Tackling Poverty Plan
Action Plan
A lead officer/s have been identified for each of these actions, however it should be noted that all relevant Council services will pro-actively contribute to this work and the Council will engage with other relevant PSB members and other stakeholders in order to make progress
| Priority Area | Key issues | Identified Action | Lead Officers & Timescales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preventing Poverty |
Plethora of support services available and can be challenging for residents (and staff) to know what and how to access.
Cross-referral between services in the Council does not always happen –number of reasons: data protection, lack of awareness, capacity, specialist view to addressing customer needs. |
Develop universal support model through Hwb – triage and signpost. This will be in addition to direct access to specialist services already in place.
Develop Council website content and information about support services available and self-referral option.
Embed holistic approach to addressing customer needs across all council services by developing means of cross-referral and client management across services – review current best practice i.e. children’s services single referral form. Review current entry points and develop consistent approach and develop road map for customer contact – particular focus on Cllr enquiry process. Identify data protection issues and develop approach for addressing i.e. seeking relevant permissions for sharing data at initial contact with customer.
Develop internal directory of support services for Council staff (and councillors) – consider use and further development of existing directories such as Dewis.
Develop ways of providing support to pupils and wider families through school support staff – will need to be mindful of resources and capacity. Develop communication plan with focus on specific campaigns – linking into national work. |
Deina Hockenhull Deina Hockenhull Deina Hockenhull & Gwyneth Ayers Deina Hockenhull, Siân Rees-Harper & Gwyneth Ayers Deina Hockenhull, Siân Rees-Harper & Gwyneth Ayers Deina Hockenhull & Siân Rees-Harper Aeron Rees Deina Hockenhull |
| Improving the lives of people living in poverty |
Public awareness of financial support, and stigma of claiming is still an issue.
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Specific promotion of unclaimed benefits with targeted groups e.g. free school meals; Council Tax Reduction Scheme; Discretionary Housing Payments.
Consider opportunities for outreach support sessions – focusing on 10 rural towns.
Review current Council contacts with external groups and organisations and identify ways of improving cross-referral and intelligence sharing about key issues facing Carmarthenshire. Work with PSB partners to better understand key challenges, identify existing support and gaps for further development. Better understand and develop a plan for addressing digital literacy across Carmarthenshire. |
Deina Hockenhull & Gwyneth Ayers Deina Hockenhull Deina Hockenhull, Siân Rees-Harper & Gwyneth Ayers Gwyneth Ayers Gwyneth Ayers |
| Helping people into work |
A number of different employability programmes provided (tend to be grant funded) – good connectivity with certain services but could further develop across the Council. In-work poverty an issue but we need to better understand why and how this is affecting our residents. |
As new curriculum is introduced, ensure links between schools and RLSP in terms of preparing pupils with future skills and areas for growth in terms of employment/careers. Review information and intelligence gathered through employability schemes in relation to local challenges and barriers in getting people into work. To consider new projects/programmes that could be delivered through future funding opportunities. |
Aeron Rees & Jason Jones Jason Jones & Gwyneth Ayers Tackling Poverty Officer Working Group |
| Better understanding the challenges |
We need to strip back to focus on who has been most impacted by the pandemic/cost of living crisis, where there is greatest need and to better understand key groups and what support is equired/available e.g. the homeless, unemployed, those in need of education or training. Benefit/entitlement take-up – need to better understand current position in order to target future specific cohorts. In-work poverty – need to better understand implications and scope. Improve use of data and information already held by the Council – build a Carmarthenshire picture. External groups and organisations hold a wealth of information |
Analysis of research and information relating to COVID/Cost of living community impact – identify key communities/population groups of interest in Carmarthenshire. Research into unclaimed benefits in order to develop targeted campaigns.
Research into in-work poverty rates in Carmarthenshire and better understand barriers. Use intelligence gathered through various consultations undertaken by services to help build the Carmarthenshire picture – tell us once approach. Develop understanding on a geographical basis – what are the differences and similarities between different communities. Will support targeted intervention rather than holistic support. Develop network of data and performance officers across the council (and with other partners) to help build intelligence and the Carmarthenshire picture.
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Gwyneth Ayers & Rachel Clegg Gwyneth Ayers & Rachel Clegg Gwyneth Ayers & Rachel Clegg Gwyneth Ayers & Rachel Clegg Gwyneth Ayers & Rachel Clegg Gwyneth Ayers & Rachel Clegg |
