Poverty and Inequality

Why Councils need to declare a Poverty Emergency - Cllr Mandy Clare

06.08.20: On this week’s episode of Public Sector Voices we are joined by Cllr Mandy Clare from Cheshire West and Chester Council. As the Leader’s champion of Poverty and Inequality, she is calling for the full Cabinet to declare a Poverty and...

£266m housing fund for vulnerable people opens to councils

20.07.20: Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick launched the Next Steps Accommodation Programme this weekend (July 18), to finance Council efforts to help the most vulnerable in society into long-term accommodation. Councils and their local partners can n...

Kent County Council to provide 2,000 videophones to vulnerable residents

09.07.20: Kent County Council is rolling out around 2,000 videophone systems to help elderly or vulnerable residents to access digital support and solutions. It comes in the form of a £1.5m contract and will connect digitally disadvantaged resi...

Boris Johnson announces £1bn school rebuilding programme

29.06.20: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a £1bn rebuilding programme for schools in England today (June 29). The transformative ten-year scheme, supported by over £1bn in funding, represents the first major rebuilding programme...

Mid Sussex to spend £4.2m on temporary accommodation

26.06.20: Mid Sussex District Council has ringfenced £4.2m of their budget to fund temporary accommodation in the District. It comes the same week as Central Government set aside an additional £1.5m on interim housing for rough sleepers. ...

LISTEN: Marvin Rees-BLM education and local government representation

25.06.20: Marvin Rees was elected as Bristol Mayor in 2016 and has taken the city on a transformative journey through climate change action, social mobility and more recently an energised conversation around race inequality. Rees joined host Emily Ro...

Extra £105m on interim housing for rough sleepers

24.06.20: New funding from the Treasury announced by Ministers today (June 23) will provide interim housing for 15,000 rough sleepers during the pandemic. An additional £105m will be made available to support vulnerable people or those at risk...

PHE publishes report on impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities

17.06.20: Public Health England published a report yesterday (June 16) on the impact of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, as well as strategies for addressing inequalities going forward. The report, titled 'Beyond the d...

Public Health England report reveals Covid-19 disparity

03.06.20: Public Health England (PHE) published a report yesterday (June 2) confirming that the risk and outcomes of the Coronavirus pandemic is not felt equally across the country. The disparity came to light through the PHE report, Disparities in t...

£150m unlocked from dormant accounts to go to third sector

21.05.20: The Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced yesterday (May 20) that £150m will be made available from dormant bank and building society accounts to support charities and social enterprises during the crisis. £79m has already b...

£37m to support children with complex needs and their families

19.05.20: A £37m settlement has been announced today (May 19) by the Department of Education to support children with complex needs in 2020-21. Children with special educational needs and disabilities are set to benefit from £37.3m of dir...

More than 5,000 emergency food parcels delivered in Leeds

24.04.20: A partnership between Leeds City Council, a food and hunger charity, local businesses and the third sector has seen over 5,000 vital food parcels delivered to vulnerable people in Leeds. As part of a major emergency food distribution progra...

Scheme launched for recipients of free school meals

31.03.20:  A new voucher scheme has been launched today (Mar 31) to protect families unable to claim their free school meals during school closures. The national voucher scheme will provide every child, eligible for free school meals, a weekly s...

GM Mayor announces £5m fund to protect rough sleepers

27.03.20: Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, has announced a £5m fund to house 1000 of the region’s most vulnerable people with immediate effect. Following a meeting of the Greater Manchester COVID-19 Emergency Committee, an &lsqu...

UK2070 report published exposing “over-centralised” system

27.02.20: The UK2070 Commission has published its final report ‘Make No Little Plans – Acting At Scale For A Fairer And Stronger Future’ today (Feb 27) at MediaCityUK in Salford. When issuing the report Chair Lord Kerslake called on...