Finance
Finance The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Benefit Take-up Most disadvantaged families are not taking up their full benefit and tax credit entitlements. Only 44% of children in severe poverty are in families that report claiming the child tax credit. There is a lack of knowledge among many on low incomes of their entitlements to support.
Review the quality/ accessibility of information and benefits (particularly in work benefits) available via early years settings. Consider undertaking co-ordinated benefit take up work within early years settings.
Promoting Tax Credits and help towards childcare costs provides a simple, easy to use online toolkit to help your local authority raise awareness about help for paying for childcare. http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/ P0001075.doc
Finance Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Free school meals administration and take up Efficient, user-friendly free school meal administration encourages take up.
Establish a course of action that ensures that free school meal and other education related grants administration is accurate, efficient and take up of entitlement is in the top quartile of authorities.
Useful strategies for increasing free school meal takeup Food for life article on free school meal take-up
Sustainable Procurement In 2005 it was estimated that 35% of the ÂŁ4 billion spent each year by the public sector in Wales was won by indigenous business supporting some 70,000 jobs. Every 1% increase to this figure should relate to an increase of some 2,000 jobs.
Develop a common partnership approach to Buy Wales sustainable procurement that ensures opportunities to support the local economy http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/ and skills development of young people are node/1413 secured. http://www.s-p-i-n.co.uk/toolkit.asp#SocioEconomic
Finance Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg Income Poverty
Current Challenges Charging Policies Charging policies and practice that do not fully consider concessions can limit the life chances of the poorest.
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Develop robust school charging policy and Oldham Policy on charging for school activities practice that effectively considers the needs of pupils experiencing poverty and disadvantage.
De Stigmatising Payment Methods Develop sensitive payment methods within Some free school meals and other payment school settings methods stigmatise pupils making them more vulnerable to bullying.
Cashless Catering http://www.familyandparenting.org/item/1202 Denbighshire Cashless Catering
Finance A Safe Home and Community / Cartrefi a chymunedau diogel Income Poverty
Current Challenges Economic inactivity In 2005-6 men and women living in social housing in Wales had a lower rate of economic activity and higher unemployment than those living in other tenures and of economic inactivity.
What Can Be Done? Explore ways of working in partnership to join up employment and housing solutions. Review housing related procurement processes and investigate the potential for social clauses and employment skills development. Link housing options advice with employment advice
Benefits Administration Continually review and develop practice The performance of benefits administration is varied across Wales. There are concerns about the fragmented way in which the benefit is currently delivered and the administrative complexity and delays that result from this, which in turn often leave families and young people with rent arrears (and in the most extreme cases, threats of eviction) through no fault of their own. Landlords’ cash flows can also be affected which can prejudice their renting to Housing Benefit claimants. The way in which Housing Benefit is administered can also act as a barrier to people entering employment.
Where To Go? DWP Report on Social Housing and Worklessness
Benefits administration performance report
Finance Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi Income Poverty
Current Challenges Councils within Wales have differing approaches to discretionary housing benefit payment which causes difficulties for advice services.
What Can Be Done? Consider developing national standards for discretionary housing benefit.
Benefits administration has historically Review the appropriateness of existing benefits focussed on those people in receipt of out of administration for those on low incomes consider (new work benefits. As a result application forms etc). processes/forms etc for hard working families on low incomes have often deterred benefit take-up in this group.
Where To Go? Discretionary Housing Payments Best Practice Guide March 2008
Finance Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
There is currently no obligation on councils to take responsibility for promoting improved take-up of welfare benefits. Despite this, there is a growing expectation from Central Government that benefit checks and help to claim benefits should be integrated within council key services.
Consider the feasibility of providing holistic benefit checks for vulnerable families within key frontline services in partnership with the voluntary sector and encourage the take up of WTC/CTC and DLA (especially for children) and Attendance Allowance.
The unclaimed millions: dla and cancer patients CPAG: Out of Reach: benefits for disabled children Citizens advice: Tax credit takeup resource pack
Research indicates that benefit take-up is an issue within Wales Official figures show 44% of couples with children are paying out much more than they need to in council tax. HMRC state that in 2005-2006, 60,000 families did not claim their entitlement to Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit which amounted to ÂŁ80m of unclaimed Tax credits.(central estimates)
Consider the feasibility of undertaking in work benefit-take up take up activities with working families on low incomes. Such activity should be multiagency involving experts from the voluntary sector.
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/ publications/publicationdisplay.do?id=22235 http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ default.aspx
Finance Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi Income Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Efficient benefits administration performance can have a significant impact in tackling poverty and providing opportunity, whereas poor performance restricts opportunity and leaves people facing financial problems.
Ensure that the performance and efficiency of benefits administration regularly is reviewed and continually develop staff, working processes, partnerships and a performance culture. Re-evaluate practice in relation to interim payments when claims are delayed to ensure that claimants Review the Council’s approach to its benefits and family related grants with a view to creating a more streamlined, seamless service that links benefits administration, free school meal applications, school uniform grants etc.
DWP housing benefit advice for local authorities
Sustainable Procurement practices adopted by Councils and other public bodies can be utilised to support the local economy and worklessness.
Review sustainable procurement practices and explore potential to support the social aspect of sustainable procurement e.g. social contracts etc.
https://www.buy4wales.co.uk/ UsefulResources/ valuewalesp.html
Finance The Early Years (0-7) / Y blynyddoedd cynnar Service Poverty
Current Challenges Assessment of Childcare Sufficiency
What Can Be Done? In responding to the assessment pay particular attention to income gaps, geographical gaps in information and provision in disadvantaged areas, time gaps that act as barriers to work.
Where To Go?
Finance Education and Learning Opportunities / Addysg Service Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Where To Go?
Homework Policies Children from more advantaged backgrounds enjoy considerable out of school support in overcoming their problems that their disadvantaged peers do not receive. The latter are almost totally dependent on out-ofschool homework clubs if they are to access such support.
Develop guidance on homework policies that http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/ take account of the difficult situation faced by management/atoz/h/homework/ children experiencing poverty and the support Homework Policies that can be made available to them.
Working with others
Consider bringing in role models to show people from their own background that can be successful.
http://www.infed.org/biblio/ role_model_education.htm http://www.teachers.tv/video/244
Basic Skills Low levels of basic skills in work hamper the ability of employees to progress and perpetuates in work poverty.
Prioritise basic skills within your own organisations and encourage all partners to sign up to "Basic skills employer pledge". Complete and implement the action plan.
Basic-skills-Wales: employer_pledge
Finance Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi Service Poverty
Current Challenges Registered social landlords and local authorities in Wales were owed over £34 million by their tenants at 31 March 2003. Total Council Tax arrears at April 2007 stand at £71 million. Action to recover this debt requires sensitivity.
What Can Be Done? Consider developing fair debt collection practices working in partnership with debt advice providers ( e.g. Send out debt advice referral forms with reminder letters and liability orders etc.) and developing a common all Wales methodology for calculating financial statements
Repossessions are on the increasing. The Consider establishing ‘Invest to save schemes’ to support Cost of re-housing someone is estimated to for preventing repossessions via mortgage rescue be £2000. schemes.
Where To Go? Office of Fair Trading.16 Organisations
Richmondshire Mortgage Rescue Scheme Shelter: Preventing court action Adviceguide: Credit and debt fact sheets
Finance Income Maximisation / Employment / Heb fod dan anfantais o achos tlodi Participation Poverty
Current Challenges
What Can Be Done?
Charged for services such as leisure, culture Review charging practice and policy in and transport can often limit participation of relation to fairer access to services children and young people in families with financial difficulties.
Where To Go?