Agenda item

Penny Germon introduced this report and, together with Leandra Pacary, made the following points during her presentation:

·       The cost of living crisis had far-reaching implications and was causing major problems for the organisation

·       The city had to pull together to address these problems

·       Citizen/Neighbourhood action would need to be based on neighbourhood and community leadership via a Council/city approach

·       The following questions needed to be addressed – What do we know? What have we got? What can we do?

·       A pie chart showed communities and residents involvement

·       For 1 in 4 households, there had been a 20% increase in spending and 1 out of every £5 from this would be spent on energy

·       The chancellor had provided £400 support for each household, £65 increase in means tested benefit and £150 disability cost

·       The results of a reduction in income would be seen. Inflation was having a disproportionate impact on lower income households including 40,000 claimants of universal credit

·       A poll carried out in January/February 2022 indicated that 50% of households were going without essentials

·       An interactive map showed the risks and impact including the percentage of households with income deprivation, free school meals eligibility and additional support such as the local crisis prevention fund

·       The written impact assessment would feed into the JSNA (Joint Strategic Needs Analysis)

·       A number of groups faced additional risks such as the BAME community, the disabled, single parents, those in rented accommodation, those with pre-payment meters and various under- served populations

·       The Asset map showed three groups – those with assets, the voluntary sector and public sector

·       Each section showed the action taken to maximise the income for these groups, actions in terms of city co-ordination in response as well as the key role of businesses

·       A framework of action focused on those most at risk of poverty and inequity. The problems with social justice will address issues of inequity and social justice

·       Key issues involved were as follows: impact assessment, monitoring, framework collaboration, co-ordination with 26 community links, communications, potential for We Are Bristol helpline, donations of £450 rebate and £400 energy, welcome spaces, One City Plan in place for November 2022

·       It was proposed that HWBB oversees the response and how you can

contribute

Board Members made the following comments:

·       There is an interactive map which includes a website link to GIS

·       It was important not to undermine arrangements for financial support for families

·       Care providers were concerned about the impact on their organisations. The issue of the pay for carers was important since they regularly went into people’s homes to provide care and could make change immediately rather than via the usual procedures

·       Whilst the voluntary sector was always willing to be flexible, COVID and the cost of living were having a huge impact on communities. Although many lessons had been learnt from the experience of dealing with COVID, lack of capacity remained a problem. It was noticeable that there were signs that donations to food banks were decreasing

·       There would be a seasonal impact this winter on services such as the Community Meals Service

·       Food Justice Week had taken place in Lawrence Weston. There had been very helpful support from housing  tackling the issue of voids left behind by flat owners. These were properly dealt with prior to handing them to families needing to be rehoused

The Board noted that, whilst this work was being dealt with through One City, it needed direction. It was

RESOLVED (unanimously) – that the Health and Well Being Board should act as the lead for the governance of this work and provide regular progress and update reports.

ACTION; Mark Allen and Sally Hogg  in conjunction with Penny Germon and Leandra Pacary