Fairer Renfrewshire Update - Final Report
Renfrewshire Council · 26 April 2023
Back to Leadership Board — 26 April 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 26 April 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Fairer Renfrewshire Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Council and its partners continue to work together to progress the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme, with a strong shared focus currently on the local response to the cost-of-living crisis. 1.2 This paper provides a summary of the key headline issues relating to the cost-of-living crisis locally, as reported to the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee. While there are some encouraging signs of economic recovery, such as a predicted fall in inflation rates and wholesale energy prices during 2023, it is important to recognise that households locally are still experiencing a range of financial pressures and for many, significant financial hardship. 1.3 Previous papers to board have provided an update on the significant level of investment and focus that the Council and its partners have made in terms of responding to the cost of living crisis and financial insecurity through the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme. As confirmed as part of the Council’s budget in March 2023, all tranches of funding available to support the Programme have been brought together to support the development and implementation of the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme, with an overall funding envelope of in the region of £5m allocated to support this. 1.4 This paper makes recommendations for the allocation of an additional £1.025m of Council funding for initial investment during 2023/24, focussed on supporting the financial security of people in Renfrewshire. A key priority for 2023 will continue to be income maximisation and reducing household expenditure to help households cope with the ongoing cost-of- living crisis.
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1.5 Work also continues to develop the Council’s approach to issues such as poverty and inequality in the medium term, and to develop high-quality, evidence-based poverty interventions locally which maximise the impact of Council resources moving forward. The paper notes particular activities being undertaken in relation to support for low income families around the cost of the school day and around holiday activity and food support. 1.6 In terms of the wider Fairer Renfrewshire programme and the Alcohol and Drugs Commission work, Section 6 of this report provides an overview of the Recovery Change Fund, and sets out a recommendation to award further funding to extend an existing project funded by the Recovery Change Fund. Additionally, a review of the Fund will be undertaken to assess links with other national funding streams and to develop options for the funding going forward. 1.7 There continues to be a significant amount of ongoing work and activity under the Fairer Renfrewshire banner, with priorities for the Fairer Renfrewshire programme over the coming quarter including the: • Development of the poverty and participation test of change, working alongside the newly established lived experience panel to develop recommendations and the shape of future work • Developing and delivering budget investments including holiday activities and winter school clothing grant • Producing Renfrewshire’s Local Child Poverty Action Report • Commencing a ‘deep dive’ data exercise around child poverty as a Community Planning Partnership, focussing on the six priority family groups • Establishing the Fair Food Renfrewshire partnership, using the Sustainable Food Places toolkit • Continuing the evaluation of projects within Tackling Poverty Programme and exploring future options with services around required priorities going forward • Delivery of the remaining Winter Connections programme, and associated evaluation of the programme. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that elected members: • Note the progress made in relation to key projects within the Fairer Renfrewshire programme • Allocate £818,812 to extend the delivery of projects within the Tackling Poverty Programme for 2023/24, as detailed at Section 4. • Allocate £140,000 to develop a dedicated family advice team to provide income advice to families with children in Renfrewshire, as detailed at Section 4.
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• Delegate authority to the Head of Policy and Commissioning to flexibly manage the Council’s allocation of £100,000 for holiday activities and food in consultation with the Council Leader, as detailed at Section 5. • Award Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau grant funding of £42,000 to extend their Welfare Rights project for an additional year throughout 2023/24 as detailed at Section 5. • Allocate £20,000 to extend the Fuel Insecurity Pilot for a further 6 months from April 2023 as detailed at Section 5. • Approve the allocation of £5,012 from the Recovery Change Fund to support the initiative detailed in Section 6. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 As elected members will be aware through previous updates to the Leadership Board, the Council is in the process of developing and delivering a new Fairer Renfrewshire Programme. This brings together all previous programmes that have been developed to tackle the inequalities that exist across Renfrewshire’s communities, including those relating to poverty, alcohol and drugs and COVID recovery, and has an immediate focus on the local response to the deepening cost-of-living crisis. 3.2 The Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee continues to meet to provide oversight of all related activities being undertaken, with the latest meeting being held on 22 March 2023. A Fairer Renfrewshire Officer Group has also been established which currently meets monthly and is chaired by the Head of Policy and Commissioning. 3.3 Renfrewshire Council’s 2023-24 budget, agreed on 2nd March 2023, outlined several investments related to the Fairer Renfrewshire programme including bringing together the current Fairer Renfrewshire funding alongside the Tackling Poverty and Social Renewal reserve funds into a single resource estimated at £5million. As part of the Budget the following funding decisions were confirmed: • £0.068m over 2 years to support the recently agreed 10% increase in delivery of advice services by Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau • £0.300m to support a £50 winter school clothing payment to each child eligible for school clothing grant • £0.100m to provide a programme of summer activities for children and young people from low-income families, encouraging them to access a wide range of activities and healthy food • Council also agreed to top-up funding of £0.200million to the Scottish Welfare Fund, to be drawn from Welfare Reform reserve
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3.4 This paper provides an overview of the activities that have been progressed through the Programme since the last update to board, and also seeks to provide an update on national and local policy developments which continue to impact the local response. Current context 3.5 On 22 March 2023, the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee considered a cost-of-living update report which provided an overview of recent statistics and research in relation to the cost-of-living crisis. Key points to highlight to the Board include: • It was reported at the Fairer Ren Sub-Committee that the rate of inflation had fallen to 10.1% (January 23), after reaching a high of 11.1% in October. The inflation rate has since increased to 10.4% (March 23), with an unexpected jump following a surge in food prices resulting from a shortage of salad items, and then resumed its downward trajectory to 10.1% (April 23). • The inflation rate for food has continued to rise. The ONS report the cost of food and non- alcoholic beverages has risen by about 19.1% in the year to March, its highest rate since August 1977. • In response to higher-than-expected UK inflation, the Bank of England raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25% on 23rd March 2023. • The energy regulator Ofgem announced that its quarterly cap on household bills for average dual-fuel direct-debit customers will fall by around 23% from £4,279 for the January to March quarter to £3,280 from 1 April. The UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, which limits the maximum costs of energy, will be kept at £2,500 from 1st April, to the end of June: a three month extension. • It is predicted the Energy Price Cap will fall below the level of the Energy Price Guarantee in July, which would mean the increase in the Energy Price Guarantee would not impact on bills as households pay whichever is the lower of these two rates. The current prediction by Cornwall Insight is that the Energy Price Cap will fall to £2,013/year for the period 1 July 2023 – September 2023. 3.6 In terms of recent research undertaken, the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee considered some of the following key findings and the potential impact in Renfrewshire. These included figures released by the Office for National Statistics on 27 February 2023 which show the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, including on eating, heating and on mental health. The ONS’s latest data found that from November 2022 to January 2023: • Around 1 in 11 (9%) adults reported they had often or sometimes run out of food and could not afford to buy more in the past month. • Around half of adults reported that they were buying less when food shopping (50% in the latest period, 49% in the previous period); 40% reported this in both the latest and the previous period, and 10% reported this for the first time in the latest period. • Around 1 in 8 (13%) reported they had cut down meal size or skipped meals in the past month because there was not enough money for food; 21% of these adults reported they had done so on more than 14 days in the month. • Around 2 in 10 adults (19% in the latest period, 23% in the previous period) reported that they were occasionally, hardly ever, or never, able to keep comfortably warm in the past two weeks; 12% had reported this in both the latest and the previous period (22
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November to 18 December 2022), and 7% reported this for the first time in the latest period. • Around a third (34%) agreed (strongly agreed or agreed) that increases in the cost of living had negatively affected their mental health. 3.7 While inflation is expected to fall over 2023, the continuing cost-of-living crisis means households are still experiencing significant financial pressures at this time. As a result, there is an ongoing requirement for the Council to provide support to households to mitigate the crisis where possible. The scale of crisis and finite nature of the Council’s resources will require a targeted approach moving forward. 3.8 In March 2023, the Department for Work and Pensions released new statistics on children in low-income families. These statistics provide information on the number and proportion of children living in relative and absolute low income, before housing costs, across the United Kingdom. This data is available to ward level, and therefore provides local area insights for smaller geographical areas. 3.9 The proportion of children in low-income families in Renfrewshire has been steadily rising since 2014/15. Data for 2020/21 showed a fall in child poverty, with rates continuing to rise in the 2021/22 financial year. It is advised that the data from 2020/2021 has significant caveats, as data collection was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Figures from this year are subject to additional uncertainty for several reasons and therefore caution should be taken when using this data in comparison with other years. 3.10 For 21/22, the percentage of children in relative low income, before housing costs in Renfrewshire is 20%, representing 5,960 children. The rate for Scotland is 20.8%. In 2020/21, the rate recorded for Renfrewshire was 14.9%, and for 2019/20 was 18%. 3.11 All wards in Renfrewshire saw rises in the proportion of children in low-income families, with some wards more marked than others. There continue to be particularly high proportions of children in low-income families in both Paisley North West and Renfrew South and Gallowhill wards, with children living in relative low income rates at 31.5% and 36.8% respectively and a particularly sharp increase for the Renfrew South and Gallowhill ward. 3.12 Officers are undertaking a ‘deep dive’ child poverty data exercise, to support the Local Child Poverty Action Plan as well as the wider Fairer Renfrewshire programme. While a key focus of this exercise will be the six child poverty priority groups, this exercise will also consider child poverty from a local area perspective – with a particular focus on understanding the drivers of marked increases in child poverty rates in some areas in Renfrewshire, and the potential actions that can be taken as a Council and with our partners. ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Tackling Poverty 4.1 The existing 5 year Tackling Poverty Programme is now coming to an end in its existing form, with this portfolio now continuing as part of Fairer Renfrewshire programme.
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4.2 There are eight projects currently running as part of the Tackling Poverty Programme, and most of these now represent ongoing service delivery, or additionality to existing services. 4.3 Work taken forward as part of the Fairer Renfrewshire will represent a much more targeted use of resources moving forward, with a sharpened focus on priorities within the Fairer Renfrewshire programme to better reflect the current challenges around poverty and inequality and recognising the limited nature of the Council’s resources. 4.4 Any projects continuing as part of Fairer Renfrewshire will be reviewed and updated to sharpen focus as a poverty intervention and alignment to wider programme, including impact measurement and reporting. 4.5 This paper provides proposals to extend funding for projects within the Tackling Poverty Programme for a further year from the Fairer Renfrewshire budget. 4.6 It is recommended that £818,812 is allocated to sustain the projects within the current Tackling Poverty Programme at its current level. This includes: • The Families First approach continues to offer early years and family support services, including parenting support. It is anticipated the Families First model will continue to be adapted to align to the Scottish Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing policy agenda. Dedicated income maximisation and welfare rights advice for families will continue to be provided as part of a new wider family advice service. • The Cost of the School Day fund will continue to operate across all primary and secondary schools in Renfrewshire, directly supporting families in a variety of ways including uniforms, food, transport, extra-curricular activities and curricular expenses. • Breakfast clubs within specific establishments will continue, providing a healthy breakfast to all pupils universally. Tackling Poverty funding provides free breakfast service in nine primary schools, and to children and young people entitled to Free School Meals in one secondary school. The project relieves financial pressure on low- income families, but most importantly, makes sure that children start the school day ready to learn. • Energy Advice will also continue to be offered to people who need support to reduce their energy bills, manage fuel debt and improve the energy efficiency in their homes. The Tackling Poverty programme currently funds one energy advocate within the team. • The Peer Health project will continue in partnership with Active Communities, working with young people in secondary schools across Renfrewshire to identify key health priorities in their school and developing young people to lead their own activities to improve health and wellbeing, with a focus on mental health. • Skoobmobile will continue to provide a mobile public library service directly to children and families in communities. The programme continues to support the delivery of the Skoobmobile which introduces children to the benefit of reading and play and supports the Council’s ambitions to narrow the literacy attainment gap. • The programme will continue to provide additional resource to Street Stuff activities during the holidays and at weekends, along with the provision of free healthy meal, in
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addition to the resources provided by the Scottish Government’s School Holiday Childcare and Food programme. • The Healthier, Wealthier Children service will continue to provide targeted advice and support to new and expectant parents managing changes to finances and supporting them to claim benefits they are entitled to, as part of a new wider family advice service. 4.7 All projects within the Tackling Poverty Programme are currently being evaluated to inform the future direction of this work. The first phase of this evaluation will focus on Energy Advocacy, Breakfast Clubs, Families First and Street Stuff, followed by Peer Health, Cost of the School Day, Skoobmobile and Healthier Wealthier Children in the second phase. 4.8 Over the course of 2023/24, options will be developed for each of the projects within the programme. It should be noted that several projects are linked to Council motions, transformation plans and/or national Scottish Government commitments – a corporate approach is being developed working alongside services and reporting to the Fairer Renfrewshire Officer Group. 4.9 Building on this corporate approach, the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee and Fairer Renfrewshire Officer Group will also review the wider range of supports available to low- income families with a view to building a holistic approach to addressing child poverty locally. This work is underway related to holiday childcare and food as detailed at Section 5 in this report, with work also commenced on reviewing practice around the management of School Meal Debt. Family Advice 4.10 Dedicated income advice for families is provided in two projects in the current Tackling Poverty project, Families First and Healthier Wealthier Children. In addition to current provision, there have also been a number of local developments in this area – including the funding of Citizens Advice Bureau to provide an advice service within schools. 4.11 Recognising the impact of dedicated income maximisation support for families with children, officers have undertaken work to redesign current advice provision for families to increase the capacity and reach of our advice services. 4.12 It is recommended that a new dedicated family advice service is established within Advice Works, providing a team of income advisors who would develop relationships and pro- active referral routes with Council services and partners. This would include: • existing services and referrals routes for families such as Healthier Wealthier Children and Families First • key emerging policy and service areas focussed on holistic support for families such as Parental Employability and Whole Family Wellbeing • early years and primary school settings, complementary to the advice service for secondary schools being designed with Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau. In particular, there are opportunities to explore how the service can work alongside school office staff to address issues such as school meal debt more proactively.
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• developing relationships with community and voluntary sector organisations providing support for families, with a particular focus on reaching the child poverty priority family groups. 4.13 This team will work with families to maximise household income through income advice, but also seek to increase take-up of wider supports provided by the Council for families, for example, free school meals, school clothing grants or employability supports for parents. 4.14 It is recommended that £140,000 of Fairer Renfrewshire funding is allocated to pilot this family advice model for an initial period of one year. ___________________________________________________________________ 5. Update on Fairer Renfrewshire Programme 5.1 In the last update provided to the Leadership Board on 22 February 2023, elected members were provided with an overview of the key activities that had been undertaken in the period. The following sections provide an update on key activities undertaken in the period since the last Leadership Board, as well as a number of recommendations to extend existing cost-of-living supports within the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme. Supporting low income families 5.2 As part of the programme, officers are working across services and with partners to consider supports that are provided linked to the school day. This includes the provision of breakfast support and free school meals. Specific work is being progressed in relation to the consideration of potential debt that may accrue within the school environment, such as in relation to school meals. As outlined above within this report, proposals have also been developed to look at different models of family advice provision which will be implemented in partnership with learning establishments. A further report on these issues will be provided to the Fairer Renfrewshire sub-committee. Holiday childcare and food 5.3 An update on the holiday childcare and food provision was provided to the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee on 22 March 2023. This report provided further detail on the policy context of school holiday childcare provision nationally alongside an overview of national and local provision. 5.4 A motion was proposed at Council in September 2022 seeking to establish a fund to increase the provision of meals and social activities for school children over school holiday periods throughout Renfrewshire. Council agreed the request be forwarded to the established Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee for consideration. It was agreed that the sub-committee should review the current provision over school holiday periods and seek to identify any gaps which may require to be addressed. 5.5 It should be noted Council agreed a further allocation of £100,000 in its budget agreed on 2nd March 2023.
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This allocation is to provide a programme of summer activities for children and young people from low-income families, encouraging them to access a wide range of activities and healthy food. It is anticipated that this fund will be supplemented by Scottish Government resource as was the case in 2022/23. 5.6 Evaluation work is currently underway on elements of Street Stuff programme funded by the Tackling Poverty Programme, which funds the provision of food alongside activities as well as provision across holiday periods not currently funded by Scottish Government. There is also a current consultation exercise underway for young people aged 10-25 being run by Community Learning and Development to inform future provision of activities. 5.7 Work is underway alongside the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel to explore holiday childcare provision in more detail, with a particular focus on understanding the experiences, needs and barriers of low-income households. It is hoped that work will help inform the allocation of the additional £100,000 from the Council’s budget for additional summer activities for children and young people from families on low-incomes. Initial themes from discussions with the Panel include: • Increasing awareness of existing provision, and how the current offer is communicated and promoted • Coverage of provision for different age ranges, with possible gaps identified for preschool children and also older teenagers • Some activities have additional cost barriers, for example transport and food • Discussion around targeting and eligibility, making sure those that need it the most can access, but recognising the potential barriers and stigma of eligibility criteria • Need to achieve fairness and consistency across different areas, balanced with local approaches suitable for different communities • Importance of working with young people to identify the activities that they want to participate in 5.8 Recognising the need to develop this work at pace and in advance of the summer holiday period, it is recommended that the Head of Policy and Commissioning is delegated authority to allocate the £100,000 additional funding allocated by Council in consultation with the Council Leader, informed by the evaluation and engagement work underway and subject to funding being confirmed by Scottish Government. 5.9 A number of options are currently being explored as part of this work, designed to be complementary to the programme of activities for summer 2023. This includes the potential opportunity to work with and provide grant funding to third sector organisations to target specific activities which address any existing gaps in provision. 5.10 Further detail will be brought to Leadership Board in June outlining how funding has been allocated. Lived experience panel 5.11 Further to updates provided at both Leadership Board and Fairer Renfrewshire Sub- Committee, progress continues to develop lived experience models locally, particularly the
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development of a panel of people with lived experience of poverty to inform the Council’s policy and practice. 5.12 A diverse panel of 15 people has been recruited. The Panel have met formally six times, as well as meeting in-between panel meetings to debrief and develop the work alongside a community artist to create a record of their experience. 5.13 Work is underway to plan an event in June which will bring the Panel together with the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee to discuss and showcase the work of the Panel and the plans ahead. 5.14 An evaluation of the process has also been carried out by Poverty Alliance to explore how these types of participation processes can inform work going forward, and to inform the development of the model moving forward. Officers are currently undertaking contract arrangements to extend the existing panel arrangements for a further year. Welfare Rights Project 5.15 Currently, Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau are funded to provide Welfare Rights service. Agreed by Council in 2020, this project has been running for 2 years since April 2021, with current funding arrangements coming to an end in April 2023. 5.16 The service provides additional capacity for advice, assistance, support, and where necessary representation in making and maintaining claims across the range of welfare benefits. In the 22/23 financial year, this project assisted 256 clients with a total of £205,637.53 of client financial gain – and this figure is expected to rise following additional case reviews carried out at year end. 5.17 Almost half of the cases dealt with by the service relate to Personal Independence Payment, and around a third relate to Universal Credit. Monitoring information and feedback from Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau indicates that their clients are still experiencing a number of incorrect decisions around benefit claims, exacerbated by COVID related pressures on both social security and health services. 5.18 The introduction of Social Security Scotland’s Adult Disability Payment from August last year has meant an increased demand for this benefit with a Welfare Rights specialist needed to assist clients to challenge decisions through the reconsideration process, and ultimately assist with appeals to tribunal. In addition, the DWP aims to have completed the moves of all legacy cases with Tax Credits, all cases on Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance and all Housing Benefit only cases onto Universal Credit by the end of 2024/25. This tranche of managed migration is likely to result in additional demand, with a welfare rights adviser required to ensure correct entitlement inclusive of the appropriate transitional protection element. 5.19 Recognising the increased levels of demand being experienced for this service because of changes to benefit administration and the current cost-of-living crisis, it is recommended that this project is sustained for a further year from 1 May 2023 at a cost of £42,000.
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It is recommended that this represents a final extension period for this project to manage demands detailed within this report. Fuel Insecurity Pilot 5.20 In addition to the provision of energy advice through the Council’ s energy advocacy project, the Fairer Renfrewshire programme has funded additional capacity for direct fuel support and energy advice recognising the unprecedented demand for support with energy costs. 5.21 The Fuel Insecurity Pilot has seen the Council work alongside three partners, Linstone Housing Association, Renfrewshire Foodbank and Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB), to provide a consistent referral mechanism for direct support with fuel costs, linked to energy advice. The funding for this project comes to an end in April 2023. 5.22 In terms of the energy advice element of this project. From 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, 132 clients were supported, with a total of £22,079.42 in client financial gain. From 1 April 2022 to 28 March 2023, 213 clients have been supported, with a total of £37,452.35 in client financial gain reported. The adviser was also involved in supporting generalist volunteers to help with the explosion of demand for energy advice over this period. Energy advice is the most common advice topic people currently contact RCAB regarding, and over this period the RCAB has dealt with an additional 802 energy related enquiries. Over the period, RCAB have also supported 827 enquiries relating to the Council’s Financial Insecurity Winter Payment, and their direct referral route to this fund has resulted in a further £115,923.00 in financial gains for clients. 5.23 Demand for energy advice remains at an all-time high and it is expected that there will be a number of changes for consumers in the coming months, including the planned end to the Energy Price Guarantee at the end of June 2023 and the end of the UK Government’s £400 universal cost of living payment to support with energy bills. With energy prices expected to fall, and more suppliers coming forward to offer better rates for fixed term contracts, this may also add to the demand for advice around best deals and changing suppliers. 5.24 It is recommended that funding for energy advice is extended for a further 6 months, while continuing to monitor the energy crisis and local demand for advice and support. Winter Connections 5.25 The Winter Connections programme has now been running throughout March, with all funding allocated across 38 community projects and across the network of Renfrewshire libraries. 5.26 The evaluation of the programme is currently underway, and will be used to inform future grant funding programmes as well as to assess whether the programme should be repeated in the future. ___________________________________________________________________
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6. Recovery Change Fund 6.1 As previously agreed by the Leadership Board, the Recovery Change Fund remained open for new applications until end February 2023. One application was submitted during the period. A formal evaluation process was undertaken by a multiagency Assessment Panel, including officers from Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire HSCP, and Engage Renfrewshire, scoring the application using a scoring matrix with weightings against key criteria agreed by Leadership Board: • Impact: the extent to which activities will make a positive impact on the lives of those affected by alcohol and/or drugs, and how this can be evidenced. • Social connection: the extent to which the initiative provides opportunities to reduce social isolation and loneliness for individuals and families impacted by alcohol and drug use. • Sustainability: how you could sustain the level of support you would be offering beyond the funding period. • Innovation: how new and innovative the project is, particularly for applicants piloting new ideas. • Past experience/track record: the extent to which your organisation has past experience of providing support to individuals, families, and communities. • Partnership working: the extent to which projects work in partnership with others, including the wider recovery network. 6.2 The Panel recommends that the Street Connect project detailed in the table below is awarded £5,012 funding. The project was awarded £4,279 at September 2022 Leadership Board. If approved, the combined funding awarded to Street Connect would total £9,291, with the Recovery Change Fund typically allowing for grants of up to £10,000. Organisation Funding Requested Purpose of the Project Decision Street Connect £5,012 (previously awarded £4,279) Following a successful pilot, Street Connect has requested additional funding to extend the duration of the project from six months to one year. The project provides a female one to one support worker for women affected by substance use, to offer holistic, relationship- based support to help women find acceptance, increase self-esteem and confidence, achieve reduction in / freedom from substance use and disengage from abusive relationships. The project will also increase the hours for the male support worker to support more men on a one to one level. Recommend for approval 6.3 Progress on all projects funded through the Recovery Change Fund will be monitored, with regular updates provided to the Leadership Board. 6.4 An initial review of the Recovery Change Fund will be undertaken over Summer 2023, in order to assess links with other national funding streams and to develop options for the funding going forward.
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___________________________________________________________________ 7. Next steps 7.1 Priorities for the Fairer Renfrewshire programme over the coming quarter include: • Development of the poverty and participation test of change, working alongside the newly established lived experience panel to develop recommendations and the shape of future work • Developing and delivering budget investments including holiday activities and winter school clothing grant • Producing Renfrewshire’s Local Child Poverty Action Report • Commencing a ‘deep dive’ data exercise around child poverty as a Community Planning Partnership, focussing on the six priority family groups • Establishing the Fair Food Renfrewshire partnership, using the Sustainable Food Places toolkit • Continuing the evaluation of projects within Tackling Poverty Programme and exploring future options with services around required priorities going forward • Delivery of the remaining Winter Connections programme, and associated evaluation of the programme. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – the allocations detailed within this paper would be funded from the identified Fairer Renfrewshire programme budget 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – the Fairer Renfrewshire is a key partnership programme, which is very closely aligned to the delivery of the priorities agreed within the recently refreshed Community Plan. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights – A key element of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme is to tackle inequality and to ensure services and supports are targeted to support people experiencing financial insecurity and poverty. A core part of our approach is to engage with local groups and communities, and those with lived experience to identify opportunities to reduce these inequalities and barriers to accessing support. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none
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12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – none ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning