To consider the following Motion submitted by
the Green Group;
Signatories: Councillors A
Cooper, Lee-Richards, Allison, Vickers, Safdar, Jabar, T Cooper,
Jawaid, Burton, Duffy, Price and Knight.
“This Council
notes:
1.
That the ongoing cost-of-living crisis continues to
have a severe impact on residents across Kirklees, with rising
housing costs, energy bills and food prices pushing more households
into hardship;
2.
That poverty in Kirklees is deepening, with local
voluntary and community organisations reporting increased demand
for crisis support, debt advice, housing assistance and welfare
support;
3.
That residents on low incomes often experience
clusters of interrelated problems (housing, debt, benefits and
health) which escalate if left unresolved, driving increased demand
on local authority services;
4.
That recent UK evidence demonstrates that timely
legal and welfare advice can prevent problems from escalating into
crisis, reducing risks of homelessness, worsening health and
long-term poverty, all of which carry significant cost to local
authorities;
5.
That research linking advice services with local
authority data shows that people receiving advice experience
average income gains of approximately £153 per month and
reductions in poverty, primarily by securing correct benefit
entitlements and resolving issues early;
6.
That evidence shows investment in advice services is
not only a support function but a cost-effective preventative
measure, reducing downstream expenditure on homelessness, crisis
support and other statutory services and therefore saving public
money;
7.
That holistic advice models, such as those delivered
by the Council’s three key advice partner services, are
particularly effective because they:
a.
Address multiple issues simultaneously
b.
Maximise household income
c.
Reduce repeat demand across services
8.
That advice services play a critical role in
preventing evictions, sustaining tenancies and supporting residents
through housing crises, thereby reducing pressure on homelessness
services and temporary accommodation;
9.
That advice services increase the take up of
benefits which feeds additional revenue into the local economy and
increases Local Authority income by demonstrating higher need under
the UK government’s Fair Funding Formula;
10. Core funding for advice services in Kirklees has reduced in real
terms to around a quarter of what it was 10 years ago.
This Council believes
that:
- Despite the dedication of council officers and the voluntary
sector, the current system of advice, benefits support and
referrals is too poorly funded to effectively meet rising levels of
need;
- A
more integrated approach led by core advice agencies and bringing
together council services, advice providers and voluntary
organisations—would:
·
Improve access to services, early intervention and
prevention;
·
Reduce failures by Council departments to meet
statutory duties, thereby saving time and costs in both Council and
advice service teams;
·
Deliver better outcomes for residents
- Better use of data and partnership working can support earlier
identification of residents at risk, enabling proactive
intervention and improved service coordination;
- Enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of advice services
would improve outcomes, reduce overall Council expenditure, boost
the local economy and align with the Council’s commitment to
tackling poverty and inequality.
This
Council resolves that Cabinet is asked to:
- To
prioritise the development of a fully integrated,
prevention-focused approach to advice services and poverty
reduction in Kirklees, including:
- To
strengthen partnerships with its recognised key advice
organisations: Kirklees Citizens Advice & Law Centre, Fusion
Housing and Huddersfield Mission;
- To
increase support for early, specialist advice provision to prevent
escalation of housing, debt and welfare issues
- To
embed a holistic, person-centred model of support across
services
- To
develop a Kirklees Advice and Financial Support Strategy, which
will:
- Set out a coordinated, multi-agency approach to tackling poverty
led by key advice agencies
- Align council services, advice providers and voluntary
organisations
- Identify sustainable funding models for advice provision which
would include longer-term funding agreements, full cost recovery
and multi-year inflation linked awards. The model should have
clarity about the funding of essential core costs and additional
funding for particular specific projects, objectives or
outcomes.
- Recognise that providing core advice for strategic partners
strengthens the sector and supports services to attract additional
external funds to enhance capacity
- Recognise advice services as a core component of prevention and
demand management
- To
improve data sharing and integration, including:
- Exploring the development of a shared data framework or single
view of residents’ needs
- Using administrative data to identify residents at risk of
crisis (e.g. rent arrears, benefit issues)
- Supporting data-sharing partnerships with advice providers to
improve outcomes and measure impact
- To
establish clear metrics and outcomes to track impact, noting that
this can be done more effectively in conjunction with data sharing
measures (above) including:
- Number of residents accessing advice services
- Financial gains achieved for residents (e.g. increased income,
successful benefit claims)
- Reductions in homelessness presentations and use of temporary
accommodation
- Wider impacts on poverty and financial resilience
- To
recognise advice services as a key cost-avoidance and
income-maximisation tool and:
- Protect and, where possible, strengthen funding for local advice
provision
- Ensure funding supports early intervention and holistic support
models, not just crisis response
- That Cabinet, once appointed, reports back to Councillors within
3 months with:
- Detailed proposals and delivery plan with timescales
- Resource implications and funding options
- Recommendations for partnership and data-sharing
arrangements
- A
framework for monitoring impact and demonstrating value for
money”