Landlords, local authorities and support agencies are on a war footing in the face of the cost-of-living crisis but not all of the arsenal is always in play
Five years ago, deploying digital comms to help in the fight against financial hardship might have been a moot point.
So many lacked digital access. But according to the Lloyds Consumer Digital Index 2021, the pandemic unexpectedly advanced internet use by five years. More people are ready. Emails, WhatsApp and web tools are now a viable means of two-way communications with people struggling most with bills, unemployment and accessing support. So why does the computer so often say ‘No!’?
GDPR legislation had significant, unintended consequences. Rules were open to interpretation. Training providers and IT gatekeepers sustained a narrative that only the narrowest reading of the rules would support compliance.
Sharing an electronic leaflet from a third party seemed as dangerous as publishing the financial details of a company’s total customer base. Risk management needs to be proportionate, informed and fit for purpose.
Any organisation spending thousands on supporting people through the cost-of-living crisis has already established this is a core activity. For many, like landlords, it is business critical. In GDPR speak, this means ‘legitimate interest’.
Undertaking a Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA), and recording the decision-making process, frees us up to digitally contact households about the best steps to overcome hardship.
The Quids In! Readers Club is a monthly email service for low-income households. It offers the same, (actually, more), information and advice as Quids in! magazine. As well as selling hard copy products to landlords, authorities and support agencies, we licence digital content for them to send direct to their email lists.
As part of our own LIA, we also recorded additional factors supporting this activity’s compliance with GDPR: (1) It is 100 per cent for community benefit; (2) Content shared by third parties is non-commercial; (3) No personal data about recipients is shared. (Our full LIA is published here.)
A few years ago, I visited Aster Housing. They were interested in licensing Readers Club emails but we needed to allay their risk manager’s misgivings. By understanding GDPR, and having consulted the Information Commissioner’s Office directly, we were able to demonstrate the process’s compliance. More than 20,000 of their tenants have received Quids in-branded content ever since.
Our online Cost of Living Survey 2022 will ask people on low incomes to share their experiences of the cost-of-living crisis and the help they really need. Due to be published this month, primarily for social tenants, it will be the fourth survey of its kind, enabling us to compare trends over time. (See previous research findings here.)
We are in discussion with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Payment Services Regulator and the Money and Pensions Service about sharing and comparing data about a group that is notoriously hard to reach.
In 2018, we found 48 per cent of working-age people not in full-time employment were skipping meals on account of money worries. Half (51%) were turning off their heating despite being cold. More than two thirds (68%) felt frightened, anxious or depressed. That was pre-pandemic, pre-war in Ukraine and pre-cost-of-living crisis. What will we find in 2022?
If you’re receiving this email, you are a stakeholder in this research. Contact us here to get involved.
The Quids in! editorial team is expert in presenting easy-to-read information on critical help that low-income households could be accessing right now. It is part of Clean Slate’s wider team, which includes over 30 support workers in daily contact with people struggling financially. Our customers, like Aster, benefit from a trusted, independent voice sharing tips and encouraging readers to take action. This frees organisations up for more intensive support for residents struggling most.
When the computer says ‘Yes’, a critical line of digital defence is activated as part of our collective war on hardship and poverty. It really is time to rally the troops. To read more about the Quids in! Readers Club, click here.
Main image: MART PRODUCTION / Pexels
