A new, innovative poverty strategy has been agreed by the council’s leaders at Cabinet.
The strategy approved earlier this week focuses on five areas: more support for children and families, practical help for people most affected by poverty, better access to work, housing and benefits.
It is designed to be developed in the coming years and is a key priority of the authority.
Practical measures to be developed include:
Children: Council officers will work closely with colleagues in schools and partner agencies and services to better understand and develop ways to help families. Schools will be supported to implement free breakfast clubs. Better promotion of the programmes like the Holiday Activity Fund - which allows children on free school meals to access clubs and activities during the school holidays – to improve take-up.
Practical help for people most affected by poverty issues:
Adults and families in need will be supported to access essential goods from variety of charitable schemes, such as the “multi-bank’ managed by The Junction organisation in Redcar. The council’s Adult Social Care team will undertake a poverty proofing pilot to better understand and then alleviate any potential financial barriers there might be to adults accessing mental wellbeing support.
Better access to work: Improve take up of training and jobs advice at Grangetown Training Hub and increase access to adult education including for literacy and financial understanding.
Housing: Council staff to work with partner agencies to identify and reduce homelessness and expand decent home provision.
Benefits: Support officers to encourage and assist eligible residents claim Council Tax Support and Housing Benefits and other benefits. They will also work with charities and other partner agencies to promote take up.
Cllr Alec Brown, Leader of the Council, said: “It will continue to be a fundamental mission of this council to alleviate the scourge of poverty. We don’t pretend we have the answers to problems which are often very deep seated – but we do promise to do what we can. This includes working closely with partners, businesses and residents to maximise all available resources as much as possible. The strategy is designed to be easily adapted and developed so it will be increasingly effective in the coming years.”