Case studies

Wigan Council's Collections team used behavioural insights to encourage tenants who were in arrears and who had not been in contact with the Collections team to get in touch and access support. The team sent a one-page letter to tenants – written with an empathetic tone emphasising support rather than arrears and rent collection, and featuring a single call-to-action. Laura Melling of Wigan Council reflects on the project.

Broxtowe Borough Council has launched a new mixed-use leisure development in Beeston, Nottingham. The development features an Arc Cinema Complex with plans in place for three new food and drink retail outlets and is aimed at bolstering the visitor economy and night-time economy to encourage people to live and work in Beeston. It is hailed as a model for the post COVID-19 revival of the UK’s town centres for playing its part in “community wealth building”.

In our webinar ‘Climate change: what next for local authorities?’, Manchester City Council set out the communications work it is undertaking to help make Manchester a zero carbon city by 2038.

Birmingham City Council is the largest employer in the city. They have committed to improving the pay and work opportunities for people from marginalised ethnic groups through improving their recruitment process, setting up a dedicated equalities and cohesion team and the carrying out the council’s first Workforce Race Equity Review. This case study forms part of the health inequalities hub.

Bradford District Council has been leading a programme to improve community cohesion and engagement and reduce inequalities. More than 70 individual projects have been launched and 25,000 people engaged in the process.

Brighton & Hove City Council made a commitment to do more to actively challenge racial inequality and become an anti-racist city. It includes a promise to draw up an anti-racism strategy and the creation of a dedicated community fund for BME community groups. This case study forms part of the health inequalities hub.

Gloucestershire was chosen as one of six programmes to receive funding as part of the King’s Fund and National Lottery Community Fund scheme to explore new ways of working with local communities and the voluntary sector during 2021. This case study forms part of the health inequalities hub.

Lewisham Council and Lewisham Learning plan took a new approach to education to investigate why Black students were underachieving. Following the findings a number of pledges were created, including a commitment to increase black representation among the school leadership team and governors, reducing exclusions for black pupils and targeting ambitious outcomes for black pupils. This case study forms part of the health inequalities hub.

Nottingham City Council published a BAME Inequalities Framework in the summer of 2020 which set out a place-based approach to trying to make progress. A taskforce, including representatives from the council and other public sector partners and community groups, was set up to help drive forward the work, including around COVID-19 vaccinations. This case study forms part of the health inequalities hub.

Wiltshire Pension Fund has set an investment belief: “We seek to invest in a way that, where possible, aligns the interests of the Fund with those of the contributing employers and the Fund membership”.