Agenda Document Pack - Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee - 31/01/2025
North Lanarkshire Council · 31 January 2025
Back to Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee — 31 January 2025 and its agenda
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22 January 2025 Members of the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Friday, 31 January 2025 at 10:00 AM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Members : Clerk Name: Karen Swan Clerk Telephone: 07919 730272 Clerk Email: committee@northlan.gov.uk C Costello, K Harmon, D Ashraf, C Barclay, B Baudo, H Brannan-McVey, J Cairns, G Currie, P Di Mascio, F Fotheringham, W Goldie, J Jones, P Kelly, J Keltie, A Khan, J Leckie, H Loughran, B McCluskey, A McCrory, L Mitchell, P Patton, C Quigley, L Stubbs, S Watson, C Williams. Page 1 of 98
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 Operational 2 Cash First Project Submit report by the Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice and Integrated Practice) providing an update on the delivery of the Cash First Project. 5 - 14 3 Commissioning of External Advice and Information Services 2025-27 Submit report by the Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice and Integrated Practice) seeking approval for the award of grant funding to successful applicants for the period April 2025 to March 2027. 15 - 40 4 Challenge Poverty Week 2024 Submit report by Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice & Integrated Practice) highlighting the background and themes underpinning Challenge Poverty Week. 41 - 98 Page 3 of 98
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AG/JC Date 31/01/25 Cash First Project From Alison Gordon, Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice & Integrated Practice) E-mail gordonal@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 1. Background Executive Summary In June 2023, North Lanarkshire’s Tackling Food Poverty, and Insecurity Working Group in partnership with the Tackling Poverty Officers Action Group (TPOAG) submitted a successful bid for Scottish Government funding to enhance the Council’s current Food Referral Gateway/ ‘Cash First Approach’. The project was launched in November 2023, with an award of up to £200,000 made to support the project over a 24-month period to cover salary costs for a co-ordinator of the project, with the balance of funds to be paid directly to those supported through the Food Poverty Referral Gateway who may require interim support pending access to Scottish Welfare Fund or alternative supports. Additional funding of £100,000 from an earmarked reserve for Tackling Poverty activity was agreed at the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee in February 2024 allowing the project to be extended to assist people in fuel poverty over the lifetime of the Cash First Project. This report provides Committee with an update on the delivery of the project to date including ongoing work to develop a directory which would include all of the resources available to support and embed a more integrated approach to Cash First across council services going forward. Recommendations It is recommended that the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee: (1) Note the progress of the project to date. (2) Endorse Next Steps as set out in Section 3 of the report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion Programme of Work Resilient People Item 2 Page 5 of 98
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1.1 In June 2023, the Scottish Government published a Plan to help improve the response to financial hardship - Cash-First - towards ending the need for food banks in Scotland: plan - gov.scot 1.2 The Plan recognised the significant challenges facing households and frontline services across the country and committed to nine collaborative measures the Scottish Government will take to improve the crisis support available and help reduce the need for emergency food parcels. 1.3 The Plan contained a commitment to a £1.8 million Cash-First Programme providing an important opportunity for a number of local authorities and their partners to be supported in taking forward improvement activities through a process that open to all areas. The Programme provides funding and practical assistance for up to eight area- based Partnerships to improve urgent access to cash in a crisis alongside wider holistic support with each Partnership provided with up to £200,000 over 24 months to recruit a coordinator and take forward improvement activities, supported by a learning partner who will share good practice more widely. 1.4 The Learning Partners appointed to North Lanarkshire are Animate and Nourish Scotland who will be working with the Co-ordinator with this project. 1.5 North Lanarkshire were successful in the bid, with up to £200,000 being awarded for both staff for the project together with interim cash payments for people experiencing food insecurity. 1.6 The Tackling Poverty Team launched the project in November 2023, with a small, dedicated team to ensure that urgent referrals for food, and later, following additional funding via the council, food and fuel could be dealt with in a timeous manner. 2. Report Cash First Project 2.1 The Cash First Project builds upon North Lanarkshire’s well established Food Poverty Referral Gateway ethos of “No one is left without food”. The project covers all of North Lanarkshire to ensure that people are not disadvantaged due to a postcode of ward, ensuring that everyone in North Lanarkshire has equitable access to funds and services. 2.2 The Cash First Project was planned to involve three key strands of activity. 2.2.1 Interim Payments – Partner agencies and people with lived experience identified that one of the barriers to using the Referral Gateway was the waiting time for a crisis grant decision. The provision of a small interim payment dependent upon circumstances removed this barrier for people and referrers. (Appendix One – Schedule of Payments) 2.2.2 Working with Foodbanks to provide accurate Statistical Information – The co- ordinator employed via the Project would work with emergency food providers to produce a uniform monitoring tool. This tool would allow a more accurate picture of foodbank usage across North Lanarkshire and thus support partners consider any additional actions to prevent and better support associated needs. 2.2.3 Directory of Emergency Payments – The co-ordinator will work with internal services identifying all emergency payments made across all services and the role they play in Page 6 of 98
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both support when working with someone and in the prevention to avoid people/families requiring more intense supports. 2.3 The Cash First Project, not only ensures that no one is left without food, but importantly provides access to income maximisation and money/debt advice services ensuring people have access to sustainable solutions to food poverty and insecurity. 2.4 Following the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee in February 2024, the Council committed a further £100,000 for people experiencing fuel crisis, thus augmenting the Gateway. Interim Payments – Food and Fuel Crisis 2.5 Since its inception in November 2023 to November 2024, the Cash First Project have received 1234 enquiries from people, resulting in 793 payments being made. This would mean that 793 people have been given a cash alternative and do not need to use a food bank. 2.6 Each of the enquiries has received a benefit check, which as previously reported resulted in £1.2 million of additional benefit being generated in the last financial year. 2.7 226 of the referrals relate to the priority family cohorts as detailed within the Local Child Poverty Action Report, resulting in 139 payments for food and 68 payments for fuel. 2.8 498 children from the priority families have been helped via the Cash First Project (appendix two) 2.9 Committee are advised that the figures within this report (November 2023 to November 2024) are in real time from the Tackling Poverty Team and may be different from those reported by finance due to the lag and catch up with the ledger. 2.10 People who use the Cash First Project are sent a survey asking them to score levels of concern for their situation both prior to and after using the service. The score range is from 1 (least concerned) to 5 (most concerned). 2.11 Prior to contacting the service, the average score around level of concern was 4.38, with this dropping to 2.84 after interventions from the team. 2.12 86% of the people who responded to the survey felt our assistance was positive. Working with Foodbanks to provide accurate Statistical Information 2.13 To date the Co-ordinator has contacted 25 emergency food providers together with 6 food pantries across North Lanarkshire, in relation to the cash first approach and the compilation of statistical information, with 20 providers engaging. 2.14 Emergency food providers however have been reluctant to provide statistical information to the Tackling Poverty Team with only 5 agreeing to this; (Livewell Foodbank operating out of Coltness Church, Bonkle, The People’s Pantry St Augustine’s, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership) and in more recent months, Trussel Trust in Airdrie. 2.15 There are also some challenges over the quality/value of statistical information provided, with one foodbank including provision of food to people from out-with North Lanarkshire, and another having no robust recording system in place. Comparisons of Page 7 of 98
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usage are further hindered by other discrepancies such as some foodbanks counting the household as one recipient and others counting the actual numbers of people in the household. 2.16 The issues around data gathering identified in North Lanarkshire are replicated across the other local authorities who have received this grant. 2.17 In attempt to address the limited engagement and better understand the reluctance or organisations to work in partnership with the Project, and to build an appreciation of the views and interests of the different partners in the system, the Tackling Poverty Team in conjunction with the Learning Partners, agreed to hold small sessions in each of the 6 main towns across North Lanarkshire, inviting all partners engaged in the Food Referral Gateway. It was also agreed that these sessions should be hosted by the Learning Partners to allow an independent lead on this. 2.18 The first of these events was held in Wishaw Locality on 26th November 2024, all partners (including all emergency food providers) were invited to the event, those who attended included representatives from; the Tackling Poverty Team, Social Work, Scottish Welfare Fund, Health, Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership and Getting Better Together Shotts. Christians Against Poverty based in Bonkle were however the only emergency food provider from the 9 in Wishaw and Shotts to attend. (NB Getting Better Together whilst they may provide an emergency parcel in certain circumstances do not consider themselves to be a food provider). 2.19 The meeting attempted to explore the reasons why emergency food providers do not wish to refer to the Cash First Project or share data. Suggestions made included that food providers may not always have correct information to share with users and that people using the foodbank may not want to share their information with volunteers from their own community. The limited provider participation in the meeting however meant that remains speculative and that we continue to lack a clear understanding of the issues. 2.20 Further discussions will be held with the Learning Partners to consider the value of continuing with such sessions or whether an alternative approach to support dialogue and a clearer understanding of the issues is required. Directory of Emergency Payments 2.21 The co-ordinator is collating a list of emergency payments made by services across the council for example, social work, housing, and Scottish Welfare Fund. It has been agreed by the Resilient People Board that this should include discretionary payments made by council services together with benefits administered by the local government, Scottish Government, and the UK Government all of which would contribute to the Cash First approach. Next Steps 2.22 The Tackling Poverty Team will continue to promote the Cash First approach via Poverty Awareness Sessions to internal and external partners, enforcing the message that the Project is not only about the person receiving immediate support via the cash payment, but more importantly longer term supports via income maximisation, money/debt advice and relevant holistic supports. 2.23 The challenge around data and engagement is an area that needs to be addressed. The co-ordinator will continue to work with the emergency food providers and the external Learning Partners to promote the Project. Page 8 of 98
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2.24 Further work is required on the Directory of Services, this work is part of the wider focus on preventative work aligned to Whole Family Support. The Tackling Poverty Team will continue to work with partners to build on the success of cash first for emergency food provision to enable a preventative approach to delivering services within our communities. This will include consideration of a more integrated approach to payments and access to funds across council services. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The measure of success will be the desired outcome, to improve and augment the Cash First approach to tackling food poverty and insecurity, providing people with access to Advice and Support Services to increase income and reduce the cost of living. 3.2 The introducing and supporting a consistent recording tool across our emergency food providers will tell us; who is using emergency food provision, why are they using it and where in our localities is the demand. 3.3 The development of a Direct Payment initiatives with a supporting framework aligned with the family support principles to reduce stigma and empower families and frontline workforce to tailor solutions to need. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Payment Levels 4.2 Appendix 2 – Breakdown of payment recipients Alison Gordon Chief Social Work Officer 5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Page 9 of 98
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Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Council’s Towards a fairer North Lanarkshire Tackling Poverty Strategy is fully aligned with the requirements of the Fairer Scotland Duty, its purpose being to reduce the inequalities caused by socio economic disadvantage. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ The current project is funded by the 200k SG grant and 100k (non-recurring) monies agreed by committee from the earmarked TP reserve. If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 10 of 98
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The TPAG has a Communication Subgroup who takes forward any communications/activities for residents/staff on behalf of the TPOAG. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Tackling Poverty has been identified as a Corporate Risk, with the Chief Social Work Officer as the risk lead. Towards a Fairer North Lanarkshire - Tackling Poverty Strategy sets out a planned approach which seeks to eliminate poverty or make very significant reductions in the level of poverty resulting in benefit to the residents and including improvement in the overall level of health and wellbeing of communities. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 11 of 98
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In North Lanarkshire we recognise that tackling poverty and inequality does not fall to one Service, or one Sector, we must therefore work together to use our resources effectively and efficiently to ensure that all our communities have access to opportunities that will lead to better outcomes for people in terms of employment, wellbeing and inclusive growth. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 12 of 98
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Appendix One – Payment Levels Food Payments Single Person £25 Lone Parent / Couple £50 Additional Payment – Formula Fed Babies £15 Fuel Payments One Payment per household £49 All payments are paid through social work finance via Section 12 (paying via Section 12 means there is no impact on the persons benefit income) Appendix Two – Breakdown of Payment Recipients to Priority Families Page 13 of 98
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Payment Recipients Lone Parents 178 Minority Ethnic Families 1 Families where a member of the household has a disability 21 Families with 3 or more children 21 Mothers under 25 4 Families with a child under 1 1 Page 14 of 98
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: AG/JC Date 31/01/25 Commissioning of External Advice and Information Services 2025-27 From Alison Gordon, Chief Social Work Officer E-mail gordonal@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 Executive Summary The report provides background on the arrangements made for the commissioning of external advice and information services further to the comprehensive review of information and advice services in 2016/17 and the approach to re-commissioning for provision of these services from April 2018. The focus for external commissioning of information and advice services remains to provide Welfare Rights level II, Money Advice and Housing Advice at level I of the Scottish Nation Standards in Advice and Information, to the residents of North Lanarkshire on behalf of the Council. Funding is divided into six ‘pots’ linked to delivery for each of the main localities (Cumbernauld, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill, Motherwell and Wishaw) with each pot equating to £61,120 per year. The report seeks approval for the award of grant funding to successful applicants for the period April 2025 to March 2027, on behalf of the Council as detailed in Section 2.8 of the report. NHS Lanarkshire funding for the Financial Link Workers based within GP Practices/Primary Care Settings, which has used the same mechanism to allocate funds for third sector provision since April 2021 ends on the 31 March 2025. Recommendations It is recommended that the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee: (1) Approve the successful applicants of the External Advice and Information Providers for 2025 to 2027, as set out in section 2.8 and Appendix 3 of this report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion Programme of Work Resilient People Item 3 Page 15 of 98
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1. Background 1.1 Following the Review of Advice and Information Services in 2016/17, the Infrastructure Committee approved the new commissioning model on 8th November 2017 which introduced a competitive grant funding model for the commissioning of External Advice Services. 1.2 The review sought the views of all internal benefit and advice providers as well as all ten externally funded third sector services on the following three options: • outsourcing all advice services to the third sector: • a mixed economy of both internal council services and third sector alternatives; and • a wholly ‘in-house’ service provided by the council. 1.3 The mixed economy option was supported by the majority of all respondents to the review as the best option for future service delivery. The review recommended that externally provided Advice and Information Services could best be provided in future by adopting a commissioning model that would provide a standardised service to all NLC residents who may choose not to use council services. This would ensure a sustainable, responsive, and effective means of providing advice and support to our communities across North Lanarkshire. 1.4 A short life working group for the Commissioning Model was led by the Council and had representatives from other Council services and the external Independent Sector. The group analysed all of the relevant data and established a formula that would allocate funding for external services across the 6 localities based on need. Based on this information, it was found that there were only marginal differences across the 6 localities and accordingly it has been concluded that the funding should be divided equally across the 6 locality areas. 1.5 Work was undertaken in partnership with colleagues in Legal Services and Procurement to draft a grant funding application, guidance on how to complete the application form, locality profiles, service specifications and a funding agreement for all 6 localities. The application was competitive and opened to all third-party organisations in the North Lanarkshire Information and Advice Network. This has remained the approach to subsequent commissioning rounds including the current one, 1.6 The provision of the funding is dependent upon the successful applicants delivering on a number of key outcomes which reflect those contained within the Plan for North Lanarkshire and the Council’s Tackling Poverty Strategy. It is the responsibility of each provider to provide the required performance information in the method and format required by the Council. Details of the outcomes and the conditions of the funding will be contained within specific Service Level Agreements. 1.7 The focus of externally commissioned advice services has since remained to provide welfare benefit advice (Type II) and housing and money advice (Type I) as per the Scottish National Standards for Advice and Information Providers. 1.8 The re-commissioning process was delayed in 2020/21 due to the pandemic but was completed again for funding periods 2021/2023 and 2023/2025 with a reduction in funding from £72,120 per annum per locality to £61,120 per annum per locality made in line with the Council’s budget setting and savings process from 2021. Page 16 of 98
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1.9 Airdrie CAB, Bellshill CAB, Coatbridge CAB, Cumbernauld CAB and Motherwell and Wishaw CAB have been the successful applicants over all three of the funding periods to date: 2018/2021, 2021/2023 and 2023/2025. 2. Report 2.1 As noted above the focus for external commissioning of information and advice services remains to provide Welfare Rights to type II and Money Advice and Housing at SNS level I, to the residents of North Lanarkshire on behalf of the Council with funding divided into six ‘pots’ linked to delivery for each of the main localities (Cumbernauld, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill, Motherwell and Wishaw) with each pot equating to £61,120 per year. 2.2 As in previous rounds all members of the North Lanarkshire Advice and Information Network (NLAN) were invited to express interest and apply for funding for the provision of External Advice and Information Services on behalf of the Council and applications were issued on 1st October 2024, with support and advice available from the Tackling Poverty Team on request. All applications were returned by the deadline of 15th November 2024. 2.3 Only 5 Organisations submitted applications, Airdrie CAB, Bellshill CAB, Coatbridge CAB, Cumbernauld CAB and Motherwell and Wishaw CAB. 2.4 Guidance for assessing the applications has been developed by the Tackling Poverty Team including a scoring metric which was used by the assessors. The applications were assessed using the scoring matrix/assessment guidance by 3 assessors, two from North Lanarkshire Council and one from NHS Lanarkshire, each assessor individually scored each application and then met as a panel on 27th November 2024, to agree successful applicant (s). NHS Lanarkshire (Financial Link Workers) 2.5 NHS Lanarkshire implemented the Community Link Worker Programme as part of its Primary Care Improvement Plan (PCIP) in 2021, with the aim to ensure that patients access appropriate non-medical support and its links with the range of supports that the PCIP introduced. The Primary Care Improvement Plan (PCIP) required financial wellbeing advice using the Community Link Worker (CLW) Programme to allocate appropriately triaged referrals received from a Community Link Worker or GP via the agreed referral pathway. 2.6 The Council and NHSL Health Improvement Team, agreed that the Council’s Tackling Poverty Team would directly provide 50% of the Link Workers, enhancing the joint working arrangements for advice and information between the Council, Health and Social Care and NHS, with the Tackling Poverty Team commissioning the other 50% through the third via its commissioning role for External Advice and Information Services. 2.7 The Council’s Tackling Poverty Team and the Commissioned External Advice Services have been delivering this programme since April 2021. 2.8 Whilst the 2025/2027 process, guidance, application form and assessment criteria (scoring) included the Financial Link Workers Service however NHS Lanarkshire subsequently informed the Council in January 2025, that the funding for the Financial Link Workers Programme will end on 31 March 2025. Page 17 of 98
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Successful Applicants 2.9 Under the terms of the Council’s application and assessment process (for reference, Appendices 1 and 2 of this report set out the details of this), the following providers are the successful applicants for each locality to provide Type II welfare benefits advice and Type I housing and money advice as per the Scottish National Standards for Advice and Information Providers for April 2025 - March 2027, (Appendix 3 of this report contains the scoring matrix setting out the full outcome of this scoring process): Airdrie - Airdrie CAB Bellshill - Bellshill CAB Coatbridge - Coatbridge CAB Cumbernauld - Cumbernauld CAB Motherwell - Motherwell and Wishaw CAB Wishaw - Motherwell and Wishaw CAB 3. Measures of success 3.1 Successful delivery of Advice and Information by External Advice Services on behalf of the Council. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Advice and Information Services 2025-2027 Application Form 4.2 Appendix 2 - Advice and Information Services 2025 –2027 Scoring Guidance 4.3 Appendix 3 - Advice and Information Services 2025 –2027 Scoring Matrix Alison Gordon Chief Social Work Officer Page 18 of 98
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? No groups will be disadvantaged or excluded through the implementation of the recommendations of the report. Indeed, the recommendation presents an opportunity to promote equality and ensure greater access to public services. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? This is the fourth commissioning process of the External Services since 2018. A change in the Service Level Agreement in relation to funding levels was made in 2021 with a reduction applied to the overall budget as part of the savings exercise in 2021. As outlined in Section 2.8 of the report, the annual NHS Lanarkshire contribution of £0.212m for the Financial Link Workers Programme is due to cease on 31 March 2025. The cessation of this funding does not have an impact on the core council funding available which supports the delivery of the welfare rights and money advice services stated”. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 19 of 98
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This is the fourth commissioning process of the External Services since 2018, with Legal Services and Procurement agreeing the legal impacts, processes and requirements etc. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The provision of the delivery of Advice and Information by External Advice Services continues to be considered in terms of the measures identified to reduce the impact of poverty in our communities in line with the Corporate Tackling Poverty risk. The risk rating will be unaffected by the outcome of the commissioning process set out within this report. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 20 of 98
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Appendix 1 Thank you for your interest in the Partnership Funding for Advice and Information Services. The funding available is from two sources; Source One – is Council funding to provide Welfare Rights and Money Advice at SNS level I and housing at SNS level I to the residents of North Lanarkshire on behalf of the Council. There are 6 pots of funding available for each of the main localities (Cumbernauld, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill, Motherwell and Wishaw) each pot is £61,120 per year. Source Two – NHS Lanarkshire are implementing the Community Link Worker Programme as part of its Primary Care Improvement Plan (PCIP) with the aim to ensure that patients access appropriate non- medical support. The funding available to the third sector for this programme is £16,666 per anum. This funding has been divided into 6 pots of funding for each of the main localities (Cumbernauld, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill, Motherwell and Wishaw) each pot is £xxxx per year NB NHS Lanarkshire funding is subject to change Applications should be returned to TPTeam@northlan.gov.uk no later than 15th November 2024– applications will not be processed if received after this date. Please indicate below which funding streams you wish your application to be considered for; Locality Source One Source Two Airdrie Bellshill Coatbridge Cumbernauld Motherwell Wishaw (including Shotts) Partnership Application Form Funding for Advice and Information Services 2025 - 2027 Page 21 of 98
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For Official Use Only: Acknowledged Date Received: Constitution Reference No. Financial Statement Locality(ies) Bank Statement Cedar Ref: Bank Mandate Partnership Application Form Funding for Advice and Information Services 2025 - 2027 Before completing the form, read the attached general guidance notes and read through the questions – additional guidance is attached where appropriate. If required, further guidance can be sought from Officers as identified within the Guidance Notes. Section 1 – Details of your organisation Name of Organisation The organisation should be the body which will have financial and managerial responsibility for the grant. Include the full name as it appears in the constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association Address of Organisation The address where the organisation meets or where the grant will be used to deliver the service or activity unless you are applying through an organisation’s main or parent office. Post Code E-mail address Telephone number Alternative address Use this section only if your organisation has an office address or headquarters that is different from above. Post Code Alternative e-mail address Alternative telephone no. What best describes your organisation? Please cross (x) one box only Unincorporated Association Company Limited by Guarantee Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation Other – please detail below ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Is your organisation a recognised charity? Please cross (x) Yes No If ‘Yes’ please enter your registration number ……………………………………………………………… Page 22 of 98
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Do you have a written policy in place covering the protection of children and vulnerable adults? Please cross (x) Yes No Section 2 – Contact details for your organisation Please detail two responsible persons who are recognised as representatives of your organisation, of which one must be a Management Committee or Board member. These representatives will be approached in relation to the assessment of the application, and will be expected to talk about your application in detail, if required. Name of Main Contact / Signatory (i.e. the one we will use for correspondence in relation to this application) Please cross (x) Mr Mrs Ms Other – please detail First Name Position in Organisation Address (i.e. where you want any correspondence sent) Postcode E-mail address Telephone Number Mobile Number Name of Second Contact / Signatory (i.e. an alternative if the above contact is unavailable) Please cross (x) Mr Mrs Ms Other – please detail First Name Position in Organisation Address Postcode E-mail address Telephone Number Mobile Number The Council is responsible for ensuring public funds are properly managed and used, and that organisations receiving funds have good systems in place for this purpose. You need to provide us with details of those people who will have management responsibility for your organisation i.e. the management committee or board. Please also identify which position is held by each office bearer e.g. chairperson, treasurer, secretary etc. Names of any Office Bearers not detailed above Position Page 23 of 98
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Names of the other committee or Board members Section 3 – Equalities and Agreement Monitoring Requirements North Lanarkshire Council is committed to ensuring that its processes are accessible, fair and non- discriminatory. The Council strives to advance equality of opportunity and inclusiveness for all of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, in order to encourage a more equal society. NHS Lanarkshire and the Council want to ensure that the Financial Inclusion Link Project funding will be awarded to organisations promoting and complementing the work of the Council in achieving the desired outcomes of the Local Child Poverty Action Report and the Councils’ Tackling Poverty Strategy. All Third Sector applicants are therefore asked to provide the following information which will be used for statistical and monitoring purposes and which will be treated confidentially and according to Data Protection procedures. Successful organisations must be able to provide statistical information to inform the outcomes to measure the success of this project and its impact on our local strategies. The funding agreement award requires monitoring to successful applicants to report back in full. This information is vital in ensuring services are directed to those most in need. Successful applicants must be able to report in the areas below, or indicate within the “additional information “, Section at 3.3 what steps they will take and when these can be implemented to meet the reporting requirements of this agreement THIS SECTION HAS A WEIGHTING OF 5% IN THE SCORING OF THIS APPLICATION 3.1 The council is committed to ensuring Services are accessible to all client groups, below is the list of demographics and other reporting information that successful applicants would be expected to report upon – please indicate if your organisation would be able to meet these requirements and if so on what system will this be recorded (please refer to Guidance Note - Appendix one for full compliance guidance) Demographic Please indicate if this can be reported upon by your Organisation Recording System Sex / Gender Age Ethnicity Disability / Long Term Health Condition Housing Tenure Income Employment Status Page 24 of 98
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Number of dependents Lone Parents Families with 3 or more children Families where the youngest child is under 1 Mothers aged under 25 3.2 The following reporting information is required to allow the targeting of this and future services to the residents of North Lanarkshire. (please refer to Guidance Note - Appendix one for full compliance guidance) Please note information required is in relation to both Welfare Rights and Money/Debt Advice. Information Required Please indicate if this can be reported upon by your Organisation Recording System Number of “new” referrals, with source of referral identified Number of repeat referrals for new issues with source of referral identified Number of referrals referred on to other agencies and reason Summary of Referral criteria; Number of clients who engage with the service Number of People who do not engage and the reasons why (if known) Address including postcode Caring Responsibilities Client Financial gains Advice given to clients Client questionnaire which will allow the client experience and Page 25 of 98
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impact on mental health and well being to drawn on 3.3 If your organisation is not able to meet any of the reporting requirements stated in 3.1 and 3.2, please state below the steps your Organisation can take to remedy this issue and indicate a timescale for any new system to be in place. Section 4 – Priorities The Plan for North Lanarkshire identified five main priorities that the Council is working toward; Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Support all children and young people to fulfil their full potential Improve the wealth and well-being of our communities Enhance participation, capacity and empowerment across our Communities Improve North Lanarkshire’s resource base The local authority and NHS Lanarkshire have jointly produced North Lanarkshire’s Local Child Poverty Action Report where the priority groups are identified, together with the drivers to tackle poverty. The local authority has incorporated the local child poverty action report into the Tackling Poverty Strategy to ensure that all parties work together toward our ambition of a fairer North Lanarkshire. The funding application will be assessed in relation to both the priorities within the councils’ plan and within the local child poverty action report/ Tackling Poverty Strategy, together with how the drivers will be delivered and monitored. The funding application should ensure that where both funding streams are being applied for, the narrative in the question reflects the work that will be carried out in these areas. Organisations who are receiving funding from other bodies to attain any of the council’s outcomes detailed above are invited to provide details of the following under each heading; (i) The funding body (ii) Length of funding (iii) Amount of funding (iv) Purpose of funding – this should include the terms of the funding agreement and what the funding is paying for within your organisation. Page 26 of 98
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The weighting score for each of these sections is as follows; Section 4.1 – Improve Economic Opportunities and Outcomes together with external funders for this key theme will attract a weighting of 15% Section 4.2 – Support all children to realise their full potential together with external funders for this key theme will attract a weighting of 25% Section 4.3 – Improve Health and care of our communities together with external funders for this key theme will attract a weighting of 25% Section 4.4 – Improve relationships with communities and third sector together with external funders for this key theme will attract a weighting of 10% 4.1 Key Theme – Improve Economic Opportunities and Outcomes Local Outcome – The organisation must demonstrate that they understand the differing needs of communities and take action to reduce economic inequality. Page 27 of 98
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Organisations are invited to answer the following questions in relation to what they do / will do in to Ensure that economic opportunities and outcome are improved in the local community. • How would your organisation ensure that your Service will be able to provide a service to the full locality. • How would your organisation ensure that all communities within the locality can access services – please explain the various modes and channels available to the public. • The drivers for tackling poverty are identified within the Strategy; (i) maximising income via social security benefits, (ii) reduce the costs of living, (iii) income via employment and (iv) holistic supports – please provide details of any experience or activity your organisation has in this area. • Volunteering is one of the steps people can take on the path to securing employment. What will your organisation do to recruit, train and assist people into employment. • The council is required to report on a number of key areas to gauge success in these outcomes. Is your organisation able to provide key data to the council as per section 3.1 4.1A Please identify the following where any external funding is already in payment in respect of “Improving Economic Opportunities and Outcomes”; The funding body, length of funding, amount of funding, purpose of funding – this should include the terms of the funding agreement and what the funding is paying for within your organisation including to what SNS level advice has to be provided to. Page 28 of 98
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4.2 Key Theme - Support all children to realise their full potential Local Outcome - The organisation must demonstrate that they understand the differing needs of communities and take action to support all children and young people to realise their full potential Organisations are invited to identify what they will do to ensure that they do / will do support all children to realise their full potential in the local community. • A key theme of the Plan is to “support all children and young people to realise their full potential” - please identify if your organisation currently working in partnership with any educational establishments or youth groups to promote financial education? • Please provide details of any experience your Organisation has in working with the drivers to tackle poverty for children and young people in line with North Lanarkshire’s overarching Tackling Poverty Strategy 4.2B Please identify the following where any external funding is already in payment in respect of “Support all children and young people to realise their full potential”; The funding body, length of funding, amount of funding, purpose of funding – this should include the terms of the funding agreement and what the funding is paying for within your organisation including to what SNS level advice has to be provided to. Page 29 of 98
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4.3 Key Theme: Improve the health and social care of our communities. Local outcome – The organisation must demonstrate that they understand the differing needs of communities and take action to assist in improving health and care in our communities. Organisations are invited to identify what they do / will do to ensure that health and care are improved in our communities • A key theme within the councils’ plan is to “improve health and care of our communities”, the drivers to tackle poverty and insecurity can help in this area. Please identify areas of work your Organisation has done in the community to assist the council in achieving this. This can include any preventative work or any front facing work done within hospitals, health centres, carers, the community etc. • Demonstrate how your organisation works to reduce food poverty and inequality in our communities, and what work is being done to adopt the “Cash First” approach as a response 4.3B Please identify the following where any external funding is already in payment in respect of “Improve health and care of our communities”; The funding body, length of funding, amount of funding, purpose of funding – this should include the terms of the funding agreement and what the funding is paying for within your organisation including to what SNS level advice has to be provided to. Page 30 of 98
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4.4 Key Theme – Improve relationships and communities and third sector Local Outcome - The organisation must demonstrate that they understand the differing needs of communities and what can be done to improve relationship with the community and third sector organisations. Organisations are invited to identify what they do /will do to ensure that the third sector strengthen their relationships within the local community. • The council are looking to build upon and improve relationships within the council and the third sector. As a third sector organisation what will your organisation do to assist in this area. Page 31 of 98
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4.4D Please identify the following where any external funding is already in payment in respect of “Improve relationships with communities and third sector”; The funding body, length of funding, amount of funding, purpose of funding – this should include the terms of the funding agreement and what the funding is paying for within your organisation including to what SNS level advice has to be provided to Page 32 of 98
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Section 5 – Delivery of Services A focus of service delivery is to ensure that services are available and accessible to all our communities. Please advise how you will deliver services to the locality(ies) identified within your application. The application MUST consider how Organisations will deliver the Financial Link Worker aspect across the locality and work together with the local authority to deliver a successful programme. The application should consider referrals to other services and how these routes can be established to ensure that the person is receiving all appropriate services. The application should demonstrate the ability to report on onward referrals as well as providing feedback to the referrer. The application should ensure that delivery of services is compliant with both the corporate plan and the Tackling Poverty Strategy THIS SECTION IS HAS A WEIGHT OF 10% Page 33 of 98
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Section 6 – Financial Information 6.1 Details of Proposed Expenditure The application relates to two funding streams North Lanarkshire core funding and funding for Financial Link Workers administered by the council on behalf of NHS Lanarkshire. Please provide a breakdown of how the awards will be spent within your organisation to tackle poverty and insecurity in our communities – identify in column 1 the funding source (i.e. Council or NHS ) This Section has a weighting of 5% in the scoring application Source of Funding (council / NHS) Title of Post / Accommodation / Other Costs No of Posts Hours Per Week Total Annual Costs Section 7 – Volunteers Please provide the following information in relation to Volunteers below; • How are volunteers, recruited, trained and re-trained • What opportunities are made available for volunteers • Are volunteers assisted to move on to advisor roles or other employment? If so, how do you measure your organisations success in this area • Number of volunteers you currently have within your organisation • The duties and SNS level of each topic volunteers currently work to THIS SECTION HAS A WEIGHTING OF 5% IN THE SCORING OF THIS APPLICATION Page 34 of 98
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Section 8 – Additional Support Please tell us about any help or support your organisation already receives from North Lanarkshire Council. This could be in the form of grants or other financial support from other council services, free or reduced lets or leases (i.e. you pay less than the commercial rate), free use of council property or accommodation, free or subsidised access to equipment or other services. Provide details of any previous successful collaborations with NHS Lanarkshire that you feel relevant to support this application Section 9 – Signatories This application must be signed by the two recognised representatives of the organisation that are listed in section 2 of this form. On behalf of (Please enter the name of the organisation) We confirm that the information contained within this application and any accompanying attachments is accurate. Main Signature (as per section 2) Second Signature (as per section 2) Page 35 of 98
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……………………………………………………... Print Name ………………………………………. Position in organisation ............................................................................. Date ……………………………………………. …………………………………………………….... Print Name ………………………………………. Position in organisation ……………………………………………………… Date ……………………………………………. Please read the following Data Protection and confidentiality statement. Data Protection and Confidentiality: - Part, or all, of the information you give us will be held on computer. It will be used for the administration of the application forms and grants. We may provide copies of the information to individuals or services within the Council and partner organisations that are helping us assess applications or monitor grants. Your signature on this form is treated as confirmation that North Lanarkshire Council may use the information you have supplied to us under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. North Lanarkshire Council may share information with other grant funders and partner agencies to help prevent fraudulent applications and co-ordinate the process of complementary applications. Supporting information Please attach (or forward) the following information in support of your application: - please cross (x) Attached To follow A copy of your Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association (if you haven’t already submitted a copy). A copy of your most recent Bank Statement showing the account name, account number and sort code. A copy of your most recent, fully signed, Annual Accounts covering the last full year of your operation. (N.B. if your accounts are not independently examined - please also attach a copy of the minutes of your last A.G.M. detailing the approval of your accounts. Page 36 of 98
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APPENDIX 2 INTRODUCTION AND TIMESCALES This document contains guidance on the scoring process in general and more specifically on completing the Scoring Matrix in regards to applications from NLAN members in relation to Competitive Partnership Grant Funding 2025 – 27. A timetable has been prepared for the application, assessment and decision making processes as follows; Deadline for the submission of applications 15th November 2024 Applications sent to Independent Assessors 18th November 2024 Independent Assessors to be completed 26th November 2024 Scoring Panel prioritises the applications 27th November 2024 Draft committee report to be ready for the Head of Service 5th December 2024 Committee Report for Approval 31st January 2025 SCORING PROCESS The scoring process will use a standard format to assess applications, which in turn will lead to Competitive Funding Grant recommendations. The purpose of this assessment is to: - Ensure that funding is directed to towards activities that contribute to or enhance the councils key priorities; Ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and undergo the same processes in determining whether or not they are funded, and That any inherent “risks” involved in providing such funding is taken into consideration and appropriate measures to limit those “risks” are put in place if necessary. Partnership Application Form Funding for Advice and Information Services 2025 - 2027 Page 37 of 98
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A panel of officers will be convened in order to undertake the scoring by examining the purpose of the application and the performance of applicant organisation. Each applicant should be ‘scored’ by at least 3 panel members with representatives from both funding bodies; North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire. The Scoring Panel will draw on evidence from the application form and any supporting evidence from the Provider. Applications will be scored independently by Officer followed by an open discussion involving all of the panel members and the key elements of this discussion along with the agreed score form the official record of the decision. Panel members are asked to score strictly in accordance with the evidence produced and not make assumptions on behalf of the organisation or any of the reporting officers, however, some allowances should be made for organisations who might have experienced difficulties in filling out the forms or understanding our priorities Panel members are asked to complete a Scoring Matrix for each application. A scoring matrix will be sent to each panel member with the names of each organisation marked on the bottom tab. A general debate about the suggested score should take place involving all the panel members before a final score is agreed on. The key elements of this debate should be recorded for future reference. SCORING PROCESS Section 3 - Reporting Requirements Within this section the application form should be able to identify if the organisation is or is not able to provide the monitoring information. No score should be awarded if the organisation answers it can be provided but does not state the source i.e.. The recording system. Section 4 – Priorities The scoring panel should be familiar with the corporate plan, the Tackling Poverty Strategy and the Local Child Poverty Action Report and consider all answers in relation to this. The organisation should demonstrate a good understanding of each of these and how they will contribute to these plans. Whilst organisations may be currently limited in how they deliver services currently, the organisation should consider how they will reach the community post covid. The organisation must show how they will resource and work in partnership with the Community Link Work programme. Page 38 of 98
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Section 5 – Delivery of Services Connections in the local community are important, whilst services are being delivered remotely during the pandemic, the organisation must demonstrate how they will service the community they are making an application for. The organisation must demonstrate the balance between the traditional advice service (face to face) and the digital advances that can be made in service delivery. Section 6 – Financial Information The organisation should demonstrate how they will use the funding via NL and NHSL – the application should be scored accordingly. It is important the organisation identifies other funding – the assessor should consider how this will compliment current funding and help sustain the organisation. Section 7 – Volunteers Volunteers are important in the delivery of third sector services and the organisation should demonstrate the investment in training and supporting Page 39 of 98
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APPENDIX 3 Page 40 of 98
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AG/JC Date 31/01/25 Challenge Poverty Week 2024 From Alison Gordon, Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice & Integrated Practice) E-mail gordonal@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 1. Background 1.1 North Lanarkshire Council first took part in Challenge Poverty Week in 2019. Challenge Poverty Week has been co-ordinated by the Poverty Alliance for the last ten years. Challenge Poverty Week 2024 was an opportunity to raise our voice against poverty and unite partner organisations across Scotland and locally in North Lanarkshire in calling for a more just and equal society. Executive Summary North Lanarkshire Council, took part, in this year’s Challenge Poverty Week, which took place from 7th to 13th October 2024. The week, which is coordinated and led nationally by the Poverty Alliance, is an opportunity to highlight what is being done to address poverty and to commit to more action in the future. This report highlights the background and themes underpinning Challenge Poverty Week and the activities and messaging undertaken by the Council and its partners during the week and their links to our wider Tackling Poverty Strategy and actions. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: (1) Note the content of the report and the intention to incorporate analysis and feedback into our ongoing Tackling Poverty Actions. (2) Endorse the Council’s continued participation in Challenge Poverty Week in the coming year. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion Programme of Work Resilient People Item 4 Page 41 of 98
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1.2 The Aim of the week was to: • To raise a unified voice against poverty and show that we all want to live in a more just and equal Scotland. • To build awareness of, and support solutions to, poverty. • To change the conversation around poverty and help end the stigma of living on a low income. 1.3 The Themes for the week were as follows: (further information in Appendix 3) • Housing • Transport • Adequate Incomes • Food • Communities and Volunteers • Reflection 1.4 Local Activity was overseen by the Tackling Poverty Officers Action Group which established a sub group to plan, prepare and deliver the Council’s and Partner’s events for 2024, Challenge Poverty Week. 2. Report Key Challenge Poverty Week Activities 2.1 The Challenge Poverty Week Sub-Group devised a Programme for the week which included a mixture of activities which residents, community planning partners and council services could attend online or in person in addition to thematic global messages which were issued daily throughout the week. The programme is attached as Appendix 1. 2.2 The Programme was published on the Council’s Website with a social media campaign prior and during the Challenge Poverty Week. 2.3 The Council also arranged publication of the updated ‘Tackling Poverty Action Plan 2023 to 2026 and the 2024 Local Child Poverty Action Report’ approved at the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee on 1st November 2024, immediately following Challenge Poverty Week. 2.4 An analysis of local engagement during the week, is detailed in Appendix 2 which highlights the impressions and hits via the daily messages issued on the Councils social media feeds. This highlights that the total impressions were over 116,747 (6,688 local channels) with 361 (10 local) reactions, 185 (13 local) shares, 412 (19 local) link clicks and 993 (53 local) engagements. 2.5 Appendix 2 also highlights the use of the ‘My Town Channels’ which was used to publicise local events in order to make these more relevant and accessible for local residents. 2.6 The Tackling Poverty Team, Housing Solutions Service, DWP and North Lanarkshire Advice Network launched a take up campaign for Pension Credit during Challenge Poverty Week by writing directly to residents encouraging them to claim Pension Credit Page 42 of 98
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as well as helping them to claim the benefit, if needed and potentially eligible, in parallel with a media campaign across all of North Lanarkshire. 2.7 The Council’s Corporate Communications Team and the Tackling Poverty Team also commissioned a number of animations which were launched during Challenge Poverty Week, with links to examples of these below: • Benefit Entitlement https://vimeo.com/1017041824/9fa4d82cbb?share=copy • Benefit Decisions https://vimeo.com/1017042235/4871229000?share=copy • Household Budgets https://vimeo.com/1017042869/406ce6feee?share=copy • If you are Retired https://vimeo.com/1017043468/d13a222792?share=copy 2.8 North Lanarkshire Citizen Advice Bureau held advice sessions on the Inadequate Income Day and 176 residents received information and advice on this day. The CABx also recruited an additional 16 volunteers on the Communities and Volunteers Day. Additional Activities and Events: 2.9 Motherwell Mental Health/Tackling Poverty and Inequalities LOIP Subgroup held an event ‘Connect and Thrive’ at the Marantha Centre in Motherwell on 10th October, an overview of which is outlined in Appendix 4. 2.10 NHS Lanarkshire staff (51 newly qualified nurses) received a brief input from the Tackling Poverty Team with an overview of what the team can offer, for staff themselves and for patients and a further 30 newly qualified nurses at University Hospital Wishaw were provided with a briefing from the Health Improvement Tackling Poverty Team, focussing both on their own finances and that of their patient’s, including referral processes. 2.11 The Community Partnership Team supported the Newmains Community Trust Centre with some cost-of-living funding to deliver some local support during Challenge Poverty Week, this included the Community Partnership Team holding a stall on the 8th October, providing advice and support around period poverty and offered free products and information on pick up points. The NCT provided soup packs and breakfast/lunch vouchers to those most in need via each stall during the course of the week. 2.12 Cumbernauld Community Board’s Food & Insecurity Sub Group held an ‘Empower & Elevate: Let’s Work Together to End Poverty in Cumbernauld’ event in the Antonine Shopping Centre, Cumbernauld. 2.13 This was a unique community event led by Cornerstone House Centre in partnership with North Lanarkshire Council, the Cumbernauld Community Board, and Antonine Shopping Centre. 2.14 It featured one of Cumbernauld's largest-ever community marketplaces, where local organisations from the Community and Voluntary Sector, Public Sector, and Private Sector present. 2.15 Local service providers provided support in areas such as: • Benefit and debt advice • Free Period Products • Energy-saving tips and advice on keeping warm at home Page 43 of 98
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• Mental health and well-being support • Employability and career opportunities • Carer support • Learning opportunities 2.16 More than 500 people attend the event and with all services exceptionally busy. Next Steps 2.17 Challenge Poverty Week continues to provide a real, practical opportunity to begin to change what we think as a society can be done about poverty in Scotland. At a time when life is becoming tougher for many people, it remains vital that we build the case for change and continue to drive this through our Tackling Poverty Strategy and supporting structures. The Tackling Poverty Action Group will with communication team colleagues analyse and review the impact and levels of engagement with the messaging and events held over the week and integrate any learning into both our ongoing Tackling Poverty work and the planning of future local activity for Challenge Poverty Week 2025. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The delivery of the planned activity and social media messages, incorporation of views from residents, council services and partners to shape the continuing development of the Council’s Towards a Fairer North Lanarkshire Tackling Poverty Strategy. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Challenge Poverty Week 2024 Programme 4.2 Appendix 2 – Challenge Poverty Week 2024 Analysis 4.3 Appendix 3 – Challenge Poverty Week 2024 Themes of the Week (Poverty Alliance) 4.4 Appendix 4 - NHSL CPW 2024 Flash Report Alison Gordon Chief Social Work Officer Page 44 of 98
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Challenge Poverty Week is fully aligned with the requirements of the Fairer Scotland Duty, its purpose being to reduce the inequalities caused by socio economic disadvantage. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 45 of 98
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Tackling Poverty Officers Action Group Sub Group developed a Communications Plan (Global Messages/Events) with Corporate Communications. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Tackling Poverty has been identified as a Corporate Risk, with the Chief Social Work Officer as the risk lead. Towards a Fairer North Lanarkshire - Tackling Poverty Strategy sets out a planned approach which seeks to eliminate poverty or make very significant reductions in the level of poverty resulting in benefit to the residents and including improvement in the overall level of health and wellbeing of communities. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Page 46 of 98
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Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In North Lanarkshire we recognise that tackling poverty and inequality does not fall to one Service, or one Sector, we must therefore work together to use our resources effectively and efficiently to ensure that all our communities have access to opportunities that will lead to better outcomes for people in terms of employment, wellbeing and inclusive growth. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 47 of 98
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Appendix 1 CHALLENGE POVERTY WEEK 2023 – PROGRAMME OF EVENTS 7th – 13th OCTOBER 2024 MONDAY 7th TUESDAY 8th WEDNESDAY 9th THURSDAY 10th FRIDAY 11th SATURDAY 12th SUNDAY 13th Daily Global email/ Message Theme – Housing A North Lanarkshire where we have safe, secure and sustainable homes. • Post 1 Get help to reduce your fuel costs. You can contact the North Lanarkshire Energy Advice Service at The Wise Group on 0800 092 9002 or arrange a Home Energy check at: https://homeenergyscotland- advice.est.org.uk/ Our team can also offer practical help and advice to households struggling with energy or fuel costs and can help signpost support for people in crisis. Phone 01698 332551or visit: Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council • Post 2 Animation 9: Older Persons Winter Fuel Payments will no longer be paid universally to all Pensioners. People who are aged 66 years and over and who receive Pension Credit will still receive a Winter Fuel Payment of between £200 and £300. To Find out if you qualify for Pension Credit and for help to make a claim please contact North Lanarkshire Council’s Welfare Rights Service on: 01698 332551 tpteam@northlan.gov.uk Theme – Transport A North Lanarkshire where we can all get to where we need to go. We are putting active travel at the heart of our transport policy and plans for new town and community hubs. Creating better active travel networks between communities helps improve health and well- being, cuts transport costs, improves our local environment by reducing vehicle emissions and improves public access to education and employment opportunities across our local communities. Our strategy covers cycle parking facilities and shared walking and cycling paths in town and community hubs. Find out more at: ActiveTravel Strategy | North Lanarkshire Council • Post 2 • Animation 7: Free Bus Travel – with text below If you are aged under 22 or over 60, you are eligible for FREE bus travel. Apply now: www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/free- bus-+60 Theme – Adequate Incomes A North Lanarkshire where we all have enough to live a decent and dignified life. • Post 1 Animation 3: Appeals – with text below: If you are unsure about your benefit entitlement or need help to appeal a decision, we can help. Phone 01698 332551or visit: Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council • Post 2 Animation 1: Income Maximisation/ Benefit Check with text below ������Benefits are changing and this could affect you! Some benefits and tax credits are ending and being replaced by Universal Credit. If you receive a Universal Credit migration letter it is important you apply by the deadline date on your letter, or your benefits will stop. If you are unsure about your current entitlement or need help to apply, contact our team. ���01698 332551 ����� TPteam@northlan.gov.uk Theme – Food A North Lanarkshire where no-one goes hungry. • Post 1 Animation 5: Holiday Hunger - with this text Our team can offer free and confidential benefit and debt advice, income maximisation and can help signpost support. Phone 01698 332551or visit: Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council ����� �����Our Restorative Justice Service gives back to the Community through unpaid community payback orders. Last year produce grown at their allotments resulted in 419 baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables being shared with residents of sheltered housing and with children’s houses. Over 200 food parcels were also provided for families and single adults in our communities. Find out more about local allotments here: https://ow.ly/w1LW50TpQpb Theme – Communities & Volunteers A North Lanarkshire where we value our communities and volunteers. Thank you to all our volunteers for their time and care; they make an invaluable contribution across all our communities in North Lanarkshire. Whether formal or informal, volunteering is a great way to connect with your community, to give back to causes close to your heart and to try something new or learn new skills. Why not find an opportunity near you: Volunteering – Working Together for a Better North Lanarkshire (voluntaryactionnorthlanarkshire.o rg) #NeighbourlyNorthLanarkshire Theme – Reflection A North Lanarkshire where we look after each other and ourselves. Animation 8: Sum It Up Project Build your confidence with numbers to help you manage money, bills, budgets and more... Find out more about our Sum it Up Project and what it offers at: www.northlanarkshire.gov. uk/sum-it-up �����TPMultiply@northlan.go v.uk ���01698 332551 Theme – Reflection A North Lanarkshire where we look after each other and ourselves. Page 48 of 98
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Appendix 1 CHALLENGE POVERTY WEEK 2023 – PROGRAMME OF EVENTS MONDAY 7th TUESDAY 8th WEDNESDAY 9th THURSDAY 10th FRIDAY 11th SATURDAY 12th SUNDAY 13th Events – Staff/ Services Host: Poverty Alliance Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Housing 9.00am-9.45am Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Housing – The Poverty Alliance A Scotland where we have safe, secure, and sustainable homes. Join this breakfast briefing with Poverty Alliance and guest speakers (TBC) to discuss our policy asks around housing. Join the conversation on social media using #ChallengePoverty Host: NHSL/Multiply Session New Nurses Session Monklands Hospital 0930am-10.30am CLOSED SESSION - NOT TO BE PUBLICISED Host: Poverty Alliance Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Transport 9.30am-10.15am Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Transport – The Poverty Alliance A Scotland where we can all get where we need to go. Join this breakfast briefing with Poverty Alliance and guest speakers (TBC) to discuss our policy asks around transport. Join the conversation on social media using #ChallengePoverty Host: NHSL – Tracy-Ann Kidd, Tobacco Control Team Tobacco Awareness & Links to Health & Finances Venue – Dalziel Building (Kelvin/Colville Suite), 7 Scott Street, Motherwell 1.30pm-3.30pm After the training participants will have: • Increased knowledge about the financial and health benefits of quitting smoking for the people they support • Increased confidence to raise the issue of smoking at the right time with the people they support • Awareness of where and how to signpost people to the Quit Your Way Service To book a place - https://forms.office.com/e/i9GsmkvTDR Host: Poverty Alliance Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Adequate Incomes 9.30am-10.15am Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Adequate Incomes – The Poverty Alliance A Scotland where we all have enough to live a decent and dignified life Join this breakfast briefing with Poverty Alliance and guest speakers (TBC) to discuss our policy asks around adequate incomes. Join the conversation on social media using #ChallengePoverty Host: Poverty Alliance Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Food 9.30am-10.15am Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Food – The Poverty Alliance A Scotland where we live without hunger Join this breakfast briefing with Poverty Alliance and guest speakers (TBC) to discuss our policy asks around food. Join the conversation on social media using #ChallengePoverty Host: Poverty Alliance Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Communities & Volunteers 9.30am-10.15am Poverty Alliance Breakfast Briefing – Communities and Volunteers – The Poverty Alliance A Scotland where we value our communities and volunteers Join this breakfast briefing with Poverty Alliance and guest speakers (TBC) to discuss our policy asks around communities and volunteers. Join the conversation on social media using #ChallengePoverty Host: NHSL – Tracy-Ann Kidd, Tobacco Control Team Tobacco Awareness & Links to Health & Finances Venue – Online (MS Teams) 10.00am-12noon After the training participants will have: • Increased knowledge about the financial and health benefits of quitting smoking for the people they support • Increased confidence to raise the issue of smoking at the right time with the people they support • Awareness of where and how to signpost people to the Quit Your Way Service. To book a place - https://forms.office.com/e/43LN6AhUs0 Page 49 of 98
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Appendix 1 CHALLENGE POVERTY WEEK 2023 – PROGRAMME OF EVENTS MONDAY 7th TUESDAY 8th WEDNESDAY 9th THURSDAY 10th FRIDAY 11th SATURDAY 12th SUNDAY 13th Events – Public Host: NHSL Health Improvement Team Coatbridge Health Centre, 1 Centre Park Court, Coatbridge 10.00am-12noon Host: CL&D/Multiply In-betweeners Group – Slow Cooker Chapelside Community Centre 6.00pm-8.00pm Host: NLC Tackling Poverty Poverty Awareness Calderbridge PS Parents Evening Time – TBC NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC – AIMED AT PARENTS/GAURDIANS OF PUPILS Host: Womens Space Group/Multiply Session Chapelside Community Centre, Airdrie 0930am-11.00am Host: James Dempsey Gardens Sheltered Housing Complex, Coatbridge 13.00-14.30 Poverty Awareness and Benefits for Older People CLOSED SESSION: residents only Host: All CABs, NL Volunteer Drop in session During Challenge Poverty Week, Citizens Advice Bureau welcomes new volunteers. If you want to use your skills and experience to give something back, volunteer at your local Host: Bellshill Women’s Group/Multiply Session Bellshill YMCA 0930am-11.00am Host: Turning Point/Multiply Session Turning Point, Airdrie 1.00pm-3.00pm CLOSED SESSION - NOT TO BE PUBLICISED Host: All CABs, NL Volunteer Drop in session During Challenge Poverty Week, Citizens Advice Bureau welcomes new volunteers. If you want to use your skills and experience to give something back, volunteer at your local CAB. All North Lanarkshire CABs will host drop in events for new volunteers to visit their local office and find out more. Get in touch with your local CAB and see how you can make a difference to your community! Host: NLC Community Partnership Team CPW Event, NCT Centre, Newmains 1pm-2pm Host: Inspirent Social Enterprise Start-up Roadshow Shotts Healthy Living Centre, 7 Kirk Road, Shotts ML7 5ET 1.00pm-3.00pm Email – grow@inspirent.co.uk or book via event brite - inspirent Events - 6 Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite Are you curious about how you can positively impact your community, but not sure where to start? You don't need a fully-formed idea— just an interest in making a difference! Join the Inspirent team where we'll bring expert guidance directly to you! Our events are designed especially for those who are interested in learning more about social enterprises. Whether you're just beginning to think about it or simply want to understand what social enterprises all are about, our roadshows will provide you with the insights and inspiration to start your journey. Come and join us - everyone is welcome. Host: All CABs, NL Volunteer Drop in session During Challenge Poverty Week, Citizens Advice Bureau welcomes new volunteers. If you want to use your skills and experience to give something back, volunteer at your local CAB. All North Lanarkshire CABs will host drop in events for new volunteers to visit their local office and find out more. Get in touch with your local CAB and see how you can make a difference to your community! Host: Business Gateway Lanarkshire Host: Poverty LOIP Sub Group Connect & Thrive – Connecting Communities Through Wellness Maranatha Centre, Motherwell 10.30am – 2.30pm This community event is aimed at the residents of Motherwell to highlight the support available and to highlight tackling poverty through wellness. Host: NLC Community Partnership Team & NL Carers Together Community Information Event Chryston Primary School Cliffvale Road, Chryston G69 9DB 4pm-7pm NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC – AIMED AT PARENTS/GAURDIANS OF PUPILS Host: Primary School Community Harvest Festival Berryhill Primary School 11.00am – 12 noon NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC – AIMED AT PARENTS/GAURDIANS OF PUPILS Host: All CABs, NL Volunteer Drop in session During Challenge Poverty Week, Citizens Advice Bureau welcomes new volunteers. If you want to use your skills and experience to give something back, volunteer at your local CAB. All North Lanarkshire CABs will host drop in events for new volunteers to visit their local office and find out more. Get in touch with your local CAB and see how you can make a difference to your community! Host: Cornerstone Centre & Cumbernauld Community Board’s Food & Insecurity Sub Group Empower & Elevate: Let’s Work Together to End Poverty in Cumbernauld Antonine Shopping Centre, Tryst Road, Cumbernauld G67 1JW 11.00am-3.00pm Empower and Elevate: Let's Work Together to End Poverty in Cumbernauld is a unique community event led by Cornerstone House Centre in partnership with North Lanarkshire Council, the Cumbernauld Community Board, and Antonine Shopping Centre. It will feature one of Cumbernauld's largest-ever community marketplaces, where local organisations from the Community and Voluntary Sector, Public Sector, and Private Sector will be present. Local service providers will be available to offer support in areas such as: • Benefit and debt advice • Free Period Products • Energy-saving tips and advice on keeping warm at home • Mental health and well- being support • Employability and career opportunities • Carer support • Learning opportunities For Further Information contact Annette Warren at Warrena@northlan.gov.uk Host: Women’s Group/Multiply Session Joe McKay Centre, Bellshill 10.00am-12 noon Multiply will provide a session on reducing costs and savvy shopping Page 50 of 98
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Appendix 1 CHALLENGE POVERTY WEEK 2023 – PROGRAMME OF EVENTS CAB. All North Lanarkshire CABs will host drop in events for new volunteers to visit their local office and find out more. Get in touch with your local CAB and see how you can make a difference to your community! Parents in Business Networking: Making your business work for you and your family Summerlee Museum, Heritage Way, Coatbridge ML5 1QD 9.30am-11.30am To book a place, click on the link - Parents in Business Networking: Making your business work for you and your family | Business Gateway (bgateway.com) This is a networking event aimed at parents who want to start a business or who own and operate a business in Lanarkshire. You will hear from guest speakers, meet and network with like-minded entrepreneurial parents. Host: North Lanarkshire Advice Network (NLAN) NLAN Community Event Tannochside Miners 438 Old Edinburgh Road, Uddingston G71 6PJ 12.30pm-3.30pm This community event is aimed at residents of North Lanarkshire to highlight the support available from the various advice agencies operating throughout North Lanarkshire including Carer’s organisations, Citizen’s Advice and the Tackling Poverty Team. There will also be an opportunity for one-to-one advice to be given in relation to challenging benefit decisions. Restorative Justice will also showcase their hard work and will have a selection of local fresh produce and craft items to share with the local community. Host: CL&D/Multiply Health in Numbers Time Capsule, Coatbridge 12.30pm-2.30pm Multiply will provide a session on reducing costs and savvy shopping Host: All CABs, NL Volunteer Drop in session During Challenge Poverty Week, Citizens Advice Bureau welcomes new volunteers. If you want to use your skills and experience to give something back, volunteer at your local CAB. All North Lanarkshire CABs will host drop in events for new volunteers to visit their local office and find out more. Get in touch with your local CAB and see how you can make a difference to your community! Page 51 of 98
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Appendix 1 CHALLENGE POVERTY WEEK 2023 – PROGRAMME OF EVENTS Page 52 of 98
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1 Appendix 2 Challenge Poverty Week, 7 – 13 October 2024 Campaign focus: The week is focussed around daily themes and throughout the week we shared information about advice and support available to help families struggling with income or money worries. • In total the campaign received 116,741 impressions, 361 reactions, 185 shares, 240 link clicks and 64 comments. Social media communications on main NLCpeople channels Global Messages Date Daily theme/ social media text Social media communication Stats Mon 30/09/24 INTRO POST Next week is Challenge Poverty Week 2024. All week there will be information about the help and support available to you as well as free events in your area. To find out what’s going on near you visit: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council #ChallengePoverty Facebook Impressions: 8,870 Reactions: 32 Comments: Shares: 19 Link clicks: 26 Engagements: 51 Engagement rate: 0.57% X Impressions: 3,446 Reactions: 13 Comments: 0 Shares: 8 Page 53 of 98
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2 Link clicks: 19 Engagements: 70 Engagement rate: 2.03% Thursday 03/10/24 INTRO POST This week is Challenge Poverty Week. All week there will be information about the help and support available to you as well as free events in your area. Find out what’s going on near you at: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council #ChallengePoverty Facebook Impressions: 19,703 Reactions: 50 Comments: 4 Shares: 32 Link clicks: 67 Engagements: 86 Engagement rate: 0.44% X Impressions: 2,724 Reactions: 11 Comments: 0 Shares: 6 Link clicks: 19 Engagements: 63 Page 54 of 98
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3 Engagement rate: 2.31% Mon 07/10/24 HOUSING • Post 1 Get help to reduce your fuel costs. You can contact the North Lanarkshire Energy Advice Service at The Wise Group on 0800 092 9002 or arrange a Home Energy check at: https://homeenergyscotland-advice.est.org.uk/ Our team can also offer practical help and advice to households struggling with energy or fuel costs and can help signpost support for people in crisis. Phone 01698 332551or visit: Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Counci #ChallengePoverty Facebook Impressions: 10,124 Reactions: 18 Comments: 10 Shares: 7 Link clicks: 10 Engagements: 35 Engagement rate: 0.35% X Impressions:1,598 Reactions: 2 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 4 Engagements: 20 Engagement rate: 1.25% Page 55 of 98
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4 • Post 2 Animation 9: Older Persons Winter Fuel Payments will no longer be paid universally to all Pensioners. People who are aged 66 years and over and who receive Pension Credit will still receive a Winter Fuel Payment of between £200 and £300. To Find out if you qualify for Pension Credit and for help to make a claim please contact North Lanarkshire Council’s Welfare Rights Service on: 01698 332551 tpteam@northlan.gov.uk Facebook Impressions: 5,092 Reactions: 18 Comments: 4 Shares: 18 Link clicks: n/a Engagements: 40 Engagement rate: 0.79% X Impressions: 2,608 Reactions: 5 Comments: 0 Shares: 6 Link clicks: n/a Engagements: 32 Engagement rate: 1.23% Page 56 of 98
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5 Tues 08/10/23 TRANSPORT Active travel is at the heart of our transport policy and plans for new town and community hubs. Creating better active travel networks between communities helps improve health and well- being, cuts transport costs, improves our local environment by reducing vehicle emissions and improves public access to education and employment opportunities across our local communities. Our strategy covers cycle parking facilities and shared walking and cycling paths in town and community hubs. ActiveTravel Strategy | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 10,630 Reactions: 26 Comments: 18 Shares: 5 Link clicks: 10 Engagements: 49 Engagement rate: 0.46% X Impressions: 1,563 Reactions: 2 Comments: 0 Shares: 2 Link clicks: 2 Engagements: 18 Engagement rate: 1.15% Page 57 of 98
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6 Wed 09/10/24 ADEQUATE INCOMES • Post 1 Animation 3: Appeals If you are unsure about your benefit entitlement or need help to appeal a decision, we can help. Phone 01698 332551 or visit: Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 3,607 Reactions: 15 Comments: 1 Shares: 16 Link clicks: 7 Engagements: 32 Engagement rate: 0.89% X Impressions: 1,956 Reactions: 7 Comments: 0 Shares: 8 Link clicks: 6 Engagements: 36 Engagement rate: 1.84% Page 58 of 98
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7 • Post 2 Animation 1: Income Maximisation/ Benefit check ������Benefits are changing and this could affect you! Some benefits and tax credits are ending and being replaced by Universal Credit. If you receive a Universal Credit migration letter it is important you apply by the deadline date on your letter, or your benefits will stop. If you are unsure about your current entitlement or need help to apply, contact our team. ���01698 332551 ����� TPteam@northlan.gov.uk Facebook Impressions: 1,993 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 3 Link clicks: n/a Engagements: 4 Engagement rate: 0.2% X Impressions: 2,867 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 3 Link clicks: 4 Engagements: 103 Engagement rate: 3.59% Page 59 of 98
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8 Thursday 10/10/24 • Post 1 Animation 5: Holiday Hunger Our team can offer free and confidential benefit and debt advice, income maximisation and can help signpost support. Phone 01698 332551or visit: Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 1,760 Reactions: 2 Comments: 0 Shares: 2 Link clicks: 2 Engagements: 4 Engagement rate: X Impressions: 2,141 Reactions: 4 Comments: 1 Shares: 5 Link clicks: 2 Engagements: 34 Engagement rate: 1.59% Page 60 of 98
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9 • Post 2 ����� �����Our Restorative Justice Service grows fresh fruit and veg through unpaid community payback orders at local allotments. Produce is shared with food banks, older person’s housing and children’s houses. Find out more about local allotments here: https://ow.ly/w1LW50TpQpb Facebook Impressions: 9,049 Reactions: 80 Comments: 3 Shares: 11 Link clicks: 18 Engagements: 94 Engagement rate: 1.04% X Impressions: 1,908 Reactions: 6 Comments: 0 Shares: 3 Link clicks: 11 Engagements: 31 Engagement rate: 1.62% Page 61 of 98
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10 Fri 11/10/24 Thank you to all our volunteers for their time and care; they make an invaluable contribution across all our communities in North Lanarkshire. Whether formal or informal, volunteering is a great way to connect with your community, to give back to causes close to your heart and to try something new or learn new skills. Why not find an opportunity near you: Volunteering – Working Together for a Better North Lanarkshire (voluntaryactionnorthlanarkshire.org) #NeighbourlyNorthLanarkshire Facebook Impressions: 5,084 Reactions: 17 Comments: 0 Shares: 3 Link clicks: 1 Engagements: 20 Engagement rate: 0.39% X Impressions: 1,417 Reactions: 3 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 3 Engagements: 10 Engagement rate: 0.71% Page 62 of 98
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11 Fri 11/10/24 As Challenge Poverty Week draws to a close Cllr Chris Costello, convener of the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty committee has thanked all involved. There is a wide range of support available: contact the tackling poverty team on 01698 332551 or email TPTeam@northlan.gov.uk Facebook Impressions: 4,834 Reactions: 26 Comments: 23 Shares: 4 Link clicks: n/a Engagements: 53 Engagement rate: 1.10% X Impressions: 2,213 Reactions: 10 Comments: 0 Shares: 6 Link clicks: 1 Engagements: 52 Engagement rate: 2.35% Page 63 of 98
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12 Sat 12/10/22 REFLECTION Animation 8: Sum It Up Project Build your confidence with numbers to help you manage money, bills, budgets and more... Find out more about our Sum it Up Project and what it offers at: www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/sum-it-up Facebook Impressions: 2,660 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 2 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 0.11% X Impressions: 2,212 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 2 Link clicks: 9 Engagements: Engagement rate: Page 64 of 98
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13 My Town channels – publicity of local events The programme of events for service users was promoted via local channels in order to make it relevant and accessible to local residents. My town channels – promotion of local events Date Social media communication Stats Fri 04/10/24 My Airdrie Our Womens’ Group is using cookery to gain a numeracy SQA. Join us at our FREE event to learn more about on-line tools to stay on budget. ������ Monday 7 October ������ Airdrie Chapelside Community Centre, Waddell Street, ML6 6JU ������9.30am to 11am Find out more about our Sum it Up Project and what it offers at: www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/sum-it-up �����TPMultiply@northlan.gov.uk ���01698 332551 All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council #ChallengePoverty Facebook Impressions: 493 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 2 Engagements: 0 Engagement rate: 0% X Impressions: 84 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 5 Engagement rate: 5.95% Page 65 of 98
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14 Fri 04/10/24 My Airdrie Would you like to improve your number skills in a fun supportive setting through cooking activities? Our group of learners all work at their own pace. Come along to our FREE open event: ������ Monday 7 October ������ Airdrie Chapelside Community Centre, Waddell Street, ML6 6JU ������6pm to 8pm Find out more about free courses in your local community or how to gain a maths qualification at: www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/sum-it-up �����TPMultiply@northlan.gov.uk ���01698 332551 All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 692 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 3 Engagements: 0 Engagement rate: 0% X Impressions: 114 Reactions: 0 Comments:0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 1 Engagement rate: 0.88% Page 66 of 98
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15 Fri 04/10/24 My Bellshill Join us at this free event – our Sum it up Project can help you with budgeting, reducing costs, and savvy shopping. ������ Tuesday 8 October ������ Bellshill: YMCA, 294 Main Street, ML4 1AB ������9.30am to 11am Find out more about our Sum it Up Project and what it offers at: www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/sum-it-up �����TPMultiply@northlan.gov.uk ���01698 332551 All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 551 Reactions: 2 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 0.54% X Impressions: 47 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 2 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 6.38% Page 67 of 98
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16 Fri 04/10/24 My Coatbridge Would you like to start a business in North Lanarkshire or do you already own and operate one? At this free event, you will hear from a panel of guest speakers with a chance to network and learn more about making your business work for you and your family. ������ Wednesday 9 October ������ Coatbridge: Summerlee Museum, Heritage Way, ML5 1QD ������9.30am to 11.30am Please book your place at: Parents in Business Networking: Making your business work for you and your family | Business Gateway (bgateway.com) All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 529 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 0 Engagement rate: 0% X Impressions: 253 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 1.19% Page 68 of 98
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17 Fri 04/10/24 My Cumbernauld Drop in to see us on Friday! Over 30 council, partner and voluntary agencies will be available throughout the centre to offer advice around benefits and money, energy, housing, health and wellbeing, communities, learning and families, skills development opportunities and lots more…… ������ Friday 11 October ������ Cumbernauld: Antonine Shopping Centre, Tryst Road, G67 1JW ������ 11am to 3pm All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 427 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 2 Engagements: 2 Engagement rate: 0.47% X Impressions: 80 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 1 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 3.75% Page 69 of 98
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18 Fri 04/10/24 My Motherwell At this FREE event there is lots on offer from jewellery making to taster exercise classes, cooking sessions, massages, beauty treatments, haircuts and more. ������ Thursday 10 October ������ Motherwell: Maranatha Centre, Glencairn Street, ML1 1TT ������ 10.30am to 2.30pm Come along and improve your wellbeing. All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 1,095 Reactions: 3 Comments: 0 Shares: 4 Link clicks: 6 Engagements: 7 Engagement rate: 0.64% X Impressions: 114 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 1 Engagement rate: 0.88% Page 70 of 98
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19 Fri 04/10/24 My Shotts Would you like to learn more about social enterprises? If you are thinking about it or just want a better understanding of the process, come along to our FREE event for insights and inspiration. ������ Wednesday 9 October ������ Shotts: Healthy Living centre, 7 Kirk Road, ML7 5ET ������ 1pm to 3pm Please book your place ����� grow@inspirent.co.uk or via event brite - inspirent Events - 6 Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 465 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 1 Engagement rate: 0.22% X Impressions: 588 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 3 Link clicks: 1 Engagements: 15 Engagement rate: 2.55% Page 71 of 98
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20 Fri 04/10/24 My Bellshill Hosted by North Lanarkshire Advice Network, this free event highlights the support available from advice agencies including carer’s organisations, welfare rights, citizens advice. You can also get one- to-one advice around challenging benefit decisions. ������ Wednesday 9 October ������ Uddingston: Tannochside Miners Welfare Club, 438 Old Edinburgh Road, G716PJ ������12.30pm to 3.30pm All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions: 590 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 1 Engagement rate: 0.17% X Impressions: 78 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 1 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 3.85% Page 72 of 98
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21 Tues 08/10/24 My Bellshill Join us at this free event – our Sum it up Project can help you with budgeting, reducing costs, and savvy shopping. ������ Friday 11 October ������ Bellshill: Joe McKay Centre, Liberty Road ML4 2EU ������ 10am to 12pm Find out more about our Sum it Up Project and what it offers at: www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/sum-it-up �����TPMultiply@northlan.gov.uk ���01698 332551 All events here: Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Facebook Impressions:463 Reactions: 1 Comments: 0 Shares: 1 Link clicks: 0 Engagements: 2 Engagement rate: 0.43% X Impressions: 55 Reactions: 0 Comments: 0 Shares: 0 Link clicks: 1 Engagements: 3 Engagement rate: 5.45% Page 73 of 98
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22 Gov Delivery email communications Gov Delivery bulletins were also issued to a variety of subscribers including Benefits and Money, Housing, Events and Business. Date Subscribers Gov Delivery email communication Stats Thurs 03/03/24 INTRO & LOCAL EVENTS Issued to subscribers of: • Housing – 10.407 recipients • Benefits & Money – 8,991 recipients • Events – 9,904 recipients Delivery metrics – details Total sent: 17,348 Delivered: 16,822 (97%) Bulletin analytics Total opens: 3,444 Total clicks: 231 (1%) Page 74 of 98
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23 Mon 07/10/24 LOCAL EVENTS Issued to subscribers of: • Business – 5,970 recipients Delivery metrics – details Total sent: 5,970 Delivered: xx (95%) Bulletin analytics Total opens: 2,250 Total clicks: 61 5,970 recipients 95% delivered Thurs 10/10/23 ADEQUATE INCOMES Issued to subscribers of: • Benefits and money – 8,865 recipients) Delivery metrics – details Total sent: 8,865 Delivered: 8,591 (97%) Bulletin analytics Total opens: 1,940 Total clicks: 75 (1%) Page 75 of 98
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24 Website Page name Landing page or news page? url Website metrics Challenge Poverty Week announcement /challenge-poverty-week- 2024 Page views: 1,170 Average time spent on page: 00:00:28 Button clicks: 0 Downloads: 0 Email box clicks: 1 Tackling Poverty Info Tackling poverty | North Lanarkshire Council Page views: 650 Average time spent on page: 00:00:42 Button clicks: 0 Downloads: 31 Email box clicks: 0 Challenge Poverty Week News Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council Page views:70 Average time spent on page: 00:00:17 Button clicks: 0 Downloads: 0 Email box clicks: 0 Welfare Rights Services News Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council Page views: 635 Average time spent on page: 00:00:37 Button clicks: 0 Downloads: 0 Email box clicks: 35 Sum it up Info Sum It Up | North Lanarkshire Council Page views: 150 Average time spent on page: 00:00:26 Button clicks: 0 Downloads: 0 Page 76 of 98
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25 Email box clicks: 2 Allotments Info Allotments | North Lanarkshire Council Page views: 130 Average time spent on page: 00:00:24 Button clicks: 0 Downloads: 0 Email box clicks: 10 Active Travel Strategy Info Active Travel Strategy | North Lanarkshire Council Page views: 87 Average time spent on page: 00:00:12 Button clicks: 21 Downloads: 15 Email box clicks: 1 Comparison of traffic to website pages the week before Challenge Poverty Week, during and the week after: Webpage W/c 30 Sept W/c 7 Oct W/c 14/10 Trend across the three weeks as a Sparkline /Challenge-Poverty-Week-2024 683 475 31 Tackling poverty | North Lanarkshire Council 490 310 111 Challenge Poverty Week 2024 | North Lanarkshire Council 54 22 1 Page 77 of 98
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26 Welfare rights services | North Lanarkshire Council 150 313 157 https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/regeneration-and- investment/uk-shared-prosperity-fund/sum- it?fbclid=IwY2xjawGF3xtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVcMp8eg- 3zBgac7aGW886CUT6VYo1Qx_pnxBS- pl1O4P15N4mlbpnmYGg_aem_pWiSkReQlTPCpstbeXrDGg 46 84 22 Allotments | North Lanarkshire Council 19 89 27 Active Travel Strategy | North Lanarkshire Council 26 48 17 Page 78 of 98
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Challenge Poverty Week is an annual event which is coordinated and delivered by The Poverty Alliance. The first Challenge Poverty week took place back in 2013 and has become a core event for those doing anti-poverty work. For more information about the work of the Poverty Alliance and if you would like to find out how to become a member visit: www.povertyalliance.org Challenge Poverty Week is funded by: What is Challenge Poverty Week? #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 More and more of us are being pulled towards a current of poverty, by rising costs and inadequate incomes that simply don't meet our needs. Challenge Poverty Week is an opportunity to raise your voice against poverty and unite with hundreds of organisations across Scotland in calling for a more just and equal society. In Scotland, we believe in justice and compassion. So it's wrong that 1 in 5 people are locked in poverty and struggling to get by every day. Page 79 of 98
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What is Challenge Poverty Week? #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 To raise a unified voice against poverty and show that we all want to live in a more just and equal Scotland. To build awareness of and support for solutions to poverty. To change the conversation around poverty and help end the stigma of living on a low income. Aims of CPW: Challenge Poverty Week continues to be an important week across civic Scotland and in 2023 more organisations than ever before got involved! 500 organisations got involved representing the third-sector, trade unions, education, businesses, local authorities, faith groups and more. Page 80 of 98
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We can build a society where everyone has the incomes they need to live in freedom, dignity and security. We can strengthen our social security safety net, pay at least the real Living Wage, build high-quality public services... ...and redesign our economy to meet people’s needs. Together, we can solve poverty in Scotland! It is unjust that so many people in Scotland are trapped in the grip of unjust poverty. Challenge Poverty Week is our chance to say that Scotland doesn’t have to be like this. We hope you will join us in sharing our key messages, supporting events and activities, and raising your voice with organisations across Scotland. Key Messages... #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Page 81 of 98
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Why get involved? #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 In 2023, 500 organisations from across Scotland were involved in Challenge Poverty Week, all joined together in a unified voice and taking action to end the injustice of poverty. Challenge Poverty Week presents an opportunity to showcase work you are already doing in the community or to kickstart a new project or initiative. “We want to leverage social and political change in our region - it is important for community organisations to increase influence locally to bring about change” -CPW23 Survey Response “If we all work together it will strengthen us in the future and build stronger communities” -CPW23 Survey Response “As a small charity, we struggle with raising the awareness of the brilliant work we do and this campaign allowed us to share the compelling stories from the people we work with” -CPW23 Survey Response Page 82 of 98
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Every year, Challenge Poverty Week places emphasis on a number of key policy asks that will help us to free people from the grip of poverty. These policies are designed to turn our shared values of justice and compassion into action, and to highlight to our politicians what action is required to build a Scotland free from poverty. The Poverty Alliance create briefings for each policy ask which are available on our website. For more information on these please contact our Policy Officer: chloe.campbell@povertyalliance.org Policy Asks #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Want to learn more about our policy asks? The Poverty Alliance host online daily Breakfast Briefings during Challenge Poverty Week which are open to all to attend. Sign up via our webite! Page 83 of 98
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Monday Housing A Scotland where we have safe, secure, and sustainable homes Tuesday Transport A Scotland where we can all get where we need to go Wednesday Adequate Incomes A Scotland where we all have enough to live a decent and dignified life Thursday Food A Scotland where we live without hunger Friday Communities and Volunteers A Scotland where we value our communities and volunteers Saturday & Sunday Weekend of Reflection Themes #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Our themes can help you to plan your activity for Challenge Poverty Week. We hope you can use our policy asks and themes but it isn't necessary. You can focus on any issue you like, on any day. There’s lots more resources to help you use our policy asks and themes on our website: www.povertyalliance.org/CPW Page 84 of 98
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Photo Opportunities Photocalls can be organised in advance ready for sharing on socials, newsletters and far and wide through your networks during the week itself. Top Tip! Get in touch with our Campaigns Officer if you would like an A3 sized ‘Challenge Poverty Week’ photo board posted out to you (supplies of these are limited so it helps to get your request in early). Email: Alyson.Laird@povertyalliance.org Hold a photo opportunity in your organisation and share on social media or with local press. You can use the #CPW23 when sharing. Bringing people together for a photo is a great way to highlight your involvement and support for Challenge Poverty Week. The photos can be used on your social media, in newsletters, or sent to the local press. Our website will have sample press releases you can use as the week draws closer! There is no action too small! #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Every year organisations across Scotland host events and activities for Challenge Poverty Week and it is this combination of actions and activities taking place that makes the week so impactful! Page 85 of 98
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#ChallengePoverty #CPW24 CPW24 ChallengePoverty Make some noise... ...on social media! Social media can be powerful and is a big part of Challenge Poverty Week. We would encourage you to share key messages, activities and events across your own platforms. In the lead up to Challenge Poverty Week we will have suggested social media posts which you are welcome to use or amend. Our brand guidelines and social media assets can be found on our website. Celtic FC Foundation use their social media to highlight the start of CPW23 And make sure you get noticed and use our # on your social media! GCVS highlight key messages during CPW23 Page 86 of 98
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What online actions could you take part in? • Host an online discussion or webinar focussing on poverty • Record a video discussing an issue you care about • Create a reel on Instagram, or use TikTok to make your activity stand out! If you want to get your local MSP to make a commitment on tackling poverty, tag them in your post. Tell your story: this will evoke emotion and encourage action Target key influential social media accounts Be brief: the most shared content is content that says only what it needs to say. Give your target a reason to respond, you could tag a local journalist #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Pushing for change through digital media can be just as successful as traditional methods and it's an opportunity to connect with lots of people and spread your message in creative ways. Make change happen online Some tips for making your online activity stand out! Page 87 of 98
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Bringing Communities Together #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Bringing people together is very much in the spirit of Challenge Poverty Week, and we know that this is something that won’t be unfamiliar to many of you! Many organisations host events such as conferences and themed roundtables to discuss solutions to poverty and to share the initiatives and work that is being done within their organisation. In-person events which have the potential to reach the whole community are incredibly effective in raising the profile and aims of Challenge Poverty Week. Charitable organisations can use these events as an opportunity to further support their local communities. These events can be as fun and creative as you like! Will your organisation be publishing research or a report on a topic related to poverty? Will you be launching a new campaign or initiative? The focus on poverty-related issues during CPW is an ideal platform to launch any work your organisation may be undertaking. Use CPW as a Launch Platform We can help promote your action online and with the news media, so let us know if you plan to launch something during the week by contacting david.eyre@povertyalliance.org. Page 88 of 98
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Themed Discussion, Lecture or Conference #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Organise a discussion about local or national issues, speaker events, or lectures exploring new research on the lived experiences of poverty. These are a great way to build support for solutions to poverty and can encourage people to get more involved. Professionals in your area School, college or university students The wider public Politicians and civil servants People in your local community Work colleagues Target audiences may include: Page 89 of 98
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What about hosting: • A school uniform/sports kit recycling initiative • A foodbank collection (distribute food to a local foodbank in need of supplies) • A community breakfast or coffee morning Meaningful Community Initiatives PAGE 11#ChallengePoverty #CPW24 As part of Challenge Poverty Week schools, community centres and other community groups host activities throughout the week which can be helpful and mindful of those in the community who may be experiencing poverty. (Left) Stirling Albion FC host a kit recycling event at a weekend game during Challenge Poverty Week 2023 (Above & Right) Big Hearts share various initiatives they are running on thieir social media as part of CPW23 Page 90 of 98
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Talk to your local politicians Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities have a legal duty to reduce child poverty, so you have a right to hold your elected representative accountable for the individual actions they are taking to ensure the legal targets are met. #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Challenge Poverty Week is about urging those in power to act. With justice and compassion at the heart of policy, elected representatives have the power to make long-lasting changes which to help release people from the grip of poverty. We encourage organisations to write to their local and national elected representatives. Tell them: • How poverty is affecting the community you work in • The initiatives and work you are doing to alleviate that • The change that is needed for your community to thrive Celebrate your success: • Members of the Scottish Parliament can submit motions to highlight the success of organisations in their constituency or region. • Let your MSP know about your participation in CPW, and the positive impact your work is having in your community. Invite them to your organisation: • The Poverty Alliance contact elected members know about Challenge Poverty Week so it shouldn’t be a surprise to them! • Use this in-person opportunity to show them some of the work you are engaged in to help your communities Page 91 of 98
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Examples of simple actions: • Write to your local MSP or MP to ask them to commit to end poverty. You'll find relevant resources on our website. • Talk to the media about you or your community's experiences of poverty . We provide free media training to help you do this. • Use social media to share anti- poverty content e.g. petitions, news articles, research, or local initiatives. • Get involved with existing community initiatives or charities. Top Tip! Our Communications Officer can provide support with media training and promoting your activity in the news media. Email: David.Eyre@povertyalliance.org Getting involved in Challenge Poverty Week isn’t just about organising events or launching campaigns. You can push for change by taking small, simple steps. The more people who take these actions, the more impact they have. #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Get Noticed... ...and push for change We can support you in this through our Values First Framing Training. This is training carried out by our Communications Officer which helps organisations to put our useful shared values at the centre of communications. Whether this is during Challenge Poverty Week or beyond. This training has received exceptional reviews, with the majority of those attending indicating that they felt much more confident in placing values first and talking about poverty in their communications. Page 92 of 98
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Get Heard Scotland is a program coordinated by the Poverty Alliance to facilitate discussions about how to address poverty. You can decide to organise a Get Heard meeting as part of Challenge Poverty Week. The most appropriate audiences for these events are individuals with lived experiences of poverty and national and community organisations working to address poverty. Use our Get Heard toolkit to help you set this up, which can be found at povertyalliance.org/cpw. Discussions should be focused around these three simple questions: Challenge Poverty Week is a fantastic opportunity to unite to spotlight poverty and showcase solutions. But to end poverty, we must sustain our efforts all year round. Here’s what you can do to keep up the pressure to end poverty in Scotland: • Continue to share poverty-related articles and research • Use Challenge Poverty Week to plan a local or national campaign • If you write to your elected representative, follow up with them • Continue to support local and national organisations in the fight against poverty Get involved with our campaigns, our Community Activist Advisory Group or join the Poverty Alliance! Visit povertyalliance.org to find out more. What works in your community? What doesn’t work? What needs to change? 'Get Heard' Community Discussion Beyond Challenge Poverty Week #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 Page 93 of 98
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Whatever activity or event you are planning - please add it to our events calendar! It is a great way to promote your event and to show you are part of #ChallengePoverty week. We also use the events calendar to highlight what is going on across Scotland and it is another way for us to keep track of who is taking part! You can find the events calendar at povertyalliance.org/events-page/ Possible topics may include: Get Noticed! #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 How we can supportTo support your involvement in #ChallengePoverty Week, we can: • Promote your activity through social media, news media, and our events calendar. • Provide free training on framing, media, and local media. • Provide social media graphics, media templates and petition letters. • Provide 1-2-1 advice from alyson.laird@povertyalliance.org Get support! Page 94 of 98
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Challenge Poverty Week is a real, practical opportunity to build a stronger movement against poverty and demonstrate our values of justice and compassion. At a time when life is becoming tougher for many people, it is vital that we build support for ending poverty. Challenge Poverty Week is a much-needed opportunity for all of us to come together to reflect on the causes of poverty and to promote understanding and support for the solutions to it. This makes Challenge Poverty Week an important date in One Parent Families Scotland's calendar, and we look forward to getting involved again this year to change the conversation around poverty. We can turn the tide on poverty! Keep in touch @PovertyAlliance @CPW_Scotland The Poverty Alliance is a registered charity. @PovertyAlliance @PovertyAlliance alyson.laird@povertyalliance.org povertyalliance.org/CPW 0141 353 0440 #ChallengePoverty #CPW24 One Parent Families Scotland Page 95 of 98
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Motherwell Health Improvement Team Challenge Poverty Week Flash Report 2024 Motherwell Mental Health/Tackling Poverty & Inequalities LOIP subgroup planned an event “Connect and Thrive” for Challenge Poverty Week in the Marantha Centre Motherwell on 10th October 2024 About the Event 11 partner organisations involved 105 attendees • Motherwell subgroup received funding from the NLC cost of living fund to organise the event • The event took place during challenge poverty week in the Maranatha Centre on Thursday 10th October. This was also World Mental Health Day which ties in nicely with the two priorities of the sub group (Mental Health and Wellbeing & Tackling Poverty and Inequalities) • Approx. 105 people attended the event • Attendees received free a hot drink and a roll. Free soup packs and period products were also available. • There were multiple partners in attendance to provide activities, support and information- Referrals Multiple referrals were made during the event. From the feedback received from partners so far, we are aware of the referrals below- Tackling Poverty Team Citizen’s Advice Bureau 1 CLD adult learning team literacy support 8 Routes to Work 2 CLD family learning 1 Active Health 1 Turning Point 2 North Lanarkshire Recovery Community CAB NHS Health Improvement Team NLC Community Partnership Team Tackling Poverty Team Routes to Work Health and Wellness Hub SAMH CLD/Sum It Up VANL NLC Volunteering New College Lanarkshire Attendees were supported holistically. Through partnership working in the Motherwell locality, referrals were made to organisations who were not in attendance at the event. Although the event was predominantly for financial and mental health support, referrals were also made for physical activity and recovery, as we recognise the impact on people’s health. • Activities on offer included- Chair-based exercise taster sessions Hand massages Haircuts Budget shopping taste testing Page 96 of 98
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Attendee Feedback- 69 participated in the online pilot Next steps and contact details • The Motherwell Mental Health and Wellbeing & Tackling Poverty and Inequalities subgroup were successful in applying for NLC Community Empowerment Funding, and received £5,000. This funding will support future community events, as well as a ‘Winter Wellbeing Roadshow’ aimed at reducing stigma and tackling poverty in the Motherwell area. • Report complete by Motherwell Health Improvement Team. For more info, contact: megan.mcneil@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk or sarah.warnock@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk “I found everyone to be so helpful and friendly very knowledgeable and eager to help without any prejudice. Fantastic people and fabulous information to have. Pleasure to meet such helpful people” “Good to speak to people, Good to know about the services which was good” “SAMH are brilliant!! I needed a hand up not a hand hold and they did it” “It was very informative I enjoyed the eating challenge & learning what the food cost, my favourite part was the hand massage” Page 97 of 98
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Event Photos- Page 98 of 98