Child Poverty Strategy
2011-2014
Contents
1. Foreword
2. Introduction
3. What we know about Child Poverty in Cumbria
4. The national, regional and local context
5. Our vision, outcomes, priorities
6. Delivering the strategy
7. Performance managing and reviewing the strategy
8. Shaping the strategy
9. Glossary and appendices
1. Foreword
We know that children do not choose their families or their economic circumstances. If they
happen to live in a poor household, their education, social and economic prospects all suffer. As a
result they risk becoming poor adults bringing up their own children in poverty.
Poverty limits access to the essentials of life, even in the 21st century. It can mean a lack of basic
necessities, such as affordable and healthy food, a warm and comfortable home. It can cause social
isolation, undermine self confidence and restrict access to advice and support.
Poverty is part of life for many who are both in and out of work in Cumbria, with low pay, limited
jobs, limited security and many having to take multiple part-time jobs, particularly in the Hotel,
Catering and Agricultural industries.
The current economic climate is now making this situation more acute with dramatically increasing
numbers of people facing uncertain job prospects.
The Statutory Authorities and key partners have both an obligation and an opportunity to protect
the interests of those in greatest need and to champion the cause of those who are most at risk.
Families who experience poverty are all too often those who have the least say or direct influence
on decisions which we and others take, affecting their lives.
As can be seen through this Strategy there is a great deal of work already being undertaken by
partners across the county but more needs to be done to tackle child poverty wherever it is
experienced.
The findings of the Needs Assessment clearly show that there is no one clear cause of child poverty
in Cumbria and no quick fix. If children and their families are to receive the services they need then
we must all work together around our shared agenda
Councillor Anne Burns
Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care
Cumbria County Council
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
2. Introduction
Child poverty is a problem in Cumbria today. Children and young people living in poverty face a
greater risk of poor health, more accidents, exposure to crime and failing to reach their full
potential. With the associated costs of tackling these issues, child poverty can impact significantly
on public finances as well as having a negative effect on individuals and communities.
Tackling child poverty and improving children’s life chances is everybody’s business. The task is
recognised as a priority by Cumbria County Council and to this end the council is leading on the
production of the Needs Assessment and this Strategy which will co-ordinate action to reduce and
mitigate the effects of child poverty for families in Cumbria. It will be a challenge that requires a coordinated, joined up and consistent approach from the council and its partners to ensure that the
problem is tackled effectively.
The Child Poverty Act, which received Royal Assent in March 2010, requires action to be taken by
government at national and local levels. The Act sets out a number ways of measuring child
poverty, the definition of child poverty which has been used throughout the Needs Assessment and
this Strategy is as follows:
“The Proportion of children living in families in receipt of out of work (means-tested)
benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60% of
median national income.”
We acknowledge that poverty is not just financial; there is also poverty of opportunity, and of
ambition, and those elements point to solutions as well as to problems. These are important
considerations and where possible these are to be built into actions and some of the specific area
based project work referred to in the Strategy
The Cumbria Child Poverty Strategy draws upon work already undertaken to review child poverty
in West Cumbria. In November 2009 a conference was held in Whitehaven. The material from the
interactive workshops has been collated, set beside essential data and illustrated with real Case
Studies coming from agencies. This report goes on to draw conclusions, makes informed comment
and offers recommendations many of which are addressed through the priorities and outcomes
identified in this Strategy.
The Strategy will be supported by an action plan developed and agreed with key partners through
early 2011. This will enable the County Council and partners to incorporate pertinent findings from
the Frank Fields Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances.
There is a need to ensure that this Child Poverty Strategy aligns with other key agendas and
strategies across the county. For instance, it is essential that the work on child poverty feeds into
the development of the Sustainable Communities’ Strategy, and individual partners’ corporate plans
and policies.
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3. What we know about Child Poverty in Cumbria
There are 84,800 children (aged under 16years) living in Cumbria, making up 17% of Cumbria’s total
population. Numbers of children have fallen in recent years and are forecast to continue to fall in
the future. Approximately 16.4% (14,967) of these children are living in property. Levels of child
poverty in Barrow are highest in Cumbria at 23.1% and exceed the national level of 22.4%. The
highest levels of child poverty are in the urban areas of the county, however, small pockets of
poverty are evident in rural parts of the county also.
There is no one controlling factor effecting child poverty, different communities have different needs
which need to be considered when providing services.
The life chances of children living in child poverty are reduced. In terms of educational attainment
the gap grows from early years through to year 10/11 compared to children living in areas where
child poverty is less evident. For those children eligible for free-school meals this gap is more
apparent.
11.7% of school children are eligible for free-school meals but the take-up level is below at 9.9%.
Areas with high levels of eligibility do not always have the highest levels of take-up, and in particular
the Central ward in Barrow, almost 40% of children are eligible but just 87% of those children takeup.
Table 1: Proportions of children living in poverty by district in Cumbria1
% & Number of Children in Poverty
(Based on NI116: Proportion of children living in families in receipt of out of work
benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60%
of median income)
Under 16 (%)
Under 16 (Count)
All children (%)
All children (Count)
England
22.4%
1,175,766
21.6%
1,449,607
Cumbria
16.4%
14,967
15.6%
17,102
Allerdale
17.4%
3,063
16.7%
3,512
Barrow
23.1%
3,256
22.1%
3,744
Carlisle
16.9%
3,211
16.1%
3,709
Copeland
20.1%
2,611
19.2%
2,983
Eden
9.9%
922
9.5%
1,054
South Lakeland
9.5%
1,735
9.1%
2,000
One in five dependant children in Cumbria live in lone parent households. In the district of
Copeland – almost one in four children live in one parent families.
It is possible to assess the differences in the levels of Child Poverty between rural and urban parts of
the county by applying a classification produced by the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs. The approach is based on settlement pattern and structure, splitting areas into Urban,
Town and Fringe, or Village, Hamlet and Isolated Dwellings. A further split, into Sparse or Less
Sparse dwellings is also possible. The results for Cumbria are shown in Table 4 below:
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HMRC (2008) National Indicator 116: The Proportion of children in poverty
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
Table 5: Levels of Child Poverty by rural and urban areas in Cumbria
Area Type
% in Child Poverty
No. in Child Poverty
Urban
19.1
10,721
Town & Fringe (rural)
15.6
4,060
Village, Hamlet & Isolated Dwellings (rural)
8.6
2,582
Sparse
Less Sparse
10.5
16.9
2,611
14,571
The table demonstrates that levels of Child Poverty, whether viewed as an absolute number or as a
proportion of the child population, is higher in urban areas (19.1%). Levels of child poverty fall with
increasing rurality (15.6% in Town and Fringe, 8.6% in villages).
Although levels of Child Poverty are lower in rural areas, the challenges faced by the families of
those that are living in poverty may be more intense. Higher property prices, relatively poor access
to services and fewer families in a similar situation that may be able to provide peer support
(advising on benefit claims, for example) may all combine to create a different experience of
“poverty” than that felt by families in more urban areas.
Key findings from Needs Assessment:
Needs Assessment Key Findings
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Numbers of children in Cumbria have declined over recent years and are forecast to
continue to fall in the future while numbers have increased in the UK overall
Children (aged 0-15years) currently make up 17% of Cumbria’s total population, compared
to 19% in the North West region and 19% in England.
The overall level of Child Poverty in Cumbria is lower than the national average
16.4% (c15,000, 22.5% in England) of 0-15 year olds live in poverty in Cumbria with 15.6%
(c17,000, 21.6% in England) of 0-19 year olds in the same situation
Five out of the six districts in Cumbria have levels of child poverty below the national
average with only Barrow exceeding the figures for England
Child Poverty is highest, in both number and concentration, in urban parts of the county,
there are however significant numbers of children in poverty in rural Cumbria
A total of 28 wards (out of 168 in the county) have levels of child poverty above the national
average
There are pockets of high levels of child poverty spread across Cumbria. Sandwith has the
highest proportion of children in poverty at 49.2%, followed by Central ward in Barrow at
46.9%
There is no one factor controlling child poverty and no one factor resulting from child
poverty – the relationships are more complex
Different communities are likely to have different needs depending on extent and
concentration of child poverty
Of all the indicators reviewed at a local level only one, proportion of children eligible for
Free School Meals, shows a statistical correlation to the level of Child Poverty
There is a link between access to quality employment and child poverty whether this be
through unemployment or low wages
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Although not a statistical relationship there is a tendency for a growing attainment gap, from
Early Years through to Key Stage 4, between areas of lower and higher levels of Child
Poverty
Needs Assessment Recommendations
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Reducing the effects of child poverty is equally important as reducing the number of children
living in poverty
Tackling the effects of child poverty requires a multi-agency approach and routes for
engaging partners must be identified and acted on
The core strategies of the Council and its partners should refer to tackling Child Poverty and
its effects as a principle outcome (including the Anti-Poverty Strategy)
Work to ensure 100% take-up of those eligible for Free School Meals, undertaking further
primary research to gain an insight into the barriers experienced by families who do not
claim
Undertake focussed work to understand the experience and need of those families in
poverty living in urban parts of Cumbria
Undertake focussed work to understand how the experiences differ for families in poverty
rural parts of Cumbria
Review the range and take up of services in Children’s Centres with a view to increasing
take up of families from areas with high levels of Child Poverty
Concentrate activity on areas with high Teenage Pregnancy where intergeneration poverty
may be most prevalent
Need to improve access to employment in the same areas and examine further the
availability of local vacancies.
Put in place mechanisms to monitor the impact of welfare reforms on child poverty in
Cumbria
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
4. The national, regional and local context
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National context:
In 1999 the Labour Government pledged to eradicate child poverty and reduce the number
of children living in workless households by 2020. In August 2010 the coalition government
renewed this commitment. The Child Poverty Act, which received Royal Assent in March
2010, requires action to be taken by government at national and local levels. The Child
Poverty Act sets out four targets to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and beyond:
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Relative poverty – to reduce the proportion of children who live in relative low
income (families below 60% of the median) to less than 10%;
Combined low income and material deprivation – to reduce the proportion of
children who live in material deprivation and have a low income to less than 5%;
Persistent poverty – to reduce the proportion of children that experience long
periods of relative poverty, with the specific target to be set at a later date;
Absolute poverty – to reduce the proportion of children who live in absolute low
income to less than 5%.
The government will publish a national strategy every three years to 2020 to ensure that the
most recent evidence and progress are taken in to account. Annual reports will monitor
progress and identify actions required to ensure that targets will be met. The first strategy
(published March 2011) is structured around four building blocks – Family and Life Chances
(education, health, early years), Employment and Skills, Financial Support and Place
(communities, housing). The strategy proposes actions needed in each building block to
meet the targets and minimise socio-economic disadvantage, states the progress that needs
to be made by 2014 and assesses which groups are most at risk of poverty.
There are two national reviews commissioned by the government that link in to the child
poverty agenda. Frank Field’s Review of Life Chances, published in early January 2011 and
Graham Allen’s Review of Early Intervention, published in April 2011.
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Regional context:
Child Poverty Network events have been held regularly since March 2010 to ensure that the
most up-to-date information is received by local council officers responsible for preparing
and publishing their local needs assessment and developing and delivering a local strategy
alongside relevant partners. These events enable discussions around child poverty issues and
allow best practice to be shared across the North West region.
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Local context:
Tackling child poverty and improving children’s life chances is everybody’s business. The task
is recognised as a priority by Cumbria County Council and to this end the council is leading
on the child poverty strategy which will reduce and mitigate the effects of child poverty for
families in Cumbria. It will be a challenge that requires a co-ordinated, joined up and
consistent approach from the council and its partners to ensure that the problem is tackled
effectively.
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The government made it clear that the local emphasis should not be for Cumbria to meet
the four national targets at local level – it is to develop a local strategy across the four
building blocks and drive action that makes a difference to disadvantaged communities and
families.
There are nine priorities in the Cumbria Children and Young People’s Plan for 2010-2013
(listed below).
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improve the emotional well-being and resilience of children and young people
promote healthy lifestyles and healthy choices and reduce behaviours that harm
children and young people’s health and well-being
ensure that children and young people who are at risk of harm are identified at an
early stage and with their family receive a timely and appropriate response
improve, recognise and celebrate the achievements of all children and young people,
especially underachieving and vulnerable groups
promote enjoyment, positive play, recreation and leisure activities for all children and
young people
ensure that children, young people and families are able to influence services
provide opportunities for children and young people to be valued as responsible
members of their communities and to actively support each other to achieve this
raise the aspirations of children and young people in all aspects of their lives
support children, young people and their families to achieve economic well-being and
reduce the numbers living in poverty
Obviously the last priority links directly to this Child Poverty Strategy, but all nine do in
some form. Each locality area then has its own plan that lists strengths, areas for
improvements, how priorities will be achieved and what the measurement for success is for
each of the nine priorities.
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
5. Our vision, outcomes, priorities
Our Vision: To ensure that children in poverty have the best start in life and that the Council and
partners take necessary steps to reduce poverty and address the impacts of poverty.
Outcomes: There are two main outcomes from the strategy:
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Reducing the numbers of children and young people in poverty through work and skills.
Reducing the impacts of poverty by encouraging children and young people to be more
economically independent.
To meet these outcomes we need to develop a framework that reflects the spread of child poverty
in the county. We know that there are urban areas with very high concentrations of child poverty.
There are also children in poverty spread widely across sparse rural areas. To address this we are
proposing a funnel model:
Level 1: Countywide – better systems and increasing access to advice, information and advocacy.
Level 2: Rural – better targeting of individuals and households
Level 3: Urban hotspots – better community led initiatives to tackle poverty
Reducing numbers in poverty: Priorities
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Reduce worklessness in the most disadvantaged groups in Cumbria
Develop and maintain a healthy workforce
Increase the ability of local people to access local jobs
A more holistic, coordinated and cost effective approach to the delivery of public support
services
Ensure effective engagement with employers
Reducing impact of poverty Priorities:
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Increase number of households with children in poverty accessing affordable credit
Increase number of households with children in poverty participation in community led cooperatives
Increase % uptake of free school meals by those eligible
Increase uptake of benefits for people eligible
6. Delivering the strategy
This section of the strategy sets out the key activities that will be developed using the funnel model
outlined below. The basic method will be to support communities directly where possible.
COUNTY WIDE
Total of 17,102 Children in poverty
URBAN CUMBRIA
10,460
RURAL CUMBRIA
6,642
URBAN HOTSPOTS
Sandwith &
Mirehouse
1,947
Central &
Hindpool
2,809
Moss Bay
1,197
Level 1 County Wide
The following is a mapping of what's been done in the last 12 months against the four ‘building
blocks’ identified by the Child Poverty Unit. This is in no way an exhaustive list but illustrates the
wide range of work already being undertaken by a range of partners to address the issue of Child
Poverty both directly and indirectly.
Employment & Adult Skills building block
It is important that young people have access to high quality information, advice and guidance to:
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Support them in making decisions on the types of learning they need to undertake to
support their career ambitions,
Be fully aware of the future direction of the local economy and understand in which sectors
future employment opportunities will be.
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
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Understand the breadth and depth of employment opportunities within key sectors.
Be aware of learning progression routes, including local provision available.
The current activity planned and underway to address this as included in the Cumbria Work & Skills
Plan includes:
Holding an employer engagement event to demonstrate to employers how they can engage with and
contribute towards learning.
Building on the existing Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Ambassadors
programme and expand into rural areas.
Promoting programmes such as Year In Industry and Sandwich programmes to both employers and
young people.
Producing young people friendly labour market intelligence to highlight the future employment
opportunities within Cumbria alongside the courses and skills required to take advantage of these.
Producing a short film for young people about future employment opportunities in Cumbria and
linked to critical regeneration projects and aspirations.
Providing continuing professional development opportunities to the IAG workforce on updated
labour market intelligence.
Expanding the Aim higher Ambassadors mentoring programme linking secondary students with local
undergraduates.
Developing e-mentoring arrangements to link young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to
local young professionals in industry.
Looking into the possibility of employing enterprise specialists across the County to work with local
businesses and schools to organise enterprise activities and events.
Education, Health and Family building block
Education
Targeted promotion of free part-time early education entitlement by sending a letter to families
whose children are coming up to the eligibility term. Bookstart Treasure Chests also advertised on
this postcard so families know about their entitlement to this free resource.
Free school meals and clothing grants for families with an annual household income of up to
£16,190. Both grants can be claimed on one single form. Publicity ensures that eligible families are
aware of their entitlement.
Academies being developed across the county.
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Four schools have been identified for possible inclusion in the National Challenge, to raise the
percentage of young people leaving school with 5 or more GCSE’s at A* - C (including Maths and
English).
Extended Services Access Fund providing a grant of up to £300 per eligible child to enable
disadvantaged children to take part in out of school activities and trips. Available through schools.
Cumbria Healthy Schools, in partnership with Personal Finance Education Group, organised a ‘What
Money Means’ programme covering 20 primary schools. The programme is designed to give
children the best foundation for managing their money now and in the future and help teachers feel
confident in tackling money issues with children. Children looked at innovative and creative ways to
deal with money, such as taking responsibility for part of the school budget.
Schools working together in ‘behaviour partnership’ consortia to address exclusion issues and take a
proactive approach to behavioural problems. Reintegration Officers work closely with schools.
The number of permanent and fixed term exclusions in local authority maintained schools is within
target. Primary and secondary pupil absence rates also within target.
Choice Advice Service (based within the Children’s Services Admissions Team) to support families
who need advice in choosing the school for their child or need help to fill in the necessary forms.
Health
Almost all schools in Cumbria are signed up to the Healthy Schools programme and aiming to
achieve the award.
Kids Kitchen promotion launched to highlight healthy eating and activity in schools.
Healthy Weight Strategy 2009-2011 aims to reverse rising numbers of obesity in children and
ensure that everyone is able to achieve and maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise.
The MEND Programme, a free 10 week programme for children and families, offered through
Carlisle Leisure Ltd in partnership with Carlisle City Council and supported by NHS Cumbria.
Healthy lifestyles are promoted to families through children’s centres and extended services.
Significant numbers of children are participating in sport at school.
DASH, a drug, alcohol and sexual health service for young people available through Connexions.
Vouchers to spend on fruit, vegetables and milk available to families on benefits with children under
4 through the Healthy Start Scheme.
Family
Children’s centres and extended services sites provide a range of services and activities to local
families. Staff provide help and advice to parents and carers. Leaflets and publications are displayed
and electronic parent information points link to relevant websites such as Jobcentre Plus, CFIS etc.
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
The Children and Families Information Service (CFIS) offer ‘brokerage’ to parents and carers
finding.. Advisers help them to organise childcare so they can work or train, and provide advice and
information about the following entitlements which could maximise their income: tax credits, the
free early education entitlement, care to learn scheme for teenage parents, new deal for lone
parents, entitlements for student parents, direct payments for disabled parents and/or their children,
Sure Start maternity grant, other family-related benefits
A ‘memorandum of understanding’ between Children’s Services and Jobcentre Plus ensures effective
partnership working where the aim is to remove barriers to work for local families. An excellent
link has been established with the Jobcentre Plus Childcare Manager and Supporting Children and
Families.
Free childcare for 126 disadvantaged two year olds with referrals taken from child practitioners
such as health visitors and social workers.
A recession advice section is available on the council website with links to a range of external
websites covering money advice, debt, eviction etc.
The children’s services on-line directory includes a range of services and activities, many of which
are free.
The wotson4u website for 13-19 year olds promotes positive activities and provides information
about issues such as health and budgeting. Cumbria Constabulary used the site to promote their
summer campaign to combat anti-social behaviour and police-organised positive activities for young
people are advertised on an ongoing basis.
Parenting Support Programmes being delivered in all localities; Family Intervention Pilot in Carlisle.
CFIS advise potential childminders about the registration process and book them on to prebriefings. Once registered, a childminder can open a childcare business, earning money themselves
and providing a chance for local parents to work or train due to more childcare being available.
Resource Projects team give business related advice and support to childcare settings in order to
maximise potential and long term sustainability. A ‘business health check’ identifies support needed
and actions taken may help a childcare setting to stay open when it would have otherwise had to
close.
Enhanced support grants are provided to childcare settings to help them to include children with
disabilities or additional needs, enabling their parents to work or undertake training.
Targeted youth work, for example, a multi-use mobile vehicle for West Cumbria has been funded
through a Youth Capital Fund grant. The purpose is to provide a safe shelter in which youth
services staff can meet with young people. Priority given to areas affected by the floods, young
people from isolated rural communities and those living in socio-economically deprived areas.
Increased contact time will enable youth services staff to engage with young people and will help
with the planning of programmes and activities.
Aiming High Network launched to support families with children who are disabled or have a special
need. Database used to keep families informed, Parents Forum set up and annual conference held.
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Four targeted magazines for families and providers to raise awareness about services, activities and
entitlements.
(a) Parents News - distributed to 37,000 families in Cumbria with 0-11 year olds twice a year
(July/January) via an information sharing agreement with health. Advice and information
about services, activities and entitlements. Four editions allow specific pages for locality
information (West, East, Carlisle and Furness).
(b) Provider News – distributed to childcare and early education providers, children’s centres,
parent and toddler groups, schools and partners twice a year (March/September). Advice
and information relevant to providers and the families they work with.
(c) Aiming High 4Us - distributed termly to families on the Aiming High Network (voluntary
database for families with children and young people with additional needs and disabilities),
special schools, health visitors, children’s centres, Children’s Services offices and support
agencies/organisations.
(d) Moving On - distributed annually to children making the transition from primary to
secondary school.
Addressing issues of Child Poverty will be integrated into how the Council’s Children’s Services are
looking at how services can be re-designed through the 'Better for Children Project'. The project is
using a ‘bottom up’ approach, starting from the perspective of the customer and what’s of value to
them. The project team initially visited locality areas across the whole County to look at how
services are being delivered to gain an understanding of the current system of work. Frontline staff
and managers will be involved in the re-design of services in the future with the aim of improving
outcomes for children, young people and families in Cumbria.
The role of Children’s Centres is crucial in our approach to tackling Child Poverty as such a
mapping project is being undertaken that will provide a data hub for all Children’s Centre footprints.
This will include data on the number of children, the number of children registered and attended, as
well as plotting them by poverty levels and income levels. It will also provide a large amount of
other data in conjunction with partner agencies.
Housing & Neighbourhoods building block
The Cumbrian authorities and their partners have developed the Cumbria Housing Strategy as a
framework to plan, implement and deliver housing services within the sub-region. The high quality of
the strategy is demonstrated by the fact that it was the first sub-regional strategy in the country to
be declared ‘fit for purpose’ by the Department for Communities and Local Government. It is
clearly essential for the Sub-regional strategy to show how the county will work to meeting
government and HCA investment objectives and make the best use of other funding channels to
meet priority housing needs. The vision for Cumbria is that it will have balanced housing markets
supporting the social and economic changes which the county must undergo over the next 20 years,
and in the short term how Cumbria will use all the resources available to move toward this
objective. The Cumbria Housing Strategy adopts the framework established in the North West
Regional Strategy which highlights three themes: securing an adequate quantity of housing, securing
improvements to the quality of the existing stock, and connecting people to housing.
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
The strategy takes account of:
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The impact of the credit crunch on housing markets that were already facing challenges.
Changing demography, including the growth of smaller households, the ageing of the
population, and increased levels of migration and mobility linked to economic change.
Identifying the best ways to establish or strengthen links between housing and economic
growth.
Ways of improving access to affordable homes whilst continuing to restructure vulnerable
markets.
Spatially prioritising market intervention to ensure that limited public resources are used in
the most effective way.
Optimising the role of housing in tackling climate change and addressing fuel poverty.
Quantity: The Cumbria Housing Strategy complements the planning framework requiring new
supply to fully complement the neighbourhood in which it sits. This means making it appropriate to
local markets and environments and to be sustainable by getting the location, type, design, size and
tenure right. The strategy also emphasises the importance of optimising the use of the existing stock
and, in particular, of bringing empty properties into use.
Quality: Most of the housing supply for the next two decades is already built. In Furness and West
Cumbria especially, investment is needed to make sure that the housing stock is fit for purpose and
of a standard that future generations will demand.
Connecting with people: The Cumbria Housing Strategy looks to ensure that all households have
the opportunity to access good housing, and housing support where they require it. The aim is to
create balanced housing markets where local people can afford to find a home and a place where
people want to stay.
Presently work to update the Housing Strategy is ongoing. The new Housing Strategy will replace
the current housing strategy, and will be informed by
the Strategic Housing Market Assessments for Cumbria. It will identify key housing issues, priorities
and outcomes for Cumbria.
Financial Support building block
“Money made clear”: provides clear, impartial information about financial products and services. It
aims to help consumers help themselves to make informed decisions about their money. No selling,
no jargon, just the facts. It’s free and designed to be easy to use. The service is being run by the FSA,
the project is being piloted in the North West and North East. The money guidance service is
available across Cumbria.
“Affordable Credit”: Credit Unions offer affordable loans as a core service and have assisted
thousands of residents in Cumbria to date through their traditional activities. Work is underway to
strengthen and expand the movement across the county. In recent years the Credit Unions have
come together under the Debt Recovery and Money Advice (DRAMA) partnership and a new
service tackling the need for affordable credit was launched. Over a million pounds of inward
investment has been secure via the DWP Growth Fund monies to offer an alternative source of
credit. This is branded locally as The Handy Loans service, and is now available across the County
and being promoted widely through schools.
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“Tackling Illegal Money Lending”: teams sitting within Trading Standards now operate in Cumbria.
They investigate complaints and prosecute those involved in loan sharking. The team’s role is to
remove loan sharks form the communities in which they operate and will help victims and provide
free, confidential support and guidance to help them climb out of a spiral of debt.
“Debt, Benefit, Employment Advice”: The Cumbria Advice Network (CAN for short) is a Big
Lottery funded project firmly focused on enabling people in Cumbria to be able to access quality
advice when they most need it. The project aims through partnership working in Cumbria, to
improve referral processes between third sector advice agencies, and to facilitate the sharing of
expertise and provide shared training opportunities. The project began in 2009 and is funded by the
Big Lottery over 5 years. The initial partners (the 7 Citizen Advice Bureaux in Cumbria, Shelter
Cumbria and the Cumbria Law Centre) have entered into a partnership agreement to deliver the
project
Level 2 Rural
The Child Poverty Needs Assessment showed that there are a significant number of children in
poverty in rural areas. This group will experience a number of distinctive challenges compared to
children in poverty in urban areas including:
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Difficulties in accessing mainstream support services.
Higher costs of living – housing, fuel, food and transportation
Greater isolation
Greater income gaps between neighbours
Another factor that differentiates rural children in poverty is that their family circumstances will vary
from household to household. The critical factor to success will be around targeting individual
families. To address this we will:
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Engage Third Sector organisations and professionals in the Children’s workforce when
developing the action plan using the Cumbria Rural Forum in particular.
Improve advice, information and advocacy for low incomes families in rural areas.
The County Council is carrying out a review of Advocacy and User Involvement. Currently the
advocacy services that are available are tied up by serving specific user groups – i.e. people with
learning disabilities, children in care etc. The review is looking at the feasibility of developing a
generic advocacy service. This would open a level of support to families on low incomes which is
not currently available.
Level 3 Urban hotspots
One of the main drawbacks of traditional approaches to tackling poverty is to assume that topdown redistribution of resources through regeneration will be sufficient to tackle poverty. In
contrast, the approach to delivery will be to work at a grassroots level with schools, children’s
centres and communities. The section above on priorities gives an indication of measures of success,
though the proviso is that these will only work if owned from the start by people on the ground.
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
The aim is to engage local staff in working with children and families to develop locally owned
initiatives to maximise economic independence. Examples could include:
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Developing links to credit unions in schools and children’s centres.
Setting up food growing schemes
Setting up co-operatives to exchange goods, skills and resources outside the money
economy, or at afford able rates.
Improving access to white goods and furniture at affordable rates.
This can build on and replicate existing examples of good practice such as the work undertaken
through the Sure Start Children’s Centre in Whitehaven which has developed a range of initiatives
through community engagement and needs analysis including: Free furniture recycling, Free clothes
recycling, Community Allotment, Outreach, home based, financial advice, advocacy and support,
Preferential job interview programs with JC+, and Apprenticeships’’
The aim will be not to decide on behalf of communities what is in their interests, but to use the
Council’s professional expertise and political leadership to facilitate and enable the development of
projects such as these or other types of projects that communities evolve.
The Child Poverty Needs Analysis clearly identifies core wards that could be targeted using such an
approach, and the plan is to develop three child poverty projects:
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Barrow Central and Hindpool
Allerdale Moss Bay
Copeland Sandwith, Mirehouse
The ward based pilots reflect wards that have highest levels of child poverty in Cumbria.
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7. Performance managing and reviewing the strategy
The Chief Executive’s Office are leading the project team working on the assessment and coordinating the development of the Strategy, with input from Children’s Services. The Needs
Assessment and Strategy has been taken through County Council Cabinet, the Children’s’ Trust
Board and the Cumbria Strategic Partnership for consultation and approval.
The Needs Assessment will be updated continuously by the Cumbria Intelligence Observatory via
the Cumbria Intelligence Observatory website and the interactive online mapping and profiling tool.
The interactive mapping provides the facility to review the spread of child poverty and associated
social challenges across the county.
The project team will be responsible for the development of the supporting action plan and the
formulation of SMART performance measures to monitor their delivery. In developing the action
plan through the spring of 2011 the project team will be expanded to increase the involvement of
partner organisations. The action plan will be shaped in direct consultation with children & families.
Addressing Child Poverty is one of the four ‘pillars’ within The Anti Poverty Strategy. This is a key
policy document for the County Council linked closely to the Council Plan. It is produced, reviewed
and performance managed through the Chief Executive’s office. There will be annual reviews of the
Strategy between January and April to inform the Council’s service planning cycle. Annual reports
being provided to Cabinet on progress made in delivering against the four ‘pillars’ and any changes
made to the overarching Strategy to reflect circumstances.
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Anti Poverty Strategy 2011-15
8. Shaping the strategy
The Needs Assessment was written through collaboration between different partner agencies
across Cumbria including Police, Primary Care Trust, District Councils, County Council, Cumbria
Vision and Connexions. These partners came under the banner of the Cumbria Intelligence
Observatory. As well as these local partners providing data to allow an informed picture of Child
Poverty to be built, they also reviewed and gave recommendations on the writing of the Needs
Assessment through Local Committees and Trust Boards.
The Needs Assessment and it’s initial recommendations for the shape of the Strategy have been
taken through the Locality Planning Groups to gather the views of practitioners and partners on the
data, the analysis and the proposed priorities. Information was also presented to the Children &
Young People Sub Groups of the Council’s Local Committees where they are in place. The feedback
received has influenced the priorities of the Strategy and reinforced the importance of developing
the action plan for the Strategy through these local mechanisms.
The development of a robust partnership action plan to address the priorities and detail the specific
projects outlined in this Strategy will take place through early 2011. This will enable the County
Council and partners to incorporate pertinent findings from the Frank Fields Independent Review
on Poverty and Life Chances. The main aims of the Review are to:
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Explore how a child's home environment affects their chances of being ready to take full
advantage of their schooling
Generate a broader debate about the nature and extent of poverty in the UK
Recommend potential action by government and other institutions to reduce poverty and
enhance life chances for the least advantaged, consistent with the Government's fiscal
strategy
Examine the case for reforms to the poverty measures, in particular for the inclusion of nonfinancial elements
It is proposed that a working group of the CSP Cumbria Chief Executives Group be established to
provide oversight to the action planning this process and ensure the involvement of all the key
partners. The Child Poverty Act names each of the following partners as a statutory partner
authority in relation to the responsible local authority (CCC):
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District authorities
Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities;
Jobcentre Plus;
The Police, Youth Offending Teams, and Probation Trusts; and
Transport Authorities.
9. Glossary and appendices
1. Cumbria Child Poverty Needs Assessment
2. The Child Poverty Act 2010
3. A Guide to Part 2 of the Child Poverty Act 2010: duties of local authorities and other
bodies in England
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