Title	Date	Start Time	Duration	Register
How Autumn’s income shocks will hit low income families The factors that have kept many low-income families out of poverty in the past year are changing, meaning many thousands will be worse off. Families are set to be hit by big income shocks with the ending of furlough, the reintroduction of the Minimum Income Floor, the loss of the £20 a week Universal Credit increase and the ending of the Benefit Cap's grace period. New data analysis from Policy in Practice predicts significant losses for some families who will struggle to cope and who will need the support of frontline organisations to help them through. In this webinar we will explore what the Autumn may bring for low-income households and how support organisations can work now to prevent hardship and prepare for an increased demand for services. Join this webinar to learn: - How much different households are set to lose when Covid supports are withdrawn - What support tools are available for individuals and organisations - Best practice advice from a frontline organisation We will be joined by Monica Kaur from the Money and Pensions Service.	29/9/2021j/n/Y	10:30 BST2021-09-29T09:30:00ZH:i T	1.3 hours	Register
How Kent County and district councils collaborate with data to tackle poverty Covid has turned our world upside down. Many residents in Kent, as elsewhere, have experienced financial hardship whilst, for organisations, the pandemic has been the catalyst energising them to work differently. In summer 2020 Kent Districts and Communities Recovery Cell set up a group to focus support to residents at risk or already experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic. Residents unused to facing financial hardship suddenly needed help to navigate support and advice systems. The group knew that things are likely to get worse for Kent's residents before they get better as furlough ends and families who were just about managing are tipped over the edge. In a first for local government, Kent county and district councils have boldly chosen to collaboratively share their data to get powerful cross-county insights that will drive their poverty prevention activity. The information will help them to target of a wide range of campaigns to residents such as employment support, free school meal take-up, public health interventions, housing initiatives and benefits take up. Importantly, the project has transparency built in so that councils can very easily benchmark with each other to identify and share best practice in a safe, collaborative way. Join this webinar to hear: - Kent County Council's vision for greater collaborative working with districts - Maidstone District Council's drivers for districts to collaborate with their data - Folkestone and Hythe District Council's impact achieved so far from data-led poverty prevention campaigns We will be joined by guest speakers, Zena Cooke, Corporate Director Finance at Kent County Council, Steve McGinnes, Director of Mid Kent Services at Maidstone District Council, and Jane Worrel, Revenues and Benefits Senior Specialist at Folkestone and Hythe District Council.	20/10/2021j/n/Y	10:30 BST2021-10-20T09:30:00ZH:i T	1.3 hours	Register

Title

Date

Start Time

Duration

How Autumn’s income shocks will hit low income families The factors that have kept many low-income families out of poverty in the past year are changing, meaning many thousands will be worse off.

Families are set to be hit by big income shocks with the ending of furlough, the reintroduction of the Minimum Income Floor, the loss of the £20 a week Universal Credit increase and the ending of the Benefit Cap's grace period. New data analysis from Policy in Practice predicts significant losses for some families who will struggle to cope and who will need the support of frontline organisations to help them through.

In this webinar we will explore what the Autumn may bring for low-income households and how support organisations can work now to prevent hardship and prepare for an increased demand for services.

Join this webinar to learn:

- How much different households are set to lose when Covid supports are withdrawn
- What support tools are available for individuals and organisations
- Best practice advice from a frontline organisation

We will be joined by Monica Kaur from the Money and Pensions Service.

29/9/2021

10:30 BST

1.3 hours

How Kent County and district councils collaborate with data to tackle poverty Covid has turned our world upside down. Many residents in Kent, as elsewhere, have experienced financial hardship whilst, for organisations, the pandemic has been the catalyst energising them to work differently.

In summer 2020 Kent Districts and Communities Recovery Cell set up a group to focus support to residents at risk or already experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic. Residents unused to facing financial hardship suddenly needed help to navigate support and advice systems. The group knew that things are likely to get worse for Kent's residents before they get better as furlough ends and families who were just about managing are tipped over the edge.

In a first for local government, Kent county and district councils have boldly chosen to collaboratively share their data to get powerful cross-county insights that will drive their poverty prevention activity. The information will help them to target of a wide range of campaigns to residents such as employment support, free school meal take-up, public health interventions, housing initiatives and benefits take up.

Importantly, the project has transparency built in so that councils can very easily benchmark with each other to identify and share best practice in a safe, collaborative way.

Join this webinar to hear:

- Kent County Council's vision for greater collaborative working with districts
- Maidstone District Council's drivers for districts to collaborate with their data
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council's impact achieved so far from data-led poverty prevention campaigns

We will be joined by guest speakers, Zena Cooke, Corporate Director Finance at Kent County Council, Steve McGinnes, Director of Mid Kent Services at Maidstone District Council, and Jane Worrel, Revenues and Benefits Senior Specialist at Folkestone and Hythe District Council.

20/10/2021

10:30 BST

1.3 hours

Reimagine Debt

A proven approach to preventing debt that can be scaled across government

Challenge

Solution

Impact

The Cabinet Office’s Reimagine Debt pilot sought to prove whether proactive approaches are more effective in tackling debt and reducing arrears

LIFT pinpointed households in arrears eligible for the pilot. Policy in Practice tracked debt journeys and compared the impact of interventions with a control group

Arrears across all cohorts in the treatment group fell significantly and additional social impacts proven, alongside economic benefits for councils and families

A tale of debt prevention in two cities

Policy in Practice carried out analysis using the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) platform. By identifying, analysing and tracking changes in household income and arrears on a monthly basis, councils improved customer engagement, targeted support proactively, and were able to see each customer’s journey on a single screen.

LIFT tracked 18 out of 28 households in Barking and Dagenham and 10 out of 20 in Newcastle. Both councils took different approaches to support their individual cohorts.

LIFT compared these households to a control group to show whether arrears fell more than similar households, and to prove the effectiveness of the intervention.

Read the full case study

65%

Average arrears per household in Newcastle fell by

£160

Average arrears per household in Newcastle fell by

Outcomes for Newcastle City Council

Of the households LIFT tracked, the following outcomes were found:

Proportion of rent or council tax arrears greater than £250 fell from 74% to 58%
Average benefits income increased by £115 per month
Average rent and council tax arrears fell by £1,216
17% became wholly arrears-free
Arrears fell by £200 more in the treatment group than in the control group

Return on Investment: Newcastle City Council

Fiscal savings	£113,682
Economic savings	£61,415
Total savings	£175,097
Total cost	£6,873
Total benefit	£168,224
Return on Investment	24x

29%

Average arrears per household in Barking and Dagenham fell by

£1,081

Average arrears per household in Barking and Dagenham fell by

Outcomes for London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

Of the households LIFT tracked, the following outcomes were found:

Average benefits income increased by £171 per month and average rent and council tax arrears fell by £174
50% became arrears free and average earned income increased by £108 per month
The proportion of rent or council tax arrears greater than £250 fell from 18% to 8%
Unemployment fell from 91% to 67%
Arrears fell by 3x more in the treatment group than in the control group

Return on Investment: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

Fiscal savings	£246,449
Economic savings	£78,835
Total savings	£325,284
Total cost	£9,545
Total Benefit	£315,739
Return on Investment	34x

“Often, residents have other challenges to deal with which can affect how they’re able to deal with the financial aspects of their lives. Proactive and holistic debt interventions can support them to do this, helping people to get back on their feet and have a more stable life.”

Claire Horton
Newcastle City Council

“Debt is not about numbers, debt is about people, behaviours and circumstances. We fix debt problems by focusing on people.”

Steve Coppard
Cabinet Office

Policy in Practice helped Newcastle City Council and London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in a Cabinet Office project, Reimagine Debt, which used data insights to deterimine the effectiveness of proactive approaches to tackling debt.

“Debt is almost always a symptom of a deeper challenge. Data allows you to quickly identify that there’s a problem, and face to face interaction allows you to get to tackle the root cause and find solutions.”

Mark Fowler
Barking and Dagenham