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In this issue

  • 12 Days of Christmas: Good news stories from our clients in 2020
  • Policy in Practice named as a Nesta Rapid Recovery Challenge semi-finalist
  • Happy Christmas and our festive season opening hours
12 Days of Christmas: Good news stories from our clients in 2020

2020 has been incredibly tough for many. Yet, as we look to an uncertain Christmas and beyond, there are reasons for optimism ahead. We want to spread much-needed cheer this Christmas by sharing the successes our clients have achieved this year. Read each inspiring story from our Twelve Days of Christmas campaign below, or view all twelve stories here

Read each inspiring story below or view all twelve stories
here

First day of Christmas
Grwp Cynefin: Additional £1m secured for tenants thanks to housing association’s welfare team. Read more

Second day of Christmas
Covid-19 saw Reventus’ local authority conference cancelled but £1,500 was still raised for four local charities. Read more

Third day of Christmas
Clanmil Housing: Council tax reduction scheme revisions shaped by data modelling are accepted by Members. Read more

Fourth day of Christmas
Supported wider communities with money and benefits advice throughout lockdown.
Read more


Fifth day of Christmas
Regency Financial Services: Proactively informing clients of extra income they may be missing out on.
Read more


Sixth day of Christmas
Folkestone and Hythe District Council: £1.1 million awarded to help people pay their council tax.
Read more


Seventh day of Christmas
Rotherham Council: New team created to help people clear debt and find work following award win.
Read more


Eighth day of Christmas
Enfield Council: Staff stepped up and adapted brilliantly to a new working life under Covid-19.
Read more


Ninth day of Christmas
Rooftop Housing Group: Money Advisors boost customer income by almost £3 million.
Read more


Tenth day of Christmas
Cheltenham Borough Homes: Over £2million of additional benefits and support secured for residents of Cheltenham.
Read more


Eleventh day of Christmas
80% of financially vulnerable people who engaged with Cornwall Council’s DHP take up campaign received an average of £450.
Read more


Twelfth day of Christmas
Citizens Advice Wirral: Seamless switch of entire service from face to face to homeworking meant unbroken support for thousands of clients.
Read more

Every submission was entered into a prize draw to win one of four prizes of £50 for charity. We are delighted to announce the winners of this prize draw, below. Congratulations, we will be in touch to learn which charity you'd like us to donate to on your behalf.

  1. Grwp Cynefin
  2. Citizens Advice Wirral
  3. Rotherham Council
  4. Cornwall Council
We're semi-finalists in the Nesta Rapid Recovery Challenge

We are delighted to announce that Policy in Practice has been chosen as a Rapid Recovery Challenge semi-finalist from 148 entries.

The challenge, funded by Nesta in partnership with DWP, JPMorgan Chase and Money and Pensions Service, is a £3 million challenge. The solutions will be focussing on those hardest hit by the economic shock resulting from COVID-19, and will be working to improve access to jobs and money across the UK with the aim of reaching 1 million people by 2023.

We will be working to scale our winning Benefit and Budgeting Calculator into the My Benefits Calculator app, to thousands of people in the next year.

My Benefits Calculator will be a personalised app to help you navigate the complex benefit system. It will give you access to the widest possible range of support, help you plan from month to month, and put you in control of your money. It will empower you to take steps toward greater financial independence.


Deven Ghelani, Director and Founder, Policy in Practice, said: "Nearly 6 million people claim Universal Credit now, and this is growing. At the same time, £10 billion of benefits is unclaimed each year. If just 10% of claimants use My Benefits Calculator to access all the support they’re eligible for we will help 600,000 people to build their financial resilience."

Read about My Benefits Calculator and the Rapid Recovery Challenge here
Express interest in joining our user research from January here

Festive Season opening hours

Our opening hours over the Christmas period are Monday to Friday 0900 to 1800, except for bank holidays when we are closed. For product service related queries please contact helpdesk@policyinpractice.co.uk or via the online chat functionality within your LIFT platform or Benefit and Budgeting Calculator. For all other queries please email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242. Please bear with us if we take longer than usual to respond, we will be operating with a skeleton staff.

From all the team at Policy in Practice we wish you a very peaceful, happy Christmas and New Year, and look forward to a healthy 2021 with you.

Next webinar: Why we all need flexible collection policies for Council Tax debt
Wednesday 27 January from 10:30 to 11:45. Register here


How council tax is collected can have an impact on the lives of low-income households. The handling of council tax arrears and the extra costs that can be incurred in the collection process can cause extreme poverty or destitution, and may increase levels of problem debt.

Local authorities in England can choose how to collect council tax, and different best practice models designed to collect from financially vulnerable citizens are emerging. Policy in Practice has reviewed different collection processes across London for the Greater London Authority and evaluated their impact on citizens and councils.

Join this webinar to hear:

  • Barriers to the adoption of more flexible policies
  • Empirical evidence of the factors influencing collection rates
  • How councils can optmise collection rates whilst also protecting vulnerable citizens


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