tackle debt issues in the city, as well as promotion of First Contact to encourage effective signposting.
In addition, there was a need for an accessible computer suite to help claim benefits and avoid the poverty premium. It is often the most vulnerable people who are unable to use the internet. This creates a digital divide.
There is a need to establish, and signpost to, advice services that offer out-of- work-hours advice. Many people in work and on low incomes need advice, some of whom may not be able to access this if they work office hours. A potential solution might be to expand advice provision over the telephone (so people can either contact at lunchtimes, or out of hours).
John Eames, Chief Executive Officer, Lincolnshire Credit Union
Finances are a struggle for many people, with savings being an essential role in budget management. A significant number of people are turned down for loan applications each year (41%) because they are unable to demonstrate their ability to repay the loan. There is also significant concern over welfare benefit reforms.
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It is estimated that 13% of social tenants do not have a bank account. Lincolnshire Credit Union offers a pre-payment visa card and account that can be used to pay direct debits.
Tina James, Trustee, Lincoln Community Larder and Joy Blundell, Director, Lincoln Food Bank
Demand for food has soared by 170% at Lincoln Community Larder, with funding from grants, churches and other donations. Last week, food was provided for 80 people, 46 of whom had problems with benefits. Particularly issues regarding benefits sanctions have an impact on clients. Other client ‘characteristics’ include mental health problems, long-term unemployment, and nothing to put away from emergencies.
The most common area for referrals are Abbey and Park, although need may be high elsewhere, but the city centre location lends itself to residents near the city centre more.
The Acts Trust, which runs in partnership with Food Bank, also provides a debt advice service in partnership with Christians Against Poverty, along with a furniture scheme for people in need. The negative psychological impact of poverty was highlighted.
Michele Seddon, Chief Executive Officer, Lincoln Age UK
There has been a significant increase in the number of older people wanting to access advice at Lincoln Age UK concerning benefits and finances. One of the key reasons for this was the changes to the county’s ‘Fair Access Criteria’, which resulted in more people being signposted to Age UK for support. In addition, there is an increasing complexity of issues that people present at Age UK, such as people with mental health issues. There are still many older people, however, who are unaware support is available to them.
One in three older people are struggling financially (particularly as a result of changes to social care funding). Many older people have to make the difficult choice between having enough food, being warm, or having sufficient personal care.
In 2012/13, Lincoln Age UK supported people to claim £1.5million of previously unclaimed benefit (the resource for this was two part-time members of staff). Many people however are unaware of their entitlement, and some that are, are too embarrassed to claim.
Issues identified
• Lincoln Community Larder advertisement in City Hall reception area • Encouragement for employers to recruit young people • Promotion of the Living Wage • Move away from ‘zero hour contracts’
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• A need for people to establish regular patterns of savings • Opportunities for people to claim benefits online at a range of locations around the city. Potentially a significant amount of unclaimed benefit in the city • Negative psychological impact of poverty • Lack of awareness that support is available, particularly amongst older people • Out of hours advice provision needed for people who work and are on low pay • Prevention plays an important role in tackling future poverty • There is a significant waiting list for home visits to older people – how can MECC help reduce waiting times? • How can the city council promote its information advice services and dispel any negative myths? • There is a lack of clarity over the number of food parcel charities operating in the city, but there is a belief that supply is not meeting demand • Lack of understanding over how poverty affects migrant workers • Provision of advice and information to support social tenants make cost effective choices regarding their utilities • Potential promotion of affordable options instead of purchasing new white goods • Exploration into any local flexibility into the application of DWP sanctions • A ‘back to the floor’ initiative for managers would help them re-connect with issues on the ground • There is a current gap for a regular poverty forum to explore poverty issues, including a need for a network for advice services • There is an opportunity to explore how the establishment of a ‘Fair Share’ distribution centre can be maximised to help those in need in the city • Some authorities have used their local assistance scheme to extend three day food parcels to five days, and provide gas and electricity vouchers up to the value of £47 (£28 for an individual) along with the food parcel 51 .
51 Taken from Butler, P. (27 November 2013) ‘Will council crisis funds lat the winter?’, The Guardian
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3.6 Accessing work review 17 October 2013
The Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee invited a number of key external partners to the review of benefits and poverty:
• Jon Dunn (Department for Work and Pensions) • Graham Metcalfe (Department for Work and Pensions) • Gail Dunn (Abbey Access Centre) • Mike Hoyer (Lincoln College) • Claire Hughes (Lincolnshire County Council project manager for the Employment and Skills Board) • Jane Newman (City of Lincoln Council) • Lorraine Palmer (Birchwood Access and Training Centre) • Martin Walmsley (Benefits, City of Lincoln Council) • James Wilkinson (Policy, City of Lincoln Council)
Officers also met with each external partner after scrutiny to explore some of the issues raised in more detail. The outcomes from these discussions are included in the text below.
James Wilkinson, Policy and Strategic Information Officer, City of Lincoln Council
The worklessness rate has remained consistently above both regional and national rates. Between Quarter 2 of 2008 (the start of the UK recession), and Quarter 1 of 2009, the number of workless residents increased by 17.7%. This was an increase of 1,360 people in real-terms, leading to a total of 9,030 experiencing worklessness in Lincoln.
The number of workless people peaked in Quarter 1 of 2010 at 9,380, and has since remained marginally below this number, with latest figures showing 8,830 people experiencing worklessness in Lincoln in Quarter 1 of 2013. Of the people experiencing worklessness in Quarter 1 of 2013, 49.0% were out of work due to illness or disability, followed by 36.8% who were out of work due to unemployment. Lincoln has a disproportionately high rate of illness and disability claimants, and unemployment claimants, than both the region and country.
We know that certain areas of the city experience higher rates of worklessness than other areas, with areas of Glebe, Abbey, Park, Moorland and Birchwood all experiencing relatively high levels.
Graham Metcalfe, Employment Team Manager & Health Advisory Manager, and John Dunn, Jobcentre Manager, Department for Work and Pensions
There may be a conversion of Lincoln’s Jobcentre Plus office into a digital office of the future. This would mean a move from predominantly telephone
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access to predominantly online access. The preferred method is for claimants to make claims online, although there are staff available at Jobcentre Plus to assist people with using computers.
Jobcentre Plus provides a number of services:
• Feeding Britain’s Future – An introduction for under 25’s to the food industry, there had been in excess of 100 places for the initiative • Wage incentive – A fixed amount of money was available to the employer to help take on young people. 70-80 people had been recruited through this method • Work Experience – There had been a 30% conversion rate into employment. This was to establish a work ethic primarily in the young. • Health Advisory Services – This involved capability assessment to explore the potential for people to move back into work. • Key workers go into households and work with families to tackle the problem of third generation unemployment. This is a multi-agency approach. • JCP have a Flexible Support Fund that can be used to breakdown barriers to employment their clients may have (e.g. bike from Argos, interview clothes from Matalan, birth certificate, fuel to help people drive to work until payday etc.) – the JCP is invoiced. • There is also a ‘travel to interview’ scheme to help people with the cost of getting to their interview.
It must be noted that this support is available to JCP clients only. It was noted that claimants up to the age of 24, if not employed after 9 months, were referred to the work programme, if over 25 they were referred after 12 months. The work programme is a scheme where providers helped claimants into sustained work. These providers have their own criteria to give out grants, and have different support to what the JCP offer.
They also explored three key challenges people face: 1. Time delays in the issue of benefits: when Universal Credit comes in, this will be a real-time system and remove delays. 2. The cost of travel in the county: Stagecoach and Jobcentre Plus have been working together to offer half price bus travel to eligible people. 3. The cost of travelling to an interview: An application can be made to Jobcentre Plus in advance of a journey to an interview. If this was appropriate, then the travel cost to the interview could be paid.
Mike Hoyer, Guidance Team Leader, Lincoln College
There is a large course take-up with approximately 12,000 students enrolled at Lincoln College per annum, with approximately 1,000 of these enrolled on programmes for the unemployed, approximately 800 enrolled on a 16-18 year old apprenticeship programme, and 1,500 enrolled on a 19+ year old apprenticeship programme. They have an above average success rate of 84% for 2012/13 (national average 81%), and less than a 3% spread in
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success rates across a range of groups (such as socioeconomic background / sex / ethnicity / type of study).
There is childcare available for students. This is provided free for student parents aged under 20. Help with childcare costs is also provided for low income students aged 20+. The key challenges are around ensuring students know what financial support is available, and who local providers of childcare are.
Mike Hoyer mentioned a number of opportunities for partners to work more together, included providing forums for providers to contribute to, developing strategy groups looking at specific needs, and the possibility of group contract provision. Some challenges, such as conflicting priorities, may need to be overcome.
Free school meals are currently unavailable to college students, which has subsequent impact on students not being able to get support with their transport to college. The cost of the mega-rider ticket is considered high for people in poverty.
It is estimated approximately 55% of Lincoln College pupils would be eligible for free school meals, showing a concentration of low income young people are the college.
Lorraine Palmer, Centre Manager, Birchwood Access and Training Centre
There are a number of challenges people face whilst acclimatising to income changes from benefits to salary:
• Travelling to work can be a problem, with people sometimes having to catch two buses to get to work which is expensive • Often people did not have suitable clothing and the equipment needed for them to start work • The availability and cost of childcare
Issues around funding were noted, and she expressed concern that whilst BATC would continue to provide support for as long as possible, should the numbers of people requiring support with skills, as well as access to It support continue to increase, they may not be able to meet the need. Additionally, although BATC provides career advice for the Priory Academy, the key problem is tracking young people once they left school.
People are encouraged to apply for as many jobs as possible, but many lack basic skills. There are three main types of skills lacking:
1. Basic reading 2. Basic writing 3. Basic IT skills
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There is not much provision in the city for people to get help with these very basic skills (e.g. supporting people with practicing reading and writing – Lincoln College do offer basic skills courses but do not have the resources to just listen to people read). Additionally, there are not many places where people can just ‘drop by’ to use a computer.
There is some funding available for large organisations, which presents a requirement for small organisations such as BATC to club together and collectively bid for this funding. BATC and partners are encouraging the LEP to apply for funding on their behalf, and then to pass funding down to smaller organisations. Additionally, many community organisations are unaware of what funding opportunities are out there, and how they can apply for funding.
A need for furniture was highlighted amongst both social tenants and voluntary organisations. For example, if useable furniture is left in a council house (or RSL properties) when a tenant is vacated, what happens to this furniture? Additionally, when office furniture is no longer needed, what happens to it?
Loan sharks are an increasing problem, as is informal lending from family, friends and neighbours, which can lead to community issues and tensions when not repaid.
Gail Dunn, Project Manager, Abbey Access Centre
There are some common issues people faced when looking for jobs, including:
• Not enough credit on their mobile phones to make telephone calls to enquire about jobs • Transport issues - for example expensive fares or no buses that fit in with shift patterns • Provision of protective equipment needed for certain jobs • Some people did not have clothing suitable for interviews or have the money to buy new clothes • People who were unemployed could not afford broadband to look for work on the internet • Stamps, paper and printer cartridges were expensive and often needed when applying for jobs
It was also noted that, when someone was offered a job, they sometimes panicked about being cut off benefits for the following reasons:
• Zero hours contracts • How would they manage in the time between benefits stopping and the first payday • Coping with work • Confusion about Tax Credits • Worried about paying back loans that were dormant when unemployed
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There is also a wide range of personal issues people face such as: • Debt – the biggest issue many people face – made worse by money owed to high interest rate companies • Mental health • Drug / alcohol dependency • Relationship breakdown • Debt • Lack of health eating • Homelessness • Self esteem issues
In addition, a barrier for some young people entering onto an apprenticeship scheme was that they tended to pay a small amount of money, which was insufficient if they lived alone.
Jane Newman, Work Based Learning Manager, City of Lincoln Council
A recent document entitled “Youth Employment in Lincoln City” provided details of a study on the barrier to employment for young people between the ages of 16 and 24. The key barriers found in the study included:
• Homelessness • Drugs • Mental Health • Debt • Loss of benefits for parents • Work ethic in the family home • Support from home • Financial backing • Lack of career aspiration
Most young people want to work, but there is a need for more work to be done to engage them e.g. via social media, and using current apprentices to help recruit new apprentices. These help break down barriers and make the process more accessible.
The ‘One Stop Shop’ was noted as a key project– this is due to be opened in Lincoln city centre. It combines a mixture of old and new approaches. People will be able to receive face to face support in a café style premises, whilst also having support with using innovative social computing techniques.
Clare Hughes, Employment and Skills Board Project Manager, Lincolnshire County Council
The majority of the 5,000 businesses in Lincoln are small to medium employers, with a huge number employing less than five staff. Many local businesses have difficulties recruiting which is expensive.
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Career advice for some young people does not match job availability in the local economy. Many organisations, including schools, use national statistics on job vacancies to plan their lessons. This information, provided by Jobcentre Plus, only includes a proportion of available vacancies, and therefore does not give an accurate picture of available jobs in Lincoln.
Local research suggests about 20% of people are not well prepared for work. What this means is varied, e.g. young people both being prepared for real working life (e.g. 37 hour weeks, turning up on time, acceptable customer service, taking person telephone calls in working hours), attitude (lack of interest), lack of knowledge, lack of ability to apply knowledge they learned at college.
There are some growing job opportunities in Lincolnshire in the following growth sectors:
• Food manufacturing • Engineering • Visitor economy / hospitality
There is an issue with some jobseekers not being aware of the variety of roles in some industries, and therefore they do not consider them when looking for a job / career.
Partner forums are a useful way to bring partners together, but there are already many partner meetings and groups that, although do not broadly cover the whole topic of worklessness, do focus on specific elements. These existing partnership groups and meetings would be useful to tap into.
Issues identified
• College students unaware of available childcare support • There is a lack of funding for English Language courses for migrants. Costs are now being put on students, leading to a very low take up rate. • Sudden ill health (mental or physical) can lead to unemployment and money problems – but traditional family networks that have in the past helped in this situations, are struggling due to recession. • Debt is one of the biggest issues people face, especially money owed to high interest rate companies. • Providing additional career development training for employees can be very expensive for organisations. • Coaching for people learning to read and write is needed • There are not many publicly accessible computers in the city where people can just ‘drop in’ and use for job searches, benefits applications etc. • There is a need for basic skills courses to be provided out of hours • Transport is expensive, and existing support with costs deemed inaccessible
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• A ‘back to the floor’ scheme for managers would help raise awareness over what the current issues are. • There is a need for old office furniture amongst voluntary sector organisations, and an opportunity to make links with large organisations when they dispose of furniture. • There is a need for cheap home furniture – what do social landlords do with useable furniture that has been left in properties? • Financial education is a key need – some organisations such as Barclay’s Bank provide financial education • Lack of grant awareness amongst local organisations • GP signposting is a vital tool for joining up services, but levels of partnership working with GPs is currently very low. • Some grants are only available to large organisations, creating an opportunity for collective bidding. • Loan sharks are an issue in the city that needs tackling. • JCP provide a lot of support through their Flexible Support Scheme to their clients – are clients accessing other services connecting with this? Do partners understand the support available? • There is a need for JCP work experience placements for JSA clients • How can we support young peoples’ expectations to encourage them to be realistic regarding what jobs to apply for? • How can we encourage lower transport costs for college students? • How can we support young people with criminal records into education and employment? • More facilitation to bring employers and schools together
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3.7 Child poverty and education review 14 November 2013
The Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee invited a number of key external partners to the review of benefits and poverty:
• Tina Haux (University of Lincoln) • Rebecca Allen (Children’s Services, Lincolnshire County Council) • Andrew McLean (Children’s Services, Lincolnshire County Council) • Jon Hird (Children’s Centres, Lincolnshire County Council) • Mary Williams (Chad Varah Primary School) • James Wilkinson (Policy, City of Lincoln Council)
Officers also met with partners outside the review, whose input is included in the information below:
• Kerry Mitchell (Barnardo’s) • Cornelia Andrecut (Children’s Centres, Lincolnshire County Council)
A written response was also provided by:
• Andrew Madge (Priory Witham Academy)
Officers also met with each external partner after scrutiny to explore some of the issues raised in more detail. The outcomes from these discussions are included in the text below.
Tina Haux, Lecturer of Social Science, University of Lincoln
It is estimated that 17% of children in the UK are living in relative poverty before housing costs, and 27% are living in relative poverty after housing costs. The UK has a similar proportion of children at risk from poverty as the EU average.
The East Midlands has one of the lowest rates of child poverty amongst all English regions, but within the East Midlands, Lincoln has one of the highest rates of relative child poverty.
The majority (67%) of children in poverty across the UK live in workless households, and 43% live in lone parent households. However, it should be noted that work is not necessarily a route out of poverty, with many children in poverty also living in working households. There is an interplay of several factors associated with child poverty, including parental ill health, parental stress, poor housing, inability for children to engage with their peers, and bullying of children.
It is more expensive to be in poverty if you are a lone parent. It is more difficult to run a household, as there are no shared resources. Only a third of single parents get maintenance paid to them regularly.
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There is also a stigma attached to being in poverty, and children can be left out from normal social activities for not wearing the right shoes and decreased participation in activities.
James Wilkinson, Policy and Strategic Information Officer, City of Lincoln Council
There are approximately 4,500 children living in low income families in Lincoln, accounting for 24% of all children. This puts Lincoln amongst the highest 20% of districts for child poverty in the country.
Rates of children living in low income families is highest in certain areas of the city, with approximately one third of children in Glebe, Moorland and Birchwood living in relative child poverty.
There is evidence of different educational outcomes in Lincoln as well, with KS4 children eligible for free school meals more likely to have lower attainment, and more likely to be absent from school, than their more affluent peers.
Rebecca Allen, Commissioning Officer, Lincolnshire County Council; and Andrew McLean, Commissioning Manager, Lincolnshire County Council
The current Lincolnshire County Council Child Poverty Strategy is being revised to include a new action plan. The action plan has been agreed and is due to be published in the next few weeks.
One of the key issues in the city is the take up of free school meals. Current take up ranges between 5% and 65% across the city, with eligible families still not signing up for it. The forecast for the pupil premium for next year is £1,300 per pupil claiming free school meals. Schools are doing a lot of work to encourage take up through menus, brochures, communication, finding ways to reduce stigmatism and avoid pupils being identified as eligible for free school meals.
From 2014, every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will get free school meals, and free school meals could be extended to sixth form and college students. Currently, 134 schools across Lincolnshire offer breakfast clubs, some of these are funded through the pupil premium. Schools have reported that the impact of these clubs were improved engagement, behaviour and attainment.
Lincolnshire County Council will continue to challenge schools on how they spend their pupil premium, raise awareness of gaps in attainment, and continue to support the Multiple Agency Vulnerable Persons Group.
There are also a number of opportunities for partners to work together more, including working more closely with district councils to promote eligibility of
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free school meals, better signposting between agencies, and an agreement to be set to work together.
Children in poverty can feel different, vulnerable, and sometimes do not participate in the activities their peers do. There are often long term affects as it erodes their self esteem, self worth, and their aspirations of what they want to do.
Mary Williams, Deputy Head Teacher, Chad Varah Primary School
There are 470 pupils on roll, with 176 children eligible for free school meals, 130 children on the special needs register, 3 children with statements, 67 children at school action plus, and 60 at school action.
There are many complex issues that affect children from poorer backgrounds. Mental health problems are becoming more prominent, many parents are young and inexperienced in parenting skills, and some children just do not recognise the world of work as something that should be aimed for. In addition, the current financial climate is placing added pressures on households, some of whom are living in poor quality houses, and experience the effects of domestic violence. There is also, in some cases, a lack of IT facilities at home.
Chad Varah does a lot to tackle child poverty, including providing IT equipment for pupils and their parents to use, life skills courses for parents, and employing a learning support assistant, a learning support mentor, a behaviour support mentor and a family support worker.
There is some degree of frustration with Team Around the Child Meeting, and the Child in Need process, with it sometimes seeming cases are being closed at the earliest possible opportunity.
The usefulness of neighbourhood boards was highlighted, and it was suggested that a similar body or forum could be set up where key professionals from various children and family based organisations could meet, exchange good practice, celebrate what is going well, and think collectively about areas that were causing concern.
Children in poverty often do not meet their full potential. There is often a lack of positive experiences that assists a child in making progress with their learning.
There have been cases where families have asked to borrow money because they have no heating. Families also ask for food, but often refuse to go to the Larder themselves.
Schools like Chad Varah need to be kept in the loop of what is going on in the city, and if there are any funding opportunities, (they often find out about these too late).
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Jon Hird, Team Around the Child Co-ordinator, Lincolnshire County Council
There are three children’s centres in the city located in the north, central and south. They were set up to offer early help to families and to prevent the escalation of problems. They also help to move workless families back into work, although this is not necessarily a route out of poverty. English and maths courses, along with parenting skills courses, are also provided.
Lincolnshire County Council receives approximately 3,000 calls a month about children in Lincoln. Approximately 400-450 children are on the child protection plan and are at risk of harm.
There is an ‘early year’s entitlement’ being offered to two year olds in very deprived areas to provide free childcare. Poverty is a huge causer of stress for adults. As poverty increases, it can cause depression, which makes adults and children socially isolated. Mental health issues are a significant feature in both Children in Need and Child Protection cases. Children’s Centres would welcome the involvement of Lincolnshire Mental Health Authority. Clinical Commissioning Groups are responsible for commissioning mental health services in Lincolnshire.
There are a number of opportunities for closer working together including the development of a multi-agency board or forum, and for the Jobcentre Plus to work within the children’s centres to provide information points and better signposting arrangements.
Cornelia Andrecut, Head of Service Locality, Lincolnshire County Council
A multi-agency forum where people can present what they are doing would be really useful. There is statutory guidance for Lincolnshire County Council to work in an integrated way. This is already happening, but there is always more that can be done to achieve a co-ordinated approach.
There is need for Jobcentre Plus advisors to operate from children’s centres. Discussions between Lincolnshire County Council and Jobcentre Plus are taking place, with the possibility of a future pilot. First, however, the children’s centres need to have wifi installed. This is being looked into. Another possibility is for births to be registered in children’s centres. This would help make birth registrations more accessible. This is something being encouraged by central government, and may happen in the future.
Kerry Mitchell, Locality Manager, Barnardo’s Lincoln
In Christmas 2012 Barnardo’s Lincoln gave out 62 food hampers to people from their leaving care service, this year they need 97 hampers – this is funded by a grant from national Barnardo’s. Key issues resulting in the need for food stem from benefit sanctions, cost of living increases, and young people not making food, accommodation or utilities a priority.
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Poverty can manifest itself in many different ways including low educational attainment, poor self-image due to lack of money, and rent arrears leading to homelessness, inability to rent elsewhere due to arrears, and difficulty getting a job or bank account due to lack of address.
Causes of poverty include living in impoverished communities where there is a culture of unemployment, mental health and wellbeing, low ability to get work, benefits sanctions and fear of the JCP, no access to internet to search for jobs (‘Universal Job Search’), and lack of job opportunities mixed with high competition.
Additionally, some young people choose not to help themselves, and require more in-depth specialist support. Services need to be aware of that, and alter their models to fit the models of young people, rather than expect young people to meet organisational models.
Many services, such as work schemes, pay by results (getting people into work). They are broadly applied to meet the needs of ‘the many’, and not ‘the few’. They often serve those not too distant from the labour market, rather than helping those few (often care leavers) who are really disengaged with the labour market.
Intensive support is needed for care leavers who tend to need more support than the bulk of people experiencing NEETs and unemployment. Additionally, there are not enough mental health services available in the city – often mental health impacts on poverty, and it’s not until someone’s mental health issue is supported, that their poverty issue can be helped. Transportation is also a significant barrier to many young people accessing education and employment – the ‘wheels to work’ scheme run by ‘Access Your Future’ supports with purchasing a moped, but the setup cost can often be circa £250. Barnardo’s pays this for their care leavers – but it represents a significant cost for others. They do signpost to the Flexible Support Grant run by the JCP.
Potential solutions include:
• Potential for a Leaving Care Worker to be stationed at the One Stop Shop. • Potential for a Forum of Partners to sit under, and feed into, the Lincolnshire Participation Action Group – which in turn feeds into the Health and Wellbeing Board (although this is a participatory forum and not the same as the forum proposed by other partners). Jose Bruce sits on the board of the Lincolnshire Participation Action Group. • Mapping of COLC services by the ‘universal – targeted – specialist’ framework.
Andrew Madge, Head Teacher, Priory Witham Academy
When considering the issue of child poverty and education, it is important not to generalise, and recognise that some pupil premium pupils perform
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extremely well and come from supportive and aspirational backgrounds. However, the information below is what is considered may be trends that could be associated with some pupil premium pupils and families.
Key issues affecting children from poorer backgrounds include low aspirations and a lack of confidence in aspirational achievement. There may also be low importance placed on education at home, including increased frequency of safeguarding concerns (e.g. neglect), and increased frequency of lower quality parenting capacity – boundaries, routines etc.
It is important to ensure that pupils have resources available in school should they require it (e.g. homework club) for when computer / internet access is not available at home. Hard-copies of revision material are provided if computer / internet access is unavailable at home. A greater issue might be a lack of appropriate space to study / do homework etc.
There are opportunities for awareness to work together with regards to wider awareness of the services that are available to improve outcomes for pupil premium pupils. Additionally, a pupil premium forum or network between schools would be useful.
Issues identified
• High cost of school uniforms – is there a possibility for FSM children to receive uniforms at cost, or for schools to move away from embroidered logos on clothing. • Potential for a Barnardo’s Leaving Care Worker to be stationed at the One Stop Shop. • Potential for a Forum of Partners to sit under, and feed into, the Lincolnshire Participation Action Group – which in turn feeds into the Health and Wellbeing Board (although this is a participatory forum and not the same as the forum proposed by other partners). • A number of partners raised a need for a ‘Child Poverty Forum’, held twice or three times a year (maybe fit in with long-term dates) would be a positive step forward. The type of invitees would include schools in deprived areas, social care (involved with education), LCC child psychologist rep, a social worker, children’s centres rep (Jon Hird), the Team Around the Child Co-ordinator etc. It would provide an opportunity for partners / schools to go and ask questions / discuss issues etc. Getting people in one room would create opportunities to share information, contacts and work closer together. This is something currently missing, with schools etc. not knowing who to speak to, and what is ‘going on’. • A children’s-organisations newsletter identifying key things happening in the city and funding opportunities for schools. • Because parents often do not like to (and therefore do not) attend Larders / Food Banks, it would be useful for schools to be able to collect food parcels on behalf of parents. This would increase take-up for those families that need it. Chad Varah would be happy to collect, would distribute only to those in need, and would give the details of the client to
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the larder – but they are unaware if they can do this. They have a relationship with St. Giles ‘tinnies’ – but they are small and do not have the capacity. • Heating was identified as an issue – link with LCAS for provision of emergency heating vouchers. • There are opportunities for awareness to work together with regards to wider awareness of the services that are available to improve outcomes for pupil premium pupils. • Low take-up of free school meals • Low self-esteem and aspirations amongst free school meal pupils • Parents lacking IT skills • Demand for childcare placements outstrips supply • Need for Lincolnshire Mental Health Authority involvement in Children’s Centres • Need for Jobcentre Plus to work with Children’s Centres to provide information points and better signposting arrangements
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3.8 Health review 19 December 2013
The Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee invited a number of key partners to the review of benefits and poverty:
• Jo Blackwell (Healthy Lifestyles, City of Lincoln Council) • Marijke Chamberlain (Healthy Eating, Lincolnshire County Council) • Simon Colburn (Lincoln Health and Wellbeing Partnership) • Peta Hill (Lincolnshire Carers and Young Carers) • Pauline Mountain (Lincolnshire Carers and Young Carers) • Teresa Roche (Public Health, Lincolnshire County Council) • Martin Wilson (Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board) • James Wilkinson (Policy, City of Lincoln Council)
A written response was also provided by:
• Neil Clurow (Lincoln and District Citizens Advice Bureau)
James Wilkinson, Policy and Strategic Information Officer, City of Lincoln Council
Recent data shows the extent of health issues in the city. Nearly 10% of Lincoln’s population have their day-to-day activities limited due to long-term health issues and disabilities. Castle, Minster, Abbey, Moorland and Birchwood are hotspots for this. There are also a significant number of unpaid carers living in the city. In addition, the percentage of ESA claimants for mental health and behavioural disorders is marginally higher in Lincoln than in Lincolnshire, the East Midlands and England.
Martin Wilson, Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board Advisor, Lincolnshire County Council
The Board was established to encourage persons or groups who arranged for the provision of any health or social care services to work in an integrated manner. Its objectives are to provide strong leadership for the improvement of health and wellbeing, along with monitoring the implementation and performance of the ‘outcome’ targets defined in the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This strategy sets out the commissioning direction and priorities for the next five years for the Lincolnshire population.
Teresa Roche, Assistant Directors of Public Health, Lincolnshire County Council
There are significant health inequalities that the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is committed to reducing. For example, women in the most deprived areas of Lincolnshire die, on average, at least 17 years earlier than those in the least deprived, while men die, on average, 12 years earlier.
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GPs and practice staff deal with patients on a one-to-one basis to provide high quality healthcare. The GP practice is often the first place people go to for help and advice, which means they spend time addressing their social and wider care needs as well as health conditions.
Specific gaps in service provision were identified as, access to affordable childcare, poor housing and/or difficulty addressing housing issues (including delays discharging homeless people from hospital as limited suitable provision is available in the city), unemployment and quality of employment, transport and isolation.
It was noted that it is difficult to keep up to date on some of the community services on offer, therefore duplication could occur. The CCG is committed to working closer with stakeholders and the public, and this is reflected in the vision, mission and goals.
The Making Every Contact Counts (MECC) scheme encourages people to make healthier choices and achieve positive long-term behavioural changes for better health and wellbeing. It uses the day-to-day contact practitioners have with service users to signpost them to services that cover stopping smoking, cutting down on alcohol, having a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and taking recommended levels of physical activity.
Jo Blackwell, Healthy Lifestyles Team Leader, City of Lincoln Council
The focus of the programme is to provide a community level resource for people to access advice and support to enable them to improve their health, with 2/3rds of people accessing services being from deprived communities. Mental health issues are a barrier for some people. The team does a lot of partnership work with external organisations. The potential for duplication has been reduced by having a clearer vision of what Public Health would like to provide.
Peta Hill and Pauline Mountain, Lincolnshire Carers and Young Carers
It is not clear how many carers are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to, as there are many hidden carers in Lincolnshire. Of known carers, only 5,000 of 79,000 carers in the county have a Carers Assessment. There is an issue with regard to the long waiting list for carers seeking support.
National research shows 3/4 th of carers are worse off since their caring role began. Child carers face difficulties in accessing education, and often have poor academic achievements, which lead to lack of employment opportunities. They often have poor access to transport, and because of their caring role, have sporadic attendance at school. Additionally, many carers (adults included) are not aware what help is available. Carers’ benefits amount to approximately £60 for 35 hours of caring per week, less than £2 an hour. The caring role can lead to lack of sleep, poor diet and, poor quality of life.
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A more holistic approach is required to support carers looking for financial support and/or benefits advice as the whole picture is not taken into account when assessments are made.
Marijke Chamberlain, Programme Co-ordinator, Lincolnshire County Council
Programmes of practical cooking sessions, courses in healthy eating, and workshops are on offer. Community growing schemes have also been set up in Lincoln. Courses are put on for hard to reach client groups in areas of deprivation, including working with Addaction (for people with substance misuse issues), LEAP (young people just come out of care), Probation Service (ex-offenders), AGE UK (older people), Chad Varah Primary School (parents who need support) and those with mental health issues.
There are a number of gaps in service provision, including the need for services to be promoted to CCGs, family focused sessions, links with weight watchers, links with food banks, resources to clear some available sites for use in the scheme, and venues for cooking sessions as current ones are often too small or too costly.
Simon Colburn, Assistant Director – Health and Environment Services, City of Lincoln Council / Lincoln Health and Wellbeing Partnership
The priorities of the partnership are to make lifestyles healthier, to address underlying determinants of health, and to improve the health and wellbeing of older people and the health of children in poverty. Health trainers have an important role to play in embedding and influencing healthy lifestyles. A Fit Kids programme has also been devised to address some of the issues experienced by young people and children in poverty.
There are gaps in service provision due to limited resources across all agencies, meaning uneven provision, access to technology, support for volunteers, budgeting skills, and low level mental health support. There is some duplication regarding community facilities, and better use of them could be made.
Some additional things could also be done, including tapping into the social and volunteering potential of communities, facilitating better access to green spaces, delivering better affordable private sector housing, and better use of community growing in green spaces.
Neil Clurow, Chief Officer, Lincoln and District Citizens Advice Bureau
Poverty and mental health are linked. Whilst mental health cuts through all sections of society, those in poverty are less able to manage their mental health and more likely to require statutory or voluntary sector intervention.
Most CAB clients with mental health and learning disabilities find it difficult to navigate through the complex benefits system. Since the loss of Legal Aid for
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welfare benefits, there is a massive gap in the supply of welfare benefits advice, and it is the most vulnerable who feel the greatest loss.
A positive outcome of the review would be an evaluation of what services the City of Lincoln Council funds that supports this area of work, and establish clear and realistic priorities on how that funding can be best used to improve the lives of the client group and meet the set priorities. An example of this might be ensuring every mental health service user can access advice and support with welfare benefits, housing and budgeting advice.
Acquiring and sustaining housing is a major issue for mental health service users, especially single persons. Support is out there, e.g. YMCA, Framework, NACRO etc, and the CAB signpost clients with mental health issues on a regular basis but there appears to be no central point of collecting data of how successful those outcomes are. There is a concern this group is simply recycled around the various services without anyone ever knowing what long-term outcomes are achieved.
The CAB is concerned about a mechanism to monitor outcomes and building knowledge of what works with regard to improving people’s lives and health. However, they would not like to see funds and human resources directed away from service delivery in order to establish referral and monitoring mechanisms.
Issues identified
• How can we encourage GP signposting to advice providers, and make them aware of services available? • How can the MECC scheme signpost to advice providers? • How can more affordable childcare be made available? • There are delays in discharging homeless people from hospital due to limited suitable provision in Lincoln. • There are long waiting lists for carers seeking support– potential from drop-off. • Child carers face difficulties in accessing education, and often have poor academic achievements – how can schools identify child carers? • There is an opportunity for the LCC Healthy Eating and Growing Team to make links with local emergency food parcel providers to provide recipes and advice etc. • Resources needed to clear available sites to make them free for healthy growing initiatives • Healthy eating cooking sessions are often held in too small, or too costly venues. • There is a gap for tapping into the social and volunteering potential of communities. • There is a need to help people with mental health and learning disabilities who may find it difficult to navigate through the complex benefit system.
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3.9 Housing review 23 January 2014
The Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee invited a number of key partners to the review of benefits and poverty:
• Alex Ray (Longhurst Group) • Dave Bowskill (Energy Efficiency, City of Lincoln Council) • Simon Colburn (Private Housing, City of Lincoln Council) • Tim Whitworth (Housing, City of Lincoln Council)
Alex Ray, Director of Operational Services, Longhurst Group
Poverty manifests itself in many different ways, such as inability to pay rent, struggling to pay to heat the home leading to condensation and damp (affecting health), expensive pre-payment meters due to utility debt, debt problems resulting from high interest lending as well as illegal loan sharks, and a subsequent impact on exclusion from financial products and services. Longhurst undertake a range of activities to tackle debt and financial inclusion, and also engage with partners to deliver some of these.
There are some key gaps in service provision (concerning all partners). There is no single point of access for referral / assessment, and a lack of co- ordination of services more generally. There is also a need for more debt advice – it can be difficult for tenants to get appointments with the Citizens Advice Bureau.
There are a number of different organisations providing financial education, budgeting and/or debt advice, but this is not a case of duplication – there is a significant need. It is more a need for co-ordination, and the need for a single point of access for referral / assessment.
There are existing forums to work together in, including the Local Support Services Framework, and the Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Partnership. There are also opportunities to try to influence energy suppliers regarding the hiked up costs for tenants using pre-payment meters.
There needs to be increased use of preventative services – even where provided it is difficult to persuade people to access preventative services. We need to try and prevent people getting into debt, but even where preventatives services are provided, pilots of shown there is difficulty in getting people to access them.
Dave Bowskill, Regeneration Officer, City of Lincoln Council
Fuel poverty is caused primarily by the combined effects of energy inefficient housing, low incomes, high costs for domestic fuel, and under-occupancy of homes. Income is a key factor in understanding fuel poverty. With the continued recession, it is not just households with an income of below 60% of
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the median income that are considered to be living in poverty. Households now have less income security and are experiencing increases in the cost of living, which means that many are reporting difficulties paying for fuel. Domestic energy prices have risen by approximately 150% in the past ten years. Prices for fuels other than mains gas are even higher, with households off the mains gas network often paying over £2,000 per annum to keep their homes warm. Fuel poverty is an issue across social rented, private rented, and owner occupier houses.
In 2010, when Lincolnshire’s Affordable Warmth Strategy was written, energy advice was provided to Lincolnshire residents by the East Midlands Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre. Funding for the UK’s network of local energy advice centres has since been discontinued, and a centralised Energy Saving Advice Service has been set up instead, in conjunction with the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation. Local energy and fuel poverty advice provision, especially for vulnerable households, now falls to local authorities, local charities and other agencies.
It is assess that between £7.5 and £12.3 billion of benefits were unclaimed in Great Britain in 2009/10. Based on current population estimates, this equates to between £85 million and £139 million of unclaimed benefits in Lincolnshire. Unclaimed benefits mean households have less income with which to heat their home, and may not be claiming the benefits that would entitle them to energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation.
Another key impact of fuel poverty is fuel debt. When this strategy was originally written in 2010, the average fuel debt was £114. Now figures from Ofgem indicate that the average debt for electricity is £354, whilst the average debt for gas is £377. Fuel poverty should not therefore be considered in isolation, as they may be suffering from other debt.
Simon Colburn, Assistant Director – Health and Environment Services, City of Lincoln Council
There are over 8,000 private rented properties, and the city council’s approach is to react to complaints, to licence the higher risk properties, and to otherwise promote better standards through education and accreditation. The student accreditation scheme is based on self accreditation. A perceived gap in the service is the lack of a regular proactive inspection. Lincolnshire fire and rescue does undertake a visit to all accredited properties, and Lincoln University has engaged a member of staff to visit all properties, so step shave been taken to cover this gap.
The largest gap in our activity is in relation to proactive visits of all private rented property. To actually seek out poor accommodation, prevent complaints, and reduce demand made upon the Property Shop. It would also reduce the likelihood of retaliatory complaints as inspections will be seen to have been initiated by the council, and not have been in a response to a tenant complaint. Proactive inspections will help build intelligence on landlords
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and letting agents, on tenants and their vulnerability or otherwise and identify any licensable HMOs which are not so licensed.
There is a possible gap in the matter of tenancy relations and protection from eviction. Tenants can often be advised to approach CAB or Shelter for advice, and more might be achieved through closer work between the Private Sector Housing Team, the Property Shop, and an approach based on negotiation and advice, rather than discharge of statutory duty. We currently have no active programme of informing and educating tenants in respect of their rights, risks and responsibilities.
There are also some potential cases of duplication. The Private Housing Team and the Homelessness Team might both be responding to the same case. There are opportunities for shared intelligence and co-ordinated actions. The Fire and Rescue team also risk assess rented accommodation on a proactive basis. These can be houses where the city council is actively engaged.
Additionally, the Private Housing Team makes home visits to some of the poorest homes. There could be greater links with benefits advice to help identify households not maximising benefit claims, or in need of support where in debt.
Tim Whitworth, Assistant Director – Housing, City of Lincoln Council
A key consequence of poverty is rent arrears. Housing Officers have worked one-to-one with people in arrears, and this has helped to help them, and reduce their arrears. However, arrears have still increased recently. Welfare reform has played a big part in this, particularly as a result of the Spare Room Subsidy. In November, they had 3,706 tenants in arrears, and 3.8% debt. There were 727 under-occupying tenants in arrears, and total arrears stood at over £1million – just below £200,000 of arrears came from under-occupiers.
There is significant support for new tenants. New tenants are now visited within three weeks instead of six weeks. New tenants are also supported with opening a Jam Jar account with Lincolnshire Credit Union. This involves a £10 incentive deposit paid by the City of Lincoln Council, to encourage saving.
There are issues with the availability and the affordability of soft furnishings. There is a space made available for Trent View tower block that stores useable, left-behind second-hand furniture from outgoing tenants, but this facility is only available for Trent View. There would be benefit in rolling this out wider.
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Issues identified
• Tackle pre-payment meters • Promote energy efficiency • Challenge illegal loan sharks • Support people being financially included in products and services • There is a need for a single point of access for referral and assessments • There is a need for more debt advice due to long waiting lists • There is a need for increased supply of preventative advice services, as well as encouraging take-up of this, which is traditionally low – but still required • Reduce level of unclaimed benefits • Co-ordinate agencies that access peoples’ homes • Citywide accreditations scheme • More partnership between the Private Housing Team and Property Shop to avoid eviction where possible • There is a lack of legal advice for tenants on their rights • Greater links needed between Benefits Advice and the Private Housing Team to bring debt advice to people struggling • There is a need for soft furnishings in the city, and better / more co- ordinated use of left over furnishings
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4. Issues for exploration at the Lincoln Poverty Conference
The issues identified throughout the scrutiny phase of this work, summarised below, were explored at the Anti-Poverty Conference. A number of other issues picked up from the review were explored internally, with relevant actions appearing the Anti-Poverty Action Plan.
The Lincoln Poverty Conference had six morning workshops running concurrently, and six afternoon workshops running concurrently. The morning workshops were topic based (low income, child poverty, older person poverty, worklessness, housing and health). The afternoon was run differently. Instead of being topic based, the afternoon workshops were based on a customers ‘journey’ from emergency support (e.g. grants and food parcels), to capacity support (e.g. debt and benefits advice), to development support (e.g. fuel poverty and health). Not only did the afternoon workshops allow different mixes of partners to work together than in the morning, but it also allowed for discussions around improving signposting and linkages between services and organisations, to ensure people were given the support they needed in a holistic fashion.
4.1 Morning workshop topics
Low Income and Poverty workshop
How can preventative advice be improved or increased, and how can public engagement levels be increased?
Can welfare and money advice be better coordinated? e.g. • Partner led out of hour’s advice provision. • Is there potential for coordinated take-up campaigns? • Training standards / shared training? • Improved information, signposting and online data?
Is there potential to develop a Community Shop / bulk-buy scheme, or formalise a 50p man locally?
What are the current options for affordable credit? e.g. • Can the options be expanded? • How can we better market the options? • Is there more work to do on loan sharks?
What is the public awareness level for discretionary and charity payments? e.g. • DHPs / Charities / The Lincoln Municipal Relief in Need charity / SSAFA / British Legion etc. • What can be done to improve awareness and take-up?
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How can the market kitchen be best utilised?
Worklessness and Poverty workshop
How can we support people access work? e.g. • Increasing awareness of affordable childcare for college students and those seeking to get into work • Improving awareness of the DWP Flexible Support Grant • Lobbying for lower transportation costs low income people accessing work and education • Supporting people with criminal records into education and employment • Better matching of people to jobs, and managing expectations • All partners committing to the Works Experience programme?
How can we further support people to gain basic skills? e.g. • Increasing coaching for people learning to read and write, and develop their IT skills • Partners providing outreach at Children’s Centres
How can we provide a flexible service to customers? e.g. • DWP using flexibility when applying sanctions
Health and Poverty workshop
How can improve partnership working with GPs? e.g. • Increasing GP knowledge of partner agencies • Increasing GP signposting to partner agencies
How can people with mental health problems be supported further? e.g. • Mental health services signposting to financial advice • Supporting those with mental health issues to navigate the benefits system
How can the negative psychological impact of poverty be tackled?
How can we further support carers? e.g. • Extending support to carers through partnership working to help mitigate the risks of poverty All partners implementing ‘carers’ tests for future policy and benefit proposals to support access
Child Poverty workshop
How can we help children participate in school life? e.g. • Encouraging non-embroidered school uniforms • Encouraging shops to provide free school meal children with cost price school shoes / clothes
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• Schools providing free or reduced price school uniforms for pupil premium children • Increasing self-esteem and aspirations amongst free school meal pupils • Using pupil premium to subsidise school trips
How can we support low-income families? e.g. • Schools signposting / referring parents to support organisations • Free school meals • Basic skills classes for parents
How can we support child carers in partnership? e.g. • Partners joining up to support child carers
How can we further support each other? e.g. • Share good practice e.g. innovative use of pupil premium
Older Person Poverty workshop
How can we increase awareness of, and access to, services? e.g. • Utilise contact points such as City Hall with regards to Blue Badge collection and Bus Pass collection • Raise awareness of, and support for, the Lincolnshire Advice Network
How can ‘Making Every Contact Count’ make stronger links with more organisations?
How can partners support each other with high demand for advice services by older people? e.g. • Single assessment • Single points of contact • Training for frontline officers in partner agencies
How can we provide financial education to older people facing poverty?
How can we challenge the stigma of claiming benefits?
Housing and Poverty workshop
How can we increase awareness of the support available? e.g. • Improving access to affordable housing information for all people (e.g. which landlords accept Housing Benefit claimants) • Better joining up of different services that visit peoples’ homes • Credit rating – financial inclusion
How can we support cheaper energy bills? e.g. • Promoting further energy efficiency measures • Jointly promoting Collective Switching • Tackling pre-payment meters
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• Considering new ways of tackling fuel poverty and shared learning
What can we do to challenge other causes and effects of poverty? e.g. • Tackling poor quality housing in the private sector together • Offering cash incentives for under occupiers to downsize • Setting up a Social Lettings Agency in the city to provide people with help and support in accessing social housing
4.2 Afternoon workshop topics
Workshop A
Emergency: How can agencies link and further support food parcel providers? e.g. • LCAS providing energy vouchers along with food parcels • Partners supporting food parcel providers to meet increasing demand • Rolling-out suspended coffees / sandwiches scheme (linking to local food parcel charities) for local independent cafés • Library fine scheme linking to food parcel charities • Partners providing services from the food parcel providers base to combat drop-off rates
Emergency: How can emergency support be given to people where it is not available through LCAS? e.g. Carpets, school uniforms, removal costs, rental deposits, payments of bills in arrears
Capacity: What more could we do to tackle expensive debt issues? e.g. • Further anti-loan shark campaigning across all partner agencies • Banning pay day lenders from advertising on premises, operating from premises, and advertising over company Wifi • Engaging with charities such as Step Change for locality working • Challenging aggressive marketing of payday lending companies and doorstep lenders • Increase provision of financial advice
Development: What more can we do to support the voluntary sector that provides services to people in poverty? e.g. • Donating surplus officer furniture • Promoting grant awareness
Over-arching: How can we improve the customer journey from emergency to development for all groups?
Overarching: Are there any other opportunities where we need to work together?
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Workshop B
Emergency: How can we make the essentials for a comfortable home more accessible? e.g. • Social landlords re-distributing useable furniture that has been left in properties • Promoting affordable purchasing options e.g. second hand shops, or saving to purchase as opposed to buying from weekly payment stores
Capacity: How do we ensure people on low pay and in work still gain access to advice? e.g. • Providing telephone advice services • Providing out of hours advice • Benchmarking quality of advice provided in the city with Money Advice Service quality standards
Capacity: What are the options now the rules concerning Legal Aid have been tightened?
Capacity: How can we dispel negative myths around information advice? e.g. • Reassuring clients that signposting is a positive thing
Development: What more can we do to equip people with the basic skills to improve their life? e.g. • Developing and signposting to entry level courses for people aged 18+ • Providing more out of hours basic skills courses • Increasing public accessible ‘drop in’ computers for job searches, benefit applications etc. • Increasing ICT capabilities of some customers
Over-arching: How can we improve the customer journey from emergency to development for all groups?
Over-arching: Are there any other opportunities where we need to work together?
Workshop C
Emergency: In what ways could we further improve the efficiency of the food parcel network? How could other partners support this? e.g. • Developing the ‘Fair Share’ distribution centre • Co-ordinating food parcel charities • Schools collecting food parcels on behalf of parents who feel stigmatised • Partners supporting food parcel providers to help meet increasing demand • Rolling-out suspended coffees / sandwiches scheme (linking to local food parcel charities) for local independent cafés
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• Library fine scheme to linking to food parcel charities
Emergency: How can emergency support be given to people where it is not available through LCAS? e.g. Carpets, school uniforms, removal costs, rental deposits, payments of bills in arrears
Capacity: What role could we all play in mitigating the move to online service provision? e.g. • Supporting vulnerable clients who need face to face support • Supporting people to ‘get online’
Capacity: Conversely, how can we maximise the use of social media? e.g. Creating and publicising services using social media and SMS
Over-arching: How can we improve the customer journey from emergency to development for all groups?
Over-arching: Are there any other opportunities where we need to work together?
Workshop D
Emergency: How can we make the essentials for a comfortable home more accessible? e.g. • Social landlords re-distributing useable furniture that has been left in properties • Promoting affordable purchasing options
Capacity: How can we encourage people to save rather than borrow? e.g. • Offering simple financial products • Avoiding confusing financial terms • Promoting regular saving patterns • Working with VCS to deliver credit union services through other organisations • Other partners supporting their clients opening a credit union account, and providing a small financial investment incentive (£10) • Migrating people from basic / Jam Jar accounts to more transactional bank accounts once their financial capability has increased • Increase provision of financial advice
Development: How can we further encourage volunteering? e.g. • Improving skills for employment • Increasing self-confidence • Supporting organisations
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Over-arching: How can we improve the customer journey from emergency to development for all groups?
Over-arching: Are there any other opportunities where we need to work together?
Workshop E
Emergency: How can we make the essentials for a comfortable home more accessible? e.g. • Social landlords re-distributing useable furniture that has been left in properties • Promoting affordable purchasing options
Emergency: How can emergency support be given to people where it is not available through LCAS? e.g. • Carpets, school uniforms, removal costs, rental deposits, payments of bills in arrears
Capacity: How can we support people whose lives’ are changed by ill health? e.g. • Supporting someone when sudden ill health (physical or mental) causes, or is at risk of causing, unemployment / money problems • Increasing support for those with mental health problems now some key services have been retracted
Capacity: What more can we do to support carers? e.g. • Engage with carers organisations to provide information on energy efficiency
Development: How can we provide more services to people in their homes? e.g. • Supporting people access information regarding affordable housing (e.g. which landlords accept Housing Benefit claimants) • Better joining up of service providers that visit peoples’ homes
Over-arching: How can we improve the customer journey from emergency to development for all groups?
Over-arching: Are there any other opportunities where we need to work together?
Workshop F
Emergency: How can agencies link further with food parcel providers? e.g. • LCAS providing energy vouchers along with food parcels
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• Partner supporting food parcel providers to meet increasing demand • Rolling-out suspended coffees / sandwiches scheme (linking to local food parcel charities) for local independent cafés • Library fine scheme linking to food parcel charities
Capacity: How can we challenge high cost loans? e.g. • Challenging the aggressive marketing and promotion of payday lending companies • Increase provision of financial advice
Capacity: How can we support young people into employment? e.g. • Supporting young peoples’ expectations to encourage them to be realistic regarding what jobs to apply for • More facilitation to bring employers and schools together • Encouraging employers to recruit young people
Capacity: How can we support people secure employment? e.g. • Collectively supporting a move away from ‘zero hour contracts’
Capacity: What more can we do to promote healthy cooking on a budget?
Over-arching: How can we improve the customer journey from emergency to development for all groups?
Over-arching: Are there any other opportunities where we need to work together?
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5. Lincoln Poverty Conference 26 February 2014
1.1 Morning Workshop: Child Poverty
The conversation focused partly on the provision of food parcels in Lincoln. It was noted there is a complex web of provision, and although only a small number of organisations distribute food parcels, there are a number of unmapped referral agencies. Suggestions to support the networks of food parcel provision and referral in the city focused on: • Developing a citywide forum for providers and referral agencies to meet and share best practice • Mapping referral agencies • Developing and implementing a single assessment for clients • Schools to become referral agencies • Ensuring toiletries are provided in food parcels • Organisations to pick up the food parcels for their own clients • Partner support for food parcel storage
The workshop attendees also looked at how information on partner agencies could be increased to facilitate more effective signposting. It was widely agreed there is a lack of clarity, not just concerning what services partner agencies offer, but also who the partner agencies are. Suggestions to improve knowledge of partner agencies to facilitate client signposting included: • Organisations with ‘contact databases’ to share these with partners • Creating a directory of support information that everyone contributes to • Ensuring schools have access to this information, as well as information of Pastoral Officers in other Lincoln schools ( it was also noted that directories can fast go out of date, so an organisation could offer a signposting service instead) • Ensuring all ‘emergency’ providers have up to date signposting and support information • Increasing awareness of grants and other sources of money amongst partners • Utilising access points such as children’s centres to deliver advice on maximising household income
The focus of the workshop then turned to how, collectively, we could increase support for children and families. A lot of the discussion focussed on how children and young people access school, but also how children and young people could be supported during the school holidays. Suggestions included: • Schools to develop ‘family days’ to increase school engagement with parents, and seek a ‘knock on’ effect in terms of the aspiration of their children • Schools and other organisations to provide a free holiday club, subsidised through the Pupil Premium (potentially supported by university student volunteers)
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• Increasing the number of free, or subsidised breakfast club opportunities, potentially with voluntary support from partner agencies (e.g. food voucher donations) • Influencing transport organisations to offer concessionary rates before 09:00 • Encouraging organisations to provide subsidised childcare vouchers. • All schools to give second hand uniforms for free. These could be made available at Parents’ Evenings. • Reviewing necessary school P.E. equipment to avoid unnecessary purchases • Schools to provide advice to parents on cheapest places to buy school uniforms (e.g. supermarkets vs. uniform-shops) • Encouraging non-embroidered school uniforms • Schools and partner agencies to provide sponsorship for children from low-income families to help with costs such as school uniforms
1.2 Morning Workshop: Older Persons
Workshop discussions initially explored the nature of older person poverty in the city, and that older person poverty was rarely high on most peoples’ agenda. Related to this, the challenge of making contact with older persons in poverty was noted. Suggestions to target support to older persons included: • Using different marketing methods to increase information to older persons (co-ordinated by one organisation) e.g. o Using the electoral role to target older persons o Sending out information with bus passes o Using radio advertisements o Using characteristic mapping and GIS to target older persons o Making the most upcoming WII anniversaries
In addition, it was recognised that many older people in Lincoln are already engaging with at least one partner agency. Opportunities to utilise this existing, albeit low level of engagement, were explored: • Distributing information on services with council tax bills • Advertising services on partner owned assets e.g. public conveniences • Identifying and providing training / information for key ‘connectors’, e.g. Police / PCSOs, hairdressers, newsagents, council workmen; all who know older people in their area. • Providing advice at key milestones in peoples’ lives, e.g. when a partner dies, banks are aware of this because they are provided with a death certificate. The council is also aware in respect of joint tenancies. • Developing information cards about where to go for help and advice for recently bereaved partners • Identifying ways to further promote First Contact, and developing a card for GP desks with referral details • Developing a risk profile to help partners identify those at risk of becoming in crisis, in order to identify proactive support
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• Piloting ‘prescribing’ information leaflets with a GP practice in the centre of the city • Exploring the opportunity for First Contact to have a monthly pop-up stand in Barclays Bank, and other high street banks • Developing an ‘Older Person Partner Networking Group’ • Supporting older persons to fill out their Attendance Allowance form in hospital (along with broader benefits advice)
In addition, two key barriers to older people accessing the support they needed were highlighted. The first was the issue of pride, with many people not wanting to have to rely on the state for support. The second issue was the length of Attendance Allowance forms, which are, it was felt, excessively long. Suggestions to reduce these barriers included: • Avoiding use of the term ‘benefits’ when advertising to older people • Identifying and advertising monies for ex-service families – people might be more accepting of these • Lobbying central government to improve Attendance Allowance forms
1.3 Morning Workshop: Accessing Work
The need for childcare was explored as a potential barrier to accessing work. It was discussed that it can often be inflexible, and have strict access criteria that some people are unable to meet. Potential solutions included: • Lobbying central government for a change to free childcare provision • Collating and advertising information on local, flexible childminders • Key partners to raise awareness of childcare entitlement
In addition, transport issues were considered a big blockage to accessing work. Some of the key solutions explored were: • Encouraging transport companies to give concessions to young people in employment, and highlighting the long-term benefits of more people using the service • Providing information on cheap transport options • Improving bus routes to go to employment zones (instead of connections being in the city centre) • Improving transportation routes on Sundays and nighttimes (to support those on shift patterns)
The issue of people leaving prison with little evidence of their identity was also explored. Potential actions included: • Developing a centralised store of information that advises partners on the unique support they need to provide to prison leavers • Encouraging prison employment advisors to also do community outreach work • Providing housing and benefit advice surgeries in prisons for pre-release
Accessibility of information and advice was also explored as a key issue for many people. Potential solutions were:
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• Developing free ‘conversational English’ classes instead of ESOL classes to improve take-up • Increasing the level of coaching for people who need to go online and complete benefits / application forms • Improving knowledge of what is available through Flexible Support Grants – there is a lack of consistency and knowledge about this among partners • Developing careers advice that is directly influenced by the local availability of employment • Increasing the amount of life-skills coaching (e.g. read and writing, personal hygiene, social interaction, developing a ‘work ethic’ etc.) • Creating a local ‘you may be able to have this’ website to advertise entitlements
This workshop also explored the importance of work experience placements in giving people the necessary experience and skills to achieve employment. Some solutions explored were: • Organisations having a page on their website signposting partners to available work experience placements for their clients • Promoting the benefits of developing high skilled future employees through work experience placements
1.4 Morning Workshop: Low Income
This workshop looked at advice provision in the city. It is recognised the provision of advice in the city is widespread, with many organisations providing support to their clients (as a direct result of substantial need). Potential solutions to improving the network of advice provision in the city included: • Providing benefits advice at housing surgeries and money advice / information via food parcel providers • Developing an information pack on surgeries that could be distributed by councillors and food parcel providers • Supporting an increase in the number of advisors available at Citizens Advice Bureau • Training and material for councillors to distribute advice information • Providing targeted advice through the use of marketing • Utilising food parcel providers as an access point for advice provision • Making the provision of Discretionary Housing Payments, and food parcels, conditional on the client taking up signposted advice • Developing and advertising a register of volunteers in the city to help with day-to-day tasks such as transporting someone from A to B. • Creating a network of advice services so all agencies understand what is available and what each other are doing
The workshop also looked at how assets could be utilised to provide more access to support for people on low incomes. Suggestions included: • Developing a ‘one stop shop’ for advice in Lincoln
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• Social landlords to provide ‘tenant packs’ for new tenants, signposting to useful service providers • Supporting the creation of a community shop with qualifying criteria for customers, extended best before dates, and use of residual stock and defective goods from elsewhere. It could also use surplus food grown in allotments and gardens. This would require proactively approaching the company that set up the community shop in Barnsley. o Potential link community shop discounts to attendance of advice schemes o Consideration of a ‘50p man’ scheme where small amounts of groceries could be sold at a cheap price – potentially in conjunction with a community shop • Utilising the emerging Market Kitchen to target low-income families with children on weekends and during school holidays. These are times when they do not receive free school meals. • Increasing the number of food parcel providers to meet geographically dispersed demand (with supply from existing providers)
Additionally, this workshop explored the issue of the availability of affordable credit in Lincoln. Ways to improve access to affordable credit, or reduce access to unaffordable credit, included: • Financial capability education in schools (tapping into existing free provision of financial education provided by Barclays Bank and others) • Training teachers to deliver financial life skills • Restricting payday lender advertising on partner assets • Promoting a Credit Union schools savings scheme • Developing access points for affordable credit in housing estates • Supporting the Credit Union with marketing (e.g. social media, word of mouth, city council communications and web teams) • Supporting Trading Standards with local intelligence • Social landlords and private landlords to provide information on loan sharks in tenants packs • Developing ‘jam jar’ accounts with the Credit Union for partner clients
1.5 Morning Workshop: Housing
The significant demand for affordable homes was recognised. This is exacerbated given the changes made through welfare reform, with some households needing to downsize to a smaller property (matched with some households waiting to upsize for other reasons). Whilst building new houses fits outside the scope of the Anti-Poverty review, there are more short-term solutions: • A ‘match and move’ scheme to facilitate house swapping / advertise housing transfer opportunities • Returning empty homes to use • Developing a social lettings agency in the city
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There are also many services that are available to households who may be in need of support. It is recognised that knowing what support is available, and accessing it, can be a very complex challenge. Therefore, the scope for improving information given to tenants, and access to financial products, to support their move into independent living, is crucial: • Readying young people for tenancies • Housing information hubs • Private landlord licensing • Financial education to encouraging people to save with the Credit Union for life events • Credit rating scheme with Experian to give tenants a credit score – no need for consent, but tenants can opt out
In addition, it was noted there is room for more partnership working generally. There are many ways we can explore to further work together, and some of the potential solutions relating to this to come out of the workshop were: • Developing a Lincoln Housing Operations Group to share good practice • Co-ordinating agency support for troubled families • Facilitating a Credit Union move to the city centre to improve access to affordable financial services • Giving priority access to furniture re-distribution to signposted clients
1.6 Morning Workshop: Health
One of the key discussion points in the health workshop was around the level of signposting and advice for patients, either in or at risk of poverty, when they access GP services. Suggestions regarding this included: • Developing Benefits Advice surgeries in GP surgeries • GPs making more use of sending out mail to people at risk, and offering access to relevant schemes run by the voluntary sector • Building on existing partner referral networks, e.g. mental health referral networks already held by some voluntary sector partners • Developing a database of where GPs can refer patients to, backed up by training for GPs
Additionally, it was noted there already exist some schemes to aid referrals and signposting. A question raised in the workshop related to how these could be further developed to cover some of the issues related to poverty. These included: • Making more use of ‘Making Every Contact Count’ to identify and signpost people in, or at risk of poverty, to the support they need. Currently it is designed around professionals offering brief advice on changing client behaviour as encountered – how could this be built upon? • All partners to release staff for an hour a week to help advice agencies see clients and fill in forms with their clients • Assessing to what extent the Lincolnshire Advice Network takes into account poverty related concerns
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• Assessing how the emerging Mental Health Promotion Strategy be further enhanced to tackle the poverty agenda
A number of other issues were also explored, particularly around supporting communities to mobilise themselves to improve life in their areas. Suggestions included: • Tackling the stigma around poverty by encouraging it to be talked about • Providing community centre spaces free of charge to community groups • Helping carers re-establish themselves as an individual by engaging them in social activities
1.7 Afternoon Workshop: A
Recognising the increasing demand for food banks at both a national and local level, this workshop explored the co-ordination of food bank providers and referral agencies. Options for consideration in an action plan included: • Developing a food bank networking group to co-ordinate opening times, referrals, standard of assessment, transport, share good practice etc. • Developing relationships with partners such as His Church • Developing a community shop, and linking this to offering training opportunities and work experience
The cost of running a household was also raised as a key issue for many people, particularly given the significant increase in household energy bills over the last few years. Potential solutions included: • Employment of an Affordable Warmth Officer to provide assistance to fuel poor households regarding tariffs and fuel efficiency.
The issues of high cost loans, debt and financial exclusion were also raised as a particular issue in the city. Options suggested included: • Engaging with the anti loan shark team for funding and targeted working in Lincoln • Working with trading standards to tackle illegal practices • Engaging school children to introduce them to financial education as young as possible – there are local organisations that can provide this for free
1.8 Afternoon Workshop: B
This workshop explored the issue of furniture re-distribution. It was recognised that many people are unable to afford essential furniture for comfortable living. Additionally, many of the finance options available to people in poverty can further exacerbate financial hardship. Potential solutions to ease this pressure included:
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• Social landlords to collect re-usable furniture and make this available to those organisations in the voluntary sector who already re-distribute second hand furniture • Offering a free furniture delivery service – or request small donations toward fuel • Referring people on ‘access to work’ schemes to gain work experience in charities, delivering food parcels and furniture • Credit Union could link up with low cost furniture providers (e.g. charity shops) to provide credit options • Co-ordinating a furniture collection scheme – there are several that exist independently of each other that many people and partners are unaware of
The need to increased partners’ shared knowledge of partner service provision was also highlighted as a pressing concern in this workshop. Options to assist with this included: • Developing a forum for partners to come together to share best practice and identify the current offer in the city, and how to best work together on emerging issues • Mapping furniture providers in the city to help partners signpost to these, and as part of this, find out what foods / furniture they provide. Making the results of this mapping exercise available to partners to assist signposting. • Various partners have “local information systems” that provide signposting advice, but these are not shared with partners. These should be made available to partners, so everyone can work from the same up to date information. • Single Assessment for advice providers
Given that the majority of households in poverty have at least one person in work, it was noted that advice provision needed to be made accessible to those in work during normal office hours. Potential solutions included: • Partners to host Twitter / Facebook accounts (potentially joint hosting) to provide access to work advice, financial advice, benefits advice, debt advice etc. (e.g. @LincolnJobAdvice, @LincolnBenefitsAdvice, @LincolnDebtAdvice) • Partners to provide telephone advice for employed people to use during their lunch break • Recognising not everyone has a job that they can use a phone during a lunch break, there is a need for out of hours / weekend advice as well • Setting up an advice station in a supermarket – everyone needs to do a grocery shop
Some options for increasing access to information and opportunities more generally were also explored, such as: • Encouraging local businesses, banks and shops to provide free wifi on their premises and in the surrounding area for people with internet devices • When people approach food banks and food parcel providers, they need to be offered to attend a financial education workshop (e.g. Money Advice Service offer free workshops)
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• Organising rotational community workshops put on by partners (e.g. accessing work, money advice, drug use) – all that would be needed would be a room to be made available out in the community • Encouraging employers to provide money advice leaflets in payslips • Partners to hold surgeries in other partners’ buildings to avoid drop-off rates when signposting • City of Lincoln Council PR exercise – not just about statutory enforcement • Embedding budgeting skills in young children’s education
1.9 Afternoon Workshop: C
Workshop C discussed a range of issues, but specifically focused on the topic of food parcel provision. It was noted that the issue for many people was short term funding for a long-term issue. The Lincoln Food Bank does operate a strict referral system to signpost people to get them back on their feet. Key suggestions to support the network of food parcel provision were: • Increasing the number of referral agencies • Improving co-ordination between the four main food parcel providers through regular meetings • Developing a register of where people can get food vouchers from • Food Bank to pass on any excess beans and soup to BeAttitude • The council or Co-Op to allow food parcel providers use any available empty premises to store food • Developing a suspended coffee / sandwich scheme with small local cafés • Council staff and councillors to distribute drinks in the day • Street Pastors to distribute drinks in the evenings • Grant provision to food parcel providers to subsidise food parcel delivery • Developing links between food parcel providers and the Market Kitchen (e.g. recipes / tips)
1.10 Afternoon Workshop: D
This workshop focused partly on the issue of financial inclusion. It was noted there are accessible financial products available, from the Credit Union, as well as high street banks such as Barclays Bank. However, there is a deficit of people in poverty accessing these financial products, and many low-income households suffer from high levels of debt. Possible options to explore include: • Better promotion of the wide range of options available for banking (even for those with a poor credit history) • Facilitating free money management talks available from the Credit Union and other high streets banks such as Barclays Bank. Potential focus in the short term on students about to leave school • Get money management back on the school curriculum for primary school children and for those about to leave school • Operating savings accounts, facilitated by schools
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• Encouraging all social landlords, and other partners to open a Credit Union account for their tenants / clients, and potentially offering a £10 contribution incentive to save • Developing and advertising access to impartial advice that can offer immediate support for people in financial crisis, and attempting to divert them away from high interest options • Encouraging employers to offer a payroll deduction scheme, thereby helping staff to save each payday for times of financial stress e.g. Christmas. • Teaching children positive aspirations to address ‘aspirational poverty’ • Promoting easier and quicker access to low cost loans, to avoid reliance on quick and simple high interest loans and loan sharks
In addition, this workshop looked at volunteering in the city, and how this could be supported, through: • Advertising the opportunities to volunteer, covering key facts / descriptions, on social media and across partner websites. Encouraging wider circulation of these opportunities e.g. universities and schools • Encouraging organisations to take volunteers by supporting the volunteers to be more self-sufficient • Branding volunteering as ‘work experience’, and combining with basic training (e.g. a volunteer card) to give people the basic skills for CVs etc. • Partners helping to market the volunteer centre to increase traffic • Developing a volunteering accreditation scheme to help people gain experience, skills and training
1.11 Afternoon Workshop: E
In workshop E, discussion focused predominately on the issue of housing and poverty. It was recognised when people move into a new, unfurnished home; they could lack many essentials that they may struggle to pay for. Potential solutions to help people in this situation included: • The council to offer interest free loans for essential items (to replace the social fund loan) • PAT testing cookers left in properties instead of disposal – consider what other authorities and social landlords are doing across the country in respect of cookers and flooring • Specifying flooring in new build council properties • Partnering with other organisations e.g. colleges, to get support with refurbishing furniture, and delivery companies, to help with delivering furniture • Considering implementing projects in the city that are run elsewhere, e.g. the Sofa Project in Bristol • Encouraging county recycling centres for furniture recycling at tip • Developing links with carpet companies for refitting into other homes when they remove an old carpet
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• Potential for Cory to signpost people to furniture charities when they are contacted to remove furniture, or encouraging customers to donate useable furniture to charities • Progressing the Private Sector Accreditation and Licensing Scheme. • Consulting with people to find out what are essential components to a home and including this as part of the accreditation and licensing scheme. • Developing a local ‘free-cycle scheme’ and promoting its advertisement
In addition, ways to provide further support to carers were explored: • Re-considering offering bus passes to carers • Identifying which clients are carers, and signposting them to relevant support groups
1.12 Afternoon Workshop: F
Workshop F explored a broad range of issues. Like many other workshops, one of the key challenges highlighted here was about signposting ‘hard to reach’ groups to services: • Partners advertising their services in places where older persons attend • Mobile wardens signposting tenants to services • Providing meeting rooms for carers to network and gain advice
With significant increases in the cost of living over recent years, the high cost of living was also explored as a significant issue. Options for consideration included: • A mobile food bank to deliver food parcels to people and referral agencies (would require funding) • A bulk energy purchase scheme • Engaging with utility companies to reduce the number of pre-payment meters in the city
In addition, the huge value of young people in the city was explored, and ways to both support them, and seek support for them, were suggested: • Facilitating a scheme for university students to volunteer as buddies for young people • Facilitating a scheme for university students to volunteer for the voluntary sector more generally • More targeted marketing of apprenticeships to young people in schools etc. as a useful way of gaining work experience • Increasing the number of apprenticeship opportunities for young people across partner organisations
1.13 General recommendations
• An annual Lincoln Poverty Conference • Share contact details of delegates
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7. Conclusion
The review of poverty in Lincoln by Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has been extensive, with many public, private and voluntary sector partners being involved throughout the process. The review has covered various topics including low income, worklessness, child poverty, older person poverty, household poverty, and the relationship between health and poverty. However, one of the key things to come out of the review was the complex nature of poverty, as experienced by people living in the city. For this reason, it was ensured these various ‘topics’ were not seen in isolation of each other.
This review of poverty has culminated in the production of the Lincoln Anti- Poverty Strategy 2014-2016, and the Lincoln Anti-Poverty Action Plan 2014/15. As focus now turns to delivery, the journey that has taken place these past nine months will continue through the Action Plan.
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Appendices
Appendix A: Lincoln Case Studies Case study one
I am a female in her twenties who is currently studying at Lincoln College. I have completed my first academic year successfully and intend to return in September. I am currently on Income Support, which includes an element of sickness benefit, and I receive a total of £187 per fortnight. I also receive Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit. I also receive some additional help towards buying equipment for my course.
I live in a two bedroom council property. I have been affected by the bedroom tax, although my estate officer helped me fill in a form so this could be postponed for 6 months. This is a worry for me as I have an emotional attachment to this house. I have lived here for 4 years and moved here to live with my late husband. It is the longest I have ever lived anywhere. It frustrates me that there are some people abusing the system. I am aware of an elderly lady in possession of a three bedroom house, which she does not live in as she lives with her sister.
I do have some debts. Prior to my husband’s death, I became overdrawn at the bank to the sum of £250. I have never been able to clear this debt and so each time I go overdrawn by more than £10, the bank charges me £5 per day. I also have some Housing Benefit arrears. This was as a result of me taking a lodger into my spare room. When her benefits were stopped, it affected my housing benefit. This has made me quite anxious about taking in a lodger to help with the bedroom tax. I would be relying on a person who I don’t know from Adam to pay the rent and would have my housing benefit cut. Who will it backfire on if they don’t pay?
I’m also in a new relationship and whilst I don’t feel we are ready to move in together, I do want some privacy. I like the security of living on my own and knowing I can lock the door and no one will disturb me. I also live on an estate where people gossip. I would worry about a lodger talking about my business.
I am aware of services available in my community such as CAB and Benefits Advice. Access to a telephone is the biggest problem and if it were not for the service offered by my Neighbourhood Team, things just wouldn’t get sorted. I have a mobile phone and I have to top-up a minimum of £10 credit. Some weeks I just can’t afford to do this. Quite often I am put on hold when contacting services and this can result in the phone call being quite expensive.
I am down to every penny each fortnight and therefore I struggle to purchase one-off expenses such as replacing a broken washing machine or carpets. This means that I put up with a vacuum cleaner that doesn’t really work properly even though I have asthma. I had a similar problem with the Council’s green bin scheme in that the £25 fee had to be paid all at once and can’t be spread over time. This worries me because maintaining your garden
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is a part of your tenancy. I am also concerned about the state of my fencing as it’s crumbling and rotten and the rule seems to be that even if it is broken, if it is still standing, you still have a fence.
I am aware of budgeting loans and did access one 4 or 5 years ago but I do see this as a ‘desperate measure’. I didn’t find this too bad to pay back. They charged me no interest and took about £20 out of my benefits each fortnight. I am not a member of the Credit Union as I think I would have difficulties saving money.
I have accessed health services through my GP and am currently attending ‘Get Active’. This involves a 2.5 mile walk to get there which takes me about 50 mins but I am treating this as my warm-up. Exercise helps me vent my frustrations and leaves me feeling refreshed.
On of my main worries is around my pet dogs. I suffer from depression and I find them valuable company for me. I have no children – my dogs are my children. It’s my dogs that keep me going and give me routine. However I do worry about vet bills and am frightened in case anything happens to them and I can’t afford to pay for treatment. It is a constant worry when I wake in the morning and go to bed. I don’t want to live thinking that their death or suffering was my fault because I couldn’t pay. I wish we had some form of community vet scheme so you could have your pets checked out for free and perhaps offer a discount on treatment.
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Case study two
We are a couple living in council property. One of us is on Job Seekers Allowance and the other is on Employment Support Allowance. Since moving in together we have found it difficult financially as this resulted in a £60 decrease in benefits, as opposed to us claiming as individuals.
I recently secured agency work relating to caring. This involved me working over 50 hours and travelling to Metheringham on my scooter. Although I enjoyed the job, I don’t feel that I was treated well. They keep swapping and changing my shifts and didn’t pay what they said they would pay. My first pay packet was just over £100 which is much less than I expected. It was a temporary job and I had no employment contract. I now want to go back to college in September.
Debt is a really big issue for us as a couple. I did access support from Christians Against Poverty who were brilliant. At that time I was £1500 in debt and they helped sort things out. However I then got a crisis loan and they refused to support me further. Most of our benefits are eaten up by repaying debts. Some of these debts belong to my ex-boyfriends and I’ve been left paying them off.
Some weeks I have just lived off eating cereal as I had nothing in the house. I have accessed the Community Larder but I have already had 3 vouchers in the last 12 months. They can’t support me further as their support is for short- term crisis, not budgeting issues. I haven’t accessed my local Citizens Advice Surgery yet.
It’s really difficult to get credit but maybe this is a good thing as it stops me getting into further debt. I am currently applying for a budgeting loan but I know I will struggle with the repayments.
I really worry about what will happen when benefits start getting paid monthly. I struggle to budget for two weeks. I think a lot of people will end up being tempted to do illegal things – such as working cash in hand whilst they claim benefits.
I have two children but they do not live with me – I have contact with them during the holiday periods. This places a strain on us financially as I do not receive any additional benefit, such as child benefit. My son lives with his Grandma and she helpfully sent a food parcel when he came to stay. My daughter however lives with her father and he doesn’t offer any financial help when she comes to stay. The bedroom tax means that I can’t have a separate bedroom for them when they come to stay. I feel bad that I can’t take the kids to the cinema or go swimming. There are days when I don’t want to get out of bed. What’s the point in getting up? – It’s the same thing every day.
Getting in contact with services is an issue – particularly those that use 0845 numbers. I use the telephone service offered by the Neighbourhood Team but if this didn’t exist, I would struggle. I have no money to get into town to access services.
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Case study three
Mrs S is a 59 year old married woman who until recently was living with her husband in a 3 Bed House.
Her husband a 57yr old amputee who suffers from diabetes fell backwards down the stairs in the property which saw him end up in hospital in Intensive Care, He suffered serious injuries to his back and his false leg twisted behind and caused more injuries to the upper part of his good leg.
Mrs S and her husband had been coping with all household bills and council payments including paying for 2 extra bedrooms, despite the fact that they cannot share a bedroom because of his disability, under the new tax.
They would dearly like to downsize to a two bedroom adapted ground floor property however; no such alternative accommodation is currently available.
Because her husband has left intensive care now and is in rehabilitation the family have lost the disability living allowance payment which was worth £200 per month to them, the result of this loss and the continued liability to pay the extra bedroom tax has meant that Mrs S is now in debt, a situation she has never had before.
She has applied for dispensation and is awaiting a decision; her husband will have to go into a care home for what could be a considerable time if no suitable accommodation becomes available and if his rehabilitation goes reasonably well
Clearly Mrs S is upset that at the worst moments in their life they have to face all these additional worries.
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Case study four
Miss E is a 31 year old single parent with 3 children, a boy aged 4yrs, a 12yr boy and a 14yr old girl and they live in a 4 bed roomed house.
Miss E lives on £115.00 per fortnight Income support which is boosted by child benefit of £164.00.
She moved to Lincoln to escape an abusive partner who used to spend all the families income on drink and she is busy now trying to rebuild her life and that of her children
Because of the spare forth bedroom which she describes as a “box room” (only good for storage cos you can’t fit a bed in there) Miss E is now liable for the bedroom tax and this is placing a strain on her already limited resources. She has therefore applied for subsistence and has had the bedroom measured
Due to her limited income and her ex partners debts Miss E is also now a significant customer to door step lenders, Prudential in particular, she said it started with vouchers but more recently has escalated to borrowing sums of cash especially to enable her to buy items for the home and birthday presents and clothes for the children.
Miss E has no idea what APR she is being charged, “I was desperate and they called round so it really helped me out”, “I do pay them back each week without fail“.
She said that when her son is 5yrs old she will be expected to find employment and go onto Job Seekers Allowance and she says she is really frightened having been away from the job market for such a long time.
She states she has very little skills or qualifications and even if she succeeds in getting a job she thinks she might not be able find adequate child care for after school at reasonable cost if the job was full time and it would probably fall to her 14yr daughter to look after everyone
She is also concerned if her child goes sick will the employer be understanding and give her time off and if she does have time off and the employer doesn’t like it and sacks her, she has heard from friends that her benefits will stop altogether and she will be without any income whatsoever
Miss E has been signposted to the Credit Union and some training courses with child care facilities to help her become work ready.
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Appendix B: Lincolnshire Financial Inclusion Conference
Liz Barclay (BBC Broadcaster and Journalist)
• Seemingly affluent people can have a low disposable income and face financial exclusion • The complexity of information around financial products can lead people to financially exclude themselves – the solution is simplification (e.g. the term ‘APR’ has been used since 1972, but a survey showed only 17% knew what it meant) • Mental health issues (e.g. bi-polar disorder) can cause people to take out loans and spend excessively • Many organisations only provide financial support once people are in debt, they need to be more preventative (e.g. a lady diagnosed with cancer wanted to get help with avoiding getting into financial difficulty as her condition progressed, she was refused because at that point she wasn’t in debt)
Derrick Brown (Partnership Manager at the DWP)
• We do not yet have an implementation date for Universal Credit • The preference is for people to claim Universal Credit online (83% of JSA claimants are currently online, compared to 30% last year) • Currently 92% of job vacancies require applicants to have basic IT skills, and more than ¼ of employers prefer to recruit online • Universal Credit may create complexity in people’s finances. Someone on low pay may have, in effect, two paydays – one from their employer, and the other from their benefits • There will be a ‘fall-back’ system for people who can’t manage their landlord payment when UC is first introduced, for a short period of time the DWP will pay on behalf of the tenant (short-term solution only) • For unemployment claimants, the claimant commitment will be rolled out on 28 th October 2013. It will include an appropriate commitment from the claimant to the adviser (could include applying for X number of jobs, going on training, engaging with a support agency to sort out their finances) • The Local Support Services Framework – LAs, DWP, Public Bodies in general, have been charged with looking at what local support is available (in light of the benefits changes) o There will be some funding for the local partnership to ‘buy in’ some additional support (no details on how much funding will be available at this time) o The plans will be pulled together at district level, and will include mapping what current provision is available locally o Gap analysis will then follow to identify where additional support is needed
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Peter Heafield (District Manager at Citizens Advice Bureau)
• There is a countywide Advice Services Transition Project (funded by the Big Lottery for two years, year 1: £218,607, year 2: £189,656). o The main partners are forming a project board to oversee the delivery of the project, but successful delivery will involve engaging with all relevant partners o The outcome of the project is, with agreement from all partners, what can be done together to better deal with the issues that are happening around benefit changes etc. One of the interesting things to be coming out of this is around the provision of advice: Coordinating advice network Ensuring a consistent advice network Sharing a training model
Katy Roberts (Boston Mayflower Housing)
• Scheme being run called ‘Fit 4 Your Future’: o It’s a 3 year project to help new tenants, young people in social housing, and those in and out of work, to become more confident in making better decisions with their finances o Could be through helping them to budget, helping them to shop around for best deals on household utilities, telephone and insurance, etc. o Led by Boston Mayflower and supported by delivery partners Boston CAB and TaylorITEX CIC o It is one of 37 projects funded nationally by the Improving Financial Confidence programme (£623k from the Big Lottery) and tenants from all social housing landlords in the borough are eligible for support.
Page 77 of 78 106 Item No. 5 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 27 MARCH 2014
SUBJECT: THE LINCOLN ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY - 2014- 2016
DIRECTOR : CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND TOWN CLERK
REPORT AUTHOR : SIMON WALTERS , ASSTISTANT DIRECTOR - CORPORATE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Pu rpose of Report
1.1 To present to Members the draft strategy, which represents the culmination of over nine months of intensive work by this committee, for approval prior to its submission to Executive for formal adoption.
2. Executive Summary
2.1 Since July 2013, the City Council’s Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has worked with partners in the city to review the issue of poverty in Lincoln. This has involved a substantial amount of work across a range of themed scrutiny committee meetings that culminated in a high profile conference on 26 February 2014. The strategy subsequently developed, and is attached as Appendix A for approval, is a direct result of that work.
2.2 The full extent of the work undertaken to develop this strategy is documented in the ‘Poverty in Lincoln’ report, and the underpinning statistical analysis of poverty in Lincoln is included in the ‘Evidence Base’. Both documents sit alongside the strategy as background information. In addition, the strategy is supplemented by an annual action plan. The 2014 action plan is the subject of a separate report on the agenda for this committee.
3. Background
3.1 Since July 2013, the City Council’s Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has worked with partners in the city to review the issue of poverty in Lincoln. This has involved a substantial amount of work including:
• Seven scrutiny committee workshops with a wide range partners exploring individual aspects of poverty
• Large body of statistics and case studies helping to ‘paint a picture’ of poverty in Lincoln
• Extensive period of research -over 50 academic journals reviewed covering those experts at the forefront of the topic
• Lots of survey work and ‘one to one’ interviews with partners and stakeholders
• Case studies with individual families willing to share their experience
107 The culmination of this work was a high profile conference held on 26 February 2014, attracting over 100 delegates from in excess of 50 public, private and voluntary sector organisations all keen to be involved in developing new ways to help tackle poverty in the city
3.2 The issues facing people on low income in the city are startling:
• Seven areas in the city are considered within the most 10% deprived within the country. This covers 11,000 Lincoln residents.
• 4,500 children in the city live in low income families. This accounts for 23.8% of children compared to 20.1% across England. Two thirds of children in poverty are aged 10 or younger and rates differ across the city with some wards having as many as 33% of children in relative poverty.
• 6,500 Lincoln households are experiencing fuel poverty - 16.3% of all households compared to 11% across England.
• There are 7,700 non decent owner occupied homes and 3,700 non decent privately rented dwellings in the City. There are 1,000 households (2.5%) with no central heating
• In 2013, one food bank alone issued over 30,500 emergency meals. LCAS approved 1,130 in the first six months - the highest for any district in Lincolnshire , • 8,530 residents experiencing worklessness in the city. This accounts for 13.1% of the working age population, compared to 10.9% across England. Of these 2,655 people are claiming unemployment benefit.
• 20% of employed lowest earners in the city are estimated to earn below £12,000pa.
• There are 17,000 residents whose day to day activities are limited due to long term health or disability issues.
3.3 The key outcomes therefore set at the outset of the review were:
- Those residents in most need “see and feel” the outcome of the strategy
- Raising public awareness of the scale of the problem of poverty in Lincoln and where people can go to get the help they need
- Raising awareness of the extensive support already available across the city, offered by a range of partners and removing any stigma attached with accessing such help
- Across all partners, removing areas of duplication of effort to make our collective resources go further
- Identifying and closing the gaps in service provision so people are able to access the support they need locally
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4. Development of the strategy
4.1 Throughout the period of development for this strategy, the definition produced by Townsend, P. (1979) cited by PSE UK (2013) Deprivation and Poverty has been used:
“Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary patterns, customs and activities. ”
There is an alternative definition of poverty based on household income below 60% of the median income, and whilst this can form the basis for measurement, in a period of intense recession (such as the one experienced in the UK since 2008) where income levels at best stagnate or at worst are falling, this can result in the median income level dropping and hence in statistical terms more people falling outside the definition of poverty. This cannot be right as these people still, in reality, remain in poverty, and continue to face all the challenges associated with low income.
4.2 The ambition set for this strategy is grounded in reality. It’s about helping people in poverty ‘get through’ the financial struggle of their daily lives in ways that make things easier for them.
The Ambition is:
“Working with partners, to tackle the effects of poverty, and so have a positive noticeable impact on people’s daily lives”
4.3 Supporting this Ambition statement are a range of Objectives and supporting Programmes for activity. These are:
• Objective One: Helping people maximise their income o Increasing income o Increasing money management skills and confidence o More help when the household budget runs out o Limiting the impact of expensive credit
• Objective Two : Making the move into work easier o Raising awareness of the support available o Moving people into training o Helping people apply for jobs
• Objective Three: Helping with the cost of raising a child o Supporting families to feed and clothe their children o Supporting children to get involved in school life
109 • Objective Four: Breaking the link between poor health and poverty o Helping to stop poverty making people ill o Helping those facing poverty due to illness
• Objective Five: Making sure older people get the services they need o Advice designed around the individual
• Objective six: Improving the condition of people’s homes o Reducing the cost of running a home o Improving poor quality housing that makes people ill o Helping people find a home that meets their needs
• Objective seven: Working in a joined up way o Keeping agencies in touch o Supporting partners to make a difference o Communicating the work of this group
Not all of the objectives will be progressed at the same speed or even at the same time. They provide a holistic overview of where effort needs to be placed over time.
5. Strate gic Priorities
5.1 Growing the local economy
Although separate, the Anti-Poverty Strategy is very much nestled within the longer-term Growth Strategy and the opportuntiy to link into, and inform, the Growth Strategy is evident.
5.2 Protecting the po orest people in Lincoln
The Anti-Poverty Strategy is an articulation of how the council is exercising its Community Leadership role to bring partners together, to examine, and implement, ways to further help those residents in the city who are financially vulnerable.
6. Organisational Impacts
6.1 Finance
There are no direct impacts arising from the strategy itself as it simply provides a framework within which activity by both the City Council and its partners can take place. However, the resulting action plan will have financial implications, and is the subject of a separate report.
7. Recommendation
7.1 Members are recommended to:
i) Offer comments on the focus and content of the draft strategy
ii) Instruct officers to incorporate any changes as debated and agreed in the meeting
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iii) Refer the strategy, along with any revisions, to Executive for formal approval
Is this a k ey decision ? Yes
Do the exempt information No categories apply?
Does Rule 15 of the Scrutiny No Procedure Rules (call-in and urgency) apply?
How many appendices does one the report contain?
List of Background Papers : Statistical evidence base
Lead Officer: Simon Walters Asst. Director -Corporate Review and Development Telephone (01522) 873866
111 This page is intentionally blank.
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The LINCOLN ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY 2014- 2016
March 2014 v1
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Foreword
Nothing sparks a fiercer debate than the many differing views on the extent, causes and impacts of poverty. It often appears like the topic has become a national obsession with a number of television programmes appearing to highlight the plight of individuals in poverty. Unfortunately these shows do shape and influence common perceptions of poverty and often reinforce views that living in poverty remains a lifestyle choice for many. These shows, edited for entertainment but masquerading as documentaries are extremely damaging and form part of what can be described as a wider media assault on people in poverty.
The reality is very different, both nationally and in the city. The City Council’s Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee (whose remit is to actively promote and strengthen the council’s community leadership role by speaking up for the people of Lincoln on any matters which affect their well being) has undertaken extensive work to develop this strategy and as part of this uncovered, challenged and discarded a whole range of myths about poverty. It’s not just about being out of work and having to survive on benefits payments. Many households in poverty today are actually working households where people are struggling to survive in jobs paying minimum wage, or are in part- time work that simply does not provide sufficient hours to survive or are facing severe financial hardship caused by the insecurity of zero hour contract working. We are now facing for the first time more working people on low income living in poverty than non working people living in poverty. Poverty can affect anyone - young or old, in a family or alone and the consequences in terms of mental and physical health can be devastating.
We know what poverty means in the city from the case studies undertaken and the extensive statistical evidence base reviewed by the committee. It means:
• Not having sufficient income to make ends meet, causing sever hardship, stress, anxiety and depression • Not having access to jobs that will help raise income • Having to make difficult decisions between eating, heating the home, clothing the children, paying the bills or paying debts • Not having any savings at all so when the washing machine breaks down or the vacuum cleaner stops working the only option is to borrow on expensive credit terms to get a replacement - compounding the financial struggle • Living in poor housing conditions, which impact on the health of the whole family and lead to even higher fuel bills - if you choose to heat the house at all • Children feeling isolated, bullied and vulnerable because they cant enjoy the same activities and their friends at school
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I would urge you to read the extensive evidence base supporting this strategy, which provides an extensive picture of poverty in the city. 11,000 people live in some of the most deprived communities in the country. One in five people earn less than £10,016 per annum, one in four children (4,500 children) live in poverty and 6,500 households are at risk of fuel poverty. In 2013, one food bank alone issued over 30,000 meals in the city. These are headline figures and there are many heartbreaking individual stories behind the statistics. It is a ‘wake up call’ for us all.
It’s vital we create a vibrant growing city - moving into good quality employment is still one the most effective way for working aged people to move out of poverty. The Council is working with its partners on a linked Growth Strategy covering the longer term aspirations to grow the city and create decent employment for all, and this Anti-Poverty strategy sits alongside this work by focussing on what we can all do now to help people in need. What you will find in the following pages is an intention to make a difference in the short term - to help people now in their daily struggle to ‘make ends meet’.
The creation of this strategy has been both an amazing, but at the same time sad, journey of discovery over the last nine months and I must thank all of the partners who have taken the time to become involved in this vital work. Committee has engaged with all relevant stakeholders including public, private and third sector organisations and through this work sought to further promote effective partnerships to meet the needs of the city. Without the help and support and on-going commitment from this wide range of organisations we could not have produced this strategy. The challenge has only just begun - there is a huge amount of work ahead - but together as a range of different partners we will make a difference to the daily lives of some of our most vulnerable residents in the city.
If you have not got involved already I would urge you to do so, and if you are living in poverty I would urge to contact the advice services offered by any one of the partners - we can help.
Cllr Karen Lee Chair of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee
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Executive Summary
The strategy below has been developed following an extensive piece of detailed scrutiny by the City Council’s Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee over a nine month period. The review included a study many academic texts, interviews with key partners and case studies from families living in poverty.
The outcome set from the start was to produce a strategy that made a difference in their daily lives for local people who are financially vulnerable. It is nested very clearly in what all partners can do here and now today to help people. As such the strategy has clear links to its ‘sister strategy’ - the emerging Growth strategy, which itself seeks to tackle the longer term infrastructure issues within the city that ultimately will create the job opportunities to lift people out of poverty.
The strategy forms a suite of documents that together provide a comprehensive picture of poverty in the city and how partners can come together to tackle the issues and have some impact on the daily financial struggle for residents. The documents are:
• Statistical evidence base
• A journal examining the review process itself
• This Strategy setting the general direction over the next 2 years
• An annual action plan detailing the action that will be taken by all partners
The ambition for the strategy is grounded in reality. It’s not an inspiring visionary statement that in reality is unachievable and destined to always remain aspirational. Put simply it is:
“Working with partners, to tackle the effects of poverty, and so have a positive noticeable impact on people’s daily lives”
This is supported by a series of Objectives, each with a range of programmes for further action. These are summarised as:
• Objective One: Helping people maximise their income o Increasing income o Increasing money management skills and confidence o More help when the household budget runs out o Limiting the impact of expensive credit
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• Objective Two : Making the move into work easier o Raising awareness of the support available o Moving people into training o Helping people apply for jobs
• Objective Three: Helping with the cost of raising a child o Supporting families to feed and clothe their children o Supporting children to get involved in school life
• Objective Four: Breaking the link between poor health and poverty o Helping to stop poverty making people ill o Helping those facing poverty due to illness
• Objective Five: Making sure older people get the services they need o Advice designed around the individual
• Objective six: Improving the condition of people’s homes o Reducing the cost of running a home o Improving poor quality housing that makes people ill o Helping people find a home that meets their needs
• Objective seven: Working in a joined up way o Keeping agencies in touch o Supporting partners to make a difference o Communicating the work of this group
Not all of the objectives will be progressed at the same speed or even at the same time. They provide a holistic overview of where effort needs to be placed over time.
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The Purpose of this Strategy
Poverty - a definition
Throughout the period of development for this strategy the definition produced by Townsend, P. (1979) cited by PSE UK (2013) Deprivation and Poverty has been used:
“Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary patterns, customs and activities. ”
There is an alternative definition of poverty based on household income below 60% of the median income, and whilst this can form the basis for measurement, in a period of intense recession (such as the one experienced in the UK since 2008) where income levels at best stagnate or at worst are falling, this can result in the median income level dropping and hence in statistical terms more people falling outside the definition of poverty. This cannot be right as these people remain in poverty facing all the challenges associated with low income.
Outcomes expected from this work
Key outcomes will be:
- Those residents in most need “see and feel” the outcome of the strategy
- Raising public awareness of the scale of the problem of poverty in Lincoln and where people can go to get the help they need
- Raising awareness of the extensive support already available across the city, offered by a range of partners and removing any stigma attached with accessing such help
- Across all partners, removing areas of duplication of effort to make our collective resources go further
- Identifying and closing the gaps in service provision so people are able to access the support they need locally
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However, the strategy remains realistic. It will not in itself eradicate the causes of poverty, but it will help people on low income to be better able to meet their daily financial struggle and equip them over time with the skills, confidence and support to make life that bit better.
The long-term structural work to tackle poverty is also happening. Access to sufficient and decently paid work is still the best route for people out of poverty and the Lincoln Growth Strategy contains a range of initiatives and investment to:
• Grow Lincoln’s economy to provide that spread of jobs,
• Create a better transport infrastructure both within the city and out to other cities to make Lincoln truly competitive and attract new industries,
• Build up the vocational training offer and so drive up the skills base of local people, placing them in the best position to take the new jobs and
• Develop more affordable housing that people can afford to buy/ rent and maintain.
Although separate, the Anti-Poverty Strategy is very much nestled within the longer-term Growth Strategy and the opportuntiy to link into, and inform, the Growth Strategy is evident:
Anti-Poverty Programme: Dealing with the short to immediate action medium-term effects of poverty
Growth Strategy: investment for the future Dealing with the long-term structural causes of poverty
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BACKGROUND
The Journey so far
Since July 2013, the City Council’s Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee has worked with partners in the city to review the issue of poverty in Lincoln. This has involved a substantial amount of work including:
• Seven scrutiny committee workshops with a wide range partners exploring individual aspects of poverty
• Large body of statistics and case studies helping to ‘paint a picture’ of poverty in Lincoln
• Extensive period of research -over 50 academic journals reviewed covering those experts at the forefront of the topic
• Lots of survey work and ‘one to one’ interviews with partners and stakeholders
• Case studies with individual families willing to share their experience
• A high profile conference on 26 th February 2014, attracting over 100 delegates from in excess of 50 public private and voluntary sector organisations all keen to be involved in developing new ways to help tackle poverty in the city
The full extent of the work undertaken to develop this strategy is documented in the ‘Poverty in Lincoln’ report, and the underpinning statistical analysis of poverty in Lincoln is included in the ‘Evidence Base’. Both documents are available on the City of Lincoln Council website.
The review has taken place during a time of austerity, both at a national and local level. Public spending cuts and welfare reforms have exacerbated the issue of poverty for many. Subsequently, the landscape affecting the City Council’s strategic priority of ‘Protecting the Poorest People in Lincoln’ has changed dramatically. The council believes it has a fundamental responsibility to respond to this changing landscape, and through partnership working, challenge poverty in all its forms.
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The extent of poverty in the city:
Whilst the extensive evidence base sits as a separate document, key headline figures are included here by way of a snapshot of the issues facing people on low income in Lincoln:
• Seven areas in the city are considered within the most 10% deprived within the country. This covers 11,000 Lincoln residents
• 4,500 children in the city live in low income families. This accounts for 23.8% of children compared to 20.1% across England. Two thirds of children in poverty are aged 10 or younger and rates differ across the city with some wards having as many as 33% of children in relative poverty
• 6,500 Lincoln households are experiencing fuel poverty - 16.3% of all households compared to 11% across England.
• There are 7,700 non decent owner occupied homes and 3,700 non decent privately rented dwellings in the City. There are 1,000 households (2.5%) with no central heating
• In 2013, one food bank alone issued over 30,500 emergency meals. LCAS approved 1,130 in the first six months - the highest for any district , • 8,530 residents experiencing worklessness in the city. This accounts for 13.1% of the working age population, compared to 10.9% across England. Of these 2,655 people are claiming unemployment benefit.
• 20% of employed lowest earners in the city are estimated to earn below £12,000pa
• There are 17,000 residents whose day to day activities are limited due to long term health or disability issues
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OUR AMBITION
The ambition set for this strategy is grounded in reality. It’s not an inspiring visionary statement that in reality is unachievable and destined to always remain aspirational.
Instead, more simply, its about helping people in poverty ‘get through’ the financial struggle of their daily lives in way that makes things easier for them. The true test of this ambition will be if people on low income see and feel a noticeable/ tangible difference. It’s about helping financially vulnerable people in Lincoln today - not tomorrow or the day after- its now our residents need our help as they continue to live through the biggest recession for 100 years at the same time as the largest changes to the benefits system in 60 years.
The ambition is:
“Working with partners, to tackle the effects of poverty, and so have a positive noticeable impact on people’s daily lives”
Supporting this Ambition statement are a range of Objectives and supporting programmes for activity. This helps provide focus and structure to the strategy and enables all the partners involved to co-ordinate and join up to collectively tackle the issues together.
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OUR OBJECTIVES
Helping people maximise their income
Poverty does not affect only those who are on fixed incomes such as people out of work or the elderly and retired. Evidence both nationally and in the city reveals that low pay is increasingly an issue for families in particular. With one in five people earning less than £12,000 per annum in Lincoln, the concept of the ‘working poor’ is emerging. The factors behind this are many and varied, ranging from the prevalence of minimum wage jobs, the sustainability of work as people fall into a cycle of in and out of worklessness, or the increase in under employment where people can only find part time work that is insufficient to meet their needs.
Since the recession commenced in 2008 many people have less money each month. Savings have depleted or are non existent and its clear from the evidence collected that people are suffering from multiple debt issues - be it store cards, credit cards or other unsecured debt.
Whether people are trying to survive financially on low wages or benefits payments that have seen the biggest shake up for over 60 years, there is a responsibility on all partners to ensure people are made aware of (and claim) all the income they are entitled to and are equipped with the skills to manage that income as carefully as possible.
Programme 1: Increasing income
Activity within this programme will focus on ensuring people do claim the income they are entitled to. Many older people and working families in particular remain unaware of, or are too proud, to claim the benefits available to support low income and hence provide an acceptable standard of living.
All agencies working with vulnerable families will make sure they are aware of what they are entitled to.
The programme will also feature campaigning and action to encourage the reduction of zero hour contracts of employment and the adoption by local employers of the Living Wage for all their staff.
Programme 2: Increasing money management skills and confidence
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It was clear from the research collected that many people have a range of debt issues that have built up over time. Confusing financial terminology, lack of appreciation of the interest rates applied to the various credit facilities available and a basic lack of skills to budget do impact severely on how people make the most of the limited income they do have. Many people are worried about the concept of Universal Credit, often because of the prospect of managing their finances on a monthly cycle rather than fortnightly cycle.
There is already a lot of ‘one off’ support and advice available and this programme will seek to build on this by examining ways to provide further on- going support and mentoring to people - not only when they are already in financial crisis, but also before they start on a downward spiral of increasing debt.
Programme 3: More help when the household budget runs out
The national media has covered, in a variety of ways, the advent of food banks across the country and the escalating demand for the support they can offer. At the time of developing this strategy DEFRA released a piece of national research into food security for people in hardship and noted the intense controversy surrounding the growing use of food banks in the UK.
Within the city, food bank use has increased significantly with one food bank (Lincoln Community Larder) issuing in excess of 30,000 meals in 2013.
Whilst lack of food is one direct consequence of the household budget running out, other consequences are also evident including living in cold unheated homes and increasing use of payday loans.
This strategy seeks to co-ordinate the emergency support that is on offer be it food, crises loans or other support
Programme 4: Limiting the impact of expensive credit
The prevalence of easy to obtain, but high cost, credit is significantly impacting on the issue of poverty. When people are forced to a range of high cost lenders then it compounds their financial problems leaving them deeper in debt and even more of their income lost on repayments.
The range of providers is huge from High Street pay day lenders and pawnbrokers to doorstep lenders and ultimately unregulated loan sharks. Nationally the Office of Fair Trading estimates that the value of the payday lending market has increased by 60% between 2008 and 2012, from £900 million to an estimated £2.2 billion.
This programme will seek ways to encourage low cost alternatives and so divert people away from the legalised High Street lenders, as well as encouraging partners to take a stand against them.
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The programme will also seek to further campaign against loan sharks and seek enforcement activity where they are known to exist.
Making the move into work easier
Despite the prevalence of low pay in the city, all the evidence continues to support the fact that moving into work is the most effective route out of poverty. If the job offers sufficient hours and is of a decent level of pay ( Living Wage or above) it gives people back their earning potential and a route back to financial independence.
This will be a challenge as unemployment remains high in the city with 2,500 people on Job Seeker Allowance and approximately 8,500 working age people overall experiencing worklessness.
Programme 1: Raising awareness of the support available
With the move by many organisations to on-line access and telephone contact centre support, this programme will look at how people on low income can access the support they need. The review heard of many cases where people could not afford internet access and any credit they could afford to place on their mobile phone was easily eaten into on lengthy telephone calls to organisations.
Face to face contact remains important to our many vulnerable communities and so ensuring access to help and support within the communities where people live (and hence avoid expensive transport costs) will be a particular feature of this programme.
Programme 2: Moving people into training
The emergence since the recession of the cycle of needing experience to get a job, but needing a job to get experience needs to be broken. Evidence collected as part of the review indicated that as many as 20% of young people were not prepared for the work environment - typically not ready for a 37 hour week, having few customer care skills, possessing a lack of knowledge or a lack of interest.
With competition for jobs even more intense, this programme will look at how people can be placed in work experience positions to give them the work experience they need.
The programme will also explore the range of training opportunities, which will give people the basic IT, literacy and other work related base qualifications.
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Programme 3: Helping people apply for jobs
More needs to be done to help people apply for jobs. Whilst the review found lots of examples of organisations helping people to seek out and apply for work, this programme will focus on how partners can manage job seeker expectations and match their skills to the emerging local market sectors such as food manufacturing, engineering, the visitor economy and hospitality.
The programme will also seek to tackle some of the barriers to taking paid employment including the cost of travel (particularly in that crucial first month of employment before a first wage payment) and the provision of affordable child care.
Helping with the cost of raising a child
It remains a startling fact that one in four children (4,500 children) live in families on such low income that it places them at risk of relative poverty. However, in some of our most deprived areas of the city (the city has over 11,000 residents living in some of the most deprived communities in the country) the rate of child poverty rises to 33% of all children in those areas. Whilst this is not untypical of many urban cities across the country (in context 3.5m children nationwide live in relative poverty), it does provide a ‘wake up’ call for the city as the financial climate continues to add pressures onto to households. Recent studies suggest that the overall average cost of raising a child from birth to 21 years of age is now £222,458 - 58% higher than in 2003.
Child poverty can lead to many issues as families in poverty can suffer a myriad of problems including physical health issues arising from poor diet and housing conditions, psychological impact arising from potential domestic stress, a feeling of isolation and a more general risk of bullying inside and outside the home environment, and low educational attainment rates. All of these factors are known to limit life chances
Programme 1: Supporting families to feed and clothe their children
This programme covers activity that will support families with two of the most expensive aspects of raising a child - food and clothing (in particular school uniforms).
Whilst the majority of low income families are eligible for free school meals for their children, take-up in Lincolnshire is amongst the lowest nationally, despite extensive work in recent years to increase it. A variety of factors influence this aspect, including the risk of stigmatising, the application process and a lack of awareness of how to access it. Yet it can significantly help with
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the household budget if the children can have a healthy hot meal at school. In addition, each child who receives a free school meal, the school itself benefits from a pupil premium for that child for £1,300 per annum. This continues throughout their school life to the end of Key Stage 4 ands must be used to help support that child.
The programme will therefore focus on driving up the rate of free school meal take up and other initiatives such a breakfast clubs.
It will also look at ways to mitigate the cost of a school uniform. The Independent newspaper (August 2013) estimated that the average cost for kitting out a primary school pupil was £156 and for a secondary school pupil it was £285. Parents in poverty spend two-fifths of their income in August each year on back- to-school costs. Often this can result in parents taking out loans to pay the cost. This programme will seek to encourage cheaper school uniform options such as second hand exchanges and encouraging schools to move away from branded clothing, and so opening up purchasing uniforms from a wider and cheaper retail outlets such as supermarkets.
Programme 2: Supporting children to get involved in school life
Children who live in poverty can feel different, vulnerable and as they often don’t participate in the activities their peers do they can become socially isolated. This leads to a lack of confidence and low aspirations. This programme will therefore explore ways to involve children in school life so they do get the opportunities to go on school trips, to experience new learning opportunities, and do gain access to the support they need to study and succeed. Breaking the link between poor health and poverty
The review found a clear link between health and poverty. Our most deprived communities suffer significant health inequalities (both physical and mental). A number of cases studies from around the city articulated the daily financial struggle and the constant decisions being made by individuals on either paying fuel bills, or paying for other essentials such as food, rent, clothing or servicing debts. All of these pressures can cause and exacerbate physical and mental health problems.
This issue extends beyond those suffering illness themselves. The review discovered that there are a significant number of carers living in the city who survive on very low carers benefits payments. Over 75% of carers are worse off after assuming a caring role than before that role commenced.
Programme 1: Helping to stop poverty making people ill
Whilst local GP practices are often at the front line of dealing with the health effects of poverty, this programme not only seeks to maximise them as an
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access point for referring to wider support, but it also seeks to explore the use of wider community hubs and the role of visiting officers as a wider network to identify and signpost people to further support.
Programme 2: Helping those facing poverty due to illness
This programme will look at how partners can take early action and help people facing ill health, or caring for someone suffering ill health, so they do not start on a downward spiral towards a financial crisis. The review received a number of submissions about people who only sought help and support when in crisis - this is too late. At a time when illness strikes, the added stress and strain of financial pressure does not aid the situation so this programme will look at ways of further proactive support for people facing longer term illness.
Making sure older people get the services they need
Whilst the many benefits system changes, which came into effect during 2013, have not impacted to the same extent on older people there remains the fact that upto 1 in 3 older people are struggling financially to meet all their outgoings. Older people who rely entirely on their pension to ‘make ends meet’ are often more at risk as they have a fixed income and little opportuntiy to supplement that income from other sources. The review heard examples of older people also making choices between eating properly, heating their homes to a safe level or using their income to pay for the personal care they may need to remain living independently.
Programme 1: Advice designed around the individual
Partners have seen an increasing demand from older people seeking financial advice, but there remain many older people who do not access the support they are entitled to. There can be a variety of reasons for this including pride, and the effort/stress of going through any application process for instance to access the benefits they are entitled to.
This programme seeks to further raise awareness of the support available to older people - financial and beyond- using a variety of sources and locations, and crucially engaging the full range of officers and workers who come into contact with older people, particularly in people’s own homes.
Improving the conditions of people’s homes
Poor housing has a direct impact on people’s health. Those people who live in cold, damp homes because they can’t afford to heat them properly and where condensation becomes an issue will suffer health problems. People who live in poor quality homes, often towards the bottom of the rental market where rents are cheaper, can suffer a range of issues if minimum standards for the property are not maintained.
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The fact remains that the standard of housing can be one of the biggest impacts on a persons life, be it the standard of the property, the security of the tenure, or the physical environment within which the home is located. These are all factors, and within the city, those people who can afford only the bottom end of the market (typically private rented) are in some of our most deprived wards close to the city centre.
Programme 1: Reducing the cost of running a home
People are struggling to pay their rent in both the public and private rental sectors. Whilst the Benefits changes affecting ‘under-occupancy’ have impacted on social housing, with tenant arrears now increasing, the struggle to meet rental commitments in the private sector will become more prevalent as benefits gradually move to monthly direct payment to the benefits claimants rather than landlord.
Added to this is the significant increase in the number of families at risk of fuel poverty. Almost 6,500 properties are at risk of fuel poverty in the city (where over 10% of income is spent on fuel costs). This is caused primarily by the combined effects of energy inefficient housing, low income and high costs for domestic fuel. With average debts for electricity now at £354 and £377 for gas and the fuel prices increasing by 150% in the last 10 years, there is a need to examine ways to help.
May people have heard of the poverty premium and evidence suggests that not having access to a bank account (and hence losing out on discounts for paying by direct debit), having a pre-payment electricity meter, not having access to affordable credit and not having access more generally to on-line discounts can lead to people on low income paying £1,280 more per year for good and services.
All of these issues need a partnership approach to alleviate to make the costs more manageable
Programme 2: Improving poor quality housing that makes People ill
There remains concern about living conditions, particularly at the cheapest end of the property rental market which financially vulnerable people find themselves occupying. Whilst there are minimum standards for landlords to achieve, tenants sometime will not report issues for fear of repercussions from the landlord and this perpetuates poor living conditions.
This programme therefore seeks to explore ways we can raise the standards of properties so they meet the minimum standards of decency. Be it through better insulation, the installation of central heating (there are still estimated to be around 1,000 properties in the city without central heating) or improving the fabric of the building, work needs to focus on both enforcement and the provision of grants.
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Programme 3: Helping people find a home that meets their Needs
Finding an affordable home is vital for people on low income. The Benefits system changes associated with ‘under occupancy’ have brought into sharp focus for tenants in social housing the costs associated with renting a property. However, there remains a lack of affordable properties for people to downsize into.
The Growth Strategy, which sits alongside the Anti poverty strategy, seeks to address the provision of new affordable housing, but there remains a role for all partners now as part of this strategy to signpost people to help, advice and support on finding a suitable home for their needs
Working in joined up way
The Lincoln Poverty conference (26 th February 2014) marked the transition point for the Anti Poverty Review, when activity moved from understanding the issues to developing solutions. The feeling from the conference across the 100 plus delegates representing over 50 organisations was that there needed to be an annual event, supported by a range of opportunities to keep agencies in touch with each other.
Programme 1: Keeping agencies in touch
The programme will focus on maintaining the network of contacts created at the conference and building on it as new organisations join the work within this strategy. It will also focus on creating a joint website where practitioners can exchange information.
Programme 2: Supporting partners to make a difference
There is a commitment across all partners to support each other and so tackle the issues together. This programme will seek to facilitate topic specific activity throughout the period of the strategy where partners can come together
Programme 3: Communicating the work of this group
And finally, this programme will make sure the high profile obtained for the topic is maintained as the supporting action plan is delivered. This is a topic
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that is high in the public consciousness and work will continue under this programme to make sure it remains so.
Turning the Strategy into action - ‘Making it Happen’
Not all of the objectives will be progressed at the same speed or even at the same time. They provide a holistic overview of where effort needs to be placed over time. However, this strategy recognises that even across a wide partnership of agencies, to tackle all of the issue across the full range will result in far less impact due to the resources available. Therefore the strategy is supported by an annual action plan detailing where effort will be focussed in the year ahead. This will be reviewed and updated annually at a conference of all interested partners.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Cllr Karen Lee Chair of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee City Hall Beaumont Fee Lincoln LN1 1DD Tel: ???? Email: [email protected]
Simon Walters Asst. Director, Chief Executive’s Dept. City Hall Beaumont Fee Lincoln LN1 1DD Tel: 01522 873866 Email: [email protected]
James Wilkinson Policy and Information Officer City Hall Beaumont Fee Lincoln LN1 1DD Tel: 01522 873325 Email: [email protected]
132 Item No. 6 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 27 MARCH 2014
SUBJECT: THE LINCOLN ANTI POVERTY ACTION PLAN 2014/15
DIRECTORATE : CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND TOWN CLERK
REPORT AUTHOR : SIMON WALTERS, ASS ISTAN T. DIRECTOR - CORPORATE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To present to Members for comment, the emerging Lincoln Anti-Poverty Action Plan. This emerging Action Plan will form the basis of Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations to Executive.
2. Executive Summary
2.1 This report follows on from the Lincoln Anti-Poverty Strategy, which is included as an additional report on the agenda for this meeting.
2.2 The emerging Action Plan includes those actions that can definitely be progressed as part of this year’s Action Plan.
2.3 There are additional actions for consideration that require further discussions between officers and partners before inclusion in the emerging Action Plan. These will be tabled for comment at the workshop immediately after Scrutiny Committee.
3. Background
3.1 Underpinning the draft Strategy (included as an additional report on the agenda for this meeting) is the emerging Action Plan – included as an appendix to this report. The contents of this emerging Action Plan were collated from suggestions made by partners, and recommendations by Scrutiny Committee, throughout the review. However, the Lincoln Poverty Conference, which was the vehicle for bringing all key partners together to explore ways to respond to the issues identified by Scrutiny Committee, was the main forum for developing this Action Plan.
3.2 When collating all potential actions together, three classifications of actions emerged:
1. Those that can definitely be progressed as part of this year’s Action Plan (attached as an appendix ) 2. Those that require further work with partners to seek their agreement, and further define the scope of the action (to be tabled in workshop immediately after Scrutiny Committee ) 3. Those that, given their large resource requirements, it is recommended are reviewed when developing next year’s Action Plan, and would therefore not feature in this year’s Action Plan (to be tabled in workshop immediately after Scrutiny Committee )
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4. Recommendation
4.1 Members are recommended in Scrutiny Committee to:
i) Offer comments on the content of the emerging Anti-Poverty Action Plan
ii) Instruct officers to include these actions in the Action Plan to be taken forward to Executive
iii) Note the workshop to take place immediately after Committee
Is this a k ey decis ion ? No
Do the exempt information No categories apply?
Does Rule 15 of the Scrutiny No Procedure Rules (call-in and urgency) apply?
How many appendices does 1 the report contain?
List of Background Papers : NA
Lead Officer: Simon Walters Asst. Director -Corporate Review and Development Telephone (01522) 873866
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Objective one: Helping people maximise their income
Programme 1: Increase income
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Citywide campaign promoting the benefits of the Living Wage and encouraging businesses to move 30 September 2014 Steven Welsby (COLC) away from zero hour contracts 2a. Deliver a programme of providing new council tenants with an incentivised Credit Union account September 2013 Denis Powell (COLC) 2b. Explore with other social landlords the potential to expand this scheme to their tenants 31 May 2013 John Eames (COLC) Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC 3. City Council marketing campaign advertising the support available to residents for money, benefits and Steven Welsby (COLC) housing advice, and the positive aspects of the council’s role
Programme 2: Increasing money management skills and confidence
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Credit Union scheme to provide all Year 7 pupils an incentivised saving scheme alongside a package 29 August 2014 Annual scheme John Eames (Credit Union) 135 of financial education Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC)
Programme 3: More help when the household budget runs out
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Council Tax discount scheme continued for 2014/15 01 April 2014 Martin Walmsley (COLC) 2. Develop a charity furniture, food and kitchen utensil collection scheme focusing on the West End and 02 June 2014 27 June 2014 Simon Walters (COLC) students vacating at the end of the academic year Joy Blundell (Acts Trust) 3. Review of City Council Fair Debt Collection Policy 31 July 2014 Michael Carr (COLC) 4. Develop a Community Shop Kate Ellis (COLC) • Integrated 50p scheme • Discount for attendance at advice clinics
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Programme 4: Limiting the impact of expensive credit
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Res ponsible officers 1a. Marketing campaign with Credit Union to challenge the aggressive marketing campaign by payday Steven Welsby (COLC) lending companies and doorstep lenders, and explain where people should go to for trusted money John Eames (Credit Union) advice, including: Jose Bruce (COLC) • Using case studies to highlight negative impacts of high interest lending • Block City Council staff internet connections to high interest companies, and signpost to alternatives • Encourage partners to ban advertising of payday lenders, including Lincoln BIG • Explore marketing opportunities with Step Change and Pay Plan 1b. Develop an advertising policy preventing payday lenders advertising, and promote this to partners Heather Grover / Pat Jukes (COLC) 2. Develop and promote a campaign encouraging large companies and City Council suppliers to offer a July 2013 Marketing specialist payroll deduction scheme for occasions such as Christmas based on the Credit union model, and Currently being recruited by COLC advertise Credit Union loans as a viable option 3. Provide anti-loan shark leaflets to new tenants at three week visit Andrew Staton (COLC)
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Objective two: Making the move into work easier
Programme 1: Raising awareness of the support available
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Run a feature in Your Lincoln about a family’s experience of finding childcare when returning to work, 31 August 2014 Steven Welsby (COLC) and signpost to the Family Information Service
Programme 2: Moving people into training
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers
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Programme 3: Helping people access jobs
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Explore the potential for developing a Graduate Work Placement Scheme at the City Council with the 30 April 2014 Simon Walters (COLC) DWP Sally Zubic (COLC)
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Objective three: Helping people with the cost of raising a child
Programme 1: Supporting families to feed and clothe their children
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Working with the County Council, develop a scheme that ensures entitled benefits claimants 30 April 2014 Martin Walmsley (COLC) automatically receive access to free school meals
Programme 2: Supporting children to get involved in school life
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers
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Objective four: Breaking the link between poor health and poverty
Programme 1: Helping to stop poverty making people ill
Potential p roject for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers
Programme 2: Helping those facing poverty due to illness
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Assess how the emerging Mental Health Promotion Strategy can be further enhanced to tackle the Simon Walters (COLC) poverty agenda 2. City Council to review equality analysis process to specifically incorporate impact on carers of the Alison Lewis / Heather Grover (COLC) decisions it makes
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Objective five: Making sure older people get the services they need
Programme 1: Advice designed around the individual
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. County Council Good Life Leaflet to be included in all new City Council tenancy packs for older people 31 March 2014 Paul Carrick (COLC) Tammy Bentley (COLC) 2a. Representatives from West Lincolnshire CCG and the local community to explore a new way of 30 April 2014 Paul Carrick (COLC) engaging and providing signposting to older people through ‘key connectors’ (e.g. hairdressers, local shops etc.) 2b. Look at new and innovative ways of marketing as well as including information with bus passes, Marketing specialist mosaic mapping, delivery with council tax bills, and advertising on partner assets Currently being recruited by COLC
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Objective six: Improving the condition of people’s homes
Programme 1: Reducing the cost of running a home
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Develop and launch a bulk energy purchase scheme Launch: 30 April Auction: 20 June Heather Carmichael (COLC) Tranche one ran in February. Tranche two will be launched in April, with a particular focus on making 2014 2014 families in low-income aware. Those on pre-payment meters are included. There will be an extensive marketing campaign. 2. Agree a communications plan to make partners aware of what is already available Steven Welsby (COLC) 3. Explore if LCAS could provide energy vouchers (possibly alongside food parcels) Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC) Through UC LSSF
Programme 2: Improving poor quality housing that makes people ill 141 Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1a. Develop a focused regeneration scheme in on of the city’s most deprived wards, with a particular 01 April 2014 Simon Colburn (COLC) focus on tackling poor quality housing in the private sector Kate Ellis (COLC) 1b. Assess the impact of this more focused approach 31 March 2016 Simon Colburn (COLC) Kate Ellis (COLC) 2. Develop a local licensing scheme to raise standards in the private rented sector Simon Colburn (COLC)
Programme 3: Helping people find a home that meets their needs
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers
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Objective seven: Continuing to work in a joined up way
Programme 1: Keeping agencies in touch
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Develop a ‘Food Bank Forum’ to explore issues such as: April 2014 Development of forum: • Mapping referral agencies and close any gaps Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC) • Developing and implementing a single assessment for clients • Ensuring toiletries are provided with food parcels • Exploring ways to get food parcels to people struggling to pay for transport e.g. VCS volunteer transport system for people needing emergency transport • Co-ordinating opening times • Increasing number of food parcel providers to meet geographically dispersed demand • Exploring the possibility of making continued provision dependent on take up of advice • Exploring ways to increase access to food banks by older people • Developing links with the Market Kitchen e.g. recipes, a referral process • Exploring the potential for schools to become food bank referral agencies 2. Develop a website for partners to access and contribute to poverty related issues that: September 2014 Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC) • 142 Links to LCC grant tool / VCS information • Links to partner agencies e.g. Shine’s referral network and CAB / LCAS information depositories • Provides up to date information • Links to relevant partner website pages e.g. ‘you may be entitled to ’ • Links to volunteering and work placement opportunities e.g. VCS, DWP, employers • Hosts a live directory of partners and services 3. Annual Poverty Conference February 2015 Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC) 4. Explore further the role of the Lincolnshire Advice Network in tackling poverty May 2014 Simon Walters / James Wilkinson (COLC)
Programme 2: Supporting partners to make a difference
Potential project for consi deration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Become a corporate member of Lincolnshire Credit Union or consider an alternative investment vehicle 31 July 2014 Jo Crookes (COLC) 2. Support Credit Union to redevelop their website 01 February 2014 31 March 2014 Kevin Galjaard (COLC) 3. Add an ‘assessment of the impact on people on low-income’ to the current equality analysis 30 June 2014 Heather Grover (COLC) methodology 4. Encourage partners to add an ‘assessment of the impact on people on low-income’ to their equality 31 December 2014 Heather Grover (COLC) analysis methodologies 5. Explore the options to develop the City Council Neighbourhood Management Offices into multi-agency 31 December 2014 Simon Walters (COLC) ‘one stop shops’ review date
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Programme 3: Communicating the work of this group
Potential project for consideration Start date End date Responsible officers 1. Develop a media campaign to advertise the ongoing work in the Anti-Poverty Strategy and Action Plan Steven Welsby (COLC)
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144 Item No. 7
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 27 MARCH 2014
SUBJECT: GOOD SCRUTINY AWARDS 2014
DIRECTORATE : CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND TOWN CLERK
REPORT AUTHOR : SIMON WALTERS , ASS ISTAN T. DIRECTOR - CORPORATE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To present to Members for information, the draft submission for the annual Centre for Public Scrutiny’s ‘Good Scrutiny Award’.
2. Executive Summary
2.1 Other reports on the agenda for this meeting detail the considerable work that this committee has undertaken since July 2013 to scrutinise the impact of poverty on some of our most vulnerable residents in the city.
2.2 This report builds on the journal completed throughout the scrutiny review, which has documented the process the committee has followed from the start of the review. As this review has been comprehensive, has involved a wide range of partners, and has resulted in both a multi- agency action plan and strategy, the Chair of this committee would like to recommend to the wider committee this piece of scrutiny for consideration in the national annual award offered by the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS).
3. Background
3.1 The CfPS ‘Good Scrutiny Awards’ celebrate the impact and effectiveness of public scrutiny and accountability, especially where it results in effective public services for local people. The awards are an annual event with a closing date for applications this year of 31 st March 2014.
3.2 The judges will select five Good Scrutiny Award winners and an overall impact winner and will be short listing entries that can demonstrate effective actions and outcomes. To win an award, entries will need to demonstrate how practice and outcomes have made a difference. Judges will be assessing the extent to which there is evidence of the following demonstrated in each entry:
Innovation
Working in creative or innovative ways to achieve success. Judges will be looking for evidence that non-executives have thought about how to work differently to either engage stakeholders or influence decision-makers. They will also be looking for evidence that organisations or groups of partners have developed new approaches to supporting the non-executive role.
145 Involving C ommunities
Focusing on issues that are priorities or concerns of people who use services, communities or the public generally and demonstrating positive outcomes from working with them. Judges will be looking for evidence that non-executives have allowed those on whose behalf they work to influence what they have done or that they have played a role in supporting wider transparency or inclusion initiatives.
Raising the Profile
Raising the profile of the non-executive role. Judges will be looking for evidence of positive media coverage arising from the work of non-executives or an increasing awareness and respect for the non-executive role within or across organisations or communities. They will be keen to see creative ideas for raising the profile of accountability and scrutiny.
Service Transformation
Demonstrating constructive change-management support to an organisation or community during a difficult or challenging period or helping to make the most of a particular circumstance, which has assisted executives, staff and local people to manage change. Contributing to improved value for money and social value in the way public money is spent by organisations or partners. Judges will be looking for evidence of outcomes from limited resources.
Working Together
Working effectively with others. Judges will be looking for evidence of effective teamwork or partnership work that demonstrates that outcomes from joint action were better than any single organisation could achieve on its own.
3.3 Judges will assess:
What was done (description of the entry) Why was it done (the local social, economic and political context) How was it done (timescale/process, who was involved) What was achieved (outcomes, impact on organisations, services and people)
Judges will be looking for evidence of:
Constructive challenge in ways that influence culture, strategy or policy Amplifying the voices of service users, communities or the public generally Acting independently but recognising working with others can achieve success Outcomes that lead to improved services for local people.
4. The Award Application
4.1 The completed entry form is attached as Appendix A to this report, for Members comment. It attempts to encapsulate, within the limited word count allowed, all that the committee has achieved during its review of poverty in the city.
146 4.2 The intention is to submit it on-line the day following this meeting. The Chair will then keep Members updated as and when the council receives any feedback from the CfPS.
5. Recommendation
5.1 Members are recommended to:
i) Note the content of the award submission
ii) Instruct officers to finalise the entry and make the submission
Is this a k ey decision ? No
Do the exempt information No categories apply?
Does Rule 15 of the Scrutiny No Procedure Rules (call-in and urgency) apply?
How many appendices does 1 the report contain?
List of Background Papers : NA
Lead Officer: Simon Walters Asst. Director -Corporate Review and Development Telephone (01522) 873866
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148 APPENDIX A
Summary of entry (headings provided as a guide only) Background to the topic (political, economic and social context): Problem or issue being addressed: Principal objectives (reasons for selecting the topic): Timescale (when did the work take place):
In July 2013, City of Lincoln Council’s Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee began looking at poverty in the city. In the midst of the largest recession in 100 years, combined with the biggest changes to benefits in more than 60 years, this review was needed and timely.
The local impact is evident. Lincoln is a post industrial city where one in four children live in poverty, and 6,500 households are in fuel poverty. There are seven areas amongst the most deprived by national standards, containing 11,000 residents. These are areas of acute deprivation, with one area amongst the most 1% of deprived areas in England. In 2013, one food bank alone gave out more than 30,000 meals – a 15.4% increase from 2010.
These issues are further exacerbated by worklessness, with 8,530 people out of work. This accounts for 13.1% of working age residents – higher than the national average (10.9%). 2,655 are claiming unemployment benefits, accounting for 4.1% of working age residents - higher than the national average (3.6%).
Poverty is not just an issue for the unemployed. Average salaries are well below the national average. It is estimated the 20% of lowest employed earners earn less than £12,000pa.
There has been an impact on the council too through administration of Housing Benefits, and our role as a social landlord. In January 2014, there were 808 households affected by the Spare Room Subsidy. Of these, 672 households had one spare room, and 136 households had two or more spare bedrooms. Rent arrears amongst under-occupiers because of the Spare Room Subsidy stood at 5.22% (£196,753). Historically, in October 2013, of those tenants affected by the Spare Room Subsidy, 80% had rent arrears.
These deprivation factors have enormous impact on people’s health. Average life expectancy in the most deprived wards is 15.8 years less than more affluent neighbouring districts.
As “protecting the poorest people” is one of the council’s three strategic priorities, the committee aligned work to focus on poverty and by doing so add value to both Executive decision making and the corporate agenda, whilst effectively maintaining the scrutiny split.
Work has culminated in the development of the multi-partner Lincoln Anti- Poverty Strategy and action plan, which will make a difference to people in
149 poverty right now in their daily struggle to ‘make ends meet’ . The draft ambition is to:
‘Work with partners to tackle the effects of poverty, and so have a noticeable positive impact on people’s daily lives .’
Please list the outcomes from this piece of work: how do you know it made a difference? (eg savings identified, executive agreed alternative course of action, social value added):
The review has helped organisations understand and better respond to poverty. The extensive review was undertaken through a number of strands of scrutiny over a nine-month period. These were:
• helping people maximise their income • making the move into work easier • helping with the cost of raising a child • breaking the link between poverty and ill health • making sure older people get the services they need • improving the conditions of people’s homes • working in a joined-up way
The culmination of this work was debated at Lincoln Poverty Conference - organised by Scrutiny Committee - on 26 February 2014. This brought together more than 110 partners, from 50 organisations, representing different public, private, academic and voluntary sector bodies, providing a forum for more joined-up working.
The outcome was to create an action plan across all seven strands to address gaps in provision, remove duplication of effort, and try new approaches. It was not about large, expensive initiatives - its focus was on what could be achieved by working together to help people.
Both the Strategy and Action Plan will be approved by Executive Committee in April 2014.
The value of the conference was recognised by all partners. As a result, delegates voted unanimously for it to be held each year. The council will facilitate this.
A Twitter hashtag, #LincolnPC14, was created before the event and promoted through the media. Live Tweets demonstrating progress were shown on screens throughout the conference. Delegates also used the hashtag, with a number of retweets and favourites being gained. The event was previewed in the local media, including a live interview with the lead officer on the review on BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s breakfast show. The
150 item also featured an interview with a single mother of four struggling to make ends meet. Other media attended the conference to interview delegates, gaining coverage in the Lincolnshire Echo, BBC Look North, Lincs FM, Siren FM and the Lincolnite news website. A round-up of the conference has featured in the council’s ‘Your Lincoln’ publication sent to every household in the city. The Lincolnshire Echo ran a column from the lead officer about how some television programmes have influenced people’s perception of poverty and how our research shows it is not a lifestyle choice, people do not want to live in the types of conditions we’ve studied. In all communications the role of the scrutiny committee was a key message.
The process of scrutiny since July 2013 has resulted in some actions that have been immediately pursued. The committee has brought forward:
• Full council tax discount scheme retained for 2014/15 • Developed and launched a bulk energy purchase scheme • Commenced a project giving council tenants a Credit Union account on sign-up with a £10 deposit from the council • Work on developing a Credit Union account for all year 7 students in the city - with a £10 deposit from the council • Commenced a review of our Fair Debt Policy • Agreed a scheme with the County Council to ensure Housing/Council tax Benefits claimants automatically get access to free schools meals for their children (we have one of the worst take up rates nationally) • Initial campaign to encourage businesses to pay the Living Wage • Overhauled the Credit Union website for them • Influenced the development of the Growth strategy and a focussed regeneration approach for deprived areas • External bids submitted for a furniture recycling scheme with a third sector partner
The above are just the early schemes from a far more comprehensive action plan, covering a total of 104 potential projects.
Tell us about your approach to gathering evidence for this work (witnesses eg people who use services and the public, frontline staff, voluntary and civil society organisations, local businesses, independent experts) (other information eg benchmarking, site visits, performance data, mystery shopping)
Poverty is a complex and wide-ranging issue. Therefore the Committee escalated its meetings from once every eight weeks to once a month. Throughout the review, committee members had substitute members present so they were kept fully up-to-speed on the progress and could stand in for them if needed.
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A huge amount of evidence gathering took place as part of this exercise. Statistical data painting a comprehensive picture of poverty in the city was examined, alongside evidence gathered from more than 50 leading national academic and organisational journals. These were fed into each stage of the review. Key internal and external partners from the public and voluntary sectors were also invited to take part in each meeting, with officers directed to explore some issues further with partners outside of the meetings, and feed these back into the review. Scrutiny Committee also relied on presentations and support from two university lecturers and written case studies of people experiencing the effects of poverty in Lincoln first hand, enabling us to gain a real insight into the challenges people face. This information gathering was backed up by a survey to key council officers exploring their experiences of people facing poverty, along with a survey to key external partners.
The Lincoln Poverty Conference was a key part of the whole process. The primary focus was the workshop sessions, exploring topics from the review (low income, worklessness, child poverty, older person poverty, housing and poverty, and health and poverty). Further workshops focused on the ‘customer journey’ from emergency support, to longer-term help. This enabled different mixes of partners to explore joint responses to the most pressing issues. Their ideas were recorded and provided in plenary feedback sessions. These were captured and compiled into a draft Action Plan for Scrutiny to advise Executive on.
External endorsements.
Alex Ray, from Longhurst & Havelok Homes, and Chair of Lincolnshire Credit Union, said: “As a major provider of social housing in the city and through my involvement with the credit union I feel that this was a very appropriate and well-timed area of work. “The scrutiny process was thorough and the councillors and officers were keen to listen to the views of a range of partners. “The evidence presented to the committee was used to inform and drive the discussion at the conference which concentrated on how, together, we can address the issues rather than just talk about them. “The conference was a huge success and it has provided a real impetus for many organisations to work together to try and address the causes and consequences of poverty. “The council provided a strong lead with senior staff and councillor involvement but there was a real sense of listening, involvement and engagement of the variety of organisations involved.”
Gail Dunn, from Abbey Access Training, said: “We were pleased to be involved in the work around poverty across the city and in particular the very informative and successful event held by the council to review how we as a provider in a highly deprived ward can involve our communities better to address the issues; raise the profile of poverty across the city and work
152 together to address the multiple problems experienced by our local residents and users of our centre.”
Neil Clurow, from Lincoln and District Citizens Advice Bureau, said: “Through the Scrutiny Committee and the subsequent poverty conference the council has successfully engaged with individuals and organisations working with the most disadvantaged people in the city. “Citizens Advice deliver advice to over 5,000 individuals each year many of whom are struggling to manage debt, budgeting on low incomes and those who have been effected by welfare reform. “Through the scrutiny process and at the poverty conference agencies and individuals were encouraged to take a lead and make a contribution to the debates which continue to be held in an open and constructive manner. “We feel the council is responding to the views and information provided by the voluntary sector when formulating its anti-poverty strategy. “As a result of the conference and other work with the council we are looking at ways in which we can maximise the support we give to clients through partnership working, new ways of accessing advice, improving digital inclusion levels and identifying additional resources aimed at poverty reduction and allow individuals and families to fully engage in society.”
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154 Item No. 8
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 27 MARCH 201 4
SUBJECT: DRAFT COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME 2014/15
REPORT BY: DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES
LEAD OFFICER: CLAIRE TURNER, DEMOCRATIC SERVICES OFFICER
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To consider the draft Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2014/15.
2. Background
2.1 The programme for the Committee is attached under Appendix A, and to date Officers have not identified specific subjects for review. Although the Chair is keen to consider relatively short term subjects over two meetings as the Committee did in 2013/14 and it is possible that the Poverty Action Plan will identify suitable single issue subjects to be considered like this.
2.2 In addition other subjects of a significant nature affecting the City may arise during the year which the committee may consider require to be the subject of scrutiny.
3. Recommendation
3.1 That Members identify any suggested reviews for 2014/15 for inclusion within the draft Work Programme.
List of Appendix A: Draft Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee Background Work Programme 2014/15 Papers : Lead Officer: Claire Turner , Democratic Services Officer Telephone 873 619
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156 APPENDIX A Draft Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee Work Programme – Timetable for 2014/15 10 June 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Suggested Work Programme for 2014-15 and Priorities the reviews for Democratic Services Officer Regular Report the year
Suggested Reviews with the relevant scopes Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
8 July 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 1 – Scope and Plan TBC Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report 157 5 August 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 1 – Investigation TBC Review 2 – Scope and Plan TBC Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
9 September 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 1 – Conclusion TBC Review 2 – Investigation TBC Review 3 - Scope and Plan Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
21 October 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 2 – Conclusion TBC Review 3 – Investigation TBC Review 4 – Scope and Plan TBC Work Programme for 2014-15 - Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
11 November 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 3 – Conclusion TBC Review 4 - Investigation TBC Review 5 – Scope and Plan TBC 158 Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
16 December 2014
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 4 – Conclusion TBC Review 5 – Investigation TBC Review 6 – Scope and Plan TBC Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
20 January 2015
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 5 – Conclusion TBC Review 6 – Investigation TBC Review 7 – Scope and Plan TBC Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
17 February 2015
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 6 – Conclusion TBC Review 7 – Investigation TBC Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report Draft Work Programme for 2015/16 Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
17 March 2015
Item(s) Responsible Person(s) Strategic Priority/ Comments Review 7 – Conclusion TBC Work Programme for 2014-15- Update Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
159 Draft Work Programme for 2015/16 Democratic Services Officer Regular Report
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