Agenda item

RESOLVED:

To note the report, in particular the development of a system wide plan and governance, which the Council isworking closely with the Director of delivery – City and Hackney Place BasedPartnership to establish.

8.1  The Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery introduced the report setting out the response that the Council had developed to respond to the Cost of Living crisis, which was seeing already high levels of poverty becoming even more entrenched. The report was submitted to the Board to ensure that the opportunities to work across the system to support residents were maximised. The Board was asked to consider, in particular the development of a system wide plan and governance, which the Council was working closely with the Director of Delivery – City and Hackney Place Based Partnership to establish.

8.2  The Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery highlighted the following:

·  There was a need to bear in mind the drivers of poverty such as wage entrenchment, good quality employment and housing cost;

·  The necessity to make the case for a benefits system that works;

·  That any response should take into account material needs, ensuring a preventative approach;

·  There was need to consider our ways of working, involving the Voluntary and Community Sector in delivery, building relationships and identifying vulnerable people; 

·  There was a need for collaborative work across the system in regard to progressing the work of the Poverty Reduction Framework;

·  Residents often had multiple needs;

·  Strong political leadership existed in regard to the Cost of Living Crisis and poverty reduction;

·  The focus of the report was to consider what can be put in place to meet people’s needs;

·  There was a need to consider the community impact of the crisis;

·  Staff needs and service viability required consideration;

·  The need to consider ways of working with the health and care partnership;

·  A system-wide group was in place to consider the Cost of Living Crisis and Poverty Reduction;

·  There was a need to consider interactions with the Health and Wellbeing Board, with the possibility of situating the framework within its area of responsibility;

·  The provision of advice on energy efficiency was an important element;

·  How long term health conditions interact with poverty;

·  Thanks for the work carried out by Healthwatch Hackney in regard to the Cost of Living crisis;

8.3  Mayor Glanville highlighted the following:

·  the need to distinguish between Council governance and the System’s governance. The Board had an inequalities focus with consideration also being given to long term poverty reduction; 

·  Would direct accountability for this work fall within the System group?

·  Discussion was ongoing with the Voluntary and Community Sector about volunteering and learning from the lessons of COVID-19 Champions, building these into the cost of living crisis response;

·  That the current arrangements for the provision of energy advice was not adequate and that there was a need to explore this area; 

·  Thanks to the health partnership for its investment in the response.

8.4  Deputy Mayor Bramble thanked all those involved in the preparation of the report. She stressed the need to ensure that the principles of this work sit within the poverty framework. She highlighted that some residents may find it difficult to seek help and that this should be taken into account as part of this work, with outreach in place.

8.5  The Director of Public Health highlighted: 

·  The advantages of having the partnership in place to carry out the response to the current crisis with the use of neighbourhood teams, ensuring effective information sharing about the impact on residents;

·  The negative consequences of turning off electricity such as not only cold but the longer term exposure to mould in homes.

·  The need for outreach to the most vulnerable, rather than waiting for individuals to come forward for help;

·  That, in the event of power cuts or severe weather it would be necessary to have arrangements in place to target support to the vulnerable people, within the resources that were available. This would require the ability to identify who these people were and being in a position to share this information.

8.6  The Director of Delivery, City and Hackney highlighted:

·  That there was a need for a system response to the current crisis with the need to maximise the partnership in place;

·  The need to identify the risks involved;

·  The need to maximise trusted relationships in engaging and supporting individuals, bringing together collective resources;

·  A group had been formed during the summer to consider a more involved response to the cost of living crisis, looking at what was available, empowering frontline staff to provide advice to residents. This approach had achieved some benefits.

8.7  The Director of Nursing and Corporate Development at the GP Confederation asked for clarification on attendance at ‘the tools for staff sessions’. She stressed the need to ensure that maximum outreach was achieved in regard to sharing the information available, particularly for staff who were dealing with patients, linking back to the output from Healthwatch survey.

8.8  The Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery highlighted:

·  That work was ongoing within the Strategic Delivery Team to embed the principles in the Poverty Reduction Framework, putting the principles of the framework into practice on the ground, working with a diverse set of community organisations, recognising the need to work with those with whom there were trusted relationships rather than taking a corporate approach;

·  Two members of Council staff were working to find ways to take support into the community in regard to the crisis;

·  The importance of working at a system wide level;

·  There was a need to design a mechanism to meet material needs;

·  The tools for frontline staff sessions were well attended by a diverse group of staff. The sessions were open to all frontline workers with different topics at each fortnightly meetings. Details could be circulated if required;

·  There was a need to consider whether the energy advice currently available was adequate, looking at how support could be increased around fuel;

·  There was a need for winter planning. The worsening crisis had been recognised with the acceleration of the crisis response.

RESOLVED:

To note the report, in particular the development of a system wide plan and governance, which the Council isworking closely with the Director of delivery – City and Hackney Place BasedPartnership to establish.