Councils know there can be a mountain to climb when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable. But there are good news stories out there
There’s a mountain on the Isle of Skye called Sgùrr Dearg. It’s nearly 1,000 metres tall and is topped by the ‘Inaccessible Pinnacle’ – a sharp, fin-shaped shard of rock.
Since it was first summited in 1880, it’s been conquered many times. Meaning, of course, that it’s not inaccessible – just hard to reach.
At the risk of stretching the metaphor a bit too far, the same can be said for some of the country’s most vulnerable communities.
We know many of the reasons; disability, language barriers, poverty and disengagement, digital exclusion.
And it comes as no surprise that these are the same groups that have suffered the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis (and before that, Covid).
Connecting with these groups, engaging with them and building trust, is essential for supporting people out of poverty and helping them enjoy better health.
But it’s a thorny issue. The goalposts shift, and we often don’t have the full picture. After all, these households are often not getting the support they deserve because we just don’t know enough about them, their needs or their aspirations.
As Clean Slate and Quids in! have commented many times through our work on the Nobody in the Dark campaign, digital exclusion has widened this divide. While the rapid shift to online since Covid has been transformational for many vulnerable and excluded people, those who are yet to make the change become easier to miss.
Trust and representation
If the people who could benefit from support don’t know what services exist then how can they put themselves forward for them? And at the same time, councils know that they don’t know about all the people who could use support.
One solution is to encourage buy-in through already trusted services. As national director of Feeding Britain, Andrew Forsey has long called for action to tackle low take-up of benefits, specifically Healthy Start vouchers. He knows first-hand the difficulties of engaging – but at the same time sees the opportunities.
“One approach that we’ve developed with some success involves co-locating advice workers in food clubs, so that people with no or very little money can receive on-the-spot help with benefits, debt, utilities and other money-related matters,” he says.
Strike while the iron is hot, in other words. And piggy-back on the trust that has already been built with existing services.
“A growing number of local authorities are putting resources into this approach, which can reduce the long-term need for foodbanks by maximising people’s incomes, and ensuring they’re in receipt of everything to which they’re entitled, as quickly as possible,” he adds.
Similarly, in St Helens in Merseyside the council spotted an opportunity to offer other support within a host of warm spaces it was offering. Teams offered advice on heating, food, benefits and wellbeing and partners including Jobcentre Plus and Citizens Advice also attended some sessions.
Sometimes engagement was low with just a handful of people attending, but by partnering up the council found it could boost numbers to around 80 per session.
And what they also discovered when they spoke to those attending was that their primary motivations for seeking a warm space were often the food on offer and an opportunity to tackle isolation.
So what the council learned is that something of a rebrand may be in order. That way, they can continue to offer the same services but they’re responding to the needs expressed by local residents.
Digging into data
Boots on the ground is one part of the equation, but knowing more about incomes and circumstances is also vital to gauge how services are performing and how policy changes may impact on households.
In Islington in London, data analytics revealed a low uptake of Pension Credit – and with more than a third of their over-60 population living in a deprived household the local authority knew it needed to act.
It found uptake was low for a number of reasons – lack of awareness, the assumption they didn’t qualify or that their savings excluded them, concern over form-filling and a feeling that there was no one to help or answer their questions.
The council used Policy in Practice’s Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) to identify pensioner housholds that were vulnerable.
The data gave them the insight to launch a targeted campaign, which increased take-up of Pension Credit by 39 per cent. It meant 274 households, which would likely have remained under the radar, were identified and helped to a successful claim. And of course, the Pension Credit opened up associated benefits like free TV licences, Cold Weather Payments and energy support.
On average, the households became £4,500 better off.
And it’s not just about the unclaimed benefits. Becoming more financially resilient meant 25 households had the breathing space to get on top of their rent arrears, and £13,649 of debt was repaid to the council.
Holding up a mirror to the community
When decision-makers don’t reflect the communities they work for then it’s easy to see how people – and their needs – can fall through the cracks.
CIH president Lara Oyedele is using her tenure to turn the spotlight on representation, specifically ethnic and racial inclusion in leadership roles.
Her In My Shoes campaign will run until her presidency ends in September this year, raising awareness of the need for diversity through her own experiences of homelessness as a young woman.
“Organisations’ culture stems from the top,” she has said. “I truly believe that if we get it right in the boardroom the housing sector will have leadership that reflects the demographics of our staff, tenants and the communities we serve.”
Image: Adrian Fagg / Flickr
