|
Welcome to the May 2023 edition of the LGA's cost of living bulletin - featuring news and updates from across the sector on a wide range of topics around the cost of living, including what the LGA is doing to support councils and communities.
Latest from the LGA
Cost of living network webinars
Our third network webinar of 2023 is due to take place on 21 June, 12pm-2pm.
At this event we will hear from councils and their partners on what they are doing to support residents with the rising cost of living. Themes include designing and delivering anti-poverty strategies, increasing uptake of pension-age benefits, incorporating lived experience and user voice, and taking a partnership approach to building household resilience.
Would you like to share what you are working on? Email charlotte.maguire@local.gov.uk to discuss presenting at one of our 2023 cost of living webinars.
Partnership working with the VCS toolkit
At a time of rising pressure on services and tough financial constraints, it is more important than ever that councils can build successful partnerships with their local voluntary and community sector. To help councils on their journey, we have worked with Locality to develop a new toolkit which will assist them to assess the current strengths of their strategic relationships and identify concrete steps to improve them. This toolkit builds on LGA and Locality research published last year on the state of strategic relationships between councils and VCS.
The role of councils in tackling digital exclusion
We have commissioned DMS Research and Consulting to explore the links between various types of disadvantage, the availability and usage of digital infrastructure, and to consider the role of councils in tackling digital exclusion. The new report contains a number of recommendations for the Government, the LGA, and councils on how to improve digital inclusivity.
Public health blogs
The LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board members have produced a series of blogs looking into today’s public heath issues and policy. Topics range from the reality of moving from curing to preventing, unemployment and health, and links between financial difficulty and suicide.
Energy saving schemes
Our new research on achieving heat and buildings decarbonisation by 2050 has found national Government energy saving schemes are falling short and failing to hit fuel poverty targets. We are calling for accelerated action to rapidly retrofit all social and fuel poor homes and to devolve energy saving schemes so that councils can target local projects to insulate homes and support businesses.
Behavioural insights
We have funded a consortium of nine local authorities from Kent and Medway and the NHS in collaboration with The Behaviouralist, to develop an intervention that leveraged behavioural insights to encourage local residents to reduce energy usage at home.
Based on the identified barriers to reducing domestic fuel consumption, the consortium developed 'Share the Warmth' - a behavioural intervention that aimed to empower residents and their close ones to save energy at home.
Parliamentary activity
Renters Reform Bill 2023
The changes will introduce new enforcement powers and duties for councils. We have responded to the Bill on behalf of the sector.
Healthy Start scheme
On 19 May 2023 Andrew Western MP led a debate on the Healthy Start Scheme and the increases in the cost of living in the House of Commons. The full transcript of the debate can be viewed on UK Parliament.
Financial support for disabled people
Social housing and furniture affordability
On 24 May 2023 Paul Maynard MP led a debate on social housing and the affordability of furniture in the House of Commons. The full transcript of the debate can be viewed on UK Parliament.
The Education Committee
The Committee on Fuel Poverty
The Committee on Fuel Poverty has published a new research report exploring the challenges faced by fuel poor households over the winter of 2022 to 2023. The research, which was conducted by London Economics Limited, provides a detailed and up to date understanding of the challenges faced by fuel poor households last winter when making decisions around fuel consumption.
Updates from Government departments and partners
Department for Work and Pensions Universal Credit programme
This month the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have expanded the move to UC footprint programme to East London and Cheshire for single claimants. The department have now also commenced a small-scale Discovery Phase for tax credits couples.
DWP Pension Credit team campaign
DWP's Pension Credit 'Week of Action’ campaign will take place from 12 to 16 June 2023. During the week the department will be posting a variety of videos and other related content on DWP social channels and MPs will be holding Pension Credit drop-in surgeries in their constituencies.
The department have produced a toolkit with variety of materials that can be used by local government and partners to help older people understand how they could access Pension Credit.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and New Local have produced a new framework to support local areas to make progress towards designing out the most severe forms of hardship.
The research captures how local public services, voluntary and community organisations, community groups and other partners are working innovatively to both mitigate the impact of poverty and attempt to fundamentally tackle the root causes of it.
Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)
MaPS and the NHS have developed a new money and mental health signposting tool. Money in Mind sets out a range of questions a mental health professional can ask to explore any issues a service user might be experiencing about money. To support with this, there are a range of national services, tools and resources that can be shared with customers.
For more information visit our Cost of Living hub
|
