Tackling poverty and disadvantage: Spotlight case studies

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.

Healthy Start is a national scheme which helps young families and those pregnant on low incomes to access nutritious food, milk and vitamins. Figures are published on its take-up at local authority level, with one of the best rates of take-up being County Durham. In February 2023 the England average uptake was 63.5 per cent, while the figure for County Durham was 73 per cent.

Bath & North East Somerset is a small unitary authority with just over 196,000 residents. Rising demand for support such as food banks and debt advice has shown local people are affected by the cost of living. The council is working with local trusted organisations to engage with people who have experience of food insecurity.

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.

Surrey County Council has been utilising the strength of the voluntary, community and faith sector to reach those communities that are most in need of extra support.

Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council formalised their strategic partnership in February 2022 following a six-month trial period with a joint chief executive. The agreement sees each council retain its sovereignty and independent governance while exploring meaningful co-working opportunities to use their combined resources for the good of local residents.

Warm Homes Suffolk is an initiative shared across Suffolk’s county, district and borough councils, has been granted funding to assemble a ‘Fuel Poverty Retrofit Team’ to support residents most affected by the cost of living.

Wandsworth Council is committed to supporting residents through cost of living pressures and has developed a range of immediate actions through a community-focused cost of living programme.

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.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been seeking to add value to the work of its 10 member councils by leading a whole system response to the cost of living pressures. This includes data gathering, sharing information, and practical advice for particular groups of residents.

Helping disadvantaged residents to maximise their income and improve their financial resilience has long been a priority for the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Both COVID-19 and cost of living have brought an added impetus to this work.

Hertfordshire Council’s strategic approach has been to maintain and strengthen the cross-council, cross-service, multi-partner approach that proved effective during COVID-19, and it has been refined and built on for cost of living support.

Poverty prevention and alleviation is a priority for East Devon District Council. The council set up a working panel in 2020 to lead the creation of a poverty strategy and action plan, and then to monitor progress against it. The strategy has five objectives – including to help people on low incomes build financial resilience and reduce indebtedness.

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.

As part of its approach to cost of living, Bristol City Council has created a network of more than 80 warm and accessible community-led spaces in established places of connection such as community centres, children’s centres and faith spaces, providing extra activities and capacity during the winter.

‘A Fairer Stockton-on-Tees’ (FSOT) is the borough council’s long-term strategic framework for tackling inequalities. The immediate focus is on ensuring that the council and its delivery partners can help local residents navigate the cost of living.

Developing a cost of living action plan at Kirklees Council has been a joint effort between the public health and corporate policy teams, with strong councillor involvement.

Brighton & Hove City Council is working with community organisations that share its goal of a healthy, sustainable and fair food system.

The Early Advice and Support Team is a preventative service designed to address financial hardship by tackling its wider social and health determinants.