The Big Squeeze

Poverty has a detrimental impact on health and happiness

How can you help?

This half day workshop provided frontline practitioners with the skills, confidence and knowledge to support their local communities in surviving the impact of the economic recession.

Please use the links below to download the presentations and supporting documents from the event held on Tuesday 27 September 2011.

Downloads from the workshops

• Impact of Financial Exclusion in Leeds 2004 to 2010 by Philip Bee, The Oastler Centre for Faith in Economic Life (PowerPoint document)
• Mental health, resilience and the recession in Bradford by Gianfranco Giuntoli, Leeds Metropolitan University (PowerPoint document)
• Managing Fuel Poverty, Dave Bentley, Leeds Citizen Advice Bureau (PowerPoint document)
• NEA Conference 2011, David Bentley (Word document)
• Welfare Reform – The Changes (Word document)
• Health Through Warmth Crash Referrer Training (word document)
• Benefits and Tax Credits – The Cuts (word document)
• In house training available from Advice Leeds (PDF document)

Income Maximisation for Families Workshop

• Financial support for families on a low income (Word document)
• State benefits available to families information leaflet (Word document)
• State benefits availlable to families - summary table (PDF document)
• Citizens Advice Bureau information leaflet (Word document)
• Case study 1 and case study 2 (PDF documents)

Overcoming financial difficulty 

The overcoming financial difficulty leaflet (PDF document) available on the Leeds City Council website provides a guide for anyone seeking details about the various agencies working in Leeds who provide affordable credit, benefit advice and debt advice.

Income Maximisation for Families Workshop

 Views were gathered on what further information frontline workers felt they needed to support low income families they work with. This was gathered from those attending the “Optimising incomes for families with children” Workshop. The main categories of response were around welfare advice service provision, access to information on agencies and benefits, and support linked to employment. This information will be used to inform development and commissioning of services. There were some specific questions and to help us answer those we contacted specialists and advice agencies who have up-to-date knowledge.

1. School Meals

• “Eligibility criteria for school meals.  Do schools promote?”
• “What is the percentage uptake compared to entitlement to free school meals and how are schools/organisations trying to increase uptake and remove stigma/children’s embarrassment about talking them.”

1.    Eligibility criteria for school meals. 

 Information on eligibility can be found on the link below - it is also available in the FSM toolkit at the same web link.

 http://www.educationleeds.co.uk/schoolmeals/infopage.aspx?pageno=640

 2.  Do schools promote?

Many schools have begun the process to investigate barriers to FSM uptake – but not enough.

 3.  What is the percentage uptake compared to entitlement to free school meals?

FSM uptake in Leeds is below national average. In January 2010 – 20,000 Leeds pupils were registered as FSM and 4,000 failed to take this entitlement.

 4.  How are schools / organisations trying to increase uptake and remove stigma/children’s embarrassment about talking them.

 The Leeds 2 yr research in 10 inner city schools found the main barrier for FSM uptake was NOT stigma. Instead the main reasons were the same as those who choose not to pay for a school meal – poor quality of food and poor dining experience. We know that when schools use the FSM toolkit they begin to identify and remove barriers that impact on all children especially those experiencing the big squeeze! . 

 ·         The research findings informed a range of resources (sample attached)

 Of the schools that are currently contracted for Healthy School Programme traded service, a sample have chosen to address obesity, which may include FSM uptake. Otherwise, action to increase uptake is dependent on the schools discretion.

 2. Handbooks (e.g. CPAG) and Online Advice

•  “Does the CPAG book still exist? If so where can we get it?”

The CPAG book is the Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook published by the Child Poverty Action Group, £39.  It is published every April and is seen as the definitive text used by benefit advisors.  It is very detailed, and carries references to the relevant regulations and would be suitable for an experienced advisor.

Another popular book is the Disability Rights Handbook, published by the Disability Alliance.  It is published every year, normally around May and costs £28.50.  This is a more accessible book and is very good for every day use and will help with most benefit enquiries but lacks the detail and legal references of the CPAG that a experienced advisor may need from time to time.  This would probably be the better book for most advisors who do not specialise in welfare benefits.

For online advice, www.direct.gov.uk is a good resource for official general information.  The website www.turn2us.org.uk offers a useful free benefit calculator. 

 3. Fast Track Benefits Claims

•  “(What is a) Fast Track benefit claim.”

• “Benefits Fast Track is not fast enough. Still takes too long for benefits payments to become established.”

For persons coming off certain benefits such as Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance to start work, they can make a claim for Working Tax Credit with help from the Jobcentre.  This is sometimes called a fast track claim.  These claims would have to be made through the Jobcentre advisor and the Jobcentre should be able to advise individual applicants on this. Other advice agencies are not able to assist with these fast track claims.