To received a verbal update on the impact of the cost of living crisis for children and young people in the Borough.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation from Emma Cantrell, First Days CEO and Jake Morrison, Citizens Advice Wokingham CEO, both members of the Hardship Alliance.
Some of the highlights of the presentation are listed below:
· There had already been a drop in living standards nationally and locally;
· Children who grew up in poverty were four times more likely to develop mental health problems and the affected children were less likely to achieve the same level of academic success as their peers;
· Inequality was more stark in Wokingham due to the fact that this is an affluent area;
· The number of children living under the poverty line in Wokingham was listed in one of the slides, all wards had children living under the poverty line;
· The definition of poverty by the DWP was living with less than 60% of medium income of the area lived in. In Wokingham the median income was just over £34k;
· The cost of living crisis was affecting two groups in particular:
· Those who were already living in long-term hardship – for these people there was now a sense of helplessness; and
· Those who were managing before but were not now – some in this group were not sure what options for help were available to them, the number of people falling into this category was growing;
· First Days expected to support over 6,000 children in Wokingham in the next 12 months with essential items;
· 33% of the families supported by First Days had one adult in work, this figure was 56% two years ago, it seemed that some low income families had dropped out of the job market;
· Over 1,500 requests for support had been received from Children’s Services;
· Over 3,000 children were supported via the Outreach Team in the community;
· Local charities had seen a significant increase in demand for their services and some were over capacity with a waiting list;
· There was a risk of a potential increase in demand for statutory services;
· The voluntary sector was not able to sustain the level of demand. Charitable funding had dropped 40% since the same time last year and costs had increased due to inflation, some charities would not survive;
· Schools were having to deal with the social impact of the current crisis;
· It was important to ensure that families in need were accessing all the support that was available;
· There had been a significant increase in the number of single people living with children;
· Helplessness was a strong indicator of mental health issues, which could lead to suicidal thoughts;
· Citizens Advice had seen a 75% increase in the number of calls for support since last October;
· 57% of people on universal credit in Wokingham had children to support;
· Debt solution was being very difficult to achieve.
Councillor Bray agreed that the current crisis was very serious. She informed that the Council was helping as much as possible, for example with the cost of school uniform and school trips. She felt worried about the situation as there was no short or medium term solution to this crisis. In addition, the number of people who could help was reducing and the number of people who needed help was increasing.
Jake Morrison informed that Wokingham United Charities offered grants to schools for families who were struggling, however the uptake of this offer was low. He would share the details with Councillor Bray.
Councillor Bishop-Firth expressed her gratitude to the work being undertaken by the charities and the voluntary sector. The Council was providing vouchers during the school holidays to families whose children received free school meals. This scheme was funded until March 2023. The Council was committed to continuing funding it until May 2023, however funding from the government was needed after that.
Emma Cantrell explained that local authorities had been put into a difficult position since the grant for free school meals had been cut in real terms.
Emma Cantrell clarified that the figure of 33% of households with one adult in employment, was irrespective of how many adults lived in the house.
Councillor Helliar-Symonds was concerned that the Cowshed was located in Reading and it could be difficult for people to get there. Emma Cantrell explained that accommodation was a challenge for charities due to the high price of properties. Emma Cantrell stated that work was underway with the Council to try and identify resources.
Councillor Bishop-Firth asked what were the barriers preventing people from getting into work, in view of the significant drop in the number of households with adults in work.
Emma Cantrell explained that low wage incomes had not increased sufficiently to balance the budget, and childcare was very expensive. Also, flexible working arrangements were not available for low income jobs.
Councillor Howe was interested to know how the Council could help the charities and the voluntary sector, and how was their relationship in 2019. Jake Morrison stated that the relationship between charities, the voluntary sector and the Council was much improved at the time of the pandemic in March 2020, and it has continued to improve since. He explained that the current challenge was around resources. In the past his organisation had been able to answer 95% of the calls received, this number was now closer to 60%.
Emma Cantrell stated that the communication and information about what help was available could be improved.
Emma Cantrell explained that she ran a small team of five full-time equivalent positions. Her team were asking for an employee benefit programme, this was very expensive and she wondered if the Council could work in partnership with her charity to offer assistance in that respect.
The Chairman suggested that Town and Parish Councils could be approached to help charities and the voluntary sector.
Emma Cantrell stated that help with grant application processes would be very welcome.
Councillor Rowland expressed serious concern with the current cost of living crisis.
Councillor Boyt stated that the Council building was currently being underutilised, and suggested that maybe charities or nurseries could use the building. Emma Cantrell informed that imaginative ways to use the building were already being discussed.
Councillor Swaddle suggested that Emma Cantrell attend the Borough/Parish Liaison Forum to share her presentation with that group. She also suggested that the old library building could be an option of accommodation.
Emma Cantrell informed that the old library would be used during the winter for storage. However, the utility costs of that building was a big consideration for charities.
In response to a question, Jake Morrison explained that librarians would be trained to help people to maximise access to benefits, with a tool called benefit calculator. They would offer this help at local libraries.
Members were informed that consideration should be given to the fact that transport was expensive for people who were struggling financially, and that services needed to be available locally to avoid travel costs.
Councillor Boyt wondered if there was an opportunity for Council Officers to volunteer to help charities, for example working one day a week for a charity. Emma Cantrell explained that the volunteer idea was being explored, and also with businesses in the area.
The Chairman asked for more information about the relationship between Children’s Services and the charities.
Emma Cantrell stated that her charity received requests for support from social workers from Children’s Services. There was a very good working relationship with the Community Engagement Team. However, there was potential to improve the partnership with Children’s Services.
Jake Morrison explained that recently there had been interaction with the Care Leaver’s Team and that a course had been offered to care leavers as a result of this interaction. He believed that the communication between the Council and the voluntary sector could be improved further.
Adam Davis, Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care and Early Help stated that his team welcomed the engagement with the charities and invited both Emma Cantrell and Jake Morrison to attend managers meetings to share information. Helen Watson, Director of Children’s Services extended the invitation and welcomed the opportunity to work with the charities.
Councillor Howe stated that most big companies were involved in voluntary work and offered to share his expertise.
Members thanked Emma Cantrell and Jake Morrison for their participation in the meeting and for the work they were doing, it was much appreciated.
The Committee wished to make a series of recommendations and agreed that the final wording would be proposed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman and circulated to Members for final agreement via email.
RESOLVED That:
1) The Committee recommends that the Executive:
i. Supports Wokingham Borough Council to lobby the government to ensure adequate provision of Household Support Funding beyond May 2023, when the present arrangements end.
ii. Supports efforts to help groups working to support families made vulnerable by the cost of living crisis, by looking at ways council-owned properties might be made available to assist such groups requiring premises for their activities.
iii. Work with Senior Council Officers to help improve communications between Council staff and local organisations, including the Hardship Alliance, to further increase awareness and understanding amongst Council staff about the current local offers of these organisations.
iv. Request that Officers investigate possibilities for a local volunteer scheme for Council staff; and explore ways of using the Council’s Communications Team to support volunteer recruitment from amongst the public.
2) That Officers write to the Chair of the Borough Parish Liaison Forum to request that the Hardship Alliance be invited to attend one of their meetings to give a presentation and take part in questions and answers on the impact of the cost of living crisis.