Members Event: Coming Together, Tackling the Cost of Living 29 March 2022

Members Event Coming Together: Tackling the Cost of Living, including Community First’s AGM Tuesday 29th March 2022 Time: 10.30am - 11.30am

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Email: support@cfirst.org.uk

Name Date Tel: 0300 500 8085

Welcome to our Members Event Please note that this session will be recorded and will be published and shared shortly after the event.

We therefore ask that you have your microphone on mute; and please feel free to switch your camera off if you would prefer.

Thank you

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Our Programme 10:30

Welcome to Community First Members Event and AGM

10:35

AGM

10:50

Alison Talbot, Chief Officer Citizens Advice New Forest

11:10

Questions and discussions. What can we learn from the New Forest and Citizens Advice experience and how can we work together provide the most effective support?

11:30

Close

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Community First AGM

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t) AGENDA 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Welcome and apologies Minutes of last meeting held on 29 January 2021 Chairman’s Report Retirement and Appointment of Directors Adoption of Accounts Appointment of Auditor Any Other Business

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 1 Welcome and apologies for absence

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 2 Minutes of meeting of 29 January 2021

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 3 Chairman’s report Beverley Jones, Chairman

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Some highlights from 2021 •Our resilience and ability to adapt and respond quickly to challenge and

change.

•Operating at scale with knowledge & insight to deliver locally, further

enhanced by our merger with Community First New Forest •Mobilised over 900 local volunteers, helping 1,400 households •The role of voluntary sector working alongside local authorities and health

partners to deliver better outcomes for people is better understood and very real.

•Hampshire County Council single point of contact for the CVS network.

East Hampshire District Council, Havant Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, New Forest District and Winchester City Council.

Some highlights from 2021 • Delivering community transport for Basingstoke & Deane and Gosport. We also welcome the investment from the MOJ and OPCC for our START counselling services, and the continued support of Big Lottery, the Clinical Commissioning Group and Primary Care Networks • Re-opening the Clanfield Centre and maintaining investment in Leigh Park • Proud of the professionalism and dedication of our staff and commitment of our volunteers, including our board • We invested significantly in our digital capability and helped other organisations follow suit • We are not a sticking plaster; we empower, support, train and teach people and groups to find the right long term solutions; making life better for everyone

Our thanks

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 4 Retirement and appointment of Directors Tim Houghton, Chief Executive

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Retiring Directors Directors standing for • Clive Graham (re)appointment • Paul Kirkland • David Eley

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• • • •

Clive Graham Paul Kirkland David Eley Jan Leffley (co-opted during 2021)

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 5 Presentation and adoption of accounts

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Income and Expenditure 2020/21 2019/20 2020/21 Variance £,000 £,000 £,000 Income

2,463

3,380

893

Expenditure

2,585

3,105

(520)

Contribution

(122)

275

397

£449k transfer of Community New Forest reserves

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Balance sheet 2020/21

Net Current Assets Net Assets HCC Pension Liability Net Assets post HCC Pension Liability

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2019/20 2020/21 £,000 £,000 488 1,027 798 1,371 955 1,071 (157)

300

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 6 Appointment of auditor

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Agenda item 7 AOB Please post questions or raise AOB in the chat Beverley Jones, Chairman

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Annual General Meeting of Communities First Wessex (Trading as Community First)t)

Vote to: Accept minutes of the last meeting Adopt the annual accounts Appoint Directors Appoint auditor Beverley Jones, Chairman

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The Cost of Living in the New Forest

Cost Of Living Steering Group • • • • • • •

Ringwood Food Bank Waterside Food Bank Citizens Advice New Forest Community First Youth & Family Matters New Forest District Council New Forest Basics Bank

• Also representatives : Local Children’s partnership / Social prescribers

State of the nation – pandemic impact • 1 in 3 households lost income – 1 in 10 lost 80%+ (Citizens Advice) • 5.8m people on Universal Credit – up 93% on pre-pandemic (DWP) • Approx 2.5m people claiming unemployment benefits (DWP) • Unequal impact – some people impacted more

Impact on UK Food Banks • Increased demand in all parts of the UK • Significant food supply issues • Rise of chronic poverty as an issue • Realisation that a ‘box of food’ is not a fix for all situations • Concerns about Food Banks’ role as dependence on them increases

Local response in the New Forest • Weekly meetings of New Forest Partner organisations • Established joint communications & referral systems • Adapted delivery models – foodbank deliveries, New Forest Adviceline • Worked to increase our reach – Set up the New Forest food larders at 10 outreach locations • Set up Fuel Bank voucher schemes • Commissioned the Cost of Living Research with Southampton University

New Forest Food larders

Locations of larders

Cost of Living in the New Forest a partnership

Aims 1. A description of the population in the New Forest and socioeconomic differences between areas.

2. Collection of data to describe the cost of living and challenges to live comfortably on lower incomes.

3. Prepare a register of available services that support residents in the New Forest facing food and fuel poverty.

4. Provide recommendations to improve the quality of life in the New Forest for people on lower incomes

Aims • • • •

Data collection from services and New Forest District Council Survey of clients using services (Citizens Advice, food aid) July – September 2021 (n=79 responses) In-depth interviews with New Forest residents using services (n=20) In-depth interviews with service providers and social prescribers to gather a wider range of experiences (n=10)

Client data

Surveys

Interviews

Key findings •

Many New Forest residents cannot live comfortably on their current income but this can be hidden alongside notable wealth in the region.

•

Challenges include private rented housing costs, availability of social housing, transportation, employment opportunities, childcare and the cost of food.

•

More rural areas are especially sensitive to higher costs of transport and food, with difficulties accessing suitable employment; there is a double burden of higher costs for goods and an inability to access affordable alternatives.

•

Mental ill-health affects many residents who find it difficult to live here comfortably on their incomes; in some cases, this contributes to low income (employment), whereas elsewhere it is the result of low income.

•

Key recommendations to support residents include mobile welfare and debt advice services, increased community resources/hubs, subsidised public transport or parking clocks and central service listings that are widely accessible.

•

A working group needs to be established to look in detail at the issues raised in this report to agree a way forward, through a levelling up action plan.

Citizens Advice client locations Notable alignment with office locations

Food bank clients 2020

4% of New Forest residents accessed a food bank on 2020

Benefit claimants, age 16-64 years (2020 data from DWP) These represent potential clients who are not accessing services for some reason

Study sample characteristics Survey (n=79, current service users): • 61% of survey respondents had dependent children • 51.4% lived in the New Forest at least 20 years • 68.8% earn less than £20K per year • 30.3% unemployed • 43.1% live in social housing

Client interviews (n=20, current service users): • 70% of survey respondents had dependent children • 68.8% earn less than £20K per year • 30% carer or disabled • 70% live in social housing

Service provider interviews (n=10)

Main issues in surveys and interviews Housing: availability of social housing and cost of private rent Transport: access to public transport, cost of car ownership, parking costs Employment: availability of suitable jobs, working around caring responsibilities, transport to work Food costs: access to affordable shops, cost of transport to chain stores

“You know, I've spoken to a lot of my families that I work with and it's just, ‘money doesn't seem to go as far because the cost of living has increased’.”

Lila, Social Prescriber

78% of survey participants strongly agreed they would not be able to afford regular living costs if they had to pay an unexpected expense.

Food costs The cost of a 20 item basket of goods varied from £16.27 at Tesco in New Milton to £38.70 at Tesco Express in Brockenhurst; prices were higher still at independent or farm shops.

Notably, smaller communities and villages had higher costs for this basket Interviewees noted the lack of affordable transport to larger stores where food was cheaper, and you have to carry it home

‘My main issue is how expensive everything is just in general, I mean food is really, the thing that really annoys me about living in the New Forest is where I’ve got two kids, it’s hard for me to take both of them and go all the way down into Lymington town to go get food from that Tesco because it’s a lot cheaper’ Liam, Lymington

Rural/locational disadvantage • • •

There is limited ability to access affordable food and private rented housing Jobs which are available may not work with limited public transport, the main barrier to employment was cost of transport Seeking support in rural areas can be difficult if there are limited options and fear of recognition

‘A lot of the job opportunities, especially here in Brockenhurst, is hospitability basically which is all minimum wage isn’t it? So, it doesn’t matter, or its hospitality or care work, which is both, you know roughly the same wages. So, unless you travel out of the area, you’re not gonna get any more money or a better job. And if you travel out you’ve got to take into consideration your travelling costs as well, so a lot of people are stuck in that situation’ Camilla, Brockenhurst

Where is support available?

• Food aid is well placed, including mobile food larders • Overall 36 sites were identified, online or in a set location • Many interviewees noted appreciation for advice services and the food larders ‘It’s [FareShare food scheme] is the most amazing scheme and I wish every little area had a scheme like that’, Tracey, Ringwood

Recommendation s

• Mobile support & community hubs to reach isolated communities • Help with transport • Subsidised travel on buses, reduced parking costs • Car share schemes • Vouchers for petrol/diesel • Information on resources for residents • Ongoing data collection at regular intervals to facilitate monitoring • Establish a working group to oversee a Levelling Up Action Plan, collaboratively with residents, community leaders, charities to ensure feasibility of any planned actions.

The big squeeze End of furlough scheme

£20 a week is equivalent to 2 days food shopping or almost 6 days of energy costs

Removal of £20/week Universal Credit uplift

Increase in energy prices

Around 75% of the people we advise on benefits and debt won’t have enough income to cover essential outgoings with the removal of the £20/week uplift and energy price cap

Rising fuel poverty Up to 1.5m households will be plunged into fuel poverty as a result of the energy price increase (National Energy Charity)

Food Bank concerns

• Will we have enough food?

• Will we have enough volunteers?

• Will we have sufficient resources?

• Will people in food poverty come to us (early enough)?

What can we all do?

• Raise profile of local support available • Encourage people to seek help asap • Refer / help self-refer to Citizens Advice and other local support services

The difference help can make

9. in 10

said our advice helped them move forward

6 in 10 felt less stressed, depressed, or anxious

2 in 5 had a more secure housing situation

“I would not have been able to have coped with the last year without the help of Citizens Advice. Thank you for giving me resources, guidance and above all, hope.”

Some reflections and resources • Community First and CVS to collate information • Understanding the offers especially in reducing energy costs

https://environmentcentre.com/get-help/ + https://environmentcentre.com/save-money/ • Signpost and refer to community pantries and larders • https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/benefits/universal-credit/money-manager • Household Support grant – could be an additional £7m for Hampshire • https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/connectforcommunities

• https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/ • https://www.gov.uk/government/news/learning-from-our-experiences-together • https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-support-for-the-cost-of

-living-factsheet/government-support-for-the-cost-of-living-factsheet

Q&A

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Email: support@cfirst.org.uk

Tel: 0300 500 8085

Thank you for joining us!

Tel: 0300 500 8085 Email: support@cfirst.org.uk www.cfirst.org.uk