Qualitative Evaluation of South Tyneside’s Welcoming Places Scheme

In response to the cost-of-living crisis and fuel poverty, South Tyneside implemented a ‘warm bank’ scheme, known initially as Warm Spaces, later renamed Welcoming Places, to provide residents places to stay warm while reducing energy bills. Over 70 venues, including businesses, council buildings, and VCSE spaces joined the scheme. A qualitative evaluation using interviews and focus groups showed that Welcoming Places provided support during the cost-of-living, and improved physical health, mental wellbeing and reduced isolation of attendees. The scheme has continued to develop drawing on from learning from the evaluation and to address changing needs of residents.

South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the North East of England which experiences significant deprivation; South Tyneside is ranked 12th most income-deprived on the IMD. The cost-of-living crisis has placed increased pressure on residents. Fuel poverty, defined as when a household is unable to heat their home to an adequate temperature, has been identified as a key area of concern; more than 13 per cent of households in South Tyneside were considered ‘fuel poor in 2021’. 

The increased fuel prices during the cost-of-living crisis could have further exacerbated that number. Fuel poverty is associated with worsening physical health conditions, increased mortality, deteriorating mental wellbeing and worsening social isolation.

Warm banks provide a place for people to go to stay warm during the day for those who cannot afford the rising costs of their domestic energy bills. South Tyneside Council supported the development and implementation of a local warm bank scheme, known as the ‘Warm Spaces’ by providing small grants, developing a network of venues and organizations, and organizing regular network meetings and communications. Over 70 venues, including council buildings (for example, libraries and family hubs), businesses, churches, and voluntary sector organizations joined the network and provided a warm space offer to residents. The scheme name was changed to the ‘Welcoming Places’ to support sustainability beyond the winter months, to better reflect the range of activities provided and reasons for attendance, and to mitigate potential stigma associated with the cost-of-living crisis.

A NIHR SPARC-funded qualitative evaluation was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of how these spaces were used, the benefits provided to residents, and the views of managers and users about the future of the Welcoming Places. This evaluation involved one-to-one interviews with attendees and focus-groups with venue managers which explored the views and experiences of those involved with the Welcoming Spaces. The key themes that emerged were taken to an additional focus group of users of the Welcoming Spaces. During this focus group, visual minutes were taken while the group discussed the themes.

Both users and managers of the Welcoming Places spoke highly of the scheme and the support that it provides. Managers felt that the support provided by South Tyneside Council was valuable and supported them to provide the warm-bank offer.

Three key themes emerged from the qualitative evaluation: 

1. Help and support during the cost-of-living crisis
2. That the Welcoming Places were “worth their weight in gold,” and 
3. The strength and capacity of Welcoming Places.

Help and support during the cost-of-living crisis

Most participants discussed the cost-of-living crisis and the changes they needed to make including not putting the heating on and spending less on shopping. Many viewed the Welcoming Places as an alternative to putting the heating on at home, get a low-cost and healthy meal, and avoid social isolation while improving their mental health.

“It’s worth its weight in gold”

All participants spoke highly about the Welcoming Place(s) they attended. There was an overall feeling of gratitude that these spaces were open. Participants felt there were few, if any, alternatives in the area, either because they were not aware of them or simply preferred their local Welcoming Place.

Capability and strength of Welcoming Places

The Welcoming Places built on existing venues and trusted organizations but clear benefits were identified in the support from the council including developing a network, providing ongoing communications and support, and providing small grants.

This evaluation was shared at South Tyneside Council’s Cost-of-Living summit where it was shared with partners, stakeholders and residents from across the borough. The evaluation has been published in an academic journal Health & Social Care in the Community to share learning more widely.

The Welcoming Places scheme has strengthened and developed since it was evaluated. Key areas of development include:

• A Welcoming Places charter has been developed to formalize what residents should expect when they visit a Welcoming Place; a guarantee of warmth, respect and a lovely welcome.
• A program of ‘winter readiness’ is being developed to ensure that residents are supported over the next winter period and to make every contact count.
• The Welcoming Places booklet and website have been expanded to include additional information about each venue’s offerings.
• The Welcoming Places monthly newsletter has been expanded to share information with Welcoming Place managers on skills, training, and signposting of service.
• The Welcoming Places network continues to meet regularly with expert speakers being invited to share advice, learning, and best practice. A starter-pack for new venues joining the scheme is being developed.
• ‘Mini-summits’ in local areas have built on the borough-wide cost-of-living summit to share what works, explore barriers, and identify proposed next steps.
• Increased signposting to funding opportunities and support provided for grant applications.
• Close links have been established with local businesses through the South Tyneside Pledge which has led to donations of equipment, staff time as well as finances. Additionally Welcoming Places are linked with the online tool PLINTH to promote activities and volunteering opportunities in South Tyneside.
• Clear branding developed and expanded in the production of window stickers to provide a visual signpost to residents when a venue is a Welcoming Place.

Several important lessons emerged from this evaluation.

• The success of the Welcoming Places scheme depended significantly on the range pre-existing organizations and venues that joined the network.
• The networking opportunities provided through regular Welcoming Places network calls facilitated by the council were seen very positively and provided managers opportunities to link with other groups and services.
• Financial viability is a real concern, but even small grants made a significant difference to organizations and venues in being able to provide a ‘warm bank’ offer.
• Most attendees attended a single Welcoming Place and had a limited knowledge of other places that were available, thus, branding was seen as very important to attendees, managers, and the council to allow passersby to understand when a venue was a Welcoming Place and to build an understanding of this network across the borough.

Contacts

Dr Piotr Teodorowski
Health Services Researcher
Email: [email protected]

Laura Liddell
Anti-Poverty Strategy Coordinator
Email: [email protected]

More about the Warm Banks Scheme

A qualitative evaluation of the Warm Banks Scheme as a response to the cost-of-living crisis in North East England