Case studies

Wiltshire Council launched the Warm and Safe Wiltshire programme in 2015 to provide energy advice to local residents. 10 years on, the public health team have expanded the programme in collaboration with libraries and community spaces to reach residents across Wiltshire.

Buckinghamshire Council has reshaped its previously fragmented advice system into a more cohesive support offer for residents facing financial insecurity. Working with Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire and strengthening referral pathways has enabled the council to reach a wider range of residents and deliver support that is improving financial stability and overall wellbeing.

Tackling poverty and inequality is at the heart of the overall vision for the future of Leeds. The Financial Inclusion team take an innovative, test and learn approach to support residents with dignity and deliver on this ambition.

When certain groups of boaters in Wiltshire, and across the UK, were excluded from national energy bill support in 2022-23, Wiltshire Council’s Public Health team worked with UK Boaters for Energy Justice, a campaigning team of boaters, to successfully challenge the Government on missing energy bill support.

Elmbridge Borough Council introduced the Elmbridge Cost of Living Fund to empower community-led projects that support local residents through the cost of living crisis.

In June 2024, Runnymede Borough Council implemented a Corporate Debt & Financial Inclusion pilot programme to improve debt collection efficiency and support vulnerable residents. Key milestones included developing a business case, reviewing the Enforcement Agent contract, securing budget approval, and implementing new software.

Colchester City Council launched a cost of living campaign in July 2022 to support residents of Colchester who may be facing financial hardship due to rising energy, food and fuel costs. The campaign aimed to showcase and signpost support available across the city from a wide range of partners, not just the council itself.

Richmond and Wandsworth councils have used the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) to identify households who may be eligible for different benefits, but not claiming them.

Qualitative researchers in Wirral Council’s Public Health team have been using ethnography to see and hear how residents are affected by fuel poverty, including those that may be hidden from the national statistics on fuel poverty.

Furniture poverty is the inability to access, or afford to buy or maintain, any household furniture or appliance item that is essential for a socially acceptable standard of living. At least 26 per cent of social housing tenants live in furniture poverty - yet only 2 per cent of social homes are let as furnished.